Out of Her League (15 page)

How could he be
so contradictory, yet so entic
ing? She didn
’
t know, but he was. Heaven help her.

Evie scooted onto the empty chair at her side, then stood. Her attempt to get away from him didn
’
t work. That huge hand reached out and took her arm—gently—but that didn
’
t stop the shudder of awareness that rippled through her. The contrast of his hard hand and his gentle touch made her mind spin. She just stared at him like a zombie.

Thankfully, Joe didn
’
t notice. Or maybe he was too polite to mention it. Iceman Scalotta polite? No. He just hadn
’
t noticed.

Then his thumb stroked—once, twice, up, then down—her inner arm, above her elbow where no one ever touched, and her shudder became a shiver.

She looked up, up, up into his eyes and recognized a confusion that mirrored her own, seconds before something hotter, more intense, more dangerous, sprang to life

“
Ladies and gentlemen, if you could take your seats we
’
ll begin.
”
Mrs. Larson
’
s voice boomed over the microphone, making both Evie and Joe jump away from each other as if they
’
d been caught necking in the back seat of a car.

Evie
’
s face flamed at the image. Remembering having necked in a
parked car with Ray, she strug
gled for control.

She wasn
’
t going to let an attractive face and a great body, no matter how appealing, entice her into ruining her life for
a second time. She was stronger than that. Wasn
’
t she? No longer the naive young girl who
’
d adored a man beyond reason, she
’
d learned from that mistake and would not make it again.

She had three boy
s to think of. Their futures de
pended on her. That was why she had come here tonight—for her sons. Now, if she could only figure out what she must d
o to stop the tide before it be
came a tidal wave and washed over everything she
’
d worked so hard to achieve.

“
We
’
ve gathered here tonight,
” Mrs. Larson con
tinued,
“
to welcome a newcomer to our town. Most of you have heard that Joe Scalotta and his daughter have moved to Oak Grove—
”
Mrs. Larson beamed at Joe as if he
’
d just won the Nobel Prize f
or med
icine.

The entire room stared at him.

Evie, too. His confused frown made him look like a little boy who
’
d just been awoken from a deep nap and wasn
’
t sure exactly where he was.

“
After last evening
’
s spectacular example of what Mr. Scalotta
’
s presence can mean to this community and its sports program, the school board—on the recommendation o
f Don Barry, the athletic direc
tor—has unanimously decided to offer Mr. Scalotta the coveted position of varsity baseball coach at Oak Grove High.
”

Thunderous applause broke out. Joe
’s frown be
came a full-blown scowl, and he shook his head, even though people were already slapping him on the back and congratulating him.

Taking advantage of everyone
’
s preoccupation, Evie slipped to the front of the room. Her heart beat a cadence of panic. She glanced at Don, but he would not meet her eyes. Guilty as charged.

Her father
’
s best friend had offered her job to Joe without even giving Evie a chance to protest. Don Barry hadn
’
t asked her opinion, or even apologized for taking her dream and stamping on it. From the way they were all ignoring her, they expected her to be a good little soldier and accept what they
’d de
cided.

Not in this lifetime.

Evie
’
s panic turned to fury. Before she could think of an adequate game plan, she spoke above the congratulations of the crowd.
“
That job was promised to me.
”

The murmurs stopped as everyone turned to stare at her, obviously
amazed she had the guts to con
tradict the grand dame of Oak Grove or the man who had brought Evie to town in the first place.

She discounted them all and pressed on.
“
I don
’
t think it
’
s fair or in the children
’
s best interest to give the job to a man we barely know just because his name
’
s been in the papers and his face all over the television.
”

Mrs. Larson
’
s mouth scrunched up like a day-old lemon, but she managed to speak, anyway.
“
He
’
s a professional athlete, Evelyn.
”

Uh-
oh
. Mrs. Larson had called her
“
Evelyn.
”
Bad sign
. The old lady was spitting mad—though she would never so much as raise her voice. She never had to. No one argued with Lillian Larson. Until today.

“
He
was
a professional athlete. And even then he was a football player.
”

“
I hardly see the re
levance of football to this dis
cussion.
”

Evie wanted to
shriek in frustration, but impa
tience with Mrs. Larson
’
s lack of understanding would not endear Evie further. To a woman like Mrs. Larson, a ball was a ball. You threw it, you caught it, that was that. She did not see that football and baseball were two different—well, two different ball games.

Evie gave up on Mrs. Larson and addressed Don.
“
If you want to offer him the football team, that
’
s
fine. That would make sense. But baseball—
”
Evie shook her head
“
—he isn
’
t qualified.
”

Don
’
s ruddy face darkened.
“
Don
’
t tell me my job.
”

Oops
. Evie realized her mistake too late. Don might be her dad
’
s oldest friend, but he was also one of those macho
men you had to tread very care
fully around. Instead, she
’
d stepped right on his toes.

“
I hired you as a favor to your dad, and I can
’
t say I
’
m sorry, because you
’
re an excellent teacher and a great coach. But we
’re talking about the high
est profile job in this town. We don
’
t want a little gal like you taking t
hose big kids to the state cham
pionship.
”

His comment about hiring her as a favor stung. It was no doubt true, and at the time she
’
d needed the job too badly to care. Now she was just furious.
“
What difference does it make who takes the team to state? Do you want the best coach? Or do you want the best sound bite?
”

“
Could I say a word here?
”
Joe was suddenly right behind her.

“
No,
”
Evie snapped without even turning around. She couldn
’
t fight Joe, Don and Mrs. Larson all at the same time.
“
Why do you want to ruin the best chance those kids have to get scholarships by hiring the wrong coach?
”

“
Hey!
”
Joe protested.
“
I
’
m a great coach.
”

Evie spun about and nearly bumped her nose on Joe
’
s chest. She refused to step back, even though he was so close she had to crick her neck to glare
into his face.
“
You
were
a great football player. You have never
been
a coach.
”

He leaned down.
“
Have you ever coached an all-male varsity sport?
”

She went up on her toes so they were nose to chin.
“
What does
that
have to do with anything—
”

“
Ahem.
”

Evie did an about-face, to find Mrs. Larson
’
s lemon lips had thinned into a single line. Don wasn
’
t looking at her again, which meant Mrs. Larson had the floor. Evie expec
ted to be sent to her room with
out supper—for the
next several years. Which is ex
actly what would happen if she lost this job. She would not be eating supper for however long it took to save enough money to send the boys to college. Her stomach growled in protest, and she winced.

“
I
’
m sorry—
”
Mrs. Larson began.

“
Wait!
”
The word constituted Evie
’s second in
terruption of the evening. Had she just dug her own grave? Even if she had, she could not sit back and watch these two bury her dream. She would fight until the bitter end for her children
’
s future.

She tried to speak rationally—like a teacher with a student who just didn
’
t get it.
“
I was promised that job. How can you justify taking it away from me for no other reason than sexual discrimination?
”

“Uh-
oh,
”
Joe murmured at her back. His breath skated down her neck, and Evie shivered.

Would she ever learn the trick of treading lightly around touchy issues? It didn
’
t look like it. The r
e
alization of what she
’
d just said, and the fury on
Don
’
s and Mrs. Larson
’
s faces as soon as the words left Evie
’
s mouth,
made her shiver for another rea
son.

In Oak Grove you handled your own problems. You did not whine to the police; you definitely did not file a lawsuit. An
y conflicts were solved by talk
ing face-to-face, and if that didn
’
t work you sent an emissary—like your great-aunt Hester, who had gone to school with the uncle of your neighbor
’
s cousin. Lawyers we
re for wills, the occasional di
vorce and real-estate transactions. That was all.

“
Your father would be ashamed of you,
”
Don said.

Evie doubted that. Her father had only been ashamed of her once. But because he
’
d been her father, he
’
d stood behind her anyway. He
’
d stand behind her now, too.
That knowledge gave her cour
age. She met Don
’
s eyes. He looked away first, and she knew he would stay out of the fight. Macho he might be, but no one messed with

“
Are you threatening me?
”
Mrs. Larson
’
s voice trembled.

So did Evie
’
s hands, which she quickly clasped behind her back.
“
No, ma
’
am.
”

“
Good.
”
Mrs. Larson eyed her for
a long mo
ment.
“
If I recall, the decision about this job was contingent upon your team
’
s going to the state championship.
”

“
Which isn
’
t until August. I haven
’
t had a chance to prove myself.
”