“You know you really ought to stick up for yourself. Set the record straight with the gossip mill.” Dotty grabbed a pair of shears and glanced down at Audrey’s Darth Vader notes.
“I don’t care about the town’s grand imaginations. Let them think what they want about why I left college and why things ended with me and Foster.” Besides, she’d signed a legal contract stating she’d never speak of the break up with Foster. That’s what happened when you threw your lot in with a politician. Besides, rumors were easier to deal with than the unadulterated truth.
“How are you going to pull this off?” Dotty handed her the piece of paper.
“I’m going to dye a few roses black and use an eight by fourteen Styrofoam board. A 3-D floral painting thingy.”
Dotty tossed her head from side to side then nodded. “You got skill.” She squeezed Audrey’s arm. “I’m really sorry about not coming to you first. We had to be sure and then the price was right. It happened so fast.” She patted the worn and scratched counter. “I’ll miss this place.”
“Me too.” Audrey couldn’t believe the sisters were actually going to do it. They’d always wanted to travel more, and now they could with the money they made from the sale.
“Go on. I’ll close up. Go doll yourself up for the game.”
Audrey shook her head. “You don’t doll yourself up for a baseball game.”
“You do if you want to catch the eye of a hunky pastor.”
Audrey didn’t want to catch his eye. Or his heart. And if he knew about her past, he wouldn’t want her pitching it out there to him in the first place.
***
Clouds rolled through the sky, turning a dirty gray. The sun strained to break free. Glad he wore his compression shirt underneath his jersey. The wind had some serious bite. Thankfully, warmer weather was coming. So they said. Times like this, Gabe missed Florida. He removed his sunglasses and stuck them in his bag under the bench.
“Hey, Pastor Gabe!”
He glanced up and smiled at Cassie James. She’d started coming to church while working as a bar maid at The Penalty Box. He waved. “How’s the decorating business?” Eden had helped her get her business off the ground. Mostly she worked locally, but someone had mentioned Cassie had landed a few clients in the city.
“Sittin’ pretty. Get it?” She adjusted her purple ball cap.
He chuckled. “I get it.”
“I brought my pom-poms to cheer on our very own Abundant Life Church. I brought a set for Audrey, too.”
As if Audrey needed pom-poms to attract attention. Her mouth was megaphone-loud when she was on the bleachers. It was worth losing just to hear her razz the players—even when she crossed the occasional line with ‘yo’ mama jokes’ and ridiculous off-the-cuff chants and cheers.
Congregants from Abundant Life and First Christian—the rival team’s church—filed into the stands. A sea of folding chairs formed a line down the fence. The concession stand had fired up the grill and the smell of charcoal seeped through the air. Gabe spotted Audrey coming up the walkway in jeans, an Abundant Life baseball jersey, and low-hanging pigtails. One hand carried a quilt and the other a thermos. Probably coffee. As if she needed the caffeine.
Man, the woman could wear anything and look good. He admired her a moment more. She hollered to Cassie, “You make new pom-poms? Your last ones didn’t hold up.”
“I did, but maybe you shouldn’t shake them like a lion with a baby gazelle.” Cassie lifted the pom-poms and gave them a good shake.
“Let’s kick some boo-tay!” Audrey gave Gabe a quick wave with the thermos as she whooped and hollered all the way over to Cassie.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too hoarse to talk over dinner later. Gabe had chosen the private setting for the chance at uninterrupted conversation, the kind that included more than garden talk. Yet once again, Audrey hadn’t even considered it could be anything more than a pastor/friend dinner. There had to be a way to fix it without him turning into stalker material.
Unless… she wasn’t attracted to him. Was that the issue? The thought sunk him to the dusty, metal dugout bench.
“You already have the defeated look on your face, Preacher. We haven’t even lost yet.” Knox slapped Gabe’s back and stretched. First Christian was undefeated. He’d love to stomp them for once.
“I’m fine.” He’d never had trouble finding dates before he married. Unfortunately. Even he had a past that wasn’t pretty. Could it be his personality? “Hey, I’m a nice guy, right?”
Knox raised an eyebrow and stopped mid-stretch, holding his side-bent position. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m thinking out loud.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t.” Taking the bat, he grabbed the ends with each hand, placed it behind his neck and twisted from side to side. “You’re a nice guy. But when we step onto that field, we’re tossing out the turn-the-other-cheek rule.” He laid down the bat and dug through his bag, pulling out his trademark peppermint stick and poking it between his lips. “And we’re not letting Dean in the game. Don’t make me get rowdy. I still know how.”
Gabe chuckled. “Oh I plan…” Audrey hugged a burly guy wearing a First Christian jersey. “Who is that?”
Knox followed Gabe’s line of sight. “Huh. That’s Owen Brag. Used to come into the bar.”
Owen Brag. “Is that how he knows Audrey?”
Knox shrugged. “Grew up here, too. Moved to Kentucky for awhile. Guess he’s back.”
Audrey tossed her head back and laughed, then punched this Owen character in the arm. Gabe may not make one run tonight, but he was making it his mission to strike this guy out.
The ump took the field. Go time.
After prayer, Audrey and Cassie were up on their feet right behind home plate, waving purple and white pom-poms and cheering on the team as they took the field. It was hard to concentrate.
First Christian’s pastor was up. About fifty and in good shape, he’d played ball in high school. Well, so had Gabe. Had he not went into the ministry he could have gone pro.
“Hey batta, batta, batta! Suh-wing, batta!” Audrey hollered and high-fived Cassie.
Gabe grinned, shook his head at her antics, and sent the ball blazing across the plate.
“Strike!”
“Whoop! Go Gabe!” Audrey cheered and Gabe’s chest swelled. A few of the women nearby frowned and whispered. Audrey and Cassie didn’t seem to care; it was all in good fun.
Two more pitches and he’d struck out First Christian’s pastor. Yes!
Audrey did the hula, then turned it into the sprinkler dance move. “Come on Abundant Life!”
He chuckled and tried to regain focus, but it wasn’t easy when behind the batter, Audrey’s curvy hips swayed to an inaudible beat. Next up was Owen Brag. He was going down. Gabe sent the ball sailing and Owen passed on the hit. It was a little inside.
“Jeez, Owen, you getting old like yo’ mama!” And the jokes began. Audrey crowed and shook her pom-poms.
Owen turned around and pointed his bat at her. “You’re gonna eat those words, Audrey Gilbraith, right when I slide into home.”
“You get a home run and I’ll buy you dinner.”
“After the game?”
“You betcha.” Audrey grinned, her dimples pressing into her skin and her mile-wide smile nearly knocking Gabe’s breath away. Uh…she was having dinner with him. He couldn’t remind her of that from the field. Or maybe she didn’t care. Didn’t matter. Owen Brag wasn’t going anywhere but back to the dugout with his head hanging.
“Audrey, for lands’ sakes. Sit down and stop acting obnoxious.” Betsy frowned and her hen house clucked right along with her.
“Oh hush,” Audrey crowed. “Lighten up.”
Betsy shook her head.
Gabe launched a curve ball.
“Strike!”
“Come on, Gabe. Million dollar arm, baby!”
“Audrey! That is our pastor you’re talking to!” Connie Dilworth threw her hands in the
air. She was causing a bigger scene than Audrey. Gabe’s cheeks heated. He didn’t mind Audrey’s term of endearment. Not in the least.
Audrey waved them off, but he caught her grip her lip with her teeth, then glance back at Eden. A conversation with only their eyes took place.
“Sorry, Gabe!” Audrey yelled.
Don’t be, he wanted to call back. Instead, he prepared to strike out Owen Brag.
Last one.
Zing!
“Strike!”
Gabe tried to reel in the smug smile but he just couldn’t. Owen shook his head and carried his bat back to the plate.
The game heated up and First Christian had the bases loaded.
Tom Miller’s son stepped up to bat. Senior in high school and kind of full of himself.
“Caleb, you’re going down, little man!” Cassie hollered.
Audrey put her nose up to the fence and spouted another joke about his mom being as old as Yoda.
“Yeah!” Corey Phillips jumped up off the bleachers and victory pumped his fists. “That’s what I’m talkin’ about.” Leave it to Corey to get excited over a Star Wars joke.
Audrey started in with her cabbage patch dance. Back and forth then hop hop hop, fists going in circles.
Gabe couldn’t stand it anymore and he had to cover his face with his glove to hide his laughter. After three or four more mama jokes and a really ridiculous chant, some of the other team’s crowd was getting their dander up. Hey, she was only using old jokes. Could be worse. Could be ugly or fat jokes. Audrey wasn’t mean, though. Just…boisterous.
“Carl,” she wailed. Another mama joke about being as short as trophies ensued.
“Strike!”
Gabe took his ball cap off and wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm. One more out and they were up to bat. Digging his feet into the dirt, he readied the ball behind his back, hiked his leg, and sent the ball flying across the home plate.
Pop fly.
Knox took off running and slammed into Dean, knocking him to the ground. Gabe cringed. Knox didn’t even bother to help the poor guy up; he just kept running. He opened his glove and the ball landed securely.
“Out!”
The crowd cheered, Audrey the loudest as she laughed and danced around. The woman loved baseball. Or heckling. He wasn’t sure.
Gabe batted fourth. Bases loaded.
Audrey stepped up to the fence. “Gabe, bring our boys home.”
All he could think about was that picture floating around Facebook of the sailor dipping the woman in a huge crowd and kissing the mess out of her. That’s what he’d like to do right now. Instead, he smiled and asked, “What will I get out of it?”
Audrey’s face reddened. “Um…I’ll be on time for church Sunday?”
Not exactly what he was going for. “I’ll see what I can do.” He turned, but not before he caught some of the crowd hunched together whispering. Well, maybe that had come across a little suggestive, but he hadn’t exactly meant it to. It was so hard being the pastor and a man who wanted to flirt.
At Audrey’s request, he brought the men home and made it to third base.
The crowd went wild.
Leonard Davis, Betsy’s husband came up to the plate.
“Leonard!” Audrey vomited a joke about Betsy being on the phone so much Audrey got a busy signal when she dialed a wrong number. No she didn’t.
She grinned and waved at Betsy. “Sorry! But it’s kinda true.”
Betsy frowned and pointed her glasses, framed with rhinestones, at Audrey. “You need to sit down and behave, Audrey Gibraith.”
Even Eden covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
“Audrey!” Knox barked. “Don’t heckle our own team!”
Audrey slapped her forehead. “Right. I got carried away.”
“Well, knock it off!”
Rumbling sounded in the distance. Wouldn’t be long before a spring storm opened up on them. They were behind two runs in the last inning. Audrey’s heckling in good fun had died down. Apparently, she’d taken what Betsy and a few others said to heart, but seeing the light dim in her eyes as she sat demure on the bench needled him.
Two outs and they lost the game. Gabe debated slinging the bat across the diamond. A spring mist lasted about two seconds before the sky bottomed out, and people sprinted for their cars. “Burger Barn!” someone yelled.
Gabe caught up with Audrey, rain pelting his baseball cap. “You hoarse?”
She cheesed like a kid in front of camera and covered her head with pom-poms as they darted toward their vehicles. “Not even a little. Sorry about the whole ‘baby’ thing, Gabe. I can get overexcited. I honestly was just being silly. I mean, I heckled my own brother with a mama joke and, helloooo, we share the same mom.”
“I think they know you’re just being you.” He opened the door for her. “We still on for dinner?”
Her smile sank then shifted back onto her face. “Of course.”
She had forgotten. Or she didn’t want to go. “Little Italiano? Pizza?” He wasn’t letting her out of it, but he could change the menu to a friendlier atmosphere which was the last thing he wanted.
“Thirty minutes? Let’s get dry.”
Dry and out of the friend-zone.
CHAPTER THREE
Audrey pushed her apartment door open, soaked to the bone and shivering. They’d almost won that game. Delilah, Audrey’s ragamuffin kitty, raised her head, emerald green eyes focused on her. “Hello, friend.” She ran her fingers through her white and sandy-colored rabbit-like fur. “You miss your mommy?” Delilah purred and nuzzled against her hand. “You always love me no matter what, don’t you?”
Audrey had crossed the line tonight. Even Eden had given her the tone-it-down eye. Good night, she’d called their pastor, “baby” in public! Total lack of respect. She hadn’t meant it that way, though. He had a great arm!
She scanned the small living room. “Where’s the grouch?” Friedrich, her gray British short-hair wasn’t always as forgiving as Delilah. She loved him anyway.
Thirty minutes until she met Gabe at the small Italian restaurant on the Square. A family-friendly place. The nerves knotting her neck eased. They were meeting about the garden and that was all. Besides, he was regularly having soup with Sierra. Sierra who brought ice when Audrey had forgotten it. Sierra who thought of everything. Sierra who’d cheered appropriately at the right times and never once brought back 80s and 90s dance moves. Hey, Audrey could have done the worm. Why couldn’t Audrey be more like Sierra? Sierra who had thought to bring nachos to Riley Kensington because she’d broken her leg and couldn’t get up and down much. Audrey should have done that.
She stepped into the blast of scalding water and rushed through her shower. After throwing on a pair of jeans, wedges, and a black T-shirt with silver roses, she dried her hair and brushed her teeth. Rain still pounded on the roof. Not exactly the kind of weather she wanted to venture out in.
The phone rang. Her brother. Probably calling to give her a hard time for her heckles. That’s what he got for attending another church. “Hey, Jo.”
“What’s up, loud-mouth?” Voices overlapping one another, music, and laughter filtered through the background. “Where are you?”
“I’m not coming to Burger Barn.”
He laughed. “Afraid you’ll get a dose of your own medicine? Scared to face the music?”
She huffed. “It’s all in good fun.” Although, she had slightly insulted Betsy Davis. “I’m having dinner with Gabe at Little Italiano.”
“You mean your baby with the million dollar arm?” he jested.
Audrey’s face heated. “It’s not like that.” She dug through her little hall closet and grabbed her rain coat. She kicked off her wedges and slid her feet into her flowery rain boots, tucking her jeans inside.
“Okay. Whatever you say. I was just checking on you. Weather’s terrible and I know you’re the worst driver on the planet.”
“I am not.”
“How often do Dotty and Sharon let you drive the delivery van?”
Touché. “I’m hanging up now.” She smiled. “Thanks for checking up on me.” Jo did that often. Always looking out for her. Making sure she had enough money to pay bills or get by, though she knew things were tight for him and Celeste, even though he owned a heating and air business. She might need to come crawling for a job pretty soon. She obviously knew a lot about hot air.
“Have fun on your date.”
“It’s not a—” Too late. Jo had hung up.
Audrey parked in a front space at Little Italiano’s. Gabe’s car was two spaces down. Sheets of rain pelted her car. Throwing her hood over her head then grabbing her tote, she opened the car door. A large umbrella came into view and Gabe stood at her driver’s door. He’d been watching for her. Her pulse fluttered.
“Thanks,” she hollered over the deafening storm. The wind iced her to the bones. “I think we’re having a heat wave.”
He grinned and rested his hand on the small of her back as he hurriedly guided her under the awning. He lowered his umbrella and shook it out. “You’re welcome.” His husky voice and twinkling brown eyes took the chill right out of her. For the love, he’d only said you’re welcome. But it was the way he said it. Like he was saying he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Okay, that was it. No more romance novels. Or maybe this was a sign she should write one.
Gabe led her inside. Garlic, tomatoes, fresh dough baking, Italian spices…the scents nearly sent her over the hunger edge. “I love this place.”
“Me, too.” He motioned to a table in the corner, away from the windows. Quiet. Secluded. “Good?”
Total date table. She glanced at him, tried to see what he was thinking. Poker face. “Yeah. Great for discussing the garden without interruptions.”
He sighed and led the way. After pulling out her chair, he sat across from her. “I thought maybe you forgot about dinner tonight.”
Why would he think that? “I remembered.” Had thought about it in between mama jokes and the robot. She’d even been more zealous in her heckling tonight in order to take her mind off of it. It was just business. But spending time with Gabe was easy. He was easy to talk to and even easier on the eyes. Even now, he smelled like he’d tumbled out of the dryer. He’d be warm and cozy to slip on and sink into.
Just the Way You Are (Seasons of Hope Book 2) Page 3
