Out of Her League (12 page)

Toni ran up and threw her arms around his waist.
“
I did it, Joe!
”

The joy on her face made his heart turn over. The spontaneous hug caused him to think that perhaps they were starting to break through the stiffness that had always existed between them. He wanted very badly to be the kind of dad she needed, if he only knew how.

“
You sure did. I haven
’
t seen anyone pitch that well in years.
”

She grinned and danced out of his arms. Joe dropped his hands, which suddenly felt empty, and watched as Adam approached. Toni
’
s face changed, and Joe had the urge to grab Adam by the throat and tell him what would happen if he so much as put a finger on any part of Toni
’
s anatomy.

“
Is it okay if I go have ice cream with the guys? Adam will drive me home.
”

He wanted to shout,
No, you
’
re too young!
In
stead, he nodded.
“
Be home by eleven.
”

Joe
’
s eyes met Adam
’
s over Toni
’
s head, and he gave the kid his Iceman stare. Adam Vaughn, like his mother, didn
’
t even flinch.

Joe
hated
to
admit
it
, but he was nervous about a peewee T-ball game. He
’
d arrived half an hour early, just in case one of the kids needed him. He
’
d ended up sitting alone on the bench and thinking.

He
’
d had several practices with the kids, and they
’
d improved immensely from the chaos that had reigned the first time he
’
d seen them. But at the end of every practi
ce, Joe was exhausted. They ran; they jumped;
they fell. They talked and talked. The ques
tions made his head spin.

“
Coach Joe, why are you so big?
”

“
Coach Joe, why is your hair white?
”

“
Coach Joe, my daddy says you
’
re famous. What
’
s
‘
famous
’
?
”

“
Coach Joe, my mommy says you
’re a stud muf
fin. Is that better than blueberry?
”

The last had come from a boy whose mother made no secret she was divorced and in search of contestant number two. Joe wanted to date, and he wanted to get married again, but frankly, that woman scared him to death. She was pretty enough—if you liked tight jeans, high heels at the ballpark and big hair. But she had the look of a hungry panther on the prowl. Joe had no desire to be the monkey feast in her sights.

No, what he wanted was a nice, normal, wifely woman. Whatever that was.

The sound of a slamming car door brought Joe
’
s attention back to his little slice of Iowa. He glanced at the parking lot and was treated to a view of Evie Vaughn. She defi
nitely did not meet his require
ments, but she sure was nice to look at.

What was it about her that appealed to him? She was petite—a type he
’
d never been attracted to. A guy of his size had no business with a woman he could break if he wasn
’t very careful. She was abra
sive at times—maybe only with him—but s
till abra
sive. Then there was her overabundance of jobs. And her son, who had the hots for his baby.

Joe sighed. As he watched Evie walk, confident, light on her feet, as if ready for anything—and with those twins, she probably was—he found himself wondering if she would taste as good as she looked.

Yep, he was definitely losing his mind.

The twins barreled past, hooting and hollering. She didn
’
t even flinch when they careered into her. Joe had to smile. The more he saw Evie the more he thought she was good at the mom thing. And he liked the twins. They kind of grew on you—like a fungus that wouldn
’
t let go.

They hit him at the knees, one attached to each leg.
“
Hey, Coach Joe!
”

“
Hey, Benji. Hey, Danny.
”
He had no idea which was which. He usually addressed them both at the same time until he could figure out who was wearing the red shirt or the blue cap.

Joe took in the identical faces framed by identical caps, identical uniforms covering identically sized bodies, and he rubbed his eyes. When he lowered his hands, the double vision remained the same.

He didn
’
t want them to know he had no idea who was who. That would be asking for trouble he didn
’
t need.
“
Go out and warm up,
”
he ordered, and they released him to run onto the field. He greeted Evie. Perhaps he could catch a clue from their mother.

She shielded her eyes from the sun at his back and peered into his face.
“
Ready for the first game?
”

“
Sure.
”
He didn
’
t sound sure, even to his own ears, and when she laughed, he knew he hadn
’
t fooled her, either.

“
Calm down.
”
She dropped her hand.
“
This is T-ball. The only fan
s in the stands will be the par
ents, and they just want their kids to have fun and learn a little.
”

“
They don
’
t want to win?
”

“
In T-ball?
”
She stared at him as if he
’
d said Martians were going to play football against the Minnesota Vikings.
“
We don
’
t worry about winning at that age.
”

Joe sighed with relief. Though he
’d been com
petitive all his lif
e and winning had been his busi
ness, the more he worked with little kids, the more ridiculous the old ideas of winning and losing and being perfect seemed.

“
Good,
”
he said.

“
That
’
s okay with you?
” Her voice reflected sur
prise at his attitude, which annoyed him.

“
Are you here as a parent, or my boss?
”

She tilted her head, studying him.
“
Both. Though I
’
m not really your boss. It
’
s not like you get paid or anything.
”

“
But you can fire me.
”

She grinned.
“
There is that.
”

He pointed to the twins.
“
They like to play.
”

“
They like to do what their brother does.
”

He slid a glance in her direction.
“
And where is
their brother?
”

“
At the batting cage, practicing.
”

“
He
’
s that serious about baseball?
”

“
Weren
’
t you that serious about football?
”

“
I guess I was. You think he has a chance to go pro?
”

“
How many kids go pro?
”

“
Not very many.
”

“
Right. Especially from a town like Oak Grove. Hard to get noticed unless you win championships, and that doesn
’
t happen here very often.
”

“
Until now?
”

“
That
’
s what I
’
m aiming for.
”

“
Serious aim you have.
”

“
I always do.
”

“
I don
’
t want Toni terrorized for Little League.
”

“
It
’
s Big League, and do I look like a woman to strike terror into the hearts of children?
”

He eyed her for
a long moment, considering. Fi
nally he admitted the truth.
“
I don
’
t know.
”

Her lips tightened.
“
I guess you
’
ll find out.
”

“
Hmm.
”

Evie had said they didn
’
t worry about winning in T-ball. But T-ball
and Big League were two differ
ent things. Joe recalled how Toni had looked every time her mother criticized her. He didn
’
t want her upset because this
woman had an agenda. Still, yes
terday when someone had yelled at Toni, Evie had put her foot down. He
’
d wait and see what happened when Toni lost a game. If Evie didn
’
t behave like a lady, Toni
’
s pitching days were history.

“
So which one is which?
”
He pointed at the twins again.

Her lips twitched.
“
You don
’
t know?
”

“
I can usually figure it out by the middle of a practice, then I keep them straight by who
’
s wearing what. But now...
”
He shrugged helplessly.

“
You realize they
’
ll switch on you, just for fun?
”

“
They do that a lot?
”

“
Not to me.
”

“
I guess it doesn
’
t really matter.
”

“
No?
”

“
So they switch and one plays outfield and the other plays infield. If they
’
re happy, I
’
m happy.
”

“
That
’
s the kind of attitude I like to hear in a coach.
”

“
I live to please,
”
he said sarcastically.

She raised her eyebrow.
“
That
’s the kind of att
itude I like to hear in a man.
”

Evie sauntered off before he could say anything more. Joe just enjoyed the view.

Evie
sat
at
the
top
of the bleachers and watched in dismay as the stands around the T-ball diamonds filled with spectators.

What was going on? Even if every kid brought parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, that didn
’
t explain all these people.

Joe looked up at her for the fifth time and lifted his hands in supplication. Another person asked him for an autograph, and he turned away to comply.

Evie admitted the truth she
’
d suspected for the past twenty minutes. All these people had come to see Joe.

Something had to be done, and she was the one who would have to do it. Evie jumped down from the bleachers and strode toward the field.

The middle school kid who had drawn this game to umpire stared into the stands with a white, still face. Evie put her hand on his shoulder, and he jumped.

“
Relax,
”
she said.
“
It
’
s just a game like any other game.
”
He didn
’
t appear convinced.
“
Go on,
”
Evie urged.
“
Start. They
’re here to watch Scal
otta anyway. They won
’
t pay attention to you.
”