She Didn't Have Time

First Base

The air was crisp, lit up by the bright lights on the baseball field as (Y/N) sat on the bleachers, a blanket over her lap as she shivered softly, smiling every time her little girl looked back at her. She gave a little wave and watched as (y/d/n) stepped up to the tee to take her swings. Her first swing missed and (Y/N) frowns as she sees her little girl start to tear up. "It's okay, baby. Give it another try. Keep your eye on the ball, sweetie." She smiles as (Y/D/N)'s face lights up and she steps up to the tee again, this time connecting with the ball. It only went a few feet, but she jumped up and down excitedly and slapped her coaches hand. The little girl turns and gives her mama a big thumbs up and runs out to the outfield to play centerfield. She takes a few pictures, lost in her own world as she watches her daughter when she sees a Styrofoam cup being handed to her, the rich scent of hot chocolate filling her senses. She looks up and sees John Dutton standing there, his black hat shading his eyes slightly, but a soft smile on his face. "Sorry I'm a little late, Miss (Y/N). Had some ranch business to handle first." (Y/N) watches as he climbs up on the bleachers and sits beside her, sipping his own cocoa as he looks out at the field. "Which one's yours?" He asks with a smile and watches the kids play and have a blast, remembering all the baseball practices and games he missed when they were young, all the dance classes, all the football games. He'd missed almost everything because he couldn't tear himself away from the ranch. 

(Y/N) points out her little girl and smiles as the girl catches a fly ball like it was the easiest thing she'd ever done. "She certainly doesn't get her athleticism from me. I love baseball, but I was never any good at it."  She admits softly, surprised to see that he actually showed up. She sips the sweet, warm chocolate drink, enjoying the taste, the aroma as she tries to ignore her nerves and the butterflies in her stomach. This was the closet that she'd been to a date since before her daughter was born, but she had to remind herself, it wasn't a date. No man in his right mind would consider this a date. She knew that like most men, he was likely putting up a good show of being okay with her daughter long enough to get in (Y/N)'s pants and then once he had, he'd either disappear or simply use her for a booty call. That was one of the reasons she didn't date, besides the fact that her life was always busy, chaotic, just too hectic to add dating on top of that. She glances over at John and smiles as she sees him intently watching (Y/D/N) playing in the outfield. She could tell he was genuinely enjoying this. She knew he had kids because he'd told her he had a grandson, but the way he watched her little girl and the other kids play ball was almost like he'd rarely seen it before. Then she remembered hearing that he owned the Yellowstone Ranch, the largest in the state of Montana and nods. "Guess you missed a lot of this when your kids were growing up, huh?" She asks softly and places her hand on his arm. "If you want, she has a game tomorrow night. Here at 6." She didn't know why she was inviting this complete stranger to her daughter's ball game but there was just something about him that drew her in, that made her feel safe.  

John smiles as he looks down and sees her soft, delicate hand on his arm then looks up to meet her gaze, the regret and loneliness shining in his eyes. "After I lost my wife...I wasn't the world's best dad. Hell, before that I missed too many events. Always working." He sighs and rests his hand over hers, frowning when he felt how icy her hands were. "It's too damn cold for you not to have gloves, darlin'. How long do these practices last?" He asks just as the coach on the field tells the kids to pack up and that he'll see them tomorrow for the game. He squeezes (Y/N)'s hand and stands up, helping her stand as well. "I'd love to come to the game tomorrow night. Maybe if dinner tonight goes well and (y/d/n) wants to, the two of you can come have dinner at my place tomorrow after the game." He suggest with a charming smile and places his hand on her lower back, leading her over to where the kids were filing off the field. 

(Y/N) doesn't answer as her daughter runs off the field and hugs her. "Mama! Did you see! Coach says I'm gonna be an allstar if I keep that up." The little girl was so excited that she hadn't even noticed the man standing next to her mother for a minute. Finally realizing he was standing there, she cocks her little head to the side and smiles up at him. "You're the friend mama said is coming to dinner. We're having Chili Dogs. It's what we always have after practice. It's my favorite." (Y/N) just laughs and watches as her daughter takes John's hand and drags him to the parking lot, talking his ear off the whole time. He was so patient with her and the way he genuinely smiled at the little girl made her heart beat faster. She slowly follows them, unlocking her car and opening it for her daughter. "Come on, baby girl. Into your booster seat." She laughs softly as the girl pouts and gets into the car and buckles in. She looks over the roof of her car at John and gives him a shy smile. "Follow me to my house?" She asks and blushes as he winks and nods. "Sure thing, darlin'. Done promised the little one I would. Can't go disappointing my best girl, can I?" He climbs into his truck and waits while (Y/N) gets into her car and leads the way. He followed her until the very edge of town and pulled up in front of one of the tiniest houses he'd ever seen. He frowns as he sees several things that need to be repaired. He'd have to find a polite way to approach that. He wanted to make sure her and her little girl had a safe, secure place to stay. 

(Y/N) gets out of her car and watches as (Y/N) runs in and gets the spare baseball glove they had in the house and runs back out, handing it to John. "Mr. Dutton, will you play catch with me while Mama cooks?" She asks politely, giving him big pleading eyes. "Please?" (Y/N) laughs softly and looks over at John. "You don't have to, John. It's really okay." Her heart flutters as he takes the glove and ruffles (y/d/n)'s hair. "Nah, I'd love to. Just come holler at us when dinner is done. He grins and takes the glove and ball and starts playing catch with the little girl. It'd been years since he'd done this. He enjoyed it more than he thought he would. They play for a half hour before (Y/N) comes out to the porch and tells them dinner is done. Just at that time, the little girl threw the ball a little too high and on instinct, he jumped up, his booted feet leaving the ground, body fully extended as he catches it, landing with a proud grin, hiding the wince of pain. He places his hand on the girl's shoulder and leads her into the house. "You did great, (y/d/n). You keep that up and you'll be the first female MLB player." He winks and pats her back. "Go wash up." He watches as she runs up the stairs to clean up. He follows (Y/N) inside and goes to the kitchen, washing his hands. He dries them on a towel and goes to the little table, sitting down as he looks around at the artwork on the fridge, the pictures of (Y/N) and her daughter on the walls. "This is a beautiful home, darlin'. Thank you for having me over." 

(Y/N) smiles and sits beside him and makes his plate, pouring them both sweet tea and a glance of apple juice for her little girl. She grins as (y/d/n) comes in and pulls her chair closer to John, talking his ear off as they eat. She was amazed at how well her daughter took to John and how well the older man handled the excited, hyper little girl. He was an absolute natural and seemed to have endless patience with her. A little voice in the back of her head said he was just doing it to get in her pants, using her daughter to get to her, but she knew in her heart that the handsome man sitting across from her wasn't like that. He was too genuine. She had heard stories about him, about how no matter what he was thinking, you'd know it. That he didn't mince words or do anything he doesn't want to. The dinner is filled with animated conversation and laughter until her daughter's eyes start drooping. She smiles and walks over, picking her up and looking down at John. "I'm going to go get her cleaned up and put to bed...If you want...I mean...would you like to stay a little while?" She asks nervously, blushing slightly and he scratches the bridge of his nose, trying to hide his smirk and nods. He hadn't really dated since Evelyn passed. He had a casual arrangement with Lynelle Perry for several years, but it was never anything as domestic as dinner and hanging out like this. Then there was his brief moment of stupidity with the vegan activist. That was a moment that he'd let his loneliness get the better of him and do something he knew was a mistake. With (Y/N) he didn't feel that way. He had a feeling that if they both just took their time, this might just be different. He clears the table, washing the dishes and the pots and pans from dinner while she's putting her daughter to bed then opens the fridge and finds cold beer. He grabs them each one and moves to the couch, setting holding both beers and relaxing as he sees her coming downstairs, her hair let down and her makeup wiped off. She looked just as beautiful as she had before. 

(Y/N) smiles and sits on the couch with him, stretching her legs out on the coffee table and accepting the beer. "Thank you, John. For everything. (Y/d/n) couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had." She smiles and reaches over, running her fingertips over the back of his hand, the fireplace giving the room a soft glow. "I had fun too. I haven't enjoyed dinner like that in a long time. I..." She takes a deep breath and gives him a nervous smile. "I haven't had a man over, around (y/d/n) since Matt left us. Only had one or two dates and as soon as they found out about her they ran off. I was afraid...I thought that maybe you'd.." She was cut off by John's large hand cupping her cheek and pulling her into a soft, sweet, brief kiss. She blinks, raising her fingertips to her lips as he smiles at her, his thumb caressing her cheek. "I'm not those other men, (Y/N). I've sheltered myself away too. Haven't truly dated since my Evelyn died almost 25 years ago." He admits softly and moves his hand from her cheek, wrapping it around her waist and pulling her close to his side and placing a soft kiss to her head. "We'll just take this slow and see where things go. I would like to have you and (y/d/n) over for dinner tomorrow. But I have to worn you, my daughter can be a bit much to handle." He chuckles at his understatement. Beth was more than just a little hard to handle, but he'd try to find time to talk to her before (Y/N) and her daughter came over.  He looks up at the time and smiles softly, finishing his beer. "It's late, honey. You've got to be up early with the little miss tomorrow." He stands and pulls her to stand with him, kissing her forehead and squeezing her hand. "Until tomorrow, darlin'." With that, he made his way to the door and headed out to the truck. He'd left his number written on a notepad on her kitchen table, leaving the ball in her court to decide if she wanted to take this further and have dinner with him again the next day.