Hittin' It Out the Park Read Online Free

cleaning bill. Looks like you got off easy.” Cheryl smiled up at him. During the season? Hmm, a ball player, then? Maybe this party wasn’t such a waste after all.
    She leaned back and gave her potential prospect a good once-over.
    Country, without a doubt, and his hair is pathetic, but once you get past that, and the patch of acne on the right side of his face, this Randy guy is actually kind of handsome. And, face it; he is charming as all hell.
    â€œWow, this chair is a little wobbly, ya know?” Randy stood up, and quickly pulled a chair from another table to replace the one he’d been sitting on, giving Cheryl an opportunity for a more thorough inspection. She struggled to hide a smile as she looked at the front of his pants. And he’s packing, too. Now it wasn’t only the wetness of the water making her nipples hard.
    â€œSo, you’re a baseball player? What team?”
    â€œThe Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.”
    â€œOh!” Cheryl didn’t bother to hide the disappointment in her voice. Minor League. Old country Randy Alston was barely making $2,000 a month. Though modeling wasn’t half as lucrative as most people thought, she could make five or six times that amount in a good Fashion Week. Ten times that amount if you counted the value of the clothes some designers gave in lieu of cash.
    â€œYou probably haven’t heard of them,” Randy continued. “It’s what you call a farm team—”
    â€œI’m familiar with them,” Cheryl cut him off. “One of the New York Yankees farm teams, not far outside of Pittsburgh. What position do you play?”
    â€œThird base.” Randy smiled. “You’ve really heard of the Rail-Riders? Get outta here.”
    Cheryl shrugged. “My father was a sports attorney, in addition to being a HUGE Yankee fan. He knew everything there was to know about the team.”
    â€œWas? Your father’s passed away?”
    Cheryl nodded, biting her lip. “He died when I was ten.”
    â€œI’m guessing by the tone in your voice, it still hurts. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
    â€œNo, it’s okay. But, yeah, it still hurts. He and I were . . . we were really close. I still miss him after all these years. I guess I was what you call a Daddy’s girl. As far as he was concerned, I was a little princess. And when you’re a kid, you never imagine something’s gonna happen to your folks. He was only forty. Who has a heart attack at forty, right?” Cheryl quickly blinked back the tears that she hadn’t realized were welling up in her eyes. “But, hey,” she said, trying to force a smile. “Such is life. And death. Huh?”
    â€œHey, hey.” Randy leaned over and put his hand over Cheryl’s. “You don’t have to play down your pain for my benefit or anyone else’s, It’s okay ta still be grieving.”
    Cheryl blinked harder, but Randy’s soothing words, the warmth of his hands, the martinis, and speaking about her father combined to give her heart a bittersweet ache. She finally gave in, and used her hands to wipe the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.
    Randy quietly moved his chair so that he was sitting by her side. “You okay?”
    Cheryl nodded. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me tonight.” She looked up to see Henry approaching them. She felt a small wave of embarrassment, realizing that both he and Randy had seen her minor breakdown. “See, this is your fault,” she told the drink waiter with a pout.
    â€œMine, ma’am?” Henry asked.
    â€œYes, you were supposed to stop me before I had too much to drink, remember?” Cheryl answered. “Now, look, here I am . . . a crying drunk.”
    â€œWell, ma’am, if you don’t mind my saying,” Henry said stiffly, placing her drink in front of her, “at least you’re no longer