Page 53 of Her Cowboy Baby Daddy
It took two more pitches, neither of them easy, for Hayley to smack a ball into right field.
“Run!” Spence shouted.
Hayley ran, dodged Reed on first, made it to second and stopped, then took off again when she heard Spence shouting, “Run!”
She made it past third, then reversed course and touched the makeshift base with her toe as the ball went zinging by her ear. A horn sounded, and everyone turned to see a red Ford F-250 pull to a stop. Hayley took advantage and raced for home before Henry could retrieve the ball and get it to Lissa, who was manning home.
“Cade!” Audrey dropped the ball and headed for her youngest son, who’d just gotten out of the truck and was heading for the pasture where the game was taking place. Audrey practically vaulted the fence, then enveloped her youngest son in a fierce hug. “What are you doing here?”
“I was invited?” Cade grinned down at his mom. His features were similar to Reed’s and Spence’s, with high cheekbones and a taut jawline, but instead of being dark, his hair was dark blond and bleached white in places.
“That was a mercy invite,” Reed said as he strode toward his brother, stopping a few feet away from him.
“I knew that,” Cade said with a wink at Lex. “I decided to take advantage.” He shoved his thumbs in his front pockets as if trying to figure out what to do with his hands. “And I’m having some job issues.”
“Quit,” Audrey said at the same time Daniel said, “Find a new job.”
Neither of his parents had been thrilled about Cade’s latest job with a drilling company, which had him working ridiculous amounts of overtime for no extra pay as a salaried employee.
“Thinking about it. But... it’s been a rough week. I need to decompress before I make any hard-and-fast decisions.”
“You can help out here while you job hunt,” Daniel said.
“I’m not at that point yet. Like I said, I might just need some R&R to put things into perspective.”
“You can do better than the outfit you’re working for,” Audrey said with a sniff.
Cade laughed. “Maybe so. But I understand about you needing help here after the—”
Audrey cut him off by making a slashing movement over her throat. Cade laughed. “Right. Thething.”
Spence noted that Henry, who was still standing near the picnic table, didn’t seem as pleased at the development as the rest of the family, which was saying something, because Cade had always been Henry’s favorite. He’d insisted that he liked all the Keller kids the same, but there was no mistaking who got to go for the most tractor and bulldozer rides. Cade had needed the extra attention because Em, his twin, seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the air wherever she went. Like Spence, Cade was somewhat overshadowed, but despite that, he and Em were practically inseparable. She was the idea woman; Cade was her second.
“So, is there food?” Cade asked.
The scent of tri tip still hung in the air, and his face fell when Reed said, “Sorry, man.”
Audrey cuffed her oldest son on the shoulder. “There’s lots of food left, Cade. Sit and eat while these guys finish their grudge match.”
Cade smiled. “I’ll eat later. Whose team am I on?”
*
After Cade Keller’sunexpected arrival, the softball game became way more competitive. The youngest Keller joined his father’s team, thus evening up the numbers, and the competition between the family members was on, Cade, Daniel, and Spence against Audrey, Reed, and Trenna. Lex, Jay and Lissa were on Audrey’s team; Avery, Hayley, and Henry were on the patriarch’s team.
The score was tied, and the trash talk had become colorful when Hayley went up to bat again. It was up to her. It was literally the bottom of the ninth, and it was her turn. No pinch hits allowed on the Keller field. If you muffed this, no one was going to hate you.
Except the members of your team.
For a friendly family game, emotions were running high.
Hayley tapped the end of the bat on home base as she simultaneously pushed aside memories of PE hell when teams were chosen, and she and Bella were nearly always the last to be picked. And that, she knew, even at the time, had more to do with social hierarchy than athletic ability, because even though she didn’t put herself out there, Hayley had some ability. A girl didn’t work on a ranch doing chores every morning and night without gaining a degree of fitness, but no one before Spence had ever thought to give her pointers on her batting stance. Pointers she took to heart.
Jay, who’d taken the mound from Audrey, made the mistake of sending a slow pitch that dropped over the plate—a pitch that Hayley connected with and sent flying over the fence behind Jay.
“Run!” Spence yelled.
Hayley dropped the bat and took off. She was past third before the ball came whizzing back onto the field, courtesy of Reed, who’d dashed after it. She ran for the plate, wishing that she’d done more cardio over the past year, then took a flying dive to it, eating dirt as her fingers touched the canvas bag that served as home.
