The Ninth Inning (The Boys of Baseball #1) - J. Sterling Page 0,100

parents soon after as well. They came to one of my games, and then they came to the rest. They even wore Anders T-shirts that embarrassed Christina but made me feel like a badass. My only regret was that I hadn’t met them earlier in the season. I’d never had a big, supportive family unit before, and that was what this felt like. I fucking loved it.

The draft had already started. No one was surprised when the first round came and went, and my name hadn’t been called. I hadn’t expected to get picked up that soon anyway.

The living room in the house I had grown up in was currently packed. I looked around and realized that everyone I gave a shit about was in this room with me. My girl, her parents, my dad, Chance, Mac, and even annoying Lauren were all here. A few other guys from the team came by, too, and were currently eating all the snacks Christina had set out, their eyes glued to the television screen or their phones. Even Coach Jackson texted that he might stop by.

Speaking of, Coach had surprised the hell out of all of us by kicking Logan off the team for unsportsmanlike conduct before we headed to the semi-regional playoffs. Rumor had it that he had heard all about what Logan had done and was completely beside himself over it. Apparently, he told Logan that he wasn’t getting drafted anyway so to get the hell off his team and out of his locker room. Coach had said he’d never had someone so mentally unstable on his team before, and he wasn’t about to start now.

I tried to dig deep inside of myself to feel bad for the guy but couldn’t. It was hard to find sympathy for someone who had actively tried to ruin my life and had hurt the girl I loved. More than once. The only reason I hadn’t beaten his ass again for it all was because I couldn’t find him anywhere. And trust me, I’d looked.

So, fuck you, Logan. Hope you rot in hell.

“Is everyone ready?” the news anchor asked.

She had introduced herself to us as Alpine Peaks, which was her real name, obviously. They were with a local news crew, and they were about to go live with a draft update.

“What do we need to do to be ready? Just sit here and look handsome?” Mac asked, his tone embarrassingly flirtatious. Of course he’d be the one to speak up. He’d probably be making out with Alpine Peaks before the day was over.

“Just act natural. Pretend we’re not even here,” she said with a megawatt smile.

I knew I could do that. I’d planned on ignoring them anyway even though them being here made me feel marginally better about my chances in the draft. Why the hell would a news crew be in my home to film my reaction if I wasn’t going to be getting the call?

But there was still that small sliver of doubt that lingered in the back of my mind. Nothing was ever guaranteed, and them being here didn’t change that fact. I had an advisor who kept telling me that my chances were great, but I still wasn’t convinced. I hadn’t legally been allowed to sign with him as my agent until today. There were a bunch of collegiate rules you had to abide by in order to remain eligible to play while you were in school. This was one of them.

“Are you nervous?” Christina leaned toward me and asked quietly enough that only I could hear.

I looked at her, wondering how I’d gotten so lucky, and nodded. Hell yes, I was nervous. And she was the only person I’d admit it to.

“We’re here with local baseball player Cole Anders. He’s expecting a call any second now about the Major League draft. We’ll be here with him when it happens, and then we’ll share it with all of you. It’s so exciting! That’s all for now. I’m Alpine Peaks, reporting live. Back to you in the studio, Ken and Jane.”

My stomach twisted, and I had to stop myself from telling Alpine to knock on wood or something. Doesn’t she know how superstitious baseball players are? She’d just told the entire area that I was getting drafted like it was some guarantee, and it hadn’t even happened yet.

Right as I was about to lose it and give her a lesson on the mentality of baseball players, the house phone rang. My