"Paul. Are you okay?" I glanced up to watch Danny storm off. What the hell was going on with him? It was almost like he'd become a different man than the one I'd fallen in love with.

"Yeah. That guy is an animal." He pulled himself up and coughed, spraying blood on the floor in front of us. "You need to stay away from him, Terra."

"Okay. Let's get you some help." I reached for him, but he pulled away.

"No. I'm fine. Take care of yourself. Seriously." He turned and walked back down the long tunnel that leads to the stadium.

"I will." I pressed my back to the wall and lifted my hands to cover my face. A long sob left me as I slid to the ground. My father would have been so disappointed in me for letting my personal life interfere with his team. It was the one thing I knew he would have wanted from me as the new owner. To be strong and not fall in the face of trial, tribulation or Danny McAdams.

"Terra?" Joe's voice surprised me.

"Yeah. Sorry." I pushed up from the floor and wiped at my eyes. "Pretend I'm not crying?"

My father's oldest friend walked over and reached for me. His hands were strong and warm as he held my shoulders. "I was going to check on Daniel seeing that he's been a loose cannon lately, but the locker room was empty."

"He's gone." I shrugged, feeling like the weight of the world was on my shoulders. "You should have taken the team from Daddy."

He chuckled. "Not a chance kiddo." He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me. "Your father has loved this place since we were kids. We used to come out here and pay them to let us mow." He laughed, but the sound fell flat. "I miss him so goddamn much. You might be the only one who knows how big the hole in my life is now that he's gone."

I held him tightly and nodded. "I do. I just wish I could make better decisions."

"We all want to do that, kiddo. Hindsight is truly twenty-twenty. If we were given the end from the beginning then we can make the right choices all the time and live purely tranquil lives, you know?"

I glanced up and smiled through my tears. "But then we would be gods."

"And what fun is there in that?" He smiled and moved back to wipe the tears off my cheek. "McAdams loved your dad too, Terra. He's gone through a lot lately, and I think that's the only reason I haven't kicked his ass off the team. He's close to Jeremy Denning, so the kid getting popped for steroids hit Daniel harder than he'd want anyone to know." He released me fully. "He was almost a mentor to the kid."

"I know." I wiped away my tears. "I'm sure we have a lawsuit of some sort coming from Oakland, or at least Paul Thompson. Danny just beat him to a bloody pulp down here a few minutes ago. You just missed the show."

Joe glanced at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. "Fucking guy is going to have to pull himself together."

"I wish I could help with that, but I don't know what to do." I crossed my arms over my chest.

He tilted his head back down as his face filled with sorrow. "Maybe just talk to him about everything. He's not going to bring anything up to you or anyone else. Guys don't do that." He smiled sadly. "Ask me about the night your father died."

The tension in the air grew so thick that I almost couldn't catch my breath.

"What happened the night my dad died, Joe?" I reached out and took one of his hands in mine. I could remember a time when his hand dwarfed mine when he would toss me to my dad in the air, and my dad would toss me back.

"He wanted to go home, but Danny pushed him to come to Ruska's and hang out with the team."

"Oh, no." I lifted my free hand and pressed it to my lips. The pressure and pain Danny had to be carrying around left me feeling ill.

"Yeah." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I told Martin it would be good to see the guys outside of the field. He needed to reconnect with them. So, he finally agreed thanks to Danny's request and my prodding."

"Joe. You know it's not your fault that my father died. That's ridiculous."

"I know that’s what you believe, but I can't shake that it is partly my fault."

"No." I squeezed his hand and stepped closer. "Someone hit you guys going fifty miles per hour. We're lucky you both didn't die when the car rolled."

"I sometimes wish I would have." He glanced up and locked eyes with me. "I'm not taking up for Danny, Terra because he's being an idiot, but I am telling you that there's a lot going on inside that kid. Step up and help him out, or move back and let someone else do it."

He pulled me into a tight hug as I took quick breaths through my nose. It felt almost like the world was closing in around me, and the only person I wanted to comfort me was the one that kept striking out to hurt me.

It was because he was hurting, but it didn't matter. I was defenseless against him.

"Come on. We got a ballgame to win." He moved back and offered me his arm. "Let's go pull this one out of the shitter for your father."

"You know he could care less if we win or not." I slipped my arm into Joe's. "He used to say that as long as we were all-"

"Having fun?" He finished my sentence and laughed. "Try again. That was a cute thing to say to a sweet little girl. Your father was a tiger, a fighter, a winner. Much like the pitcher you've given your heart too."

I smiled and released him. "Thanks for everything. I don't look at you with an ounce of blame, nor does my dad, Joe. We both love you, and I'm grateful that you're here to be the glue during this transition."

"Me too, kiddo." He leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Now, get upstairs where you belong unless you plan on picking up a bat or a glove and helping an old fella out?"

I laughed. "Not a chance."

He walked away, and a part of my heart healed. Maybe Danny was hurting too much to be the man I needed or even wanted him to be right now. He had so much going on in his life. I just needed to figure out what part I was supposed to play, or if the season for us to be together was officially over. The thought of living without him caused my heart to shrink in my chest.

So maybe just backing off a little to let him heal was the answer. It sounded like a good idea in my head, but I knew myself far too well. There was no way I could let the idea of us go and still remain owner of the team. Having him in my face all the time would do me in.

"Stop it," I mumbled and made my way to get a hot dog. I didn't have to make any decisions right then, and it was probably best that I didn't.

I pulled out my phone and texted Danny, asking about his Dad. We were friends before we were lovers, and if nothing else, I was his boss. I could ask how his dad was doing seeing that I was genuinely interested.

I got a one word answer back and my heart dropped.

"Okay."

It was good to hear that his father was okay, but I knew one thing for sure... we weren't.