Read Online A Whole New Ball Game by Belle Payton - Free Book Online Page B

relieved. “Got it. Well, I was going to take the girls to the pool. But maybe you’d like to take them?”
    â€œSure,” Tommy said. “I heard some of the guys say they might be heading there too.”
    It had taken awhile to understand the drivinglaws in Texas, but Tommy and their mom had finally gotten the paperwork straightened out saying that it was legal for Tommy to drive his siblings.
    The car ride there was quiet. After a few minutes, Tommy gave up trying to find a station that didn’t play country. This time Alex had actually won the shotgun battle for the front passenger seat. They rode in silence until Alex finally cleared her throat and blurted out a question.
    â€œHow are things between you and Daddy?” she asked Tommy.
    Ava perked up her ears.
    Tommy drummed the wheel thoughtfully, as though trying to think of the best way to respond. “Things are okay, not great,” he said. “Some of the guys think Coach is being really harsh on a few players. Like PJ and Tyler. And even me,” he added grimly.
    â€œOh,” said Alex worriedly. “I thought things were better.”
    In the backseat, Ava crossed her arms and sulked. She’d been concerned about their dad since they’d gotten to Texas. Why had it taken Alex so long to get a clue?
    But she knew the answer to that. That wasthe way Alex always was: quick to love everyone and see the bright side of everything. She was slow to acknowledge that a person might have ulterior motives and wasn’t quite as nice as she thought. Alex liked everyone, and everyone liked Alex.
    As they pulled into the parking lot, Tommy put the car in park and then took out his phone to check his texts. “A bunch of guys from the team are meeting up here,” he announced. “You girls okay staying awhile?”
    â€œYes!” said Alex quickly. “I just got a text from Emily. She said she’s on her way here too. I guess a whole bunch of AMS kids come to this pool on Saturdays. Let’s stay as long as possible.” Ava had to admire her sister. She was very good at sizing up the social landscape of a new place and strategically putting herself into the right situations. How had she known that this pool, which was across town from their neighborhood, was the place to see and be seen? She probably will get herself elected class president, Ava thought.
    The girl at the front desk smiled at Tommy. Ava had noticed that girls did this a lot these days. Then the girl looked at the twins, andrealization dawned on her face. “Oh! Y’all must be the Sacketts, right?”
    â€œYeah,” said Tommy with a grin. “My twin sisters are a dead giveaway. How much do we owe you?”
    â€œNo charge for y’all,” she said, waving them through. “Women’s locker room on the left, men’s is straight ahead.”
    â€œThanks,” said Alex and Ava together.
    â€œA girl could get used to this royal treatment,” Alex whispered to Ava as they headed into the locker room to change.
    The swimming area was enormous. There were three different pools—one shallow wading pool full of little kids and their parents; another, directly in front of them, that looked like a tween and teen hangout; and a third that looked like an Olympic-size pool and was marked off with lanes. Serious swimmers were doing laps, and a swim practice was going on at the far end.
    As Tommy headed off to find his teammates, the girls found two empty chairs and dragged them together. Then they laid out their towels. Alex settled into her chair and opened her magazine as Ava peeled off her T-shirt. Her mom had finally convinced her to buy a new bathingsuit, and she had to admit, she loved it. It was a sleek, silver, one-piece racer.
    Alex, in contrast, had talked their mother into buying her two new suits. Today she was debuting a cute fluorescent-blue bikini with a retro-looking, forties-style halter top.
    Ava had