Page 29 of The Perfect Play

“How’s baseball going? I talked to your coach on the phone yesterday, and he said you’ve got some college coaches coming to watch the game tomorrow. I came home early so I could watch it.”

With just a few words, the excitement and confidence I’d felt with Penny plummeted to the ground. Every time my father showed up to one of my games, it only ended in disaster, with him yelling at everything and everyone on the field.

I shook my head. “You really didn’t have to do that, Dad. I doubt any of them will be there for me.”

“Nonsense. You’ve always had the talent to succeed more than anyone I know. I haven’t been to any of your games in a while, so this will be good. I could even go undercover and chat up some of the coaches, see what they think, you know?”

I groaned. “Please don’t do that, Dad. If there’s even a chance of me playing baseball in college, just let me prove it to them on the field. Please.” I hated hearing the begging in my voice, but at least twelve different scenarios had played out in my mind since he’d suggested it seconds before, and I felt sick at the prospect of even one of them coming true.

“Too good for your dad now, huh? Don’t worry. I’ll just stay to myself.”

I took in a deep breath, not feeling the boldness I’d held on to when I first got inside the door. As much as I wanted to plead with him not to come to the game, I knew it would only anger him into coming for sure.

“No, Dad. Just let me take care of it during the game, okay? Next year, if I don’t have any prospects still, I’ll let you talk to some of the recruiters.” A silent plea went up that I would have a few offers by then. Because if I was going to play in college, I didn’t want to be embarrassed by him trying to “work things” and screwing it all up.

He slapped the arm of the recliner and grinned, the glazed look in his eyes making him look a little insane. “I’m just glad you’re coming around to the idea of getting a scholarship. You’ve got the talent to go far, and I thought I was going to have to beat some sense into you sooner or later. Now I don’t have to.” Picking up the remote, he flipped the TV on and scrolled through the guide.

I blew out a breath and ran upstairs, the adrenaline of his words now echoing through me like a vibration of my anger from his words.

Did I fake being sick tomorrow? The thought barely entered my mind when I shrugged it off.

I could get through this. I’d been through much worse, and with Penny there, cheering me on, I was bound to have a decent game. I just hoped my dad would keep to himself like he promised.

Chapter 24

Penny

Practice went longer than usual, and I grabbed my bag and ran in the direction of the baseball field, not even taking time to remove my cleats. I sat on the side of the third baseline and removed them, all the while trying to catch up on what had happened during the game. The Rosemont Royals were down by four runs, and at that moment, Jake was stepping into the batter’s box.

I stuffed my cleats into the bag and stepped into my slip-ons before standing up next to the fence and yelling, “You’ve got this, Jake!”

He was usually so laser-focused, but he glanced over in my direction as he set his feet, a fleeting smile on his face. He took the first pitch, a ball on the outside corner.

I stuffed my bag next to some of the bags already there and ran up the bleachers. It was difficult to find a seat since so many had come out to the cross-town rivalry game.

I slipped in next to Kate and a few of her officer people and watched as Jake swung and missed at a curveball that moved so far out of the zone he didn’t have a chance of hitting it.

“Come on, Jake! You’re better than that!” I heard a familiar voice bellow from behind me, and I knew part of the story. It was Jake’s dad. No wonder he was so tense.

I cupped my hands over my mouth, hoping he could hear me from the batter’s box. “You can hit this guy, Jake. Find your pitch. Wait for your pitch.”

The pitcher from the opposing team wound up and threw the ball to home plate, the fastball coming on the inside corner and nearly hitting Jake in the hands. He spun out and missed the impact, but the crowd booed, not happy about the near-miss on injuring one of our best players.

I wrung my hands together, trying to send any good vibes I could his way as I heard his father grumbling from the bench a few rows up.

The pitch came in, and Jake drove it into a gap in the outfield, driving in a run as he made it to second base. I stood and clapped, whistling as loud as I could. Second base didn’t make for the easiest view, but I saw a glint of a smile on his face before he turned it back to a somber expression as his teammate stepped into the box.

“So, have you finally changed your mind about liking him?” Kate asked when I sat down again.

Heat traveled all the way to the tips of my ears. “Maybe.”

“It’s about time. I was beginning to think I was going to have to stage some kind of intervention or something to get you to see how that boy is head over heels for you. And I’m pretty sure you feel the same.”

I didn’t say anything, only stared out at the attractive guy on second base, wondering if he really felt the same.

The game progressed, and the boys were slowly coming back, but the other team was doing a good job of keeping the Royals on their toes.

When the game finally ended with Rosemont losing by one point, I could see the defeat in the slump of Jake’s shoulders. But he’d played his heart out, and while that wasn’t enough to make up for the early deficit, I knew whatever college recruiters had been there would’ve seen that over the win.

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