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Peyton distractedly looked around her office; Red Bedroom Records had grown and changed significantly over the last seven years. Haley had been at the label with her full time for almost the entire time, and they now had sixteen acts signed to the record label.
The two of them had brought on another full time music producer, Aaron, that Haley knew from back in the day. And they'd hired Laura, as a promotion manager, a woman Peyton knew from her time in Los Angeles, who had the contacts that Peyton hadn't had a chance to develop when she lived in the city.
The extra help meant that they hadn't had to rely on John or Syre Records as much in recent years.
Peyton turned her attention back to her computer, to the email she was working on. Unfortunately, her concentration didn't last long as she heard the door to her office slide open and her head snapped up at the intrusion.
She was the only one left in the office, and she wasn't expecting any visitors for the rest of the day. In fact, as soon as she was finished with this email, she was supposed to be heading out for the night.
It concerned her when she saw it was her eight year old son standing in the doorway of her office.
Said son that she was supposed to be picking up from basketball practice on her way home.
"Keith, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Keith shrugged in return, which was unusual for him because her son was usually very talkative. Peyton quirked an eyebrow at his odd behavior.
"I'm not late to pick you up, am I?" She checked the time on her laptop. No, definitely not late. Keith wasn't supposed to get out of practice for another twenty minutes.
Keith just shook his head no, eyes downcast.
"Does your dad know you are here?"
Her son shook his head.
"Did practice finish early? Did Skills drop you off?" She tried this time. But surely, if Skills had dropped her son off, he would have come up to say hello.
Keith shook his head again.
His silence was very disconcerting.
Peyton narrowed her eyes at her son. "Keith, how did you get here?" she asked sternly.
"I walked," he answered quietly, speaking for the first time.
"You walked? That is a twenty minute walk, Keith. That's way too far for you to go on your own," she admonished.
"I know, I'm sorry," he apologized.
Keith was eight now - almost nine, thank you very much, if you asked him - and she knew he wanted a little independence, but with their family history of psycho stalkers and kidnapping nannies, they were a little more cautious than most.
They had recently started letting him walk to his friend Tommy's house on his own. His family lived a few streets over, and she and Lucas knew his parents. His parents always let them know when Keith arrived and when he left.
But her eight year old walking twenty minutes on his own from the elementary school gym? She was not okay with that, and she knew Lucas wouldn't be either.
She could tell there was something bothering Keith, and there was no point in her getting angry at him now; that would only make things worse.
She could punish him later if she felt he deserved it, but for now, she just needed to find out what was bothering her child.
She hit send on her email and closed the screen to her laptop. She pushed herself away from her desk and made her way across the office.
She enveloped her son in a hug and ruffled his hair. His hair was still curly but had darkened over the years to a light brown, closer to Peyton's natural hair color.
"Mom," he whined as she laughed.
"What's the matter, baby?" she asked apprehensively, suddenly serious.
"I'm not a baby anymore, Mom," he mumbled.
"You'll always be my baby, no matter how old you get," she insisted, and she dragged him over to the couch in her office and ordered him to sit.
"Okay, so tell me what is bothering you," she demanded. She wrapped her arm around Keith's shoulder and pulled him into her side.
He claimed he was too big for her to hold him like this anymore, but she never listened. The only time he ever let her hold him anymore was when he was sick or feeling sad, so she was going to take advantage of this while she could.
"I wanted to talk to you," he confessed quietly.
"Okay, but why couldn't you have waited until after I picked you up from basketball practice, or we were at home?" she questioned.
"Because dad and June are always around," he answered.
"And since when is that a bad thing?" she teased lightly.
Her son and daughter fought like any siblings, and her daughter could certainly hold her own against her older brother.
She knew that June, being the younger sibling, sometimes got on Keith's nerves, but he had always been an excellent big brother, and she knew he loved his sister very much.
"It's not. I just wanted to talk to you alone."
"You could have just asked to talk to me alone," she told him. "You didn't have to sneak out of basketball practice to get my undivided attention."
Keith was quiet and buried his face into her shoulder. She traced soothing circles over his back.
"What's the matter, baby? Is it something at school?" she prodded, and she felt him shake his head 'no' against her shoulder.
"Then what is it? I can't help you if you don't tell me what the problem is, Keith," she said reasonably.
"I don't want to play basketball anymore, Mom," he mumbled against her shoulder.
She grabbed his shoulders and gently pushed him away from her, so she was looking him in the eye. "I thought you liked basketball?" she asked.
"I do, I like going to the river court and playing around with dad and Uncle Nathan, and Jamie, and Lottie," he explained. "Even June," he admitted reluctantly, and Peyton smiled.
"But," she prompted.
Keith hesitated. "But I don't want to play basketball for a sport anymore."
"Okay, and that's fine," she reassured him. "But why would you want to talk to me about this? Why not your dad?"
"Because he's a basketball coach, mom," Keith sighed, exasperated as if the answer was so obvious.
"And?" she responded as she arched an eyebrow at him, laughing lightly. "He's also an author and a screenwriter. So what is this really about?"
"I don't want him to be angry with me or disappointed in me," Keith confessed and diverted his gaze, hanging his head dejectedly, his shoulders slumped.
"Keith," she said softly as she pulled him to her again. "Why would you think your dad would be angry or disappointed that you don't want to play basketball?"
"Because he loves it so much," Keith faltered.
"Yes, but he loves you more, and he just wants you to be happy," she said, hugging Keith tighter.
Lucas had told Keith a little of his history with Dan and how volatile his relationship with the sport had been and how Lucas didn't want that for his children. And they would never try and force their kids to do something they didn't want to do. So she couldn't fathom why Keith would think Lucas would be disappointed with him just because he didn't want to play basketball.
"Your dad loves you, Keith," Peyton asserted. "He doesn't care if you don't want to play a sport at all. He'll be happy if all you want to do is learn piano," she said and poked him in the side, making him squirm.
"Mom," Keith whined.
"Aunt Haley will love that," Peyton joked.
Haley had been teaching Keith to play the piano since he was five. He seemed to enjoy playing the instrument, much to Haley's delight, as neither of her children seemed to inherit her love for playing music.
Keith's face suddenly became serious. "Do you really think he won't be disappointed that I don't want to play basketball?" Keith asked timidly.
"Of course he won't, baby," she replied, squeezing his shoulders again. "You said you still like to go down to the river court and play, right? You just don't want to play basketball for a sport?" Keith nodded. "Your dad will be fine. You don't need to worry about his reaction."
"But, you can't just ditch basketball practice again, do you understand me?" she said, her voice stern. "Your dad and I need to know where you are. Something serious could have happened to you, walking here on your own."
"I won't, I promise," he agreed.
She gave his shoulder a final squeeze before releasing him and getting up off the couch.
"All right, let's go and save your dad from your sister," she said with a laugh. She held her hands out for Keith to take and pulled him up from the couch.
"When we get home, do you want me to speak to your dad first, or do you think you're up to it?" she asked, and she wrapped her arm around his shoulder as she pulled him into her side.
"Do you think you could talk to him first?" Keith replied, chewing on his bottom lip nervously as Peyton nodded.
She walked back across her office and retrieved her handbag from her desk, slinging it over her shoulder. "All right," she said. "Let's go home."
Home was now the house Peyton had been gifted by her father when she was pregnant with Keith. When they had decided they wanted to try for another baby, they made the decision to move back to the larger house.
Lucas insisted on paying Larry for the house, and Peyton had not been able to talk him out of it. Despite her calling him out on his hypocrisy for accepting a house from his mother, but not her father, he wouldn't budge. Larry took the money, but he had confided in Peyton that he put it into a college fund for their children to use when they were older. Lucas didn't know about it yet.
They had fully renovated the house before they moved in because the place had really been decorated with Peyton in mind, and she and Lucas wanted to make it their house.
Peyton's home office had hardly been used when she lived there and was turned into what is now June's bedroom. And they built into the unfinished basement and made that into a workspace for Peyton and Lucas. Lucas got the most use out of the space.
Peyton kept her arm wrapped around Keith's shoulder as they exited the studio and made their way out to the Comet, despite Keith protesting the entire time.
... ... ...
"All right, June, are your hands clean?" Lucas asked his four year old daughter.
"Yes!" she responded loudly, and she nodded eagerly, her blonde curls bouncing with the movement. Keith may have been Lucas' twin, but June was all Peyton, with green eyes and curly hair. Her hair was blonde, as Keith's had been at this age, and they were waiting to see if it would stay light like Lucas' hair or darken as Keith's had.
Lucas pulled her step stool up to the counter and placed the salad bowl and a head of lettuce in front of her as she climbed up.
"Do you think you can handle shredding the lettuce for me?"
"Yep!" she answered and nodded eagerly again.
"Okay, get to it," he told her, and he turned his attention to the chicken laid out in front of him. He sliced the chicken breast before adding it to the flour.
He kept a close watch on June, and he thought she looked like she was having a little too much fun tearing the lettuce leaves and tossing the pieces into the salad bowl.
Lucas tried to get Keith and June involved with the food prep in the kitchen as much as possible, giving them age appropriate tasks to complete with him.
Peyton was a terrible cook, and no matter how hard he tried, hardly anything she made turned out any good. But, he was determined that his children were not going to be terrible cooks like their mother.
He had to give Peyton some credit, she had breakfast pretty down pat now, and her baking wasn't too bad.
Still, he did not let her anywhere near dinner. That was his domain. He cooked, and she cleaned up afterward.
It was just Lucas and June at home at the moment. Peyton was still at the studio, and Keith was at basketball practice. Lucas enjoyed the time he got to spend with each of his children individually, listening to them talk about their days, seeing their personalities shine without any other distractions.
The two of them worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before June spoke.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Junebug?" Lucas replied.
"What does shit mean?"
Lucas stopped what he was doing, putting down the knife in his hand, and turned to face his daughter. "Where did you hear that word, June?" he asked, his lips pursed, trying to hide his amusement.
His daughter giggled. "Mama says it all the time, but she won't tell me what it means," June explained.
Lucas took a moment, contemplating what to say. "Well, that's not a very nice word, Junebug. And I might just have to chat to your mom when she comes home about using that word when your big ears are around," Lucas chuckled.
As if on cue, the front door opened, and Peyton and Keith walked through the door. Keith headed straight to his bedroom, and after ridding herself of her jacket and bag, Peyton made her way into the kitchen so she could join her husband and daughter.
She stopped before entering the kitchen, watching father and daughter together for a moment, and she smiled contently. Lucas was an amazing father, and she could seriously watch him with their children all day.
If someone had told her nine years ago when she was pregnant with Keith that this was how her life would turn out, she never would have believed them. Sure, not everything life handed them had been easy or happy, but they'd always dealt with it together, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hi, Juju," Peyton greeted her daughter and placed a kiss on the top of her daughter's head.
June's hair was all tousled after a day of running around at school, and her clothes were a mess. Peyton shook her head. She had no idea how June managed to get herself so dirty after a day of preschool.
"Hi, Mama," June said excitedly, and she reached up, wrapping her arms tightly around Peyton's neck, and insisted that her mother pick her up as she wrapped her legs around Peyton's waist.
Peyton groaned at June's weight in her arms. The girl was tall for her age, and it was seriously getting hard for Peyton to carry the four year old anymore.
"You're going to be too big for me to pick up soon," she laughed.
"But you'll still do it," June insisted confidently.
Peyton chuckled. "Yeah, I will."
June's face changed, suddenly serious. "Mama, you're in trouble," she said.
"Oh no, am I? What did I do?" Peyton asked, feigning innocence. She had an idea where this was headed.
"You used a bad word. Daddy said he's going to have a talk to you," she told Peyton matter of factly.
Peyton cringed. She knew exactly what her daughter was referring to, well, the most recent occurrence at least. She'd had June with her at the studio last week, and she had spilled water on some papers on her desk. She and Lucas tried not to curse in front of the kids too much, and Peyton was usually the one that slipped up the most.
"Oh, is he now?" Peyton laughed and turned to her husband.
Lucas wiped his hands on a dishtowel and wrapped his arms around both Peyton and June.
"Hi, babe," he said before he leaned down and pressed his lips against Peyton's.
"Hi," Peyton replied and melted into his kiss.
"Eww, Daddy, kissing's gross!" June cried as she pushed at Lucas' chest until he backed away from the two of them.
Lucas laughed, he always thought that if he ever had a daughter, she would be a total daddy's girl, and while he was still incredibly close with his daughter, June was very much attached to Peyton.
"You know what, Junie, it is! And I hope you never change your mind."
Lucas leaned down and kissed June on the cheek. It had been a few days since he had shaved, and June giggled as his scruff tickled her cheek. "Daddy, you're prickly," she whined.
Peyton laughed again and placed June back down on her step stool and watched her as she resumed ripping into the head of lettuce again. Peyton stood between June and Lucas, leaning against the counter as she looked on, watching Lucas as he finished slicing the chicken for their dinner.
"How was work today?" he asked.
"It was good. Mia and Haley got two new tracks down today," she announced proudly.
"And Blake?" Red Bedroom Records' newest recording artist. He had just signed to the label a couple of months ago.
"He's making progress, but we haven't got him into the studio yet," she answered.
"How's the writing going?" Peyton questioned, turning the subject around to Lucas' day.
"My novel or the screenplay?" he clarified. Lucas was currently writing his fifth novel and working on his fourth screenplay for Julian.
Peyton shrugged. "Both, I guess."
"The novel is coming along. I got about ten pages done today, and they all stayed," he chuckled.
"Luke, that's great!" she exclaimed.
"The screenplay is just not coming," he sighed heavily. "I didn't get anything new down today, and Julian wants the first draft at the end of the month."
"What's the problem?" Peyton asked, concerned.
"The book is trash, Peyton. I don't know if I can do it," he told her as he added the skillet to the stove, adding oil and butter to the pan and turning on the heat.
"Then don't," Peyton insisted. "It's not like we need the money. I'm sure Julian will understand."
"He's offering me nearly twice what he paid for the last screenplay," he replied.
Peyton's eyes went wide in surprise. "Damn, you better get writing then," she joked, patting his back.
Sure, they weren't hurting for money. Peyton made good money from the label now, as did Lucas from his books and writing for Julian, but they would be idiots to turn down a few hundred thousand dollars.
"But, seriously, Luke, whatever you decide, I'll support you. If you don't want to write the screenplay, don't do it."
"Mama," June piped up, interrupting her parents' conversation.
"Yes, Juju?" Peyton replied and turned her attention back to her daughter.
"Can I have a sleepover with Meli this weekend?" the four year old asked.
"Not this weekend, baby," Peyton told her apologetically, and she smoothed down the curls on her daughter's head.
"But-" June tried to argue.
Peyton cut her off. "You're having a sleepover at Aunt Brooke's with Amelia next weekend."
"But I want Meli to come here!" June exclaimed petulantly, stamping her foot. "Keith's having a sleepover with Lottie this weekend!"
"That's because it is our turn to look after Charlotte on Saturday so your Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan can have a night out," Peyton said.
It was a tradition they had started years ago before June was even born. Each couple had one kid free Saturday night once a month, no questions asked.
This weekend was Nathan and Haley's weekend, and it was Peyton and Lucas' turn to look after Charlotte for the weekend. Jamie was now fourteen and claimed he was too old to join in on the sleepovers anymore.
Next weekend was Peyton and Lucas' kid free weekend, and Keith and June would be staying with Julian and Brooke for the night.
Lucas placed his hand on Peyton's hip and leaned down to whisper in her ear, so June couldn't hear. "You know you're never going to win. You may as well ask Brooke if she wants us to take Jude and Amelia this weekend."
Peyton glowered at her husband and shook her head. "You spoil her too much. You're going to create a monster."
But she relented and turned back to June. "Okay, no promises! But, I'll ask Aunt Brooke if you can have a sleepover this weekend."
"Yay!" June squealed excitedly, jumping up and down. She slipped on her stool, but Peyton managed to catch her and set her upright before she fell.
"Careful, honey," she admonished lightly.
"Juju, I need to talk to your dad alone for a minute. Can you go to your room, please?" Peyton asked.
"Why?" June asked curiously.
"Because I asked you to," Peyton replied.
"But then I can't hear what you are talking about," June answered earnestly. Peyton heard Lucas snort beside her. She pursed her lips, he was not helping, and she poked him in the side.
"That's kind of the point, Juju," Lucas answered for Peyton.
"Do I have to?" June sulked.
"Yes, you have to. It will only be for a few minutes," Peyton promised.
"Okay," June agreed and jumped down off the step stool onto the kitchen floor. Peyton shook her head and grabbed the lettuce her daughter had abandoned.
It looked like something had been gnawing on the middle of the lettuce. A large bite had been taken out of the middle of it, and Peyton sure as hell didn't do it. She didn't think her husband had done either. So, that only left one other culprit.
"June Penelope Scott," Peyton called. June stopped in her tracks, skidding to a stop before she left the kitchen. "Did you just take a big ol' bite out of the middle of this lettuce?"
"Yup," June nodded, popping the 'p', a cheeky grin on her face.
"Did you eat it or spit it into the salad bowl?" Peyton questioned. She tilted the salad bowl toward her and eyed it dubiously.
"I ate it," she said simply before she skipped out of the room.
Peyton watched her go with a longing expression on her face. As much as June kept her and Lucas on their toes - she came into the world fast, and just never stopped - she was getting older, and Peyton missed having a baby around the house.
"She is so your daughter," Lucas chuckled beside. "You know that's all you, right?"
Peyton shook her head. "Actually, I think Brooke and I may have switched the girls by accident one day when they were babies, and June is all Brooke," Peyton laughed.
There was only ten weeks difference between their two youngest children, and somehow, Peyton's daughter had ended up the peppier of their two girls, while Amelia was the more reserved, subdued of the two. Brooke liked to joke that Peyton somehow gave birth to Brooke's daughter.
Lucas contemplated it and nodded slightly. "Well, I did always think Amelia bore a striking resemblance to me." Peyton laughed loudly and shoved his arm.
"I can't believe she goes to actual school next year," Peyton sighed wistfully.
"Good luck to her teacher," Lucas exclaimed with a laugh.
June and Amelia had started Pre-K this school year, both missing the cut off for kindergarten by a few months.
They lasted all of two days before Peyton and Lucas and Brooke and Julian were pulled aside by the teacher to tell them they would have to transfer one of the girls to another class because they could not get any work done when the two four year olds were together.
"My babies are growing up too quickly," Peyton grumbled sadly.
Lucas raised an eyebrow at her before he added the chicken to the skillet to cook. Peyton came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she leaned her head against his back.
"You know, we've only just turned thirty. We could totally have another kid," she hinted.
"No way," Lucas said adamantly. "Not after what happened when you gave birth to June."
Peyton dropped her hands from his waist, frustrated. She returned to the counter and picked up where June left off with the salad. She chopped a carrot before adding it to the bowl.
The topic of more kids had always been a sore spot for them since they'd had June. Peyton wanted another; Lucas was not as eager.
"Peyton," Lucas sighed. He really did not want to do this again.
"The doctor said that might not happen again, Luke. That it could have just been a fluke."
"But she also said there is a chance that it could happen again," Lucas argued, and he turned to face her.
It wasn't that Lucas didn't want to have more children with Peyton. But god, before June was born, he always imagined they would have more than two kids. He always said he'd have as many kids as she wanted, and now he was the one telling her no.
But Peyton's delivery with June had been hard, and there had been complications. Thankfully, Peyton had been okay, but Lucas did not want to risk Peyton's health trying for another baby.
In between Keith and June, Peyton had also suffered a loss. It had been a traumatic experience for both of them, but Peyton especially. And Lucas would be lying if he said there wasn't a period where he thought their relationship would not survive the loss.
Lucas loved his life. He had an amazing wife, and they had two healthy children - that was enough for him. He didn't want to do anything that could potentially destroy that.
"Also, do you really want to chance having another June running around?" Lucas taunted as he tried to lighten the mood.
He didn't want this to turn into a full blown argument. They didn't argue often, but it was usually the topic of more children when they did.
"You know, a minute ago, you were all gung ho about having five kids in the house this weekend," Peyton countered, her frustration ebbing away.
"Yeah, three of whom we get to send home on Sunday afternoon," Lucas reasoned. "Knowing our luck, we would try for one more and end up with triplets."
Serious now, Lucas came up behind Peyton and wrapped his arms around her waist this time. "You hemorrhaged, Peyton. I'm not willing to risk that again. I can't lose you. Keith and June can't lose you."
"Fine," Peyton said, and she leaned back into him. She would drop the subject for now, but she would get him to cave one day.
"So, what are you making for dinner?" she asked as she watched Lucas return to the stove.
"Chicken Piccata," he answered.
Peyton hummed. "Mmm, I love when you make that."
"I know," he chuckled.
Peyton laughed. "You're just trying to get lucky tonight."
"I don't need to cook you food for that," Lucas said, smirking at her suggestively.
"You know," Peyton started, and she cocked her head at him, a mischievous smile on her face. "We had some pretty amazing sex when I was pregnant with June."
Lucas scoffed in mock annoyance, his eyes narrowed at her. "Are you saying it's not now?"
"No, that's not what I said," Peyton laughed again.
Lucas sighed as he returned to the food on the stove. "Look, I feel like our family is pretty complete, but if you are serious about wanting another baby, we can talk about other options that don't involve you almost dying."
"Don't be so dramatic, Lucas," Peyton scoffed this time. "I did not almost die. It was not that serious!"
"So, what did you actually want to talk to me about?" Lucas asked, deciding to just change the subject. "Because I know it wasn't about us having another kid."
"So, take a guess what your son did today?" Peyton stated teasingly.
"My son?" Lucas guffawed.
"My daughter, your son," she said.
"Okay, what did my son do today?" Lucas chuckled, taking the bait. "Where is Keith, by the way? He's usually in here telling me about his day by now."
"I sent him to his room when we got home," she said as she chopped and added tomatoes and cucumber into the bowl.
"Is he being punished?" Lucas asked and tilted his head at her curiously.
"Partly. He skipped out on basketball practice today," Peyton confessed.
"But I dropped him off. I saw him go inside," Lucas insisted, confused, his brow furrowed.
"I know," she replied. "And as soon as you drove away, he skipped out, and he walked all the way to the studio."
"What? He walked to the studio?" Lucas asked incredulously.
"Yep," Peyton nodded.
"That's like a twenty minute walk."
"I know."
"I'm going to have to talk to Skills about letting me know if Keith doesn't turn up again," Lucas said, and he shook his head in disbelief as he removed the chicken from the skillet and added the remaining ingredients for the sauce, allowing it to simmer.
Keith had always been such a good kid. He was their easier child. Lucas didn't know why he would suddenly try to rebel by skipping basketball practice.
"He's only eight. I thought we'd have a few years before he started pulling stuff like this. Do you think he's done this before?" he wondered.
"No, I don't think so," she reassured him. "And from the sounds of it, we may not have to worry about him going to basketball practice for much longer."
"What are you talking about?" Lucas questioned.
"That's what he came to see me about today, Luke," Peyton started.
She crossed the room and folded herself into Lucas' side, and he gladly wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
She had told Keith that Lucas wouldn't be angry about him not wanting to play basketball, and she knew he wouldn't be, but her son had been right about one thing. His father loved the sport, and he loved sharing it with his children. And just because he wasn't going to be angry didn't mean that it wouldn't be hard to tell him.
"What's going on, Peyt?" he asked.
She took a deep breath. "Keith says he doesn't want to play on the team anymore, and he was scared to tell you. He wanted to talk to me alone, without you or June around."
"Why would he be scared to talk to me about that?" Lucas asked, clearly hurt at what she had just told him.
She knew it wasn't that Keith didn't want to play basketball that had him bothered, but that their son had been too scared to come to him about wanting to quit the sport.
Lucas' shoulders slumped, and he leaned against the counter. "Have I really been that bad, Peyt? It's just a sport. I don't care if he doesn't play basketball. I just want him to be happy."
"No, honey, of course, you haven't. I know you just want him to be happy," Peyton consoled, and she placed her hand against Lucas' back and rubbed circles between his shoulder blades. "And I told him that, but he's a kid. I think he just got himself so worked up about what might happen that it got to him."
"He wants to talk to you," Peyton continued. "I just thought I would give you a heads up before you go in there."
Lucas nodded and pressed his lips to her temple before he stepped out of her embrace.
"I'll go talk to him now," he said before adding the chicken back into the sauce.
"You finish the salad. Don't touch the chicken," he threatened playfully.
Lucas stopped by June's bedroom on his way to see Keith, to let her out of her room. He found her hanging upside down off the side of her bed. And it looked like she had been that way for a while - her face was all red.
"You right there?" he asked her, laughing lightly.
June rolled backward off the bed, thumping onto the floor. "Can I come out now?" she asked eagerly.
"Yes, Junebug."
"Finally!" she yelled dramatically.
June rushed over to him and threw herself at his legs, hugging them tightly. He laughed and tilted her head back so she was looking up at him.
"Go and supervise your mom in the kitchen and make sure she doesn't ruin our dinner," he told her conspiratorially.
"Okay," the four year old replied enthusiastically and ran back into the kitchen.
"Mama," June yelled. "Daddy says I have to make sure you don't ruin dinner!"
"Not funny, Luke!" Peyton called after him.
Lucas chuckled to himself as he continued down the hallway to Keith's bedroom. He knocked on the door before he opened it and ducked into the room.
The room hadn't changed much over the years. The walls were still green, but all traces of the animals from Keith's nursery had been removed years ago and replaced, mostly with sports paraphernalia.
Lucas smiled to himself as he caught sight of his son. Keith was sitting on his bed, leaning back against the wall as he twirled his stuffed elephant in his hands.
The stuffed toy had affectionately been nicknamed Elly. Keith had not been able to say elephant, and when he spoke, it sounded like he was saying Elly. So the nickname stuck. He knew Peyton liked it because, obviously, it reminded her of Ellie.
The elephant had become worn and tattered over the years, and despite Keith saying he was too old for stuffed animals now, they couldn't get rid of it. Because it was times like this that they knew it still brought him comfort.
"Hey, bud," Lucas spoke for the first time since entering the room.
Keith stopped twirling the stuffed elephant in his hands, embarrassed at being caught playing with a baby toy and shoved it under his pillow out of sight.
Lucas smiled at his son. "You know, you're not too old for your stuffed elephant. You've had that thing since you were a week old."
"I'm not a baby, dad," Keith mumbled.
"I never said you were." Lucas crossed the room and sat next to Keith, pushing himself back, so he was leaning against the wall next to his son.
"Why did you think you couldn't come to me about not wanting to play basketball anymore?" Lucas asked.
Keith shrugged and leaned his head against Lucas' shoulder. Lucas responded by wrapping his arm around Keith's shoulder.
"I don't know. I just thought you might be upset or angry that I didn't want to play anymore. You love the game so much, and some of the parents get real crazy at the games."
Lucas chuckled. "And have I ever been one of those parents?"
Keith shook his head. "No."
"Exactly," Lucas answered. "I don't care what sport you play or if you don't want to play sports at all. As long as you're happy."
"Thanks, dad."
"I do want you to finish out the season, though," Lucas said. "There's only a few weeks left before it's over. Do you think you can do that?"
Keith nodded. "Yes."
"So, is there another sport you had in mind? Or did you just want to take it easy for a while?"
"I want to play baseball," Keith mumbled.
Lucas nodded knowingly. Jamie liked baseball, and they went to most of his games. Keith idolized his older cousin, and he always wanted to throw a ball around with Jamie when he had the chance. Jude also played, and Julian coached for his team.
But Lucas suspected Keith's primary motivation for wanting to switch to baseball was his best friend, Tommy. Tommy and his older brothers also played the sport.
"We can do that," Lucas said. "Once basketball season is over, we'll look at getting you signed up for baseball, okay?"
"Okay," Keith agreed.
"All right, dinner should be ready now. Your mom and sister are waiting for us," Lucas announced. He stood up and pulled Keith up off his bed with him.
Keith stopped and looked at Lucas, horrified. "Mom didn't cook, did she?"
Lucas laughed. "No, I cooked, and she was under strict instructions not to touch anything. June's been supervising her."
"That really doesn't make me feel any better," Keith joked.
"Come on, get moving," Lucas chuckled, pushing Keith out the door into the hallway.
... ... ...
Peyton sat down on the couch with a cup of coffee and a copy of the first draft of Lucas' latest manuscript. The house was quiet, almost too quiet.
Their home was rarely ever this silent, not with their kids in the house, but Lucas had taken June with him to the river court, and they were meeting Nathan, Jamie, and Charlotte there. Keith had not wanted to go, and the last Peyton had seen her son, he was reading in his bedroom.
"Mama," Keith said quietly, from the entrance to the living room, interrupting her concentration.
Peyton's head snapped up. Keith hadn't called her mama since he was six. She scrutinized him, standing there on the other side of the room. His eyes were red as if he'd been crying.
"What's wrong, Keith?"
He didn't say anything, just stood there silently, wringing something in his hands, and Peyton couldn't help but remember that afternoon in her office when Keith announced he no longer wanted to play basketball.
"Keith," Peyton prodded.
He didn't say anything, but he burst into tears. Peyton quickly tossed the manuscript onto the coffee table. She crossed the room and pulled her son into her arms.
"Keith, tell me what's wrong?" she asked gently, stroking his hair as he cried against her shoulder, his tears wetting her shirt.
"Is dad my real dad?" he sobbed against her chest.
Peyton let out a strangled laugh, taken aback by his question. Keith was practically Lucas' twin. There was no doubt they were father and son. "What? Why would you think Lucas isn't your dad?"
"Baseball," Keith mumbled and held up the pieces of paper in his hand. Peyton hadn't paid too much attention to them when he first entered the room.
Peyton took the papers from him and inspected them. He had a photocopy of his current birth certificate, and his original birth certificate, where his last name was Sawyer and Lucas wasn't on the document. They hadn't had a need for it since his birth certificate had been reissued, but they kept it just in case it was ever needed. She knew the document was kept in a file in a drawer of Lucas' desk, along with the rest of their important documents.
"Keith," Peyton admonished. "Did you go snooping through your dad's desk?"
Keith nodded.
Peyton sighed. The little league forms were sitting on their dining table. They were taking Keith to get registered for the start of the season next week. They needed a copy of Keith's birth certificate to go with the forms. He must have gone through the little league forms and found the photocopy of his birth certificate.
Sometimes, Peyton thought her son was too smart for his own good. Just the fact that his birth certificate was reissued and dated almost a year after his birth had been enough for him to go snooping through his parents' records.
They hadn't intentionally been hiding that time of their lives from their children. They honestly didn't think about what had happened in those early days much anymore.
The last time they had spoken about it had been when Keith was still a toddler, probably sometime before his second birthday. Peyton didn't even remember exactly when it was, it was that long ago.
They had decided that they would tell Keith about everything that happened - the events leading up to his birth and everything that happened in the months after - when he was a bit older and would be able to understand the situation a little more easily.
Peyton sighed. She hadn't wanted to have this conversation with him now, and she didn't want to have this conversation without Lucas present. She thought Keith was still too young to fully grasp the brevity of the situation, but she couldn't make Keith wait until Lucas got home. She would have to give him the answers he needed now.
"All right. Go take a seat. I'll tell you everything," Peyton said, reassuring.
"Wait, it's true! Dad adopted me?" Keith cried.
"Oh, Keith, no!" Peyton insisted quickly. "That is not what this is at all," she assured him, gently stroking his cheek.
"Go sit," she told him firmly. "I need to go and get something. I'll be back in a minute."
She watched Keith as he sat on the couch before she left the room. Her chest ached, knowing she was the one that had caused him this pain. That it was her choices that had put them here.
Maybe they had done the wrong thing? Perhaps they should have just been open about their past from the beginning?
She found what she was looking for in Lucas' study; the scrapbook she made for him on his first father's day and then the photo album that contained a few of Lucas' baby pictures.
Once she had what she needed, she returned to Keith in the living room. She sat next to him on the couch, opened the photo album to the page she wanted, and passed it to him.
"What is showing me my baby pictures supposed to do?" Keith shrugged.
Peyton smiled and wrapped her arm around Keith's shoulder. This is why she wanted to show him Lucas' baby pictures; not even Keith could tell that it wasn't a picture of himself. They looked so much alike.
"That's not you as a baby. That's Lucas."
Keith's eyes went wide, and he looked up at her. "That's dad?"
Peyton nodded. "Yes, honey. You might have my hair and my eyes, but you are your dad's twin," she said. "Of course, he is your father."
"I've told you that I was adopted, and I didn't find out until I was seventeen. So, why would you think that your dad and I would keep something like that from you?" she asked him.
"Then why was my last name Sawyer when I was born? Why wasn't dad on my birth certificate?" Keith responded, confused.
Peyton sighed again; she needed a moment to figure out how to best approach this with him.
They tried never to lie to their kids. Sure, they might hold back information they didn't think they were ready for, and Peyton thought he was still too young to fully understand the situation, but she couldn't outright lie to him about what happened.
He was already so hurt and confused over the situation, and Peyton didn't want to add to that.
"Okay, so you know that your dad and I weren't married when you were born?" Keith nodded.
"Or when your sister was born, for that matter," Peyton chuckled.
Keith nodded again. "You and dad got married two years ago," he said, smiling slightly.
"Right," Peyton confirmed, bumping his shoulder lightly.
Peyton hadn't expected that it would take five years for her and Lucas to finally get married, but that was just how it fell. However, Peyton would admit that she did like that both of their children were present on the day and could celebrate with them.
"But there's one thing your dad and I didn't tell you. Your dad and I weren't in a relationship when you were born," she confessed.
"You weren't?" he asked, bewildered, his brows furrowed. Peyton ruffled his hair, leaning into him. He did the exact same broody squint his father did.
Peyton shook her head. "No. Before I knew I was pregnant with you, your dad and I..." she trailed off, thinking of the best way to word it. She didn't want to say anything that could potentially make Keith think it was Lucas' fault because none of it had ever been Lucas' fault.
"We had a fight," is what she settled on telling him.
"And I decided to go on tour with Mia. While I was gone, I found out I was pregnant with you," she explained. She wrapped her arms around him again, squeezing him tightly. "When I came home from the tour, I didn't make the best decisions, and I didn't tell your dad about you right away."
"He knew I was pregnant, but he didn't know that you were his baby." Peyton was quiet for a moment. "I didn't tell him he was your father until you were seven months old. That's why he wasn't on your birth certificate, and your last name was Sawyer."
She reached for the scrapbook, flicking through the pages, trying to find the spot she was looking for. Keith had seen it before, but he was young the last time they'd pulled it out, and she didn't know how much of it he actually remembered.
"I don't want you to think that your dad wasn't there for you during that time because he was, every day," she told him. "But-" Keith took the book from her hands and slammed it shut, pulling it out of Peyton's hands and into his lap. He didn't want to look at it right now.
He was confused, and he didn't really understand what his mother had just told him, and that was making him angry. The emotions were all just getting to be a little too much.
"Keith," she started and placed her arm on his back, running her hand in circles, comfortingly. Keith stood up, and her hand fell back to the couch.
"Can I be alone?" he asked curtly, cutting her off, not looking at her.
"Of course, baby," Peyton nodded. "If you have any questions, I'm here, okay?"
She watched him, painfully, as he left the room, and she buried her head in her hands.
That was how Lucas found her when he arrived home. He walked through the front door, carrying June. The four year old claimed she was too tired to walk and insisted on being carried. She giggled as he tickled her sides, and Lucas stopped short when he saw Peyton sitting on the couch.
"Seriously, Peyt, was the book that bad?" he joked, his eyes glinting with amusement.
His expression quickly changed to one of concern when she looked up at him, and he saw her upset was genuine, and she wasn't just messing around.
Lucas placed June down and turned to her. "Go play in your room for a minute, okay?"
"Do I have to?" she whined. She looked between her mother and father. She was four; she was not a baby anymore. She could tell there was something going on that they weren't telling her.
"Yes," he told her firmly. "Here, you can play on the Switch, all right?" he bribed, taking the game console from the dock and passing it to her.
Her eyes lit up. "As long as I want?"
"As long as you want," he chuckled and stroked her hair back from her face.
Whatever went down while he was gone, he figured it couldn't hurt to have June preoccupied with her nose in a game while they sort it out.
"All right," June grumbled, still not happy about being relegated to her room. Finally, she turned and retreated to her bedroom, giving one last look over her shoulder at Peyton.
Peyton was in his arms as soon as June was out of sight, crossing the room quickly and throwing herself into his embrace. She hugged him tightly, relaxing into him.
"Hey, what's going on?" He asked, pushing her back slightly, his hand cupping her cheek.
"Keith went snooping through your desk while you were gone. He found the original copy of his birth certificate," Peyton explained. "I had to tell him."
"Why didn't you wait for me, Peyton?" Lucas replied gruffly. They had agreed years ago on how they were going to approach this topic with Keith.
"You didn't see him, Luke," Peyton insisted. "He was so upset. He thought you adopted him. I couldn't make him wait until you came home."
Lucas sighed. He understood why she didn't wait for him. On the other hand, he didn't know if he would have made Keith wait either if he had been the one in his wife's position.
He hugged Peyton close to him, running his hands up her back. "Where is he?"
"In his bedroom."
"Come on, we'll go talk to him together," Lucas said.
Peyton stood back, shaking her head. "No, he doesn't want to see me."
"He's not going to have a choice," Lucas responded. "We're going to tell him about this together, the way we should have done it in the first place."
He kept his arm wrapped around Peyton as he led his wife down the hallway toward their son's bedroom. They stood in the doorway of Keith's bedroom, smiling sadly at their son.
Lucas hadn't wanted Peyton to have this conversation with Keith alone. He knew his wife, and she would have twisted the story so that all of Keith's anger landed solely on her because she felt she deserved it, and she wouldn't have wanted their son to be angry with him.
She wouldn't have told him about the horrible things he'd said to Peyton; the things he blamed her for that weren't her fault. Or that when he learned the truth of Keith's paternity, he had disappeared on his son and Peyton for a month.
It didn't change that Peyton had kept Keith's paternity from him for so long, but he could have handled himself a lot better at the time, and maybe if Keith had known everything that happened, all of this hurt and anger would not be directed solely at his mother.
Keith was sitting on his bed, leaning up against the wall. He had his stuffed elephant tucked under his chin as one hand stroked the ears of the toy while the other turned the pages of the scrapbook in his lap.
"Hey, bud," Luke said. Keith's head snapped up, surprised. He didn't try to hide the stuffed animal this time. The comfort it brought far outweighed the embarrassment.
They crossed the room and sat next to Keith on his bed, Peyton on one side and Lucas on the other. Keith immediately laid his head on Lucas' shoulder.
"How are you doing?" Lucas asked.
Keith pursed his lips, thinking. "I don't know," he finally answered.
"That's okay," Lucas assured him, squeezing his shoulder. "What you just learned is a lot to take in, and I'm sure it's all very confusing for you."
"That's why your dad and I wanted to wait until you were a little older to tell you. We thought you would be able to process it a little better," Peyton said, and she reached out, placing her hand on Keith's back. He leaned into her hand. He didn't shrug her touch off this time, and she felt hopeful.
Keith nodded against Lucas' shoulder and turned the pages of the scrapbook. Lucas smiled fondly at the photos on the page.
The scrapbook was one of his favorite presents that Peyton had given him over their years together. She had given it to him on his first father's day. Well, the first father's day, he knew he was a father.
Keith was still at the beginning of the scrapbook. The book started out with his childhood photos, memories of his time with his uncle Keith before it transitioned to pictures of Lucas with his son, starting the day the boy was born.
Peyton kept adding to it over the years as Keith grew, and they added June to their family.
Keith sat up, pulling his legs up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around his knees, withdrawing into himself.
"What's bothering you?" Lucas asked.
"You weren't my dad when I was a baby," Keith mumbled sadly.
"No, Keith, I was always your dad," Luke stressed to him. "I loved you like you were my own, even before I knew you were my son."
Lucas took the scrapbook from the bed and skipped straight to the pages of Keith and himself.
The first photo was of Lucas holding Keith when he was only a few hours old. Lucas hadn't even known this photo existed until Peyton had given him the scrapbook. The following picture was of Peyton, Lucas, and Keith when they were leaving the hospital.
"I was there when you were born, and I cut your umbilical cord. I brought you home to this house with your mom," Lucas said as he continued to turn the pages of the scrapbook.
On the next page, there was a picture from the night Lucas returned after being gone for three weeks during the production of An Unkindness of Ravens when he gave Keith a bath, and the baby smiled for the first time. And another of Lucas asleep on Peyton's couch, with Keith, who was only around eight weeks old, sleeping on his chest.
"I probably spent more time with you in the first six months of your life than I did with June when she was a baby," Lucas told Keith.
"Really?" he asked, surprised.
Peyton nodded. "We couldn't get June to take a bottle until after she was six months old. So I couldn't leave her with your dad for more than a couple of hours at a time."
"Can you tell me what happened now?" Keith asked quietly, looking between his parents. "I think I'm ready to talk about it."
"Of course, what exactly did your mom tell you about what happened?" Lucas responded. "Because I know your mom, and I'm willing to bet she didn't give you the whole story because she didn't want to make me look bad," Lucas quipped, looking at Peyton over Keith's head, his eyebrows raised.
Peyton averted her eyes, cursing him for knowing her so well. Lucas smiled softly before turning back to Keith.
Keith shrugged. "She said the two of you had a fight before she went on tour with Mia, and when she came home, she decided not to tell you about me."
Lucas nodded, and okay, that was about what he was expecting Peyton would tell him. No mention of what he'd said that caused her to flee.
"Did she say anything else?"
"No," Keith shook his head. "I didn't want to talk. I just wanted to be alone."
"Okay, so your mom and I didn't exactly have a fight before she left on tour with Mia-"
"Lucas, don't," Peyton cut him off, glowering at him. She didn't want him to tell Keith this part; they didn't need to go into this much detail about what happened. It was why she had intentionally not told him earlier.
"No, Peyt. It's out in the open now. We're going to tell him the truth. I'm not going to hold anything back because you don't want me to look bad," Lucas insisted.
He knew that Peyton put the blame solely on herself for everything that happened between them years ago, and when he first learned the truth, so did he.
But the further they got from what happened, the more he realized he hadn't been fair to her before she left on tour with Mia.
Peyton sighed, and Lucas turned back to Keith. "I said some pretty horrible things to your mom, and the next day she left on tour with Mia."
"What did you say?" Keith asked curiously. And Lucas smiled softly. This was more like his son, always curious, always needing to know everything.
"I told your mom I hated her and that she ruined my life," Lucas admitted, ashamed.
Keith couldn't fathom his dad ever talking to his mom like that. They were the type of parents who were embarrassing with how affectionate they were with each other. Even when they argued, he'd never heard his parents talk to each other like that.
"Why would you say that to mom?" Keith gaped, looking between his parents.
"I was angry and hurt, and I was blaming her for something that wasn't her fault," Lucas explained. "Your mom had moved back to Tree Hill not long before all of this happened."
"What did you blame her for?"
"Do you remember when you came to New York with me, and we met Lindsey?" Lucas asked.
"Yes," Keith answered, confused at the sudden change of topic. He didn't understand what the woman who used to be his father's editor had anything to do with this.
Lucas had taken Keith with him on a trip to New York not long before he turned five. Peyton had given birth to June a few months before, and Lucas wanted to give her a break from looking after two young kids full time. And he wanted to spend some extended time with just Keith for the first time since June's arrival.
Lucas had a meeting with his editor, the purpose of the trip, and they ran into Lindsey outside the Putnam and Pratt building. Keith, always curious, obviously had questions about the woman, and at the time, Lucas had just explained that she used to be his editor but wasn't anymore.
"Well, not long after your mom moved back to Tree Hill, Lindsey and I were supposed to get married, but she left me at the wedding because she thought I was still in love with your mom," Lucas said.
Keith's eyes went wide with shock. Why had he never heard this before? His dad had almost married someone else before his mom? What else had they been keeping from him?
"Wait," Keith said suddenly. "Were you still in love with mom?" he asked, accusing, but his tone was light.
Peyton laughed and pulled Keith into her side, glad that he now felt comfortable enough to talk to them about the situation and even comfortable enough to make a few jokes about his parents' dumb decisions when they were younger.
"He was," Peyton teased, smiling at Lucas over Keith's head.
Lucas shook his head at Peyton. Just the fact that they could now joke about everything that had happened back then was proof of how far they had come over the years, how secure they were with each other now.
Lucas continued. "It wasn't your mom's fault, and before I had a chance to tell her I was sorry, she'd left on tour with Mia. And what your mom also didn't tell you is that when she returned from the tour with Mia, Lindsey and I were married."
"What?" Keith exclaimed, and his eyes went wide again. His father had actually married another woman before his mom!
"It doesn't make what I did right," Peyton interjected. "But we were so young when we had you, and I made some really stupid decisions. And you were right; I took your dad away from you for the first seven months of your life." Peyton wrapped her arms around Keith tighter and pressed a kiss into the curls on top of his head.
"Even though your dad was there for you and he loved you, and we can look back on it now and realize he wouldn't have done anything differently if he'd known from the beginning. It still wasn't right." Keith returned her hug, burying his head into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered.
"Were you still married when mom told you about me?" Keith asked, looking over to Lucas.
Lucas shook his head. "No, my divorce was final before I knew I was your dad."
"What happened when you knew the truth?"
Lucas sighed. "I didn't handle the news well, and I should have handled it a lot better. I was furious at your mom for not telling me about you. Grandma was visiting at the time, and I left and went on the yacht with Grandma and Lily," he explained.
"I was gone for a month. I didn't talk to your mom at all while I was gone, and I missed a month of your life. I missed you starting to crawl for the first time. It was the first time I hadn't been there for one of your firsts. Not being there for that month is one of my biggest regrets," Lucas finished.
"What happened when you came back? Is that when you got back together?"
"Not right away," Peyton answered. "We split custody of you for a while, and you stayed with your dad at the old house when you were with him."
"Did you only get back together because of me?" Keith asked sadly, laying his head on Lucas' shoulder again.
"No, bud," Lucas shook his head. "I forgave your mother because I love her, and I wanted to be with her despite everything that happened. You having your parents together was just a bonus."
"Your mom and I love you, Keith, more than anything," Lucas assured his son.
Keith lifted his head from Lucas' shoulder, looking up at his mother and father, his eyes glinting mischievously. "More than June?"
"You know we don't play favorites," Peyton insisted, laughing lightly.
"You say you don't play favorites," Keith replied, grinning at them as he continued to look between them. "But it's me, right? Because I'm the easy one?"
Lucas laughed loudly. "Don't push it, bud. You're far from being the easy one," he muttered playfully as he poked Keith in the side, making the boy squirm.
Lucas grasped for Peyton's hand behind Keith's back, giving it a squeeze as they hugged their son. He was sure Keith would have more questions when he'd had some time to think about everything he'd just learned, but they'd cross that bridge when the time came together.
... ... ...
Baseball season was well and truly underway. It was Keith's third season playing the sport and his first season since moving out of coach pitch. To say he was excited by that fact was an understatement.
Keith loved the game, and he was good at the sport. Lucas had jumped right in with him, always helping him practice whenever the boy wanted and spending hours upon hours at the batting cages.
Peyton had no idea what was going on half the time, but she was trying to learn. June just did not care about the sport one bit.
Peyton was pretty sure the only reason they could get June to the games was the playground at the field and the ice creams at the concession stand.
Peyton and Lucas were sitting on a picnic blanket facing the baseball diamond, and June crawled into Peyton's lap, resting her head on Peyton's shoulder and throwing her arms around Peyton's neck.
"Tired, Juju?" Peyton asked, running her hand down June's back, and June nodded against her shoulder.
Peyton didn't realize June had fallen asleep until she felt the wet spot on her shoulder, and she laughed. It had been a big day for the girl. Keith's team was playing two games today, and they'd been here for hours already, and she'd spent most of it running around.
June hadn't fallen asleep in her lap like this in well over a year. She was too big to really even fit anymore, but Peyton certainly wasn't going to move her. She missed when her kids were that little that they only wanted to fall asleep in her lap.
They watched as Keith's team took the field for the first inning. Peyton spotted her son immediately, recognizable by the number twenty two on his jersey. He had adopted his namesake's jersey number when he started basketball and kept it when he moved to baseball.
Keith was playing second base, and Lucas chattered away to her about the position, telling her it was a good position, and it meant he was a strong fielder.
Peyton took his word for it; she barely knew the names of all the positions in the field, let alone what they were supposed to do. She leaned her head against Lucas' shoulder, smiling as she closed her eyes and listened as he commented on everything happening on the field for her.
Halfway through the inning, the teams switched, and Keith's team returned to the dugout. After he'd sat down, Keith turned toward Lucas and held up four fingers, and Lucas whooped.
June stirred, looking at Lucas blearily, glaring at her father for disturbing her. Peyton lifted her head from his shoulder as she laughed. "What was that?" she asked.
"He's batting fourth," Lucas replied excitedly, and Peyton looked at him, eyebrows raised, confused. "It means they think he'll get a good hit, that he'll get everyone on the bases home," he explained.
Peyton shook her head and leaned her head back against his shoulder again, wondering if it was really that serious for a bunch of nine year olds.
"What?" Lucas asked.
"Nothing," Peyton replied, grabbing his hand and interlocking their fingers. "You've just gone full baseball dad."
"It's important to Keith," Lucas said, chuckling. "So it's important to me." Lucas still preferred basketball, but he never had anything against baseball.
It was Keith's turn to bat, and Peyton lifted her head, her full attention on the game as she watched him approach the plate. Keith swung the bat at the pitch, and there was an audible clang as the ball connected with the bat. He dropped the bat and ran toward first base, rounding second, and the third base coach motioned for him to keep running. As he approached the home plate, the catcher was getting ready to make the tag. Keith dropped his body to the ground, sliding into home.