“‘Was’?”
“She passed away some years back of colon cancer.” And she’d been too f*****g young—by the time anyone thought to do a colonoscopy, the cancer had started to spread. Chemo and radiation had given her an extra year—long enough for her to see him play in the Olympics and for him to be recruited by the Scorpions. But then…
“You’ll be okay now,” she told him. “You go live your best life, Clancy Makem. And remember, no matter where I am, I’ll always love you.” She closed her eyes for the last time, and for the last time he cried.
“Wasn’t she the one who encouraged you to sign up for Little League baseball?” Charles asked quietly, as if he knew where Clancy’s thoughts had gone.
“Senior League actually. I was lucky when Jayne Porter took me in,” Clance said. “Some of the kids had it
