Book excerpt: Eighteen-year-old Eddie Blackburn walked into his house after work expecting leftover pot roast to be warming in the oven. He didn't expect to fall in love. Prior to seeing Kelli Swanson sitting on his sofa, Eddie's only true love was baseball. The pair connected instantly, but he was certain she was way out of his league so it could never last. He felt stuck in place, running the family business after his father had walked away two years earlier, forcing him to drop out of school to choose family over a future on the mound. Kelli was a basketball star destined to leave their small Minnesota town behind for a major college program and the national spotlight. Intensely private, she hated the attention, longing to be anonymous. Personal and family issues led her to make choices that altered the path that once seemed a given. After it all fell apart, Eddie was there to pick up the pieces. When Cole Aaron Blackburn was born, Eddie vowed that he'd provide the guidance his son would need to change the family narrative and achieve something in life. Cole's incredible athletic skills forced his father to pull from his own experiences and make decisions that would have a deep effect on his son's future and perhaps alter the path of all three lives. Kelli's Pine is a place of redemption through love, perseverance, parenthood, and baseball.