Out of Her League Read Online Free Page A

it.
    “ Good morning, boys, ” she called.
    “‘ Mornin ’ , Coach Vaughn. ”
    “ Excuse me? ”
    Evie paused in the midst of dumping a bag of baseballs onto the ground, her gaze se arching the crowd for the owner of the voice. “ Who said that? ”
    “ I did. ” A tall blond girl stepped through the herd of boys. “ I just wanted to let you know I was here. ” She shrugged and glanced around sheepishly. “ You said ‘ boys ’ and well... ” Kicking at the grass with the toe of her baseball spikes, the girl avoided Evie ’ s eyes. “ I ’ m not a boy. ”
    “ No. ” Evie smiled. “ I can see you ’ re not. ” Evie couldn ’ t remember this girl from earlier years, but then, they changed so fast. “ I take it you ’ d like to play Big League? ”
    “ Yeah. I was told to come to your team ‘ cause you were short a player, and I missed the tryouts. Is that right? ”
    “ You ’ re new in Oak Grove? ” The weight in Evie ’ s chest lightened at the girl ’ s nod. “ W hat po sition did you play on your old team? ”
    “ Pitcher. ”
    This is too lucky to be true , Evie thought before addressing the girl once more. “ Are you any good? ”
    “ I pitched in the state championships last year. But we didn ’ t win. ”
    “ Hot dog! ” Evie clapped her hands, then bent down to snatch a baseball from the ground. Tossing it to the girl, she said to Adam, “ Let ’ s see what she can do. ”
    In seconds Evie ’ s team had taken position in the outfield. The boys had played together since child hood, with few additions or deletions. They were a great team. All they needed was a break.
    Evie stood at home plate and lined up to bat. With a smile, she nodded to the girl on the pitcher ’ s mound.
    The windup.
    Steady eyes , Evie thought. Looks good.
    The throw. Fast and straight on.
    Evie swung, expecting to hear her bat connect with the ball. Instead, she stumbled forward when her bat connected with her left shoulder. Turning, she stared in amazement at the ball resting in Adam ’ s glove.
    She ’ d whiffed! She hadn ’ t whiffed since high school.
    Shading her eyes, Evie squinted toward the pitcher ’ s mound. “ What ’ s your name? ” she shouted.
    “ Antonia. But everyone calls me ‘ Toni. ’ Toni Scalotta. ”
    Evie ’ s hand dropped back to her side and hung, a dead weight. “ Scalotta, ” she muttered. “ That figures. ”
     
     
    Joe had driven Toni to the baseball diamonds, but, at her request, he stayed away from where she was playing. His daughter wanted to do this on her own, and she knew too well how teenage boys reacted to the sight of Iceman Scalotta.
    Instead, Joe walked around the section of the field where the smaller children practiced. He found their antics as they learne d the basics of baseball endear ing.
    Standing on the outskirts of one diamond, Joe watched in amazement as the boys and girls in the field played a game he ’ d never seen before. It looked to be some kind of tackle baseball, with every child on the field racing for the ball, even going so far as to take it away from a teammate by force. Then, when the winner tried to throw the ball back to the infield, he or she discovered there was no one left to throw the ball to. They had all left their posts to chase after the runaway hit, and now the runner headed for home, stubby legs pumping like an old-fashioned steam engine.
    Joe had to bite down on his cheek to keep from laughing. A tug on his pant leg had him looking down into the bright blue eyes of a redheaded tyke.
    “ Hi, ” Joe ventured. “ Are you lost? ”
    “ Nope. I ’ m Danny. ”
    “ Uh-huh. Did you want something? ”
    “ Yeah. A T-ball coach. My team ’ s the only one without a coach. If we can ’ t get one, we can ’ t play. ”
    “ Why don ’ t you ask your dad? ”
    “ Can ’ t. He ’ s dead. ”
    Joe frowned. Poor kid. Cute little thing, too . Still, Joe had to discourage the child right away. He knew nothing about