Hittin' It Out the Park Read Online Free Page B

They mailed me the ticket, I caught the bus up from Scranton this morning, and here I am.”
    â€œAnd here you are.”
    â€œAnd here I am.” Randy gave a slight chuckle, his eyes lowering to the table, before shaking his head. “Yep. Here I am.”
    â€œHey, what’s wrong?” Cheryl gave him a slight nudge. “You okay?”
    â€œYep, I’m okay,” Randy said, hurriedly looking up again. “I was kinda hoping, well, ya know, that this invite mighta meant something.”
    â€œSomething like what?” Cheryl asked, although she was sure she knew what he meant. It was the dream of every Minor League player to make it to the majors. Randy would be no exception.
    â€œI don’t know. Well, I thought he was, ya know, scouting me or something.” Randy started chewing his lip. “I been with the Rail-Riders for almost three years now. Went there right outta high school. This is the final year on my contract. It woulda been nice if a big-time agent was interested in finding me a spot in the majors. But when we bumped into each other when we were coming in, it was obvious he didn’t even recognize me, ya know?”
    â€œOh, wow.”
    â€œDon’t get me wrong, I had a great time, and all,” Randy added. “And I always knew making it to the majors would be a long shot. But always, in the back of my mind, I kinda hoped the only way I’d be returning to Eufaula was to visit family.”
    â€œYou what?”
    Randy grinned. “Eufaula. You-FAH-luh. It’s in Alabama. About two hours south of Atlanta.”
    â€œSmall town?” Cheryl wasn’t sure why she was interested, but she found she was genuinely so. After gleaning that he was only about twenty-one, made less than $30,000 a year, didn’t have a car, and really no prospects, she had definitely excluded him as potential boyfriend material—even if he did have a nice package. Still, there was something touching about the young man sitting next to her. She was charmed by him.
    â€œEufaula’s not too small. About thirteen-thousand people.” Randy laughed when he saw the expression on Cheryl’s face. “Okay, maybe to you that’s very small, but I’ll have you know Eufaula is the biggest town in Balfour County.”
    â€œIs that so?” Cheryl giggled.
    â€œOh, here you are!” a catty voice called out behind them.
    Cheryl closed her eyes for a few moments and shook her head a couple of times, hoping that by the time she looked up the owner of the voice would have disappeared. No such luck. “What’s up, Sheila?”

Cheryl
    â€œN othing.” Sheila leaned her weight on her left leg, slowly jutting her right hip out provocatively. “I noticed you out here, and thought I’d walk over so you could introduce me to your boyfriend.” She glanced at Randy, then gave Cheryl a smirk. “I simply love his hair. How long have you been seeing each other?”
    Cheryl didn’t miss a beat. “About three weeks.” She leaned her head on Randy’s shoulder, and smiled as he put his arm around hers. “Sheila Arlington, I’d like you to meet Randall Alston. Randy, dear, this is Sheila.”
    â€œHow do you do?” Randy nodded.
    â€œRandall Alston?” Sheila frowned. “Should I know that name?”
    Cheryl sighed, then turned and looked at Randall. “You have to excuse her, babe. Unlike me, Sheila is one of those really dumb fashion models who doesn’t know anything about sports, politics, or . . . ,” she gave a slight shrug, “or really anything at all besides clothes.”
    Randy nodded, then gave Sheila a quick and disdainful up-and-down look and said with a smirk: “Nice dress.” He squeezed Cheryl’s arm. “So, babe, what were we talking about?”
    Yes! Yes! Yes! Cheryl wanted to raise her arms in victory. She had no idea that Randy could be that