Stealing Second: Sam's Story: Book 4 in the Clarksonville Series (12 page)

The Elmhurst shortstop apparently had other plans and led off the inning with a double to left-center field. With one swing, Elmhurst had the tying run in scoring position.

Sam’s stomach clenched. Close games always made her nervous.

The next batter put down a bunt. Mae ran in and fielded the ball cleanly. She threw it to Sam covering first base.

“Out at first,” the umpire yelled.

The runner who had been on second advanced to third on the play. With only one out, she was dangerously close to scoring.

Sam tossed the ball back to Marlee. “C’mon, Marlee, let’s get the next one.”

With one out and the tying run on third base, the next batter dug in at the plate. She swung at the first pitch and sent a high pop toward shallow right field over Sam’s head.

“Shit,” Sam muttered. She turned and ran after the ball like a Buffalo Bills wide receiver. It was just out of her reach, and the right fielder was nowhere to be seen. The damn runner on third was going to score and tie the game. Sam knew what she had to do. If she missed, it didn’t matter because the ball would fall in for a hit anyway. She leaped. The resounding thwack of the ball hitting her glove made her rejoice. For a split-second. She hit the ground hard, hip first then shoulder. She used her momentum and rolled, miraculously hanging on to the ball.

“Third, third, third,” Mae yelled. “She didn’t tag up.”

Sam leaped to her feet. The runner that had been on third was scrambling back to the base. Sam rifled the ball to Keisha who caught it on one hop. Sam held her breath for the umpire’s call.

“Out!” The umpire yelled. “Ball game!” He threw both hands in the air.

Sam looked to the sky and then covered her face with both hands. She couldn’t help the tears streaming down her cheeks as relief poured out of her. Her teammates were on her in a flash. They had just won the summer league championship game.

“
Magnifica,
Sam.” Susie wrapped her in a bear hug and twirled her around.

The rest of Sam’s teammates chanted the Sports Center “da-dadat” theme after congratulating her.

“Way to go, Samantha Rose,” Abby patted her on the back. “That was freakin’ awesome.” She headed to the high-five line.

“Thanks, Abby,” Sam called after her.

“Oh, man, Two.” Marlee gave Sam a relieved hug. “That was an amazing catch. I owe you an ice cream sundae with sprinkles, a cherry, and everything!”

“Awesome, P,” Sam said. “You pitched two great games yourself.”

“Thanks. I think I’m ready to relax in somebody’s pool now.” Marlee winked at Sam, and then she and Susie headed for the high-five line.

“Oh, my God,” Lisa gushed. “I want to go make babies with you right now.”

“What?” Sam screeched in laughter and whipped her head around to make sure no one heard.

“Ronnie was right.” Lisa raised a suggestive eyebrow. “You are butch.”

“Shuddup.” Sam nudged Lisa with her shoulder. They made their way to high-five the other team and then headed to the dugout.

Sam held the dugout door open and let Lisa enter first. Coach Gellar was just inside putting her scorebook away. Coach Gellar, not one for hugs, patted Sam on one shoulder. “Way to hang in there, kid. You’re made of tougher stuff than I thought.”

She Didn't Care

THE FRONT DOOR to the mansion opened before Sam’s key touched the lock.

“Welcome, girls.” Sam’s mother opened the door wide. “Please come in.” Her sweeping gesture invited them into the overlarge foyer.

Sam let Lisa, Susie, and Marlee enter first. Each carried a bag with a bathing suit and a change of clothes inside. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor. Sam closed the door behind them.

Her mother leaned toward Sam for a quick hug. Sam played along, even though they never hugged. She made sure her battered cheek was turned away. Her mother wore casual salmon-colored slacks and a thin floral cardigan over a white tank top. As always, she looked pristine.

“Mother, you know Susie.”

“Yes.” Sam’s mother turned to Susie and nodded. “It’s nice to see you again, dear.”

“Likewise,” Susie said.

“This is Marlee,” Sam continued. “She’s that awesome pitcher I was telling you about. She and Lisa go to Clarksonville High School.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Payton,” Marlee said.

Sam’s mother nodded. “Yes. It’s nice to meet Sam’s friends.”

“And this is Lisa,” Sam continued, “our catcher. Well, she was our catcher, but now she’s not because the season’s over.” Sam shut up because she was starting to ramble.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Sam’s mother said to Lisa. “We’re having lunch on the pool deck. I’m sure you’re starving after your match.” She turned and headed toward the back of the house.

When her mother’s back was to them, Sam blew out a nervous sigh. Lisa patted her on the back for reassurance, but Sam could tell that Lisa was just as nervous as she was.

“Go ahead, you guys.” Sam gestured for her friends to go first.

“Did you girls win your match?” Sam’s mother looked back at them.

“Yes,” Lisa answered. “Sam made an amazing catch in the last inning to win the game.”

“That’s nice.” Sam’s mother turned back around.

Lisa paused at an oil painting hanging in the hallway. She smirked back at Sam. It was Sam’s debutante portrait. In the portrait Sam wore a white gown with pearls that contrasted nicely with her tanned skin, even though the ball had been on her sixteenth birthday in January. Her hair had been pinned up into a low loose bun with a few tendrils falling gracefully against her neck.

“You look like a bride,” Lisa whispered.

Sam grunted and nudged her along.

Sam’s jaw dropped open when she saw the elaborate lunch spread on the pool deck. Two caterers in cooking whites stood behind tables laden with cold cuts and cheeses, bags of chips, and a mind-boggling assortment of breads. A cooler overflowing with drinks sat next to the table. There was enough food to feed an army.

“Mother,” Sam said, “did you do all of this?”

Her mother put her hand to her neck. “Do you like it, dear?”

“Of course I do. Thank you so much.”

“Yes, thank you,” Lisa added. “It looks wonderful.”

“I’m glad you’re all pleased.” Sam’s mother gestured toward several chaise lounges. “You may place your things there. Steve and—” She looked at the nametag pinned to one of the server’s shirt. “Steve and Jarvis will take your orders. Take as much as you want.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Susie said and gave her order to Steve, the older of the two servers.

Once the girls had their sandwiches, chips, and drinks, they sat at one of the concrete poolside tables. Although it was late in the afternoon by this time, the August sun was still strong, and they needed the oversized umbrella to keep them in the shade.

“Oh, man,” Marlee said, “this is awesome. I’m starving.” She took a big bite of her turkey sandwich and then rolled her eyes heavenward as if in rapture. “Mmm, so good.”

“I hope we won’t have to wait an hour to go swimming.” Susie took an equally big bite.

“House rules say swim whenever you want.” Sam looked toward the pool. “Nobody else swims in it anyway.”

“Your family doesn’t go in the pool?” Lisa asked.

“Helene does laps sometimes, but the rest of us are too busy with other stuff.”

Lisa leaned toward Sam. “I like your mom. She’s nice.”

“Thanks.” Sam felt her cheeks get warm. “Hey, how does my face look?”

Susie recoiled. “
Aay
, don’t scare us with that thing.”

“Ha ha, Sus.” Sam turned her cheek toward Lisa.

“It’s still a little swollen, but you should be okay. I’d keep dodging your mom if you can.”

“Yeah, I think I will.”

They ate heartily, including Sam, who kept waiting for her mother to give her the evil eye about her huge roast beef sandwich, but she never did. She kept a respectful distance away from their table.

Once lunch was devoured, Sam directed her friends toward the pool house to change.

“This is a pool house?” Lisa asked. “It looks like a log cabin. I love the detail.” She ran a hand along the birch bark and twig welcome sign.

“My dad wanted an Adirondack theme.”

“That’s so cool,” Marlee said.

“Susie, you can change in there.” Sam pointed to the private changing room on the left. “Marlee, in there.” She pointed to the other. “Lisa and I’ll hang in the rocking chairs that no one ever sits in either.”

“Will do.” Marlee entered the right-side changing room.

Sam’s mother wandered over. Luckily Sam was able to keep the injured side of her face pointed away. “Samantha Rose, dear, Helene left your bathing suit and cover-up on the right side.”

“Thanks, Mother. She told me she was going to do that. I’ll be sure to thank her later.”

Sam’s mother nodded and turned to go, but Lisa stood up. Sam’s nerves jangled. What was Lisa going to do?

“Mrs. Payton?” Lisa said.

Sam’s mother turned around. “Yes, dear?”

“I wanted to tell you how lovely your roses are. Those are
Comte
de Chambord
roses around the fountain out front aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are.” Sam’s mother seemed impressed.

“They’re outstanding. I don’t know how you get them to bloom so heartily.”

Sam covered a smile with her hand. She could tell her mother was eating up the attention.

Before Sam’s mother could respond, Lisa pointed to a trellis covered with roses near the tennis courts. “Are those Don Juan climbers?”

Sam’s mother nodded. “They are.”

“How in the world do you get them to do so well up here in zone four? My mother has tried and tried to get them to grow, but she gave up and planted lilacs around the door instead. I can’t wait to tell her about these.”

“Would you like to see more of the flower gardens?” Sam’s mother asked.

“I’d love that.” Lisa fell into step with Sam’s mother.

Sam wasn’t sure if she should get up and walk with them, but decided it might be easier to hide her face if she stayed seated. Lisa seemed to be handling herself okay without her.

Lisa walked with Sam’s mother around the gardens surrounding the pool and tennis courts for several long agonizing minutes. Sam overheard them talking about flowers, ground cover, fertilizer, watering schedules, winter regimes, and a dozen other things Sam didn’t comprehend. She was in awe, actually. She had no idea her mother knew so much about her own gardens. She always figured the gardening staff took care of everything while her mother took the credit.

“Hmm,” Sam said out loud.

“Hmm what,
muchacha
?” Susie had come out of the pool house.

“That.” She nodded her head toward Lisa and her mother squatting to examine some kind of low-growing plant.

“
Aay
,
magnifica
!” Susie shook both fists in the air in victory. “That’s a great sign.” She sat in Lisa’s abandoned rocker.

“It is at that.” Sam nodded.

“What’s a great sign?” Marlee asked as she emerged from the pool house.

Both Sam and Susie pointed toward Lisa and Sam’s mother heading to another section of the garden. Apparently, Lisa was getting the full tour.

“See? It might not be that hard to, you know, come out to your parents.” Marlee whispered the last five words.

“Yeah, I don’t know about that.” Sam shrugged. “Hey, why don’t you guys go in the pool? I’ll wait for Lisa.”

Susie didn’t need to be told twice. She dropped her bag on the concrete deck and took a running leap. She landed in the water cannon ball style sending a tidal wave onto the deck. When she surfaced, she said, “C’mon, Marlee. It’s awesome.” She floated on her back with a huge smile on her face.

Sam laughed as Marlee made her way to the ladder and slowly, inch-by-inch, eased herself into the cool water. In some ways Susie and Marlee were very different.

At long last, Lisa walked back. Sam’s mother had gone to have a sandwich made from the caterers.

“Thank you,” Sam said.

Lisa blew out a sigh. “I think that went well. Your mom is an amazing gardener. We have to get our moms together, so they can compare notes.”

“Someday,” Sam agreed. “C’mon, let’s change.”
And change the
subject, too
.

Sam and Lisa changed in the pool house and met back on the porch. Lisa wore a light blue one-piece bathing suit that fit her perfectly. Sam tried not to stare at Lisa’s curves and long legs, but it was hard not to drool over her firm athletic body. She didn’t have to ask what her own white bikini was doing to Lisa. One look at Lisa’s melting expression told her everything.

They joined Susie and Marlee in the pool and playfully splashed around for a while. Once they were cooled off sufficiently, they claimed four of the chaise lounges and sunned themselves. Sam closed her eyes and, after a while, could have sworn she heard Susie snoring lightly.

“Did you win the second game?” Helene said.

Sam opened her eyes. “Yes, we did.” She adjusted the back of the chaise into a sitting position.

“Sam made a diving catch to end the game,” Lisa said.

“I’m sorry I missed it.” Helene frowned. “That’ll teach me to leave early.” She looked back at Sam. “You didn’t hurt yourself again, did you?”

Sam laughed and reached up to touch her cheek. “Nope. Not that time.”

“Thank goodness.”

Helene turned to Marlee and Susie. “I hope you girls saved room for dessert.”

“Ooh,” Marlee said. “Always.”

“This is Marlee.” Sam gestured to Marlee on the last chaise.

Helene walked over and put her hand out. “Sam’s told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

Marlee shook Helene’s hand and then shot Sam a sidelong glance. “Good things I hope?”

“Always,” Sam said with a laugh.

“A little birdy told me that someone out here is bonkers for flan.” Helene looked straight at Susie.

Susie sat bolt upright. “No way! You made flan?
Dios mio
, I am so moving in.”

Helene laughed. “I’ll bring it out in about fifteen minutes, okay?”