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Charlotte comes back a half hour later.

As I walk to the back room, I hear her talking to Kayla, who’s worked here since we opened the pub over fifteen years ago.

“It’s a gorgeous house,” Charlotte says. “And it’s going to be mine. Ethan knows I’m worth it. He’s kicking her out this weekend. And the kid will only be there every other week.”

My vision goes red.

“Huh,” Kayla answers as though she’s not sure how to respond.

“Kayla.” I walk toward them as if I’ve just come in, clenching my fists. “Can you give us a moment?”

She smiles, looking all too relieved to be excused from the conversation, or maybe it’s the look on my face that makes her rush out of the room.

“Charlotte…” I’ve actually never had to do this before, and I’m not so sure how to go about it. But every inch of my body wants her gone from my bar. From my life. “You’re fired.”

“What? Why?”

I can’t answer why. Because everybody hates you.

“It’s not working out. You need to leave. Now.”

“You can’t do that. Ethan will be mad.”

“I’ll talk to Ethan. Just leave.”

“Don’t I get two weeks or something?”

“I’ll pay you the two weeks, but you don’t need to come in.”

“What about tips?”

I grind my teeth.

“I’ll give you your share of the tips. Go.”

She opens her mouth one more time but doesn’t say anything. The corners of her eyes fill with tears, just enough to make me wince inside. She turns away, picks up her bag and runs out.

I adjust my cap lower. The afternoon is as beautiful as the morning was. It’s the kind of spring weather where you’re not quite sure if it’s time to switch to summer gear. I’m already sweating in my pants and we haven’t even started playing.

“If we can beat Meadowbrook on Sunday, we're in Pinecrest the week after, then it’s Clearview at home during the Spring Festival.” Garrett excitedly taps his baseball bat to the side of his cleat. I don’t know if it’s for luck or just a tic, but he does that a lot when he’s excited, which is often when it comes to baseball. “There’ll be a huge crowd that day.”

“What about the kids’ tournament?” Bryce asks.

“They’ll play in the morning, we’ll go in the evening.”

“Hopefully, it’ll be less warm.” I wipe my forehead with my arm. It’s definitely time to bring out the shorts.

Bryce elbows me in the ribs and bobs his head for me to look behind me.

Ethan storms toward the field carrying all his gear. His nostrils flare and his jaw twitches when our eyes meet.

He’s pissed!

Chase strolls next to him, an excited grin on his face.

I ignore Ethan and wink at Chase.

“Chase!” Garrett calls out. “Are you joining us today?”