Free Spirits

by Linda Wisdom

  He smiled. “It was a fluke. The wind probably hit the ball.”

  Her eyes gleamed with the light of battle. “Just don’t expect me to be so kind when you’re taken out.”

  “I knew you were a no-mercy woman. Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

  She should have known he was the kind of man she couldn’t stay angry at long. Her eyes lighted with laughter. “Yes, I’m sure you can.”

  “With the way Alex is playing today, I’m sure glad she’s with the opposition.” Dennis settled on the bench beside Michael. He gave the other man a sly glance. “I wonder if it doesn’t have something to do with our newest player?”

  Michael never believed in deliberately misunderstanding a coy remark. “She’s probably faking you out and waiting to clobber us when it really counts.”

  “Nah, it’s not her style. She prefers taunting you to your face, just as she’s pushing said face in the dirt. She loves nothing more than a challenge and meets it head-on.”

  “Sounds like a man speaking from experience.” He hoped his tone sounded casual enough. He hated to admit he was more than a little curious about the real Alex Cassidy, not just the facts he’d seen written on her medical chart and what little he’d learned that evening in her apartment.

  Dennis laughed as he shook his head. “Don’t I wish? The lady isn’t interested in doctors. Not after what happened with her ex. As far as she’s concerned, we’re good enough for softball buddies, treating an occasional ache and pain, but as for romance, well, we members of the medical profession are just not stable enough. Craig Sommers, with his eye for pretty nurses and anything else in skirts, left an indelible black mark against all of us. I guess we should feel honored that she’ll still play softball with us. Well, I’m up.”

  Michael rested his back against the fence with his legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. With his arms crossed in front of his chest, he appeared the picture of a relaxed man while he studied the woman manning the shortstop position. Strands of hair now escaped her ponytail, hanging down her cheeks and along her nape, but she appeared oblivious to them, and whatever makeup she might have put on that morning had already worn off from her exertion. She pulled the bill of her cap down over her eyes to shade them from the sun as she joined in raucously taunting the other team. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly unable to stand still for more than a minute.

  How does she manage to stay at a drawing board for hours at a time, when she can’t even stand still for more than thirty seconds out here? he wondered. Or is this how she takes care of energy she can’t expend while she’s working?

  His intense gaze remained on Alex, who appeared more than a little distracted. From what the others said about her playing ability she was usually so alert during a game it was downright scary. No ball got past her and her energy level never lagged. So what had happened to change her so dramatically? Today she seemed to concentrate more on him than the game. His eyes narrowed as his ever-sharp brain tried to put all the pieces together.

  Unfortunately, he was used to diagnosing a human being’s suffering, not the emotional makeup of an intriguing woman. He might not indulge in gossip, but that didn’t mean he didn’t hear it from time to time. And Alex’s stuffy banker friend was a good topic among the people present today. If Alex was seeing someone else, why was she watching him so intently? And why did she send him the flowers? He found himself with a lot of questions he wished he had answers for.

  “What’s your game, Alex?” he murmured. “What are you trying to prove?”

  Alex sighed. This would be her last game with this group unless she could find a way to redeem herself. She couldn’t believe how badly she was playing!

  She flubbed a fly ball that a small child could have caught. Then when she finally scooped it into her glove and turned to throw it to third base, something happened to her that had never happened before. She somehow got confused and threw it to first base instead. Her teammates’ groans were not a pretty sound.

  “What the hell is your problem?” Jay screamed, finally at the end of his rope. The cheerful captain who had expected an easy win became a raving maniac with each point the other team scored.

  “You’re the doctor, you tell me,” she screamed back. “Maybe it’s PMS!”

  After that, Alex threw all her concentration into the game. With the same grim purpose she used when facing a deadline, she made sure a ball didn’t get past her. When her team was up, she used the time before she was up at bat to focus on how to hit that ball as hard and far as she could.

  “What is wrong with you today?” Beth sat down beside her.

  “Beth, if I told you what was going on, you’d have the men in white coats haul me away. And straitjackets in that nasty white shade aren’t a good color on me.”

  “At the rate you’re going, sweetie, you won’t have to tell me a thing.”

  “It’s all because of my birthday,” Alex muttered, tracing idle circles in the dust with the toe of her shoe. “Things happen to you when you turn thirty. Strange things you can’t even imagine.”

  “Something tells me forty is going to be hell for you.” She plopped down beside her. “You’re already not making much sense.”

  “I know,” she sighed.

  “Then tell me what’s wrong,” Beth persisted.

  She took the plunge. “My parents.”

  “Come again?”

  Alex drew in a deep breath. “My parents. I bet even this is all their doing. The way I suddenly can’t catch a ball or hit. Even my falling and hitting my head on the coffee table. I’m sure they knew I’d meet what they consider an eligible man in the emergency room. You’d think they’d leave well enough alone. I mean, I am thirty and I’ve been married and divorced, lived on my own since I was twenty, so I should have some common sense, shouldn’t I?” She looked at her friend with pleading eyes.

  By now Beth was past confusion to full-scale alarm. Alex was known for flights of fancy but never anything like this. “Alex, we need to talk.”

  Feeling a little better, she patted her friend’s hand and stood

  up. “You’re right, we need to sit down and have an old-fashioned gabfest, but I’m next up at bat.”

  Beth cast her gaze around, hoping no one else had heard Alex’s irrational conversation. Especially the psychiatric resident who was convinced everyone was a potential patient. Wouldn’t he have a field day with Alex right about now!

  “And here I thought she suffered only a mild concussion.”

  “I can’t believe we’re not further ahead,” Jay groaned, tunneling his hands through his hair, sending the cropped dark brown strands standing high. He looked accusingly at Alex.

  “This is not my fault,” she argued.

  “Then how come Dennis always wins when you’re on his team, and now that you’re with us you can’t play worth a damn?”

  “Everyone has an off day!”

  “Why did yours have to be today!” he practically screamed.

  “Think you two could settle this battle after we’ve won?” Dennis called out.

  Jay’s reply was profane and to the point. “Let’s get on with it,” he growled, stomping off. He spun around, pointing a finger at Alex. “You better hit the ball clear into hell.”

  “Jay, if I were a physician I would recommend a lobotomy, stat.”

  Growling something uncomplimentary about her under his breath, he returned to the bench and plopped himself down.

  “Okay, let’s show him how it’s done,” Alex muttered, hefting the bat in her hands and giving it several experimental swings. She spread her legs slightly in a comfortable stance and forced all her attention away from Michael.

  “Are you going to stand there talking to yourself all day or are you going to play ball?” the portly umpire asked, looking up at the heavens as he uttered a long-suffering sigh.

  Alex flashed him one of her deadly smiles. “Stan, my dear, I’m going to play ball like you’ve ne
ver seen it played before. I’m going to hit the kind of ball you guys in Urology will be talking about for years. I’m going to hit it clear into the heavens.”

  Stan groaned. “Don’t talk about it, sweetheart, just do it, okay?”

  Alex’s first swing would have been perfect if she had waited just a split second longer before she leveled the bat at the ball. The second was a ball. Third time was the charm. She swung into the ball as if she, the bat and the ball were one.

  “Yes!” she squealed, taking off the moment she knew the ball was heading out in a graceful arc. She was halfway to first base when she realized the roars of excitement had changed to groans of disappointment. Just before she tapped the sandbag, she noticed the ball she thought she’d hit out of the park now resided in Michael’s mitt and was being swiftly thrown to first base. She did the only thing she could to save time…she flattened out and slid in on her stomach. Quite painfully, too.

  “Oomph!”

  “You’re out!”

  Alex slowly straightened up. “I should have stayed home.” She pulled her shirt up to inspect the damage. She wasn’t surprised to find angry-looking abrasions across her stomach. She tentatively touched them with her fingernail and winced. She didn’t have to look at her knees to see the damage. They stung just as badly.

  “You did a good job of scraping yourself up.” Michael stood next to her, studying her wounds.

  She wrinkled her nose. “How many years of medical school did it take for you to figure that out?”

  He chuckled. “Too many. Come on, I’ve got my bag in my car.” He draped an arm around her shoulders and guided her off the field.

  “Jay must be hopping mad.”

  “He did say something about taking up chess.”

  Alex looked around for Beth. “Look, thanks for your offer, but I came with Beth.”

  “I told her I’d drive you over to the pizza place. She said you could give me directions.” He led her over to a sixties-model black Mustang whose body shone with a loving wax job.

  She expelled a low whistle. “Very nice. Where’s the Mercedes or equally ostentatious car every doctor believes he should own?”

  He unlocked and opened his trunk, pulling out a dark leather doctor’s bag. He slammed the lid closed and indicated that Alex should hitch herself up on the trunk.

  She looked warily at the shining surface. “I’m afraid of scratching it.”

  “Not much can scratch this baby. If you’re so worried, I’ll give you a boost.” He carefully placed one hand on each side of her waist. Both froze as his hands made contact with her bare skin when her sweatshirt rode up. Startled sky-blue eyes looked into deeper blue ones.

  It’s a foregone conclusion our children would have blue eyes. The thought came unbidden to Alex’s mind.

  Quickly recovering, Michael easily lifted her onto the trunk and turned away to open his bag.

  Alex could only sit there stunned. Not even when she thought she was madly in love with Craig had she felt the instant magnetic connection she felt with Michael. And all he’d done was touch her in what many might call an impersonal way. What would have happened if…? She shook her head almost violently. She dared not think about it.

  Michael noticed her action. “Are you all right?”

  “A piece of dust or something settled against my nose.” She’d been evading the truth all day.

  He smiled. Alex already figured out that Michael Duffy’s smile was a fare event.

  “You found that funny?”

  He shook his head. “To be honest, I was fascinated by the way the late afternoon light caught in your hair.” His hand lifted slightly in that direction but he quickly brought it under control and reached back inside his bag instead. “I’ve got some damp cloths here that will clean the abrasions.” He tore open a foil packet.

  “The last time a man opened a packet like that around me it wasn’t for a wet cloth,” Alex muttered, then swiftly clapped her hands over her mouth as she realized how it sounded. “Pardon me while I stuff my foot farther into my mouth.”

  He smiled again. He was learning that he liked smiling around her. “What’s so wrong with being outspoken?”

  “There’s many a time when speaking before running said thoughts through one’s brain can get one into a great deal of trouble,” she intoned.

  Michael carefully ran the antiseptic cloth across Alex’s exposed abdomen, forcing himself not to think about how soft her skin was or how the angry-looking scrapes only enhanced the pale gold color of her skin. He inwardly winced as he thought how much the raw skin must burn.

  “You should have slid in on your side,” he said quietly, going about with his usual efficiency as he finished cleaning the wounds and disposed of the cloths in a nearby trash can. He hoped she didn’t notice how badly his hands were shaking.

  Alex wrinkled her nose in distaste at the idea. “No thanks. Not when I’m wearing shorts. I tried it once and I walked funny for a month.” She cocked her head to one side, enjoying the chance to study him without being too obvious. “You’re not the boisterous type, are you, Dr. Duffy?”

  “Not really,” he said without a trace of apology. “I’m usually bogged down with my work and have stacks of medical journals to read during what little free time I have. I guess you could say I’m a pretty boring guy.” He looked away for a moment to hide the pain he felt at admitting something once told him in sharp, concise terms.

  “Ever been married?”

  His features closed up tighter than a drum. “Close. It wasn’t meant to be.”

  As an artist, Alex read expressions easier than many people. And right now she could see that Michael had suffered a great deal of hurt. She found herself wanting to reach out and soothe his pain.

  “And you don’t care to get caught up in that mess again,” she guessed.

  “Correct.”

  She smiled and held out her hand. “Then, my friend, I’m the perfect woman for you, because I don’t care to get caught up with a doctor again.” Even if he does have a smile that could melt a woman’s knees and looks good enough in those jeans to eat. She tried to remind herself that she was only doing a good deed. She was offering a lonely, wounded man her friendship. There was nothing wrong with that. Of course the idea that something other than friendship might happen occurred to her also. There was something about him that did strange things to her hormones.

  Michael wasn’t as impulsive in his moods. “Why?”

  “Why not?” She pulled down her shirt and carefully eased off the trunk so as not to scratch its pristine surface.

  “I ask you out and you’re basically tied up. And I’ve heard that you’re practically engaged to an investment banker. So why all this flirting and saucy byplay today?” he demanded, planting one hand on each side of her thighs so she was trapped. The scent of male flesh warmed by the sun and the afternoon’s exertion and an expression that threatened to bore into her innermost thoughts sent immediate signals to her brain. This was one man who refused to be put off with careless words. He’d want the truth and nothing less.

  “There’s no game,” she said softly.

  He had to believe her. He hoped to believe her. She looked too sincere to lie. “Then, why?”

  “I don’t know.” The admission came out as a whisper that barely reached his ears.

  Working purely on instinct, he slid his hands slowly up and down her arms. It would only have taken a little pressure from him to bring her closer, closer until their lips could meet.

  Alex wasn’t aware of her face lifting just enough and tilting at just that right angle. Her lips were parted slightly, moist and most definitely inviting. Even her body leaned into his just enough for an embrace they both so obviously wanted.

  They were so unaware of the parking lot around them they could have been anywhere. All they needed was a blazing sunset and violin music to make the romantic scene complete.

  Michael was the one to abruptly break the spell. His arms dropped and
he stepped back before he could change his mind and take what she was so sweetly offering.

  “We better catch up with the others before they send out a search party.” He unlocked the passenger door and quickly walked around to the driver’s side.

  Alex was still recovering from the force of what hadn’t happened. She could feel all her nerve endings quivering.

  “If my parents knew what almost happened,” she muttered, “they would have found a way to lock us inside the park.”

  Chapter Seven

  “What happened to you two?” Beth cornered Alex as soon as she and Michael reached the Italian restaurant known for its spicy food and friendly atmosphere. Dennis and several others had already swept Michael back to one of the rear tables the two teams commandeered upon arriving. “We were about ready to send out a search party. Or…” she drew out the word, her eyes sparkling with mischievous delight, “were the two of you planning on a private celebration?”

  Alex sent her an eloquent look. “He cleaned my scrapes. Wanna see?” She started to lift her shirt.

  She rolled her eyes. “Very funny, Alex. You were gone long enough for those abrasions to heal completely. Tell all.”

  Alex took a deep breath. “He took out his black bag and played doctor, literally, while he cleaned my scratches, probably because he didn’t want to risk an infection. That was all. Sorry I don’t have any titillating news for you.”

  Beth studied her face closely. “He didn’t kiss you?” She sounded disappointed more than anything.

  Alex was prepared for the question so she could reply without hesitation. “No.” But he tried to. At least, I think he did. And I hoped he would have. “Beth, I can’t…I don’t…” She expelled a sigh of frustration. “He’s a doctor.” As far as she was concerned, that was more than enough of a reason why she wouldn’t allow anything to go further. Not to mention, she was afraid of allowing it to go any further.

  Beth understood only too well. “I swear, you need a psychiatrist to work out this aversion you have to dating doctors.”