Read Online Covering Home by Heidi McCahan - Free Book Online

dugout. Instead of congratulating him on his stellar performance, a troubled expression clouded Shin’s face. Jason stared at the ground.
    “Shin?” Caleb planted his hands on his hips and glanced from Jason to Shin. “What’s going on?”
    “You must not show disrespect to Kentaro,” Shin said.
    Huh? “This is baseball. The whole objective is to strike him out.”
    Shin shook his head. “Not today.”
    Caleb’s gut twisted. “You’re kidding me, right?”
    Jason and Shin spoke to one another in Japanese.
    “No, no, no.” Caleb waved his hand in front of their faces. “Say what you need to say. Don’t sugarcoat it.”
    “It is Japanese custom. Honor and respect our heroes. No striking him out. I hope you understand.” Shin placed his hand on Caleb’s arm.
    Caleb shook him off, reached for a discarded Gatorade bottle, and hurled it across the dugout, releasing a string of profanity with it. The bottle careened off the opposite wall and skidded under an empty chair.
    He understood, all right. No matter how hard he tried or how well he performed, he’d never trump the customs and traditions of this foreign land.

    Bottom of the fourth inning and the bases were loaded. The Rays had finally scored two runs, and the Senators had responded with three straight hits. Caleb leaned over and scooped up a handful of dirt from the mound, letting it trickle through his fingers. He needed a minute. The crowd was so loud he could hardly hear himself think. Shin’s words about honor lingered in the back of his mind. But his competitive drive struggled to embrace the concept of subduing his performance to placate such a … foreign way of thinking. Never in his life had a coach or a manager asked him to hold back in favor of glorifying the opponent.
    As Kentaro Hashimoto stepped into the batter’s box and pointed his bat toward the outfield wall—again—Caleb’s adrenaline surged. He had a choice to make. If he let the hometown hero swing for the fences, then the go-ahead run might cross home plate. He would earn positive marks from Shin in the obedience category but set his team up for failure. Not to mention earning the dreaded “L” in his first outing as a Rays pitcher. He shook his head, both at Taka’s sign and at the absurd situation. Not gonna happen.
    He wound up and hurled his fastball toward home plate, willing it to find its way to the recesses of Taka’s mitt. Hashimoto swung too late and the umpire signaled a strike. Yes. Shin came and stood at the railing that divided the dugout from the field. Caleb avoided eye contact and watched Taka’s fingers instead. Yes, he’d throw his change-up. Good call, Taka. The ball released from his fingers, soaring toward the strike zone, just as he hoped. For a second, he thought Hashimoto would bunt, but he swung and missed again.
    The crowd was absolutely beside themselves. The chants, cameras flashing and undulating blur of blue and white was almost more than he could take. He wavered in his game plan. What would this mean for his future if he threw another strike?
    Turning the ball over and over in his hand, he covered his mouth with his glove. Drawing a deep breath, he knew what he needed to do. Wanted to do. Exhaling, he planted the ball in his glove, wound up and threw what he hoped was the best curveball of the night. Hashimoto didn’t stand a chance. His bat sliced through the air, his torso twisting as he grimaced. The ball smacked Taka’s glove. Strike three.
    Caleb bit his cheek to hide his satisfaction. Man, that felt good. He allowed himself a quick scan of the crowd. Their excitement fueled his competitive nature. No amount of disapproval on the part of his manager could squelch this moment. He had a game to win.
    Shin hadn’t moved from the railing. He looked at the ground, his arms clasped behind his back as Caleb approached. While his teammates lined up to greet him, Caleb hesitated on the top step when Shin reached out and touched his arm.