Eagle's Destiny (3 page)

I laughed too, Angel was better at third base.  “I can’t wait to get back to the game, I’m sorry I was gone for so long.  I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.”  I waved goodbye to her and the kids.

Finally, I reached Debi and Don’s house at the start of the
utility road
.  She ran out to greet me.  Her face and the hug showed me how much she had missed me.  “I have so much news for you!  I’m glad you’re finally back.  I can’t believe how long you’ve been gone.” 

Debi was substantially shorter, the top of her head barely reaching my shoulders.  She had her wavy dark blond shoulder length hair streaked with blond highlights, which matched her light brown eyes.  Her face was round and full and when she smiled the area around her eyes crinkled.

Her hug took my breath away.  It was always like that with us.  Don came out of the house wiping his hands on a paper towel.  He gave me a
hard hug too
,
almost crushing me against him.  “Damn girl you cannot go away for so long again!”

I just laughed.  “Oh you two, stop it.  I wasn’t gone that long.”

“Three months is way too long.”  Debi’s voice sounded like a mom.  I was glad to be home.

“Thanks for dropping the Range Rover off at the airport.”  I said to Don.

“Glad to do it, Jason came with me.  He needed to pick up some schoolbooks at Stanford, school starts in a few weeks.  You know he wants to get a head start on the studying.”  He said proudly. 

Don was rugged from top to bottom.  He owned the local garage and was responsible for keeping my Range Rover running after all these years.  He was one of the most considerate men I had ever had in my life, well, except for my father.  I had always teased Debi that if she hadn’t stolen Don away, I would have snatched him up for myself.

Don was born and raised in Mintock.  The town knew his family well.  Don’s father became the police chief twenty-five years ago and his mother
,
a Native American from the
local
Pomo tribe was famous as a local artist.  We had culled our friendship over many years and he was more like the brother I never had.  I had spent many summers up here with Aunt Ruth and her cabin.  My parents felt it would keep me out of trouble spending time in a small town.  Nothing had been further from the truth.  Remembering some of the pranks we played I was surprised we did not land in jail, and maybe it had been a good thing that his dad was the police
chief
. 

Debi accompanied me to Mintock during the summers while we were in high school.  When we graduated, Debi decided to move to Mintock, because she and Don had fallen in love.  They married immediately and Jason, their son arrived two years later.  Their daughter Betsy, my namesake, followed three years after Jason.  Both of the kids had taken on Don’s Mexican and Native American darker looks instead of Debi’s
Southern California
blond look.

After high school, our paths diverted.  I went on to college in
Southern California
, and Debi concentrated on raising her family.  While in our twenty’s we kept in touch mainly by the phone and short visits a few times a year.  After graduating from college I went on to work at a magazine, not as a writer as I had dreamed, but in the production department working with the advertising.

While at the magazine, Kevin and I met and started dating.  He was the writer and I was enamored with him.  Neither Debi or Don were fond of Kevin, I should have taken that as a hint.  Mostly they put up with him for my sake.

Debi and I went into the house while Don went back to the garage on
the side of the house.  Their home had a relaxing effect on me.  It was comfortable, not fancy, but richly decorated.  As I looked around the kitchen remembering all the memories from the knick-knacks and the pictures hanging on the wall.  I had shared every one with them, sometimes traveling with them and sometimes just hearing about the adventures.

She
put the
mugs
on the table in front of us
and
sat down.  “So, Kevin trapped you again?”

I sighed and nodded my head.  Taking a sip of tea, “I really wish he would leave me alone.  I don’t know what to do anymore.  I just don’t get it.”

“Well it’s a good thing you’re up here.  He’d have to have a very big excuse to come up here.  Kevin wants the control over you like he had when you were married.  You know it isn’t love, it’s all a matter of making you bend to his will.”

Don walked in through the back door, “
B
end to whose will?”  He sat down at the table.

Debi crinkled her nose, “
Y
ou know Kevin.”

“Oh, that jackass?”  Don reached out and patted my hand, “Don’t let him bother you.  You want me to take care of him?”

I laughed and smacked him on the shoulder, “
Wh
at are you going to do?”

Don yawned and stretched, “
Y
ou know we mechanics can make many things go wrong.”

“Don, don’t even joke about that!”  I admonished him.

“Well if I can’t help, I’m going to go out and work on Jason’s motorcycle.  I’d like to surprise him and actually get it running today.”  Don sto
od up, and kissed Debi on mouth. 
“Ca
ll me when lunch is ready woman,
”
he growled possessively.

“You got it baby,” she squeezed his butt.

I rolled my eyes, “
Y
ou two want to get a room?”

Don laughed and pulled in my braid as he passed me, “
R
emember you’re in my house
.
”

We heard the back door slam and Debi turned to me, “
S
o spill everything!”

Debi and I talked about everything at length while she put lunch together.  Their house
was
my second home.  An invitation to lunch was a natural assumption.  Filling her in about my lunch with Kevin made me feel better about the situation.  Debi had been my rock during my divorce.  She had been there with plenty of tissues as I backed my garbage truck up to her door.  Not once did an
“I told you so”
escape from her lips. 

More importantly, Debi filled me in on the local gossip, especially the happenings at the weekly town baseball games.  Tomorrow our team would play one of the teams from Ashley, and everyone expected my pitching arm
to be at the ready for the game.  Pitching was probably in my blood, my aunt Ruth had been a pitcher too.

Our conversation finally got around to my new neighbors.  Debi could not believe that I hadn’t met their father, but she assured me he would be at the game since he
now
played first base for the team.  I pursed my lips, not admitting that I was not going to be fond about someone who hunted.  Kevin had gone big game hunting in Africa while covering a story there and each time I saw the pictures of the dead animals, waves of nausea almost overtook me.  Debi had the overwhelming need to fix me up with someone even though I kept reminding her that I did not need fixing because I was not broken. 

After lunch, our afternoon was just as relaxing.  As it started to get dark, I gave my thanks to both
of them
for the great
day
.  Don had gotten Jason’s motorcycle running and he wanted to take it out for a spin, with me on the back.

“Now Don, all you need to do is take me up to the cabin.”  I put on the helmet he handed
to
me. 

“Aw come on.  Let’s take it for a real spin!”

Debi waved to us and yelled, “Have fun!” as we took off.

I wrapped my arms around Don. 
“Hey not so fast!”  I squealed with delight. 

The episode was too reminiscent of high school when his motorcycle was our main mode of transportation.  The feel of the cooling evening air felt good against my skin.  He cranked up the speed as he headed for the highway.  We drove to the edge of town, turned around and headed back toward my cabin.

The jeep up ahead of us was not
moving
very fast and true to Don’s character, he decided to pass the jeep on the narrow utility road leading to my cabin at the end of the lane.  The driver of the jeep was polite and moved over to the side of the road to allow us to pass.  Don and I waved as we passed and got a glimpse of the handsome man driving.  At least he was smiling until we cut him off to make the sharp turn into my drive. 

The jeep stopped at the house next door.  As Don pulled up in front of my back porch, I smacked him on the back, “Oh no!  That was my new neighbor you just cut off!”

“Oh relax he had plenty of room!”  I handed Don my helmet and he gave me a big bear hug.  “See you tomorrow at the game.  Don’t be late, and make sure you warm up first!”

I saluted him, “Yes sir!”  I gave him another hug, “
T
hanks for the ride!”

Don scooted off back down the road toward his house, driving at a considerably slower speed.  Watching my new neighbor unloading his jeep, he caught me staring.  I immediately felt a blush creep on my face.  He waved and I waved back.  I quickly let myself into my cabin.

CHAPTER THREE

Sunday afternoon in Mintock meant baseball.  I had been on the Lakeside team for as long as I could remember.  My fastball was a legend in Mintock and Ashley.  Even better, though, I could hit the ball too.  When not playing the other Mintock team we played the teams in Ashley.  This was serious business because this was baseball.  The weekly summer event was popular with the people of the town, and we even managed to draw our fair share of tourists too.

For me, there was a whole Zen thing
to prepare
myself mentally for the game.  When Don told me to warm up yesterday afternoon this was exactly what he meant.  I followed the ritual carefully, from braiding my hair, to making sure my socks were on straight and even.  My uniform purchased new at the beginning of the summer was white and clean with no stains.  By the end of the day, I knew that there would be stains covering most of the uniform, and I wore them like a badge of honor because of their cost to earn.

Checking my reflection in the mirror, I placed my
cap
on my head and turned to check the back too.  The pants were snug and clung to my long legs.  With the shirt tucked in, I looked like all legs, but I was reasonably happy with what I saw.  The curves were in the right places and the jogging had kept me thin, that and forgetting to eat while writing.

I stuffed a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a pair of sandals into my sports bag for later.  The team usually ended up at our local restaurant and bar after the game.  Sitting around in a uniform never suited me so I always changed clothes.

The dogs ate early on Sunday.  When I returned from the game, I would give them a little snack.  They were contented after a long walk and settled down for naps while I prepared to leave.

Stowing my stuff on the passenger side of the Range Rover, I glanced
over at the neighbor’s house.  The jeep was already gone.  Guessing that they had already left for the game, I checked my watch to make sure I still had plenty of time.  I rolled down all the windows of my ancient car.  The warm summer air felt good, and again this was a Zen thing.  Getting my mind into the game.

Arriving at the park with plenty of time to spare, I carried my bag over to join the group that had already gathered at the dugout.  Lewis, the
manager
of our team acknowledged me with a wave since he was deep in conversation with one umpire.  The rest of the Lakeside team welcomed me with hugs and kisses all around. 

Debi grabbed me, “Let me introduce you to your neighbor.  Michael?”
S
he called to the tall blond man standing with his back to us.

As he turned around, I stopped breathing.  His eyes were the lightest blue and his smile was broad showing his white teeth.  There were the cutest little dimples at the corners of his mouth, and when he grinned, he had deeper dimples in his cheeks.  His short-cropped hair was blond and curly.  I was not used to having to look up at someone since I towered over most people, but he was at least four inches taller than I was.  With his square jaw and prominent Roman nose, he could have stepped out from the cover of one of my books.

Debi pushed me forward, “Elizabeth this is your new neighbor Michael, Michael this is Elizabeth.  I’ll let you two get acquainted.”  She turned and left us alone.

Michael looked down at me while his warm hand covered mine and held it a little longer than normal.  “Hi Elizabeth, I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

Michael’s blue eyes sparkled.  He filled out his uniform nicely with large wide shoulders that led down to a narrow waist.  And, his pants, yes, he filled those out nicely too.

Even though I still was not breathing, I managed to get out a squeaky, “You have?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”  Michael looked up and to the side as if compiling a list in his mind, “
L
et’s see, I’m under strict instructions from Tammy not to call you Liz, she said your website said you don’t like that name.  Debi here told me you are a great singer and that you lead karaoke every week after the baseball game.  And, everyone has told me that you’re an incredible pitcher, so you have quite the fan club.”

“Well, I…”  I stammered looking down, feeling the blush rising on my cheeks.  I took a deep breath and looked up again.  “Just don’t believe everything you hear.”

Tammy came up from behind Michael, “Hey Elizabeth, you’ve finally met my
d
ad.  You have to see the pictures of the animals he shot yesterday!  They are fantastic!”

I looked at her, I wanted to start shaking my head, was this family nutty? 
Animals?  There was more than one?  I certainly did not want to look at pictures of dead animals.  Yuck!  I know people are into hunting, but taking pictures of dead animals that you just killed.  It made no sense to me.  Michael picked up my expression and gave me a puzzled look.

Lewis walked up behind me, put his arm around my shoulders, and gave me a peck on the cheek.  “Glad to see you’re back.  I thought Angel was going to have to pitch all summer.  She’s much better at third base.”  He handed me a ball, “
S
houldn’t you be warming up?”  Lewis turned and shouted for Don.

After doing my warm-up pitches with Don, we started the game.  Ashley had a good team, which made us evenly matched.  In the beginning, I had trouble getting into my groove, but by the third inning, I
pitched
more strikes.  Michael proved to be one of our strongest players at first base.  We were ahead by one run in the top of the ninth inning, and their batter hit one squarely to me.  I caught the ball and I overthrew to Michael allowing
the
runners to advance on the bases.  The classic bases loaded, go ahead runner at second base, with two outs.

Lewis called a time out.  He and Don who
played
catcher walked out to me.  Lewis waved to Michael to have him join us out on the mound.  As the three men approached, I looked down kicking the dirt on the mound with the toe of my shoe.

Lewis spoke first, “Elizabeth, you seem a little distracted today.”

Looking up, Michael’s eyes caught mine and held them for the briefest of seconds.  He was trying to look very serious, but I saw the grin in his eyes.  How do I explain to Lewis that yes, I was distracted today and it was all the first baseman’s fault.  He had stared at me the entire game.  Okay, yes, that was the job of the first baseman to watch the pitcher, but did he have to stare that way? 

I looked back at Lewis, “
S
o,
are
you going to give me some words of wisdom?”

“Yeah, strike out the batter.”  Lewis took the ball from Don and gave it to me.  Both Lewis and Don patted me on the shoulder then turned to walk back to home plate.

Michael stepped closer to me and whispered, “Make him chase after it.”

He turned to run back to first base.  I took a deep breath trying not to concentrate on Michael’s tight pants and sexy butt, and instead turned my attention back to the batter.

The first pitch was swung on and missed.  Michael had been correct the batter was going to chase after the ball.  The batter knew there would be no walks with the bases loaded.  I took a deep breath and threw a curve ball.  The batter almost fell over trying to swing at the ball.  Don threw the ball back at me, I looked over at Michael, and he nodded.

The crowd
in the bleachers w
as
on their feet and screaming, but I
couldn’t hear them.  Lewis blew me a kiss, the fastball signal.  I was in the zone.  It was the ball, the batter, and me.  A chill ran down my spine as I turned and looked at each base individually.  Every runner was already inching forward to the next base.  Closing my eyes, I stood on the mound in position.  The wind up and the pitch were perfect.  The ball left my hand in one fluid movement.  It crossed over home plate and straight into Don’s glove without the batter even moving.  The ball had caught him looking.  The home plate umpire called the strike and the third out.

I sighed and dropped my head.  I had almost lost the game because I was more interested in the man on first base.  Disappointment flooded through me.

Angel, who had been on third base, came up behind me and put her arm around my waist.  “Good job Elizabeth,” she squeezed me.

“I almost lost control Angel.  I almost lost the game.”  I said in a small voice.

Angel whispered, “He is really cute.  It’s understandable.”

I looked at her with surprise on my face and then felt the blush on my face.  “Oh Angel, no, was I that obvious?”

She laughed, “Normally, you don’t stare at first base all the time.  Come on,” she pulled me forward with her.

While we walked back to home plate, Debi and Lewis greeted us, “
W
ay to go girlfriend!”

Lewis patted me on the back.  “I knew you could do it.”

Don grinned at me, and whispered, “Distracted huh?”

“Oh you shut up!”  I grimaced.

Don laughed and touched my shoulder, “Elizabeth, I’ve known you too long!”

We started packing up our stuff.  Most of us would meet right after the game at Viva Madrid our local restaurant since Sunday night was karaoke night.  I noticed Michael talking with Tammy handing her keys.  She hugged him and left. 

Debi saw me watching, “Tammy has been dating Jason.  The kids think karaoke is boring.  They’re going over to the pizza parlor.”

I nodded.  “See you at the restaurant.  Save me a seat.”  My bag went over my shoulder and I headed toward my car.  After I put my bag on the passenger seat, Michael called to me.  I turned around to find him behind me next to the car.  “Oh, hi.”

His smiled dazzled me, “
D
o you think I can get a ride to the restaurant with you?  I gave Tammy the keys to my jeep, she and Jason are going for pizza.”

“Oh, sure.  Get on in.”  I said trying to keep my voice calm and even.

He threw our bags into the back seat.  Michael got into the passenger seat next to me.  “Do you mind if I push the seat back?”

I almost giggled.  Debi had been the last person in the passenger side and she was a foot shorter than Michael was.  His knees pressed against his chest. 

“No, go ahead.  The lever is on the front of the bottom of the seat.  Do you need some help?”  The vision I had of me reaching between his long legs to help push the seat back made me blush.

Michael looked at me and I wondered if he could read my mind, which made me blush even further.  “No, I think I have it.”  He chuckled deeply and slid the seat back as far as it would go.  It was still a tight fit for him.

I tried to concentrate on breathing but he was sitting very close to me, his presence overpowered the interior of the car.  “Gosh, how tall are you?”  I managed to get out.

“I’m six-four.  I had to have my jeep specially retrofitted.”  He said as he buckled his seat belt.

I backed out of the parking space, and saw Debi waving at me and blowing me kisses.  Her car was full of passengers.  I guessed she was responsible for sending Michael my way.

Michael looked over at me.  “Good game today.  You lived up to your reputation.” 

I was trying to keep my eyes on the road, that and to focus on inhaling and exhaling
which were no longer automatic
.  “I appreciate your help, you know, at the end.  Don’t know what happened to me.”  Breathe in.  Breathe out.

“You were still good today, Ashley is a good team.  We would have lost without you.”

Yes, those blue eyes were looking at me.  I felt at a loss for words.  Why was it so hard to breathe?  Why was he sitting so close to me?  When I stole a side-glance at him, he looked relaxed.  Maybe it was just me.  Okay Elizabeth, I told myself, think normal conversation. 

“I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

“Your shoulder from pitching?” he guessed.

“No, it’s from sliding into home plate during the fourth inning.”

Michael laughed with me.  “Yeah, Lewis can be a brutal manager.  He wants it all.”  We were silent for a moment and Michael shifted in his seat bringing his body closer to me.  “Tammy showed me your book last night.  She was very excited.  It was very nice of you to give her a copy.”

Oh!  I suddenly remembered page 75 in the book, one of the more colorful and sexually explicit parts.  Was Tammy mature enough to read that section?  Would Michael be angry with me for giving her the book? 

“I was glad to find a fan.  Maybe she can help me out when I get stuck.”

“I know she’d be thrilled.”  He replied.

We stopped at a light in town. 

I took a deep breath and finally had to ask, “So, you go hunting?”

Michael looked over at me with a bewildered look on his face, his brow furrowed deeply, “
W
here did you get that idea?”

I pulled forward slowly, “Tammy told me.”

“Tammy told you I went hunting?”  His voice sounded incredulous.