Out of Her League (25 page)

“
...Pull her out!
”

“
...We want a pitcher, not a belly itcher!
”

“
...Pitcher can
’
t pitch.
”

“
...She throws like a girl.
”

“
...But she can
’
t be a girl. Look at her.
”

Shrill laughter followed each taunt. Evie glanced at Toni, who had flushed red and seemed to shrink in upon herself. Her next pitch hit the batter in the back, and the away crowd hissed.

Evie stood up. Time to get rid of the problem. The girls saw her coming and blanched.

Evie didn
’
t plan to make an issue; she just planned to make them go.
“
You know the rules, girls. Home.
”

Several started to shuffle away, but one—there was always one—took a belligerent stance and stepped forward.
“
It
’
s a free country, Mrs. Vaughn.
”

Evie lowered her voice so only Laura could hear her. She knew better than to embarrass a teenager in public, no matter how much it might be deserved.
“
You
’
re mistaken, Laura. You
’
re standing in my little country, and it certainly isn
’
t free. Not if free means taking potshots at someone who
’
s doing her best in a tough spot. Now, you can leave, quietly,
since you
’
ve embarrassed yourself enough. Or I can call your daddy and tell him what you
’
ve been up
to.
”

Since Laura
’
s daddy was also a coach, and a stickler for the rules, Laura resorted to dagger glares and slunk off after of her friends.

The game continued while Evie did her job, though no one watched the ball in play; they all watched Evie. Upon her return to the bench, Hoyt informed her that Toni had thrown a wild pitch, but Adam had tagged out the lead runner when the kid tried to steal home.

“
You
’
d better get that little girl and bring her on in,
”
Hoyt advised.

Evie shook her head.
“
I don
’
t think so.
”

“
She
’
s gonna blow a five-run lead!
”

“
Then she blows it.
”

“
You know, sometimes I wonder if you want to win that dang bet or not.
”

“
I only want to win if I win doing things my way.
”

“
Sinatra? I don
’
t hear him.
”

Evie sighed. Sometimes Hoyt got on her nerves as much as the twins did. Though his hearing wasn
’
t the best, his eyes were as sharp as a fifteen-year
-
old
’
s. He could tell if a pitcher pulled up too soon, or if a batter swung too late. Evie depended upon Hoyt to watch when she could not.

“
Never mind Sinatra,
”
Evie said, as Toni walked her second batter.

“
You gonna go get her, or should I
?”

“
I guess I
’
d better talk to her.
”

“
Talk? You wanna win this game or not?
”

“Not
if it means I take out a kid who
’
d be better off in. You know, Hoyt, I think today just might be Toni
’
s man-or-mouse day.
”

“
Huh? Whatcha talkin
’
about?
”

“
You know—what are you, a man or a mouse? Woman or wimp? I think she
’
s a woman. You wanna make a bet on that?
”

He considered her for
a long moment.
“
No, ma
’
am,
”
he finally said.

Evie called time and walked toward the mound, waving Adam off when he would have followed. Before she even spoke, Toni handed her the ball.

“
Sorry,
”
she mumbled.

“
Do you want out?
”
Evie asked.

Toni glanced up, surprised.
“
Don
’
t you want me out?
”

“
No. But it
’
s up to you. If what just happened has thrown you too much to keep going, I
’
ll let Todd finish. He
’
s been whining about it enough.
”
Like father like son, Evie added silently.

Toni gave a small smile, which encouraged Evie.
“
I
’
ll tell you what my father always told me. Kids are mean. It
’
s sad, but it
’
s true. And I don
’
t know why.
”

“
Adam
’
s not mean.
”

“
No. But then, Adam
’
s never been much of a kid.
”

“
I want to win,
”
Toni whispered.

“
That
’
s fine, if that
’
s what
you
want.
”

Toni
’
s glance from beneath her baseball cap made Evie frown. Seemed she
’
d hit a nerve.

“
Coach!
”
The umpire warned Evie her time was up. She would need to explore that winning-losing nerve at a more opportune moment.

Evie tossed the ball in the air, then held it in front of Toni
’
s nose like a prize.
“
In or out? Your choice.
”

Toni took the ball.
“
I
’
ve never been much of a kid, either.
”

Evie resisted the urge to kiss her. Just barely. She gave a thumbs-up to Hoyt, who returned the gesture with a sweet smile of confusion. Before Evie gained her seat, the guttural shout of
“
Strike!
”
erupted from the umpire.

Evie smiled. She absolutely loved it when she was right.

* * *

Joe
was
fit
to be tied. How dare Evie convince Toni to stay when she was obviously done in? After those rotten little brats had hurt his baby
’
s feelings, he
’
d wanted to go and haul her out on his own. He
’
d restrained himself. With difficulty.

The rest of the game he spent in anguish for Toni, but she seemed to come through fine
—
earning the save, slaps on the back from her teammates and an annoying, too-familiar whirl in her catcher
’
s arms that made Joe grind his teeth.

While the kids were occupied with
their celebra
tion dance, Joe stalked over to Evie. Her slight smile of welcome became an openmouthed expression of confusion when he asked for a private chat.

“
Why didn
’
t you take her out?
”
he demanded as soon as they stepped away from prying ears.

“
Excuse me?
”

“
She was obviously upset, and you convinced her to stay in the game. Why?
”

“
I didn
’
t realize you possessed super-hearing powers.
”

Her sarcastic tone brought him up short.
“
What
’
s that supposed to mean?
”

“
You heard what I said to her? All the way from the stands to the pitcher
’
s mound?
”

“
Of course not.
”

“
Then how can you be so sure I convinced her to stay?
”

“
She
’
s your best pitcher. Why wouldn
’
t you?
”

He
’
d seen Evie blush, but he
’
d never seen her flush with anger. She looked ready to slug him. Joe cast a glance at her hands and found them balled into fists. What had he said?

Though she was visibly furious, she didn
’
t shout at him. Come to think of it, he
’
d never seen her shout, either, and with the twins around that was pretty talented. Instead, when she spoke her voice was so low that Joe had to lean close to hear her.

“
Regardless of what you believe, I
’
m a mom first and a teacher second.
”

“
You
’
ve lost me.
”

“
Obviously, I never
had
you. Ask Toni what I said, then you can convict me.
”

She turned on her heel, but almost immediately whirled back.
“
You aren
’
t doing her any good fight
ing her battles for her and hovering about making sure she never falls down.
”

“
How would you know?
”

“
I have a father, too. A big, bad cop of a father, who did the same thing to me.
”

“
You
’
re calling me overprotective?
”

“
Aren
’
t you? Let her grow up. Stop babying her.
”

“
But I never got to.
”
All the anger went out of
Joe in a rush of sadness for what he
’
d lost and could never get back.

Her face softened.
“
That
’
s your problem, Joe.
Not Toni’s.”

She walked away and left him alone with his thoughts.

A half
hour
later
Evie
’
s anger had waned and the guilt had set in. She didn
’
t want anyone telling her how to raise her
boys; she had no business tell
ing Joe how to raise Toni.

The way he
’
d said
But I never got to
had nearly made her cry. All parents harbored guilt about things they
’
d done—be they right or wrong. Parental guilt was as common a malady as hangnails, and as much of a hazard to child raising as drugs. People did a lot of stupid things to make up for the stupid things they
’
d done.

The twins had gone to the DQ with the neighbors, and Evie was left with Adam and Toni. Joe had tromped off in a snit almost immediately after she
’
d walked away from him. Evie decided to take Toni home for
a change, and then have another, calmer, chat with Toni
’
s dad.

Toni and Adam climbed in the back of the car. Every few minutes Evie peeked in the mirror. She couldn
’
t help herself. Thus far she hadn
’
t come upon the two of them making out. Was the relationship only friendship? And if so, should she be happy or concerned?

Adam was seventeen years old and he
’
d never
had a girlfriend. A date?
Yes
. A second date?
Rarely
. A third? Not that she could recall. Once she
’
d gotten over the shock, Evie had taken the courting of Toni as a good sign. Adam was behaving like a normal kid, instead of a responsible semi-adult.