Playing for Keeps

by LuAnn McLane

  Jason flexed his hand. “Anything for you, baby.”

  Madison crossed her hands over her chest and cooed, “My hero!”

  Olivia laughed. “Oh, she’s not a queen anymore, Jason. Now she’s a Southern diva.”

  “Well, I declare!” Madison batted her eyes. “I rather like it.”

  Noah joined in the laughter and tried to remember when he had felt so relaxed in the company he was with. As the game progressed, the feeling became stronger. In the fifth inning the teams were locked in a pitchers’ duel.

  “We need to set them down one, two, three, and then get some base runners!” Jason declared with a shake of his fist.

  “You got that right,” Noah agreed. “We’ve got the top of the lineup coming up, and I saw signs of fatigue from the Colonels’ pitcher. We need to take advantage of the situation.” When he noticed that Olivia was on the edge of her seat, he smiled and then squeezed her hand.

  “My heart can’t take this,” she said. “I am so nervous for our boys!”

  “I’m telling ya, we’re going to rock the Colonels’ pitcher next inning,” he assured her, but instead of smiling she frowned. “What, Olivia?”

  “I want to win, but I hate that too,” she admitted. “They’re just kids, you know?”

  “Yeah.” Noah gave her a soft smile. He knew the pressure even at this young age. She was such a caring person. “I know.” He tipped the bill of her cap up so he could give her a quick kiss. “You are so adorable.”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”

  “Livie, I’m not handing you a line,” he insisted and was a bit hurt that she still thought he was playing her or putting on a show. He also knew that even though the focus was on the game, people were watching with continued interest in the budding romance between the local schoolteacher and the ballplayer. It was the Cricket Creek version of a reality show, and as much as he was the hometown hero, Olivia was loved and respected in this small town, and opinion would likely change about him if he ever hurt her in any way.

  The conversion with Vince popped into his mind and he took a long look around. No way was he going to let this town down. He simply couldn’t.

  “Noah, you were right,” Jason said. A walk followed by a base hit and then a home run put Cricket Creek up by three runs before a relief pitcher was brought in and struck out the next two batters. “I know Jordan is pitching a shutout, but he’s tired too. Do you think we need a reliever next inning?”

  Noah lifted one shoulder. “I would relieve him, but at his age I was a starter and would have begged to stay in the game. I’m not sure what the pitch count is, but I’d take him out.”

  “I agree,” Jason nodded and then slipped his arm around Madison.

  “Okay,” Madison said, “would someone please tell me why people yell ‘Good eye’? Seriously, what the hel—heck does that mean?”

  Jason replied, “It’s when the batter resists swinging at a ball.”

  Madison angled her head. “But isn’t that the point? To swing at the baseball?”

  “Not the baseball. A ball. You know—not a strike.”

  Madison frowned for a moment and then raised her eyebrows. “Oh! Like if it’s too high or low or whatever and so it’s smart not to swing at a crappy pitch.”

  “Yeah, baby. You got it,” Jason said and gave her a kiss.

  “It’s so cool to learn the lingo. I love lingo.” She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Good eye!” she yelled, but then put a hand over her mouth after the umpire bellowed “Strike three,” ending the inning. “Oops. I guess timing is everything. Should I yell ‘Bad eye’?”

  “No!” Jason warned, clearly horrified.

  “I was kidding,” Madison muttered and rolled her eyes at Olivia and Noah.

  “Sure you were.” When Jason laughed, Madison punched him in the shoulder. “Ouch! For such a girlie girl you pack quite a wallop.” He rubbed his arm.

  “I’m not a girlie girl! I’m a tough bit—er, cookie.”

  “Olivia, have you finally cured Madison of her potty mouth?” Noah asked.

  “Hell, yeah,” Olivia answered in such a deadpan tone that it took Noah a second before he burst into laughter. His mirth faded with the heavy clink of a Morgan County Colonels bat smacking a ball to deep center field. “Oh, no!” Olivia jumped up so fast that she toppled sideways and Noah had to catch her to keep her from falling. She clung to him and stomped her foot when the three-run homer sailed over the fence, tying up the game. “Doggone it,” she grumbled and smacked her leg.

  “You were right, Noah,” Jason said. “We should have brought in a relief pitcher.”

  Noah nodded his agreement and watched the Tigers’ coach head out to the mound and signal the bull pen.

  “Why did the coach skip over the chalk line?” Madison asked Noah with a puzzled expression.

  Noah grinned. “Luck. Not stepping on foul lines is a pretty general superstition, but there are probably more idiosyncrasies, superstitions, and good luck charms in baseball than in any other sport.”

  “Really?” Madison asked. “Like what?”

  Noah thought for a moment. “Well, for example, Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher keeps a broken Yankees gnome in his locker.”

  “For real?” Jason asked.

  “True story,” Noah answered with raised hands. “He found it broken in the hallway and said it needed a home. Let’s see … Wade Boggs ate fried chicken before every single game.”

  “Silly,” Madison said with a shake of her head.

  Noah shrugged. “He won five batting titles, two gold gloves, a World Series, and collected over three thousand hits.”

  “Damn.” Jason laughed. “I would have eaten chicken too.”

  “Sounds pretty OCD to me.” Madison rolled her eyes but then said, “Tell us some more. This is crazy, but I love all things crazy.”

  “Cubs pitcher Turk Wendell would wave to the center fielder before starting an inning and would brush his teeth between innings. And here’s a weird one—Kevin Rhomberg of the Cleveland Indians had to touch a person back if they touched him.”

  “No way.” Olivia shook her head. “What if he was tagged out?”

  “He would wait until after the inning to touch him back,” Noah replied. “My friend Ty McKenna wore black underwear every game.”

  “Triple Threat Ty?” Jason asked and Noah nodded.

  “Why?” Madison asked.

  “In baseball, players like things to stay the same if it works. It can even be people sitting in the same place in the stands. Not changing lucky socks. I never shaved before a game.”

  “It’s trying to control something that can’t be controlled,” Madison commented, but Noah could see that she was clearly interested in the conversation.

  “Well, we could use a good luck charm right about now,” Olivia grumbled as the game approached the bottom of the ninth with the score tied.

  “Put on your rally cap,” Noah instructed.

  Olivia grinned and turned her baseball cap inside out and around.

  “Wow, you knew what that meant?” Madison asked with wide eyes. “Cool!” Her eyes got wider when others in the stands followed suit. It was a ripple effect, and soon most of the Tigers fans did the same thing. “Oh, I hope it works!” she said and linked her arm through Jason’s.

  Jimmy Walters, the first batter up, looked at three straight balls, drawing boos from the Colonels fans. “He’s afraid to swing!” someone shouted.

  “That was mean-spirited,” Madison muttered.

  “Don’t let them get into your head,” Noah said. As an athlete he knew how tough it was to keep from getting rattled.

  “Make him pitch to ya!” Jason shouted. “A walk is as good as a hit right now,” he explained to Madison, who nodded firmly.

  “I get it!” she said with an excited little squeal. “Who knew sports could be such fun?” she commented, drawing a chuckle from Jason.

  “My heart is beating a million m
iles a minute!” Olivia said, and when Jimmy got a base hit straight up the middle she jumped to her feet, almost losing her rally cap. “Woo-hoo! Way to go, Jimmy!”

  Noah held on to her once again so she didn’t tip over. He had to laugh—he couldn’t imagine any of the other women he had dated having so much fun at a high school baseball game, and certainly never donning a too-big baseball cap inside out and backward. When she looked at him and caught him staring, she laughed.

  “I know I look ridiculous,” she said with a shrug and then plopped back down on the metal seat with a little clank. “I’m just so excited.”

  “Are you serious?” Noah asked.

  “Well, I always thought so, but you’re bringing out the crazy in me.”

  “Among other things, if you recall,” he reminded her in her ear. “Your kind of crazy is cute, and getting into the game does it for me, Livie. Let’s win this thing and hurry home.” He kissed her on top of her rally cap. “A kiss for luck.”

  “Hope it works!” she said with a grin.

  “Me too. That would mean I would have to kiss you whenever we need runs,” he said. His head snapped up when he heard the bat connecting with a ball. “Another base hit!” He kissed her head again. “Runners on first and second. We need a sacrifice fly.”

  “Okay, explain the lingo,” Madison requested. “I’m guessing it’s not capturing a fly and sacrificing it in some crazy baseball ritual.”

  “When a fly ball is hit, the runner can advance once the ball is caught. You have to tag up and then run like hell!” Jason explained. “You essentially give up a hit, so it’s a sacrifice for the batter.”

  “Oh …” Madison nodded slowly, as if trying to grasp the concept, but before she could ask any more questions a long fly ball to left field had them all on their feet. The runner at second tagged up and safely advanced to third.

  “We need a hit! Kiss my head, Noah! You forgot to last time or that could have been a home run!”

  Noah laughed and kissed her head.

  “Steee-riii-ke!” the umpire bellowed.

  When Olivia inhaled a sharp breath, Noah took her hand. “Oh, poor Freddy Jansen under all this pressure! I hope he doesn’t strike out. Noah, how did you stand it?” She squeezed his hand. “With all eyes on you?”

  “It’s part of the game. The rush,” he said smoothly, but in fact there had been plenty of times when his knees were knocking.

  “Never let ’em see you sweat?” Jason leaned over and asked.

  “Exactly.”

  Freddy smacked the next pitch, bringing the entire Cricket Creek crowd to their feet, shading their hands over their rally caps. The ball sailed high in the air over the second baseman’s head and looked as if it was going to be caught by the center fielder, but he suddenly started backpedaling while holding his glove over his head.

  “Omigosh!” Olivia clung to Noah’s arm.

  “He’s lost it in the sun,” Noah told her.

  The left fielder came running over to help, but a second later the ball tumbled to the ground, and all three outfielders scrambled to make the play. The Tiger on third ran for home just as the center fielder located the ball.

  “There’s going to be a play at the plate!” Jason said and they watched the runner gunning for home as the baseball sailed like a rocket toward the catcher.

  18

  The Games People Play

  Olivia didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until the umpire spread his arms like wings, signaling that the runner was safe. “Yes!” She bounced up and down while clinging to Noah’s arm. A roar went up from the Tigers fans and rally caps were tossed into the air.

  “Now that’s the way to start the season,” Noah said and turned so he could hug her, but Olivia surprised him with a chest bump so hard that they almost toppled over. “Whoa!” He laughed and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up for a bear hug.

  “That was amazing!” Madison shouted, doing some jumping up and down of her own. “Who knew baseball could be so much fun?” she asked, drawing an eye roll from Jason and Noah. “Just teasing,” she assured them. “Sort of …”

  “Y’all want to head over to Sully’s for a cold one?” Jason asked and Olivia was about to agree when Noah jumped in.

  “We’re heading back to Olivia’s to rehearse.” His deep voice sounded like all business, but he gave Olivia’s hand a squeeze and an I-can’t-wait-to-have-you-in-my-arms look. “With opening night right around the corner, we want to have the script down pat. Right, Olivia?”

  “Yes, absolutely,” she answered briskly, but when Noah rubbed his hand in slow circles over her back she all but melted like butter in a hot skillet. “Rr-iii-ght. In fact, we really need to get going.”

  “I understand and I applaud your dedication,” Madison said seriously, but the humor in her big eyes let Olivia know that she knew exactly what was going on. “In fact, I think you should pull an all-nighter. You know, to get it right.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Noah said, but then one look at Madison’s expression had him laughing.

  “Come on, you two are positively giddy and it’s pretty difficult to take Olivia seriously with her …” She pointed to Olivia’s head. “What’s it called?”

  “Rally cap.” With a giggle Olivia reached up and took it off her head to fix it.

  “Hey, it worked,” Noah reminded Madison.

  “Maybe there is something to be said for all of those crazy superstitions,” Madison agreed with a nod. “The theater has some as well.” She shooed Noah and Olivia with her fingers. “Okay, you two go on and rehearse.”

  “Well, then, we’ll see y’all later,” Jason joined in and put his arm around Madison. Apparently, they weren’t fooling anybody, and that was just fine with Olivia.

  “See you tomorrow at the theater,” Madison called over her shoulder.

  “I want to get going.” Noah assisted Olivia down from the bleachers. “But first I want to go over to the dugout and congratulate the team.”

  “Good idea. They’ll love that, Noah.” Olivia walked with him toward the dugout, but hugs and high fives made it a slow process. When they weren’t greeting people, he held her hand and stayed by her side. Although he was stopped here and there for a quick autograph, Olivia noticed that Noah was treated more and more like he lived in Cricket Creek. She could only hope that he felt as if he belonged here as well.

  “Congratulations, Coach,” Noah said as he shook hands with Rick Randall. “Nice way to start the season.”

  “Thanks, Noah. But I have to give you some credit for the win. Having you work out with the team has really made a difference, hasn’t it, guys?” He turned to the team and was met with cheers and whistles, but as usual Noah shrugged it off.

  “Thanks, but I wasn’t the one playing out there today. You guys were. And you made me proud to be wearing this Tiger jersey!” He jabbed his thumb toward his chest and was met with more cheers. “But as you guys know, I’m going to be starring with Miss Lawson in the summer play. I hope to see you all there. It took me a while, but I’ve found my inner artsy-fartsy.”

  His comment drew laughter, but Coach Randall held up a hand for silence. “Trust me, we will all be there.”

  “Just don’t bring tomatoes,” Noah said and nodded his head sideways at Olivia. “Miss Lawson’s tried hard to make me into a better actor, but I’ve got a ways to go, so we have to go rehearse. See ya at the next game. Go, Tigers!”

  Olivia waved at the team and felt all eyes upon them as they turned away. It still felt funny to be the talk of the town when she had always flown under the radar. She thought of her father singing over at Sully’s and had to chuckle.

  “What’s so amusing?” Noah asked as they walked hand in hand toward her house.

  Olivia shook her head slowly and then looked up at him. “I was just thinking about my dad and Myra singing together over at Sully’s. And of course everyone is still buzzing about you and me.”

  Noah pau
sed at her doorstep and tucked his finger beneath her chin. “Does that bother you?”

  “Which one?”

  “Either … both?”

  Olivia was touched by the concern in his eyes. “No,” she answered honestly. “It’s about time Dad and I started living our lives …” She paused while searching for the right words.

  “With gusto?”

  Olivia snapped her fingers. “Yes, I like that. With gusto!” She tilted her head back and laughed.

  “Now what are you thinking?”

  Olivia gripped his hand tightly and tugged him up the front steps and into the house. “I want to kiss you with gusto.” She tossed her rally cap to the side, not caring where it landed, and then wrapped her arms around him.

  “I like your attitude, Miss Lawson,” Noah said and pulled her closer against the length of his body.

  “Me too!” Olivia declared, but before kissing him she looked into his eyes and saw nothing but sincerity. “Oh, Noah …” she breathed, and her heart pounded when he lowered his head and captured her mouth with his.

  His mouth felt warm, soft … gentle, but when she opened her mouth for more, passion took over. “Livie, baby, you are driving me wild.” With a groan he pushed her up against the smooth, cool wall in the living room and deepened the kiss to a hot fever pitch. He threaded his long fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp while he explored her mouth. He tugged gently on her hair, but with enough force that her head tilted sideways so he could have access to her neck. “You smell amazing, so sweet and yet sultry just like you. Livie, I wanted to do this the entire game.” He eased his hands beneath her blouse and oh, so slowly slid them up her sides just shy of her breasts. “Ahhh, your skin is so soft.” His touch sent a hot shiver down her spine and had her clinging to his shoulders for support. “If I’m being too bold, too rough, tell me.”

  “Babe, when will you learn that I won’t break?”

  “Damn, that was hot.”

  “What?” It was difficult to concentrate with his mouth on her skin.

  “Calling me ‘babe.’”

  Olivia laughed. “My inner sexpot has a mind of her own,” she joked, but her heart pounded when Noah suddenly cupped her chin in the palm of his hand and held her gaze.