Read Online Every Breaking Wave by Megan Nugen Isbell - Free Book Online

ya, Beth, and you too, Noah,” he said, holding out his hand to Noah who slapped it hard as he smiled. “Thanks for fillin’ in tonight.  We cannot lose.  Not tonight.” Bill looked serious.  I thought Jeremy had been teasing about how cutthroat this league was.  Perhaps I’d been wrong.
    “We’re playing the crew of Chester’s Hazard.  My uncle hates Chester,” Jeremy whispered in my ear, a half-smile on his face. “You’d better not make any mistakes tonight.”
    “I’ll do my best,” I said sarcastically.
    Jeremy went around introducing me to the rest of the team.  They were all just as happy to see me as Bill had been.  Jeremy and I were about to start warming up when a couple walked up to us. They looked to be around my age. The man was tall with a shaved head and the woman was pretty with dark brown hair and eyes just like Jeremy’s. I immediately assumed she was his sister.  There was a little girl beside them.  She looked a couple of years older than Noah with brown pigtails and glasses.
    “Hey,” Jeremy said when he saw them, walking over and giving the woman a hug and then flipping one of the little girl’s pigtails. “Aubrey, Kevin, this is Beth and her son Noah.”
    Aubrey’s smile was a warm one and I got a good feeling about her. 
    “It’s nice to meet you, Beth.  Thanks for saving the day.  You should’ve heard my brother and my husband carrying on and on about what they were going to do once they learned Stewart’s wife had gone into labor.  They even tried to rope me into playing, but I just got a manicure two days ago.  I’m not risking that.”
    Her last comment didn’t surprise me.  Aubrey didn’t look like the kind of woman who’d spent a lot of time playing in the dirt.
    “I’m just hoping to not make a fool of myself out there. I haven’t played since high school.”
    “You’ll do fine.  You’re a warm body and that’s all we need,” Jeremy said, tossing a softball forcefully into his mitt a few times. 
    I saw Aubrey roll her eyes.
    “We weren’t that bad, Aubrey,” Kevin chimed in, sticking his hand out to shake mine. “Nice to meet you, Beth.”
    “You were that bad. You guys were whining like a couple of five-year-olds,” she said and then she turned her attention back to us, kneeling down so she was at Noah’s level.
    “You must be Noah,” she said with a smile.  Noah inched closer to me and I put my arm around his shoulder. “This is Sophie. She’s five.” The little girl smiled widely and waved to Noah.  She didn’t appear to suffer from shyness as my son did. “I hear we’re gonna be hanging out while your mommy plays some softball.” Noah continued to squish against me, but then Sophie approached him, taking his hand.
    “C’mon, Noah.”
    He looked up at me with nervous brown eyes and I smiled encouragingly at him.
    “Go on.  You’ll have fun and I’ll be right here if you need me.”
    He remained hesitant for a few more seconds, but then Sophie tugged his arm gently, saying, “We’ll go get a snow cone.”
    His shyness seemed to vanish at those words and he and Sophie started walking away. I couldn’t help but feel my own trepidation when he left, but then I felt Aubrey’s hand on my arm.
    “Don’t worry.  We’ll look after him.  It’ll be fun.  You just concentrate on winning.  I don’t need a bitchy husband and brother to deal with.”
    She laughed and Jeremy just shoved her playfully.
    “Yeah, yeah.  Get outta here,” he said and Aubrey left, but not before shoving him back and they turned and left.  
    “I like your sister,” I said once they were gone.
    “She’s alright.” His grin told me that while he was trying to be cool, he actually thought the world of her. “Now, let’s warm up, Sawyer,” he said, tossing the ball to me. 
     
    ~~~
     
    The game was going surprisingly well.  The team included me immediately, making me feel as if I’d known them for years, not just minutes.  I