Read Online Out of Her League by Lori Handeland - Free Book Online
Authors: Lori Handeland
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panic from his lips. “ Time to go. ” When she hesitated, he ordered, “ Right now, young lady. ”
All the way to the car Joe heard the echo of his father ’ s voice co ming out of his mouth—and he de cided, maybe that wasn ’ t so bad.
Their first real game came the next week. Evie worried for days that Joe would call and pull Toni from the league. Joe was trying too hard to be a father to a girl who ’ d never had one. Too much, too late, was not the way to go. But Evie doubted Joe desired her advice on raising his daughter.
She couldn ’ t blame him for wanting to protect his little girl. She wanted to protect her little boy. But sometimes Mother Nature was too strong to stop. From the look on Adam ’ s face as he ’ d watched Toni leave with her father, now was one of those times.
When should she have “ the talk ” with him? Damn Ray Vaughn for dying and leaving her with three boys. The point of having boys was that the dad took them to the men ’ s room at the mall, and the dad told the m about women, sex and responsi bility.
Evie gave a silent snort of derision. There hadn ’ t been a responsible bone in Ray ’ s body. He would have been as worthless at “ the talk ” as he had been walking the walk of a husband and father.
Adam drove again. Some days Evie wondered if she ’ d ever get her car keys back. He had on his uniform—team shirt, white baseball pants and the hat he usually pulled low over his brow, now turned bill backward for driving safety. When had he grown up on her?
A low-level argument began between the twins, which Evie chose to ignore. No one was crying or bleeding yet—round one. After the game they would have a talk about the continued abuse of rule num ber four. Evie returned her attention to her eldest son.
Adam glanced her way, then back at the road. “ What? ”
“ Hmm? ”
“ You keep staring at me. ”
“ Sorry. ” She stopped.
However, Adam wasn ’ t going to let “ Sorry ” be enough. “ Staring, staring, staring. Last night, this morning, now. What gives? ”
She wasn ’ t about to tell him, before a game and in front of the twins, that she was terrified he was going to fall in love and screw up his life.
Would she have listened if her parents had told her the same thing eighteen years ago? Come to think of it—they had, and she hadn ’ t.
“ Mom? ”
“ It ’ s nothing. You just look so grown-up. ”
“ I am grown-up. ”
“ I know. ” Her eyes burned. She blinked hard and fast before the burn turned into tears.
Adam had seen her cry a lot of times after Ray died, but not at all since they ’ d moved to Oak Grove. Evie planned to keep it that way. Their lives were on track now, and she wasn ’ t going back to how things had been. Her son had grown up too fast. Though she ’ d never asked him to, she still felt guilty whenever he acted like the man of the house. He was just that kind of kid. Responsible.
“ There ’ s Joe! ” Danny cried.
Evie ’ s heart started to thump in a new sort of rhythm, and she turned her attention to the ball field as Adam pulled into the parking lot. Tonight Joe wore a jade-green T-shirt tucked into white jeans. Very few men could carry off white jeans. Joe Scal otta was one of them.
Before the car even stopped, the release of twin seat belts pinged from the back seat. “ Freeze! ” she ordered. “ Please stay seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop at the gate. ”
“ Huh? ”
“ How many times do I have to tell you not to unbuckle until the car has stopped? For all you know, Adam could hit a brick wall, or someone could smash into us from behind. ”
“ It ’ s happened, ” Adam grumbled. “ And then you have chaos. ”
Evie shot him a glare. He wasn ’ t happy the door that had replaced the one Joe hit was a different color from the rest of the car. His friends had started referring to the car as “ Patch, ” an embarrassment to a seventeen-year-old. For
All the way to the car Joe heard the echo of his father ’ s voice co ming out of his mouth—and he de cided, maybe that wasn ’ t so bad.
Their first real game came the next week. Evie worried for days that Joe would call and pull Toni from the league. Joe was trying too hard to be a father to a girl who ’ d never had one. Too much, too late, was not the way to go. But Evie doubted Joe desired her advice on raising his daughter.
She couldn ’ t blame him for wanting to protect his little girl. She wanted to protect her little boy. But sometimes Mother Nature was too strong to stop. From the look on Adam ’ s face as he ’ d watched Toni leave with her father, now was one of those times.
When should she have “ the talk ” with him? Damn Ray Vaughn for dying and leaving her with three boys. The point of having boys was that the dad took them to the men ’ s room at the mall, and the dad told the m about women, sex and responsi bility.
Evie gave a silent snort of derision. There hadn ’ t been a responsible bone in Ray ’ s body. He would have been as worthless at “ the talk ” as he had been walking the walk of a husband and father.
Adam drove again. Some days Evie wondered if she ’ d ever get her car keys back. He had on his uniform—team shirt, white baseball pants and the hat he usually pulled low over his brow, now turned bill backward for driving safety. When had he grown up on her?
A low-level argument began between the twins, which Evie chose to ignore. No one was crying or bleeding yet—round one. After the game they would have a talk about the continued abuse of rule num ber four. Evie returned her attention to her eldest son.
Adam glanced her way, then back at the road. “ What? ”
“ Hmm? ”
“ You keep staring at me. ”
“ Sorry. ” She stopped.
However, Adam wasn ’ t going to let “ Sorry ” be enough. “ Staring, staring, staring. Last night, this morning, now. What gives? ”
She wasn ’ t about to tell him, before a game and in front of the twins, that she was terrified he was going to fall in love and screw up his life.
Would she have listened if her parents had told her the same thing eighteen years ago? Come to think of it—they had, and she hadn ’ t.
“ Mom? ”
“ It ’ s nothing. You just look so grown-up. ”
“ I am grown-up. ”
“ I know. ” Her eyes burned. She blinked hard and fast before the burn turned into tears.
Adam had seen her cry a lot of times after Ray died, but not at all since they ’ d moved to Oak Grove. Evie planned to keep it that way. Their lives were on track now, and she wasn ’ t going back to how things had been. Her son had grown up too fast. Though she ’ d never asked him to, she still felt guilty whenever he acted like the man of the house. He was just that kind of kid. Responsible.
“ There ’ s Joe! ” Danny cried.
Evie ’ s heart started to thump in a new sort of rhythm, and she turned her attention to the ball field as Adam pulled into the parking lot. Tonight Joe wore a jade-green T-shirt tucked into white jeans. Very few men could carry off white jeans. Joe Scal otta was one of them.
Before the car even stopped, the release of twin seat belts pinged from the back seat. “ Freeze! ” she ordered. “ Please stay seated until the aircraft comes to a complete stop at the gate. ”
“ Huh? ”
“ How many times do I have to tell you not to unbuckle until the car has stopped? For all you know, Adam could hit a brick wall, or someone could smash into us from behind. ”
“ It ’ s happened, ” Adam grumbled. “ And then you have chaos. ”
Evie shot him a glare. He wasn ’ t happy the door that had replaced the one Joe hit was a different color from the rest of the car. His friends had started referring to the car as “ Patch, ” an embarrassment to a seventeen-year-old. For
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