Read Online Out of Her League by Lori Handeland - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lori Handeland
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Scalotta? ”
Joe sighed, plastered a PR smile on his face and greeted the tenth person who had asked him that in the past hour. What he really wanted was to watch his little girl make her pitching debut. But so far Coach Mom hadn ’ t put Toni into the game.
“ Can I have your autograph? ”
“ Sure. ” Joe reached for the pen and paper the man held out.
“ It ’ s for my boy, ” the guy said. “ Andy. He ’ s one of your biggest fans. Me, too. I didn ’ t believe it when I heard you were actually living in Oak Grove. What for? ”
Joe finished scribbling his name. As a kid he ’ d often practiced giving autographs. Now, after the eight-thousandth time he ’d signed his name to pa per, football, shirt or poster, he wondered why he ’ d ever thought it would be fun. He liked talking with people usually, but the signature thing got old fast.
He handed the autograph to the man, flicked his gaze toward the game and shrugged. “ Why not here? It ’ s a nice town. ”
“ Sure. Nice but boring. Nothing ever happens in Oak Grove. What about New York? L.A.? Heck, even Chicago is better than here. ”
“ Ever visited any of those places? ”
“ No, but I ’ d sure love to. ”
“ No, you wouldn ’ t. Too many people. Too many cars. Smells like... ” Joe thought a minute. “ Like burned-up rubber tires and month-old bananas. And loud, so loud your ears hurt. ”
“ Sounds exciting to me. ”
Joe grunted. “ To each his own, I guess. ”
“ Yeah. ”
The guy looked puzzled, and Joe couldn ’ t blame him. You always wanted what you didn ’ t have. He ’ d been the same way as a kid. Couldn ’ t wait to get out of Missouri. Then he ’ d lived the express version of “ If it ’ s Tuesday, it must be Philadelphia ” and Missouri had started to look pretty darn good—as good as Oak Grove did right now. He already loved this place.
“ Well, thanks for the autograph, ” the guy said. “ See ya ‘ round. ”
“ I ’ ll be here. ”
Joe returned his attention to the game, just in time to see his daughter take the mound.
Toni swallowed , but the lump in her throat didn ’ t move. She hadn ’ t b een this nervous since the cham pionship game last year. Why would taking the mound in the first game of a new season, when her team was up 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, make her so nervous?
She focused on home plate and saw her prob lem—Adam Vaughn. Toni had never cared what a boy thought of her as a girl—until now. Boys had been her teammates, her buddies, her pals. But this season, something was different. Was the difference in her? Or in the boy behind the mask?
Toni threw a warm-up pitch, hard and wild. Adam let the ball go by, since there was no batter to worry about. But before he went to chase it, he lifted his mask and frowned in her direction.
Toni ’ s fair skin went hot. She wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there. Why on earth had she asked to play ball in this town? Why had she ever started in the first place?
Her mother had gone ballistic when she ’ d first discovered Toni sp ent her spare time playing sand lot baseball. But Toni loved the game, and she was good. Since she was good at very little, according to her mother, Toni had stuck to her guns with base ball, even when her mom had ranted and raved about Toni ’ s tomboy tendencies. Mom had gone so far as to say that Toni was trying to get her father ’ s attention through sports. By winning games, she thought she could win Daddy ’ s love. She also said Toni could never win enough to make that happen. Toni was a girl, and Joe just wasn ’ t interested.
Because her father saw her rarely, and when he did he was so stiff and uncomfortable it was painful to watch, Toni half believed her mother was right—and it had hurt. But she kept playing. Though she might not be able to win her dad ’ s love, she could feel good about herself whenever she won a game.
Adam brought the ball back to the mound,
Joe sighed, plastered a PR smile on his face and greeted the tenth person who had asked him that in the past hour. What he really wanted was to watch his little girl make her pitching debut. But so far Coach Mom hadn ’ t put Toni into the game.
“ Can I have your autograph? ”
“ Sure. ” Joe reached for the pen and paper the man held out.
“ It ’ s for my boy, ” the guy said. “ Andy. He ’ s one of your biggest fans. Me, too. I didn ’ t believe it when I heard you were actually living in Oak Grove. What for? ”
Joe finished scribbling his name. As a kid he ’ d often practiced giving autographs. Now, after the eight-thousandth time he ’d signed his name to pa per, football, shirt or poster, he wondered why he ’ d ever thought it would be fun. He liked talking with people usually, but the signature thing got old fast.
He handed the autograph to the man, flicked his gaze toward the game and shrugged. “ Why not here? It ’ s a nice town. ”
“ Sure. Nice but boring. Nothing ever happens in Oak Grove. What about New York? L.A.? Heck, even Chicago is better than here. ”
“ Ever visited any of those places? ”
“ No, but I ’ d sure love to. ”
“ No, you wouldn ’ t. Too many people. Too many cars. Smells like... ” Joe thought a minute. “ Like burned-up rubber tires and month-old bananas. And loud, so loud your ears hurt. ”
“ Sounds exciting to me. ”
Joe grunted. “ To each his own, I guess. ”
“ Yeah. ”
The guy looked puzzled, and Joe couldn ’ t blame him. You always wanted what you didn ’ t have. He ’ d been the same way as a kid. Couldn ’ t wait to get out of Missouri. Then he ’ d lived the express version of “ If it ’ s Tuesday, it must be Philadelphia ” and Missouri had started to look pretty darn good—as good as Oak Grove did right now. He already loved this place.
“ Well, thanks for the autograph, ” the guy said. “ See ya ‘ round. ”
“ I ’ ll be here. ”
Joe returned his attention to the game, just in time to see his daughter take the mound.
Toni swallowed , but the lump in her throat didn ’ t move. She hadn ’ t b een this nervous since the cham pionship game last year. Why would taking the mound in the first game of a new season, when her team was up 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, make her so nervous?
She focused on home plate and saw her prob lem—Adam Vaughn. Toni had never cared what a boy thought of her as a girl—until now. Boys had been her teammates, her buddies, her pals. But this season, something was different. Was the difference in her? Or in the boy behind the mask?
Toni threw a warm-up pitch, hard and wild. Adam let the ball go by, since there was no batter to worry about. But before he went to chase it, he lifted his mask and frowned in her direction.
Toni ’ s fair skin went hot. She wanted to crawl into a hole and stay there. Why on earth had she asked to play ball in this town? Why had she ever started in the first place?
Her mother had gone ballistic when she ’ d first discovered Toni sp ent her spare time playing sand lot baseball. But Toni loved the game, and she was good. Since she was good at very little, according to her mother, Toni had stuck to her guns with base ball, even when her mom had ranted and raved about Toni ’ s tomboy tendencies. Mom had gone so far as to say that Toni was trying to get her father ’ s attention through sports. By winning games, she thought she could win Daddy ’ s love. She also said Toni could never win enough to make that happen. Toni was a girl, and Joe just wasn ’ t interested.
Because her father saw her rarely, and when he did he was so stiff and uncomfortable it was painful to watch, Toni half believed her mother was right—and it had hurt. But she kept playing. Though she might not be able to win her dad ’ s love, she could feel good about herself whenever she won a game.
Adam brought the ball back to the mound,
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