Authors: LuAnn McLane
13
Swinging for the Fences
“T
HROW HIM SOME HEAT,” TY YELLED FROM THE DUGOUT
after Cam hit another one up into the center-field stands. Cam grinned when another ball sailed over the fence but landed just left of the left-field foul pole. “Pitch another five to him!” When Cam hit a line shot over the second baseman’s head, Ty took his cap off and whacked it against his leg. “Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about.”
The bat felt solid in Cam’s hands, and for the first time in a long while a sense of calm washed over him. Noah had been surprisingly understanding about the arrest, although he did make it abundantly clear that Cam should stay the hell out of any kind of trouble if he wanted to remain on the team. “Not a problem,” Cam had assured Noah; he was met with a firm handshake and a slap on the back.
Cam felt as if both Noah and Ty believed in his talent and wanted to do what was best for him and also for the team. It was the type of coaching that made a player want to give one hundred percent and then some. Their hard-nosed but positive attitude relit the dormant pilot light beneath Cam’s motivation, and it was as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Gritting his teeth, he swung and foul tipped the next curve ball but then smacked a line drive that almost took the pitcher’s head off and would have been a solid double had he been running the bases.
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Ty yelled again before slapping his baseball cap back on. Out of the corner of his eye, Cam saw Ty nodding to Max Dugan, the gruff-voiced hitting coach, and he just bet they were discussing where to place him in the lineup. Cam had mostly been leadoff batter since his on-base percentage tended to be sky-high. He was patient and drew more than his fair share of walks, and he also had the speed to steal bases, but the way he had been hitting the ball, Ty might just consider penciling him into the cleanup slot. Showing that he could also be a power hitter could rack up some runs batted in and very well make his ascent back into the minor leagues happen a whole helluva lot faster.
While digging his cleats into the dirt, another sense of satisfaction and hope gripped Cam hard. He reached up and adjusted his batting helmet, thinking that coming to Cricket Creek had been a good decision. For someone who had made a fair number of bad decisions, it felt damned sweet.
Cam popped another ball up a mile in the air and was poised in the batter’s box to take another pitch when he spotted Noah and a gorgeous woman coming down the steps behind the first-base dugout. The woman was chatting and smiling, using her hands in an excited, animated way that made him grin. Sunlight glinted off her blond hair, and she was wearing a businesslike suit but somehow made it look sexy. Big black sunglasses covered her eyes, but as she and Noah came closer, there was something familiar about her that tugged at his brain.
And then the sound of her laughter drifted his way . . . Wait.
Mia?
Swing and a miss.
“One more,” Ty shouted. “Cam, don’t take your damn eye off of the ball this time!”
Cam nodded and stepped out of the batter’s box, plucked at his shirt, and kicked dirt from his cleats as if getting his composure back, but what he really wanted was to take another glance up at the blonde. It couldn’t be Mia. She was a waitress at Wine and Diner, and this should be her shift. Cam had planned on eating there later—telling himself it was for the amazing food, but in reality it was to see her. Cam squinted against the sun into the stands. What could she possibly be doing with Noah Falcon? He must be mistaken. But when he heard her sweet, husky laugh again, he knew it was the same alluring woman he had kissed senseless in the elevator. Some of his feeling of well-being faded, but a flash of anger that she had somehow duped him had him swinging for the fences and going yard. Cam felt a familiar surge of adrenaline at sending the ball over the fence, but his mind was still centered on Mia. His home run got another whistle of approval from Ty and Max as he walked over to the dugout, but he all he could think about was what Mia thought of him crushing the ball.
Cam looked up, hoping like a high school kid that Mia had seen him smack the ball deep into the center-field bleachers. She had. She actually pointed to the stands and looked at Noah, who nodded and grinned. He could hear their voices drift his way but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Of course, thrown off-kilter at this unexpected turn of events, he pretended not to notice her.
But then Noah had to go and call to him, “Hey, Cam, very nice at bat!”
Damn! Cam didn’t have any choice but to look up and tip his cap to Noah Falcon. Even though he tried his damnedest not to look at Mia, his eyes would not obey, and in spite of his resolve he felt a strong tug of attraction. He tried to glance away, but his gaze remained locked on her and would not budge. He wanted to know if she felt that same spark, but her sunglasses hid her expressive eyes. When she gave him a weak little wave of her fingers, he responded with a slight tip of his hat and was finally able to look away.
“Dude, who in the world is
that
chick?”
Cam turned to Casey Martin, the shortstop, who was as quick as lightning on the base paths and would probably end up as leadoff batter. Casey stared up at Mia, slack-jawed, making Cam’s blood pressure rise. Because Casey was so engrossed in gaping at Mia, he failed to see the muscle jump in Cam’s jaw.
“Day-um, that girl is superfine. Does she work here or somethin’? I damn sure hope so.”
“I don’t have a clue,” Cam said in a bored tone, when in fact his heart was thumping against his ribs. Normally in this situation he would have had a comeback . . . maybe something suggestive on what he would like to do with a hot chick like Mia, but an unwanted surge of jealousy bubbled up and caught him by surprise. To make matters worse, he looked around and saw much of the same damned reaction from the rest of the team. It didn’t help that Mia’s blond hair glowed like a beacon, drawing the attention of every single male within shouting distance, including the batboy. Her laugh seemed to float across the air, mesmerizing the entire team. Even happily married Ty gave her an appreciative once-over but then turned back to his notes.
When Ty started jotting things down, Cam reminded himself that he was here to impress his coach, not some chick who obviously wasn’t who she had presented herself to be and then some. He had felt it from the beginning, and his instinct had been true. Cam sighed as he took his bat over and slipped it into his slot in the dugout. He tried not to feel a sense of disappointment, but it reached inside his heart and squeezed. “Women,” he muttered. “Stay the hell away from them.”
“What’d you say?” Casey slid a sideways glance at Cam. Apparently Casey had finally been able to tear his lovesick gaze away from Mia and come into the dugout.
“Nothing,” Cam replied a bit shortly, even though he liked hometown, easygoing Casey.
“Whatever, dude.” The shortstop gave Cam a curious look but then shrugged and walked over to the bench and plunked down.
In spite of Cam’s resolve not to think about Mia, he leaned against the metal railing and pretended to watch the next batter up. But after a moment he couldn’t help it and said to Ty, “Hey, Coach, who is that chick with Noah Falcon? She work here?”
Without looking up from his notes, Ty nodded. “I think you’re the fifth or sixth person to ask me that question,” Ty replied with a chuckle.
That information didn’t sit well with Cam, but he pretended otherwise. “Really . . .” He lifted one shoulder and didn’t go any further with his questions, but he secretly hoped Ty would elaborate.
“Noah hired her as our new promotions manager. Well, make that our first promotions manager. Evidently, she scored Cat Carson to perform before the opening-day game and it got her the job pretty much on the spot.” He looked up from his notes. “Cam, you might not have recognized her all dressed up, but that’s Mia Money, the waitress from Wine and Diner, you know, the one who got your ass in trouble.” He leaned in closer. “Off the record, it was Noah’s decision to give you another shot, and I backed him up on that, but damn, keep on the down low, okay? The way you’ve been hitting the ball today has me damn excited. You’re getting your groove back. Don’t screw it up.”
“Don’t worry, Coach. I’m not going to let a chick get into my head.” He spit into the dirt. “Ain’t gonna happen. No way . . . no how. She was in a tight spot and I helped her out. Truthfully, any guy would have come to her defense. Look how she already has the whole damned team gawking at her,” he said through gritted teeth.
“And clearly that doesn’t bother you one bit.”
“Of course not,” Cam answered firmly, but then he inhaled a deep breath and got his ass under control. He shrugged. “Why should it?”
“You tell me.”
“Look, Coach, it just happened to be me that day at the diner. End of story.”
Ty shook his head. “I might have believed you if you hadn’t protested way too much.”
“I was just getting my point across,” Cam insisted. “Hey, you would have done the same thing. Those guys were assholes,” Cam insisted darkly. The thought of anyone hurting Mia made his blood boil, and he spit again.
“You’re right,” Ty admitted in a more serious tone. “Any man who harasses or threatens a woman is a coward.”
“Amen to that,” Cam agreed. He tried to push away the remaining fear that Mia could be in some sort of situation that needed a male presence. Cam had seen his mother get involved with violent men and had been too young to do anything about it when she had gotten pushed around. When he had gotten older he had tried, only to be reprimanded by his mother, of all things. Cam had painfully realized that his mother often blamed his presence as the reason men left her, and so he would make himself scarce . . . and play lots of sandlot baseball. Cam realized now, as an adult, that she had been desperately searching for someone to save her from her miserable life, but unfortunately she had looked in all the wrong places.
Cam gripped the railing tightly but allowed himself a wry grin. His miserable mother and his deadbeat dad were in a weird way responsible for his success as an athlete. Smacking the baseball had released his aggression and at the same time had given him a sense of self-worth when he made the high school roster without the benefit of select teams and expensive equipment. From pedaling to practice on his bike to cleaning pools for cash, he had made it all on his own.
Cam wanted to ask Ty more questions about Mia, but to his credit he remained silent and stared out over the field. Besides, it would have totally blown his not-caring cover. When he heard her voice coming nearer, he swallowed hard and continued to stare ahead, but his ears strained to gather more information. He inhaled deeply, hoping the blissful baseball-field scent of cut grass and dusty earth would clear his head. But the slight floral scent of Mia’s perfume found its way to his nose, giving him warning that she was coming closer . . . and closer.
Just be cool,
he told himself as he stood up straighter and rolled the kinks out of his neck.
She’s just a chick. No big deal.
Yeah, right,
his damned pesky inner voice of reason warned. Why did his voice of reason have to show up
now
rather than in the elevator yesterday?
Oh, and if you think this is the end of the story like you so bravely announced to Ty McKenna, dude, you’re fooling yourself.
14
Clueless
M
IA’S BREATH CAUGHT, AND IT HAD NOTHING TO DO
with her walk up and down the stadium stands. It happened the moment she spotted Cameron Patrick in his baseball uniform. When he hit the home run, she got so excited that she almost jumped up and down applauding, but then she remembered to maintain her professional attitude. Mia had known she would most likely see Cam and had even mentally prepared herself for it, but when the moment arrived, she simply couldn’t control her racing heart.
“Follow me. I want you to meet Ty McKenna,” Noah said, and Mia gave him a brisk, businesslike nod.
Mia followed Noah down to the dugout. Although she smiled and shook Ty’s hand firmly after he walked forward, she was acutely aware of Cam standing just a few feet away. He appeared to be studying the pitcher, but she felt a pang of disappointment when he didn’t come over and at least say hi. She wondered if Noah had broken his promise and had told Cam about their deal, but from the little bit that she knew of Noah Falcon, she simply couldn’t believe that he would do such a thing. Mia had learned from her father to trust her instinct when it came to people, and for the most part she had been right in her assessment.
“Glad to have you on board,” Ty said with a megawatt smile that could make a girl melt. He had a bit of a bad-boy twinkle in his eye, but Mia knew from Wine and Diner conversations that he doted on his son and adored Jessica. “I just hope I’m not in trouble with Jess for stealing you away from Wine and Diner.”
Mia felt heat creep into her cheeks. “Um, I think it’s more likely that you’ll receive a big thank-you.”
Ty laughed. “Well, I have to admit that in your short stay in Cricket Creek you have become something of a legend. I’m sure customers have been pouring in just to get a glimpse of you.”
Mia felt the blush go from her cheeks to her neck, but she had to grin. “Kind of like bad publicity is better than no publicity?”
Noah chuckled as well. “More like a bit of excitement in a small town. If we hadn’t snatched you up, I bet Olivia would have tried to cast you in this summer’s play.”
“Oh, I do love the theater,” Mia said. She almost mentioned Chicago but caught herself just in time. “Are they doing another one of Madison’s original productions? I heard about her talent from Myra.”
Noah shook his head. “No, Madison’s still working on writing a new play. Olivia said that between teaching creative writing and traveling occasionally with Bella to watch Logan play baseball, she is way behind in her writing.”
“And she loves to babysit Ben,” Ty added. “She complains to Jessica all the time that she waited way too long to have a baby brother. Evidently it was on her Christmas list every year as a child.”
“She must have been on the naughty list,” Mia joked, drawing a laugh from Ty.
“That’s what Jess told her,” Ty replied. “At any rate, it’s great to have you, Mia. I know that Noah explained that this is our sophomore year and we want to keep the excitement going and the stands filled with fans. I’ll do my best to win games, but I can tell you that having fun promotions also brings people to the ballpark. The fact that you’ve landed Cat Carson is amazing. I hope you have more tricks up your sleeve.”
Mia felt a surge of excitement. “I might have been a lousy waitress, but I excel at event planning. I’m really looking forward to my job, and I will do everything in my power to put fans in the stands.”
“I believe you,” Ty said and then looked at Noah. “Have you shown Mia her condo?”
“No.” Noah glanced at his watch. “I would do it, but I have a meeting in just a few minutes.” Noah looked past Ty and said, “Hey, Cam, would you take Mia over to her condo and show her around?”
Mia’s heart pounded while she waited for Cam’s answer. When he hesitated, she knew something wasn’t right. What had she done to push him away?
“Mr. Falcon, I’m in the middle of practice.”
Ty waved a dismissive hand at him. “You’ve already had your at bat, and it was a damned good one. Go gather your gear and show Mia around.”
Noah reached in his pocket and handed Cam a credit card. “Take Mia shopping for some basic staples she needs in her place . . . food, linens, whatever, but of course within reason. And then dinner.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Mia protested, but Ty and Noah waved her off.
“Hey,” Noah said, “think of it as a small signing bonus. We can’t pay you a big salary, but your living accommodations will be nice. We want you to be comfortable. Oh, and hey, both Bella and Madison live there, so you’ll have some girlfriends to hang out with by the pool.”
“Well, thank you so much.” She peered closely at Cam, trying to figure out what was going on with him. His expression was hooded, but he didn’t really appear happy to have this duty. Her stomach did a weird little dropping thing and she swallowed hard. “I can go shopping. You don’t have to do this,” she offered in a rather small voice.
“You don’t have a car, remember?” Cam reminded her.
“Oh . . . right,” Mia replied but wished he had said something like
I’d be glad to
instead of making it sound like an obligation.
“I’m sure Cam won’t mind,” Ty said in a firm enough tone to let Cam know that he had better not protest.
“Not at all, Coach,” Cam answered readily. “Mia, I’ll meet you over at the condo office. Give me about fifteen minutes.”
“Okay,” Mia replied with a small smile. While his response had been polite enough, she felt his reluctance. His brush-off bothered her, but she reminded herself that this was a golden opportunity and she needed to focus on doing a good job as promotions manager. The little interlude in the elevator had been an in-the-heat-of-the-moment kind of situation, and she would do well to keep her emotional distance from Cameron Patrick. Besides, she thought as she watched him disappear down the steps into the locker room, he was a rough-around-the-edges bad boy and not her type at all. Mia was into Italian loafers, not cleats. This job was a means to an end, a great opportunity but by no means permanent. She would prove her ability and her worth and then move back to Chicago, where she would go on to do bigger and better things.
“Mia?” Noah asked, making her jump. Ty was deep in conversation with a baseball player.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought.
Noah gave her a curious look. “I need to get back up to my office. You have some material to read over tonight, but if you have any questions about anything or any concerns, for that matter, be sure to give me a call.”
“Thank you, Mr. Falcon. I already have your phone number in my contacts.”
“Good. Don’t hesitate to call for any reason whatsoever.”
Mia thanked him again before walking back to her new office to grab her purse. For such a big, tough athlete, Noah Falcon sure had a nice way about him. Tough guys with a soft side were every girl’s fantasy, Mia thought with a dreamy smile. Olivia sure was a lucky woman.
Cam is like that,
popped into her head, but she quickly dismissed it. She and Cam were both in Cricket Creek as a means to an end, nothing more, nothing less. End of story.
When she arrived at the front office of the condo complex, Mia was greeted by Madison Robinson, whose mother was co-owner of Wine and Diner. “Well, hello there, Mia. You sure move up fast in this town,” she said with a chuckle.
“Myra was cool about it, but I really hope Myra and your mother aren’t mad at me. They were kind enough to hire me on the spot, and then I dip out on them!”
“Nah . . .” Madison shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. From what I hear, you saved the day for Noah. Aunt Myra and mom will find another waitress. The economy is improving but jobs are still scarce, so you’ll make someone’s day by giving them a job.” She handed Mia a packet followed by the keys. “Here is some basic information about the property. I’d show you around, but I have to man the phones today.”
“So you work here too?”
She waved her hand in the air. “I help out part-time to offset my rent.”
“Oh, wow, your ring is gorgeous.” Mia leaned forward to get a closer look at Madison’s engagement ring. “When are you getting married?”
Madison sighed. “Jason and I keep setting the date back because he keeps getting more and more jobs. He’s doing the finish work on the strip mall across the street from the stadium. We just can’t seem to fit getting married in, much to the displeasure of my mother. She says by the time Jason and I tie the knot that baby Ben can be a ring bearer,” she added with a laugh followed by a shrug. “She might be right. But Jason wants to build a dream house for us up on a ridge overlooking the river. He just bought the land.”
“That’s so romantic,” Mia said with a touch of wistfulness. She was getting used to having near strangers tell her personal things, and it was making her feel at ease and oddly at home.
“Yeah, it’s been fun looking at house plans. I’d just as soon elope and save the money, but mom wants me to have a big ceremony with all of the trimmings. She’s a pretty awesome mom, so I can’t disappoint her.”
“Oh, I understand,” Mia said breezily, but she felt a pang of sadness at the distant relationship she had with her own mother. “Make her happy and truly enjoy planning it together,” she added, thinking of the many bridezillas she had witnessed over the past few years.
Madison tucked a lock of curly hair behind her ear. “Yeah, I’m sure I will. My mother is actually more laid-back than me. I take after my aunt Myra.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Mia stated firmly. “Your aunt is an amazing person.”
Madison gave her a bright, engaging smile. “I sure think so too. I really thought I’d hate moving from Chicago back to this small town, but I’ve grown to love it here,” she said. She shook her head. “We came back to save my aunt’s diner from going under, and I thought we’d move back to the city. At first I whined about moving back. I didn’t realize how much stress my mom felt working at Chicago Blue. It was brutal.”
“I can imagine.” Mia thought back to going to that very restaurant with a group of friends. Two of them had sent back their entreés with one trivial complaint or another and then had proceeded to only pick at their food. Mia knew from personal experience that it had nothing to do with the quality of the food.
“This was one of those blessing-in-disguise kinds of things.” Madison tilted her head and smiled. “Wow, the same thing happened to you too! Your car broke down in Cricket Creek and now you’re working for the Cougars. Life sure is crazy sometimes, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Mia agreed.
Madison gave her level look, making Mia feel as if she could see a bit of what she was thinking. “But has a funny way of working out if you let it.”
Mia nodded slowly, thinking that though Madison had to be about her age, she felt as if she were getting sage advice from someone much older.
“Oh boy . . .” Madison rolled her eyes. “Mia, if you let me, I’ll never shut up.”
“Believe me, I don’t mind,” Mia admitted. “Except for that sheriff, everybody here has been more than friendly. Fred is looking for used parts to fix my car and letting me keep it on his lot free of charge. Myra gave me a job
and
a roof over my head and didn’t fire me when I caused a bit of a commotion at Wine and Diner. She lent me money! And now Noah Falcon just hired me virtually on the spot.” She shook her head. “Incredible.”
“I won’t argue,” Madison said. “This little town was going under pretty quickly last year, but everyone banded together and refused to let this way of life die.”
“Good for them!”
Madison nodded her agreement but then chuckled. “Not that small-town life is perfect. Everybody seems to know your business, and gossip spreads like wildfire. You can’t break wind in this town without someone knowing, as Aunt Myra would put it.”
Mia tossed her head back and laughed.
“I’m just telling you the truth. We’re pretty outspoken here.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Mia said. “Believe me, it’s better than talking behind someone’s back.”
“Oh, there’s always some of that in a small town, but by and large we all get along.” Madison grinned and then pointed to the packet. “If you have any questions, let me know.”
“Thanks.”
“And I hope we can hang out, Mia. There are lots of baseball players who live here, and on the upper level, more expensive condos are being bought by older, retired couples. But except for Bella, girls my age are a bit scarce. We can sit by the pool or watch movies together if you want to?”
“I’m sure I will after I get settled.”
“Great! And I’m sorry I can’t show you around.”
“That’s okay. Cameron Patrick is going to be here any minute to take me on a tour.”
“Well, now!” Madison wiggled her eyebrows. “He’s a hottie.”
“I guess,” Mia agreed with a slight shrug.
“Oh, come on, now,” Madison teased.
“Okay, he’s hot.”
“It’s nice of him to show you around,” she said with a hint of suggestion in her voice.
“Noah pretty much ordered him to,” Mia admitted. “He has to take me shopping and out to dinner, and I’m not too sure he was down for all of that.”
“What? You guys already have history. Believe me, nothing happens by accident.”