Taking the Pitch (Love & Baseball #2)

37. Amelia

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

amelia

Judd takes my hand in his and leads me down the path towards my parent’s graves. The path that will forever be ingrained in my memory.

Eight rows down, three plots to the left.

After their funeral, I found myself here almost daily. No matter the weather, I’d sit in front of the fresh piles of dirt for hours, and just stare. Trying to will the piles away and my parents back into existence.

Bruno trots beside me, looking up at me every few steps as the memories of those days run through my head.

My feet slow when we approach the eighth row. Judd notices and stops, turning around to check on me. “Are you okay?”

Instead of answering I turn my head to the left and let my eyes drift down to the headstone with ‘Morgan’ engraved across the top and my parents’ names written on each side.

“We don’t have to go if it’s too hard.”

“No, I want to. I just didn’t expect to come here today.” I tug on Judd’s hand and lead him over to their graves, running my hand along the top of the smooth marble when we get there. “Hi Momma, Hi Daddy. I’m sorry it’s been a while,” I say, kissing my fingers and laying on their headstones.

Judd sets the giant bag he somehow hid in the Jeep down and starts pulling things out of it. First is a potted mini Christmas tree that’s no bigger than a foot tall. He sets it on Mom’s side of the headstone and dives back into the bag, producing a large wool blanket with a buffalo plaid pattern. “Are you alright with me laying it down here?” he asks, pointing to the grassy space where the large piles of dirt used to be.

I nod, and Judd shakes the blanket out, laying it down over the grass. He pulls a variety of containers out next, placing them in the middle.

“Are we, did you? Are we having a picnic?” I finally get out. Watching as Judd places a bottle of chilled wine and tumblers next to the containers.

How is the wine still chilled?

“We are,” he says, reaching into the bag again, this time pulling throw pillows out.

“Do you have a stove and a fridge in there too, Mary Poppins?” I joke, stepping forward to look into the bag.

“Ah ah ah,” Judds says, closing the bag when I get near. “My eyes only.”

“Well, now I really want to see what else you have in there,” I say, reaching around, trying to grab the bag from behind him. He holds the bag up over his head, knowing there’s no way I’ll be able to reach it. “Not fair,” I pout, crossing my arms over my chest.

Judd chuckles and sets the bag back down, taking me in his arms to keep me from going after the bag. “It’s not my fault you’re the size of a gremlin.”

“Feed me after midnight and see what happens.”

Judd wiggles his eyebrows up and down. “Sounds kinky.”

I laugh, the first laugh I’ve ever had while standing in a place where I’ve only known sorrow. And it’s all thanks to the man I never saw coming.

“There she is,” he says, looking down at me in his arms and cupping my face. “There’s my Amelia.” I close my eyes as he places a soft kiss on my forehead, a sense of peace falling over me. “Let’s sit,” he whispers.

We settle onto the blanket facing the headstone. Bruno plops down to my right and Judd starts taking the lids off the containers, revealing some of my favorite foods. Pasta salad, blueberries, sweet and sour chicken that’s warm. I look up at him when I see the steam rising from the last one. “How did you keep this hot and the other things chilled?”

Judd smirks. “I have my ways.” Judd reaches behind him in the bag and produces a bone for Bruno to enjoy, and hands me a fork. “Now dig in before it gets cold.”

We eat in silence, the only sounds coming from Bruno and the birds that are flying from tree to tree nearby. Judd is the first to speak after we’ve made a dent in the containers. “Tell me about them,” he says, nodding to where my parents’ names are engraved.

Eleanor Grace & Jonathan Lee

“Uh, let’s see. Dad was a contractor, mainly for custom homes. He hated ‘cookie cutter’ houses. He said there was no character to them. He was really handy and could fix anything . For my eleventh birthday, he built me my own little reading shack in our backyard. Mom decorated it with cushions and blankets and put a string of twinkle lights around the ceiling.” I sigh, leaning back onto my hands. “I used that thing until the day I went off to college.”

Judd smiles, staying quiet while I dig into my memories.

“Mom was a teacher. An English teacher. She’s where I got my love of books from. I remember always coming home with at least one book after a shopping trip, no matter how many I had in my pile that I hadn’t read yet.” I chuckle at the happy memories playing in my mind. “Dad joked that one day he would open the fridge and instead of food, it would just be filled to the brim with books.” I sit up and grab a handful of blueberries, popping one into my mouth. “So, one year for April fools, my mom and I got up really early and took all the food out of the fridge and placed as many books as we could in there. When dad came down that morning for breakfast, he opened the fridge, and a mountain of books greeted him. The look on his face was priceless.” I sigh a contented sigh. “Wow, I haven’t thought about that in years.”

Judd places the lids back on the pasta salad and chicken, sticking them back in the bag before scooting closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “They sound like they were great. I wish I could have met them.”

“They were the best,” I say, laying my head against Judd. “And they would have really loved you.”

“I mean what’s not to love,” Judd jokes and I poke a finger into his rib. He grabs my finger and brings it to his lips, placing a kiss on the top before lacing my fingers with his.

“Thank you for bringing me here today. For asking about them. You’re the only one I’ve ever dated who’s made an effort to get to know them, even though they’re gone.”

“None of the other guys deserved you, Mills.”

I look down at our linked hands. “You know, the only other person who has ever called me Mills was my dad.”

Judd clears his throat. “I didn’t know. If you want me to stop–”

“No,” I say quickly. “I love it. The only two men who have ever mattered in my life have only called me that.” Bruno plops his head into my lap and looks up at me, releasing a heavy sigh. “Excuse me, the only two, two-legged men ,” I correct.

Bruno sighs again and closes his eyes.

Judd and I share a smirk. “I swear he knows exactly what we’re saying,” Judd muses.

“You’d be surprised what he understands.”

“Speaking of surprises,” Judd says, dragging the bag of wonder to his side. He reaches in, producing a plastic container with a large cupcake inside. Handing the container to me, he turns back to the bag and pulls out a candle and lighter. He takes the cupcake back from me and opens the lid. Sticking the candle in the middle of the frosting, he lights the wick. “Make a wish.”

“Aren’t you supposed to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me first?”

He lifts a shoulder. “If you want.”

“You know what, on second thought. Never mind, I’ve heard you sing,” I tease.

He bumps me with his shoulder. “Keep it up and I won’t give you your present,” he warns.

I lift an eyebrow at him. “I thought the tattoo was my present.”

Judd snorts. “You can have more than one present.”

“Judd, the tattoo was more than enough.”

“Just blow out your candle and make a wish.”

I close my eyes, trying to think of what to wish for. If I’m being honest, there’s not much more I could ask for. I have the most amazing friends in the world. A successful career doing something I love. A service animal who is worth his weight in gold. And last but not least, a boyfriend who I’m building a life with. The only thing that could make any of this better was if my parents were here to witness it, but I know they’re watching and knowing my mom, she had something to do with Judd and I finding each other. Taking a deep breath, I send them a thanks instead of making a wish and blow out my candle.

When I open my eyes, Judd is in front of me. Down on one knee. With the ring I picked out at the jeweler’s yesterday.

I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth and my eyes instantly filling with tears. “Judd, what, what are you doing?” I ask, my voice coming out in a squeaky whisper.

“I’m asking the love of my life if she would do me the honor of becoming my wife.”

“But isn’t it too soon? What are people going to say? What are your parents going to say?” I ask, dropping my hands from my mouth.

Judd grabs both my hands in his, the one that’s not holding the ring box. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. My parents love you. And if we’ve learned anything in the last few months, it’s that life is short. We’re building a home, a life together. The only thing that’s missing is me being able to call you my wife. I know the cemetery isn’t an ideal place for a proposal, but it’s the only way I knew how to have your parents involved, since they can’t be with us.”

I shake my head, tears streaming down my face from his words. “It’s perfect Judd. Everything is perfect.”

“Almost,” he says, clearing his throat. “Amelia Marie Morgan, will you please make me the happiest man on earth and marry me?”

“Yes,” I choke out, launching myself into his arms. “A million times, yes.”

He slides the ring onto my finger, exactly where it belongs.