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"No, seriously." I toss the ball into the air and catch it. "You'd get all drooly and shit—take your eye off the game."

He smacks my hand, and the ball falls to the ground with a thud.

"You should probably work on that," he deadpans, gesturing to my now empty glove.

I roll my eyes, bending down to pick it up again. "Why are you here?" I ask sarcastically as I stand back up.

We stare at each other for a beat before we both break out in smiles.

"Just dropping by before you head out," he says. "I talked to my guys in the Alumni Association like I said I would."

"Yeah?" I ask eagerly, nerves and excitement rushing through me.

"Yeah, they're definitely in. I knew they would be."

"That's awesome, man. Thank you."

Liam nods like helping was a given. "Of course. The fact that we haven't had a Deaf Awareness Night already is surprising. It's a great cause—an even better call on your part. I'm sure Vienna will be stoked."

"For sure," I say.

The worry in my stomach fades to relief, but the excitement morphs into something closer to anticipation.

This could be huge for our organization—for V. But if it's happening, it has to be perfect. And I can't be the reason it isn't.

"Alright, well I'm gonna get going." Liam rolls his shoulders back. "I left Mack in charge of today's group session at Extra Innings."

"Oh, boy."

"Yeah," he laughs. "These players come to us for mentoring, but they may need more than that after this one."

He smiles and claps me on the shoulder, then heads toward Ruthie. "I'll catch ya later, Rook!" he calls back to me.

"Not a rookie anymore," I remind him.

Montgomery holds a thumbs up above his head—his way of reminding me that no matter how many years I've been a Gator, I'll always be the kid he eased into the league.

I sigh, grinning, and think back to that season—my first year in G.C. My first year in the MLB.

Back then, I still had the mentality that baseball was everything. That I finally got to where I always wanted to be, and that was enough. I had to play great, be the best. Prove that the path I took in life was the right one despite all that came before it.

But somewhere along the way, things changed. My game didn't become less important—it just stopped being the only thing that mattered.

The city stopped feeling temporary. This team started to feel more like family. The future stopped feeling like something I was sprinting toward and started to feel like the place I was standing in.

And the past slowly started to fade.

Now, it feels like it's all falling into place—the important things.

My job is solid. My mom and V are here now too.

My life is steady in a way it never seemed to be before.

Which would be perfect if I wasn't recently reminded of this nagging feeling that sometimes pops up like something's still missing. That I stopped wishing for a long time ago.

Something I don't want to want here. In Golden City. With me.

That I convinced myself was already gone.