Page 2 of Small Town Frenzy
When I get my jeans off and dive back into bed with her, she says, “I’ll make it worth your while.”
CHAPTER 1
Cricket Dover
Four years later.. .
The crackof the bat draws my eyes up from my phone to the ball flying over the far side of the baseball field. I visor my eyes to watch the ball breach the boundaries.Home run.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a home run out here on Dover Creek field. Leaning forward on the metal bleacher, I watch the batter jog the bases. “Who’s number twenty-two?” Without my glasses, there’s no way I can see the name written in smaller letters on the back of his jersey from these nosebleed seats.
“Greene,” Savvy replies, flipping the pages on her clipboard when I glance over at her.
“Greene with an E, as in Greene County?” The rivalry between our county and theirs runs back generations. I still don’t know what caused the initial ruckus between theDover and Greene families, but it persists in the peripheries of the modern lineages for each, at least from my understanding. It always sounded like a bunch of old ranching tales from the wilder west days of the Texas Hill Country.
My cousin, and assistant, drags her finger down the roster, then taps it twice on a name. When she looks at me, she says, “Griffin Greene. Definitely a Greene with an E of Greene County.”
“And of Rollingwood Ranch, Greene Farms, which is under the ranch umbrella, and the Greene family reviving their small town of Peachtree Pass.” I sigh with a roll of my eyes. I’ve heard so many stories growing up about this so-called feud that I feel like I know the family myself. I don’t, but I know enough to get by. “Ranching royalty in these parts.”
Looking at me under the brim of a Dover Armadillos baseball cap, she adds, “And a former pro baseball player to boot.”
Turning my attention back to him on the field as he rounds home base, I note, “Wonder why he’s no longer in the Major Leagues when he still hits like that?”
“I don’t know his story.”
“Neither do I.”I’d like to, though.“Just curious.”
“He’s cute,” she tacks on casually as she stands, knowing her audience well.
I look up at her, my eyes still shielded from the sun with my hand. “How cute?”
“As a woman in a never-ending engagement, it wouldn’t be proper for me to speak on such things.” She laughs and plops down next to me again. Then, as if others in this empty stadium will hear us, she leans in, and whispers, “Verycute. Don’t tell Blake I said anything. You know howjealous he gets, and they’re teammates for this fundraising event. But he’s just your type.”
“First of all, I rarely talk to Blake. Our paths just don’t cross that often, except at family events or the occasional dinner with you guys. I don’t even think he likes me.”
“He likes you, but we do tend to get in trouble together.”
“Trouble as in have a good time? That’s once in a blue moon at best. We rarely go out anymore. Anyway, second, your secrets are always safe with me. And third, I don’t have a type.”
“You have a type. You just don’t want to admit it.” She stands again and starts to shift down the row. “I need to get back to the office. Are you staying for the rest of practice?” She eyes the field and homes in on a certain baseball player. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” Her laughter trails her as she takes a few steps down.
“I’ll be back in an hour or so,” I reply. “I have emails to catch up on before the end of the day.” And check this guy out a little longer . . .maybe I do have a type?
“I’ll see you back at the office.”
Savvy weaves her way to the exit and out of sight. My attention returns to the field as the players swap out. “Griffin Greene, huh?” I can tell he’s a big guy, even from where I sit in the stands. Broad shoulders and muscular arms that tend to be exactly what I’m drawn to when I’m drinking, which isn’t too often these days. But there was a time when life was less complicated, and from what I see, I’d certainly find him attractive if I were partying out on the town.
Let’s just hope he’s not as cute as Savvy says. Being a thirty-something single woman in Dover Creek is already a crime in some people’s eyes. Falling for the enemy would not only be unforgivable in my family but it would also have me serving two life sentences.
“Oh Jesus.” He covers third base, too?I don’t stand a chance.I pray to the baseball diamond itself that he is hideous to look at up close and married. I’m doomed to make a big mistake with a ballplayer otherwise.
The sky rumbles through the few clouds above, but a storm is brewing not too far off, and dark clouds are moving in quickly. I stand and start down the steps, not wanting to get caught in a downpour.
The players jog to the dugout as I duck into the open-air stairwell. With the sky darkening, I make it to the main gate at the same time as some of the players heading for their cars.
“Did you catch that home run, Cricket?”
I stop to look back at the sound of a familiar voice. Seeing Coach Barth, I smile. “Impressive. It’s all for a good cause, but I can’t say I wouldn’t mind kicking some ass out on the diamond. I’m glad you made the call.”
