Page 51 of Rescued Heart

Gregory wagged his finger at Roger’s chest. “I’m going to figure out how you’re doing it.”

Roger looked around him. “How I make time for the youth of this town? Easy. I’m a better mayor.”

Gregory’s face bloomed red. “You set that fire at my auction.”

Roger lifted his chin. “I was nowhere near your house that night.”

Gregory fisted his hand. “You won’t steal any more of my backers from me. I’m going to figure out how you got into my house, and when I do…”

Rap music blared from the road, gaining Eddie’s attention. A car with a Fella’s Pizza sign whipped into the parking lot. Two teens hopped from the car. Each pulled out two huge pizza carriers.

Roger spoke Eddie’s thoughts out loud. “What’s all of this?”

The taller teen shrugged as he shifted the carriers. “Probably dinner.”

Bianca waved the teens into the dugout. “Perfect timing. I think inside here would be good.”

What in the world?

Eddie held up his finger to Roger and Gregory. “Excuse me a moment.” He ran into the dugout just as the teen deliverers brushed past his shoulders.

Will bit into what looked like a slice of bacon ranch pizza. “This is on point!” Then, with his mouth still full, he wiped the edge of his mouth with his arm. “Coach, you should have started dating Coach B way sooner. I vote we do pizza for every win. This is way better than the peanut butter sandwiches you bring.”

Eddie scowled. An actress swoops in, throws money around, and she’s the good guy. “Will, first of all…” Eddie’s gaze stuck on something colorful and huge out in the left side of the field. The hum of fans kicked on, and the thing started to blow up. He’d been distracted for longer than he thought. “What is that? Did you throw more money at them?”

Bianca pulled the end of her ponytail over her shoulder and picked at the ends. “Not exactly. It came free with the pizza order.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes. “Blow-up slides don’t come free with pizza. Not in the real world.”

Scout swallowed down his own gulp of pizza. “They do when you’re dating Bia Pearl.”

Eddie crossed his arms. “We’re not?—”

“Scout!” Scarlette motioned from beside the slide. “It’s almost blown up, and we have to race Tank and Will first.” Scarlette put her hands up around her mouth. “Coach B, will you time us?”

Bianca jiggled her phone. “Sure will. Why don’t you get a couple of practice rounds in first?”

“Sweet.” Jacob fist-pumped at the same time that Tank yelled, “This is the best day ever!”

Apparently, the grant issues were all forgotten with some pizza and a slide. Things that were very temporary.

Once all his players ran to left field, Eddie shook his head. “You can’t bribe them too.”

Bianca’s smile fell. “You said the boys were hungry. I got pizza?—”

“One, two, three…twelve boxes?” He threw up his hands. “You think I can’t pay for pizza because I’m just a firefighter and you’re a famous actress? If you’re not bribing, then you’re spoiling them. And a free slide? Really? I told you. I’m not okay with lying.”

“It’s fifteen boxes.” Her eyes almost sparkled in the baseball field lights as she met his glare. “Enough for each of them to take some home for tomorrow’s lunch. I think the words you are looking for in this situation areThank you, Bianca. Just because you’re angry with those suits over there doesn’t mean you can take it out on me.”

Bianca opened a box of pizza. “And yes, hangry is a thing, but your attitude’s still not okay.”

His stomach chose that moment to incriminate him and growl. Oh, she was right again. His anger was misdirected. But still, she wasn’t perfect. “You should have asked. This isn’t your team. You can’t always get what you want.”

The box lowered against her stomach. “Trust me, I don’t get what I want a lot. Can we at least agree that the kids needed food?”

A bug flew past his ear, and he swatted at it. “Will you agree that you overstepped in how you handled it?”

She eyed the kids out by the blow-up slide. “The slide really was free as long as I agreed to stop by later and sign an autograph. Or ten. I can’t remember how many they asked for. And I think you should know that they also asked how they should deliver it, and I told them they could go through the gate by right field. But I shouldn’t have assumed that would be fine. I overstepped.”

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