Out of Her League (38 page)

His cell phone rang, and he answered.

“
Dad? We won!
”

“
That
’
s great, honey. Congratulations.
”

“
How about you?
”

“
We did, too.
”

“
Oh.
”
In Toni
’
s voice, Joe heard everything in his heart.

“
Yeah, oh.
”

“
Now what?
”
she asked.

“
Now we
’
re off to the big time.
”

“
Goody.
”
She sounded as happy about it as he was.

From
the
front
seat of the bus, Evie contem
plated fields of rolling corn.
“
Knee-high by the Fourth of July
”
went the saying. The calendar read August third, and the corn looked higher than an elephant
’
s eye to her. Must be a banner year.

So why did she f
eel as though the world was com
ing to an end, or at least was on a severe downhill slide? Maybe because she hadn
’
t slept well since she
’
d left Joe
’
s bed. She wanted to be there again. She wanted to be with him again. Every time she closed her eyes she saw him, smelled him, felt him. Would this ever end? She missed him, yet she
’
d never really had him.

Evie glanced behind her to make sure all her little ducks were in a
row, or at least behaving them
selves.
Buses that sported televi
sions with VHS capability and a bathroom in the rear were a chaperone
’
s delight. All her players had their eyes fixed upon the latest in the never-ending saga of James Bond.

Toni had brought the tape, handed it to Evie with a shrug and murmured,
“
Dad
’
s got them all.
”
Then she
’
d taken a seat with the twins and promptly started playing road-sign bingo.

What was Evie supposed to make of Joe
’s fasci
nation with 007? Did he admire the character
’s he
roics—his disregard for life and limb in order to save the world? Or had Bond
’
s suave, martini-swilling, never-ag
ing machismo garnered his atten
tion?

Evie shook her head. It didn
’
t matter. She had to
stop regretting what could never be. She
’
d been right to put an end to things between her and Joe before someone got seriously hurt.

No one seemed to agree with her. Toni had spent the week avoiding her, and the twins were pouting. The only one who acted close to normal was Adam, and he was as happy as a cat with a bellyful of half-and-half. Which made Evie suspicious. What did Adam have to be so chipper about?

“
Grr,
”
she murmured. She was in the mood to stomp on a few happy campers.

“
What
’
re you so all-fired crabby about?
”
Hoyt leaned over the seat.
“
You
’
ve got your wish. You
’
re going to the World Series. Win that, then you
’
re on your way to the state championships and your job is in the bag.
”

“
Yippee.
”
Evie twirled her finger in the air.
“
Well, don
’
t that just beat all. What happened to your dream, girl?
”

Hoyt was right. Her dream of having the money to send her boys to college brushed the tips of her fingers. All she had to do was reach up and grab it. Sure, Joe had said he didn
’
t want her job—and he wouldn
’
t take it. But after what had happened at the school board meeting, Evie had no doubt Mrs. Larson and Don would use a loss to Joe as an excuse to keep her from the job she wanted.

Call her slow, but she hadn
’t figured out until re
cently that Don didn
’
t think a woman should coach a varsity boys
’
sport, no matter how qualified that woman was. Of course, he didn
’
t think anything
about the men
’
s gym teacher coaching the girls
’ bas
ketball team. That was just fine and dandy.

Don had done everything in his power to thwart her, without actually telling her no. He didn
’
t want to offend her father, who would come barreling into town being manly and daddyish if he found out his best friend had kept his baby from her dream.

Evie didn
’
t want that, either. She wanted the job because she was the best one for it. That was the only way to keep it, and to change the outdated views of the school board and the rest of the town. She had never been a crusader—she just wanted what was best for the kids and her. But this stuff really had to stop before some other woman, or young girl, got her dreams trampled just because she was female.

Well, no use ranting and raving about Mrs. Larson and the rest of the Oak Grove throwbacks. The only way they were going to change was if they were forced. And the only way Evie could force them was to win the game tomorrow.

“
Hey, there
’
s the hotel!
”

The peace turned to pandemonium as the bus pulled into the parking lot. Evie stood and held up her hand until everyone quieted down.
“
You
’
ve all got your roommates?
”

Murmurs of assent filled the air. Evie glanced at her clipboard. Twelve boys made six rooms. Toni would stay with her dad, the twins with Hoyt. Evie stifled a laugh. He
’
d asked for them. It had taken her all of three seconds to agree.

Which meant Evie would have her own blessed hotel room. Hotel rooms were few and far between—alone was even farther. So why wasn
’
t she more excited about the little bit of heaven that had come her way? Maybe because Joe Scalotta would be sleeping only a couple of doors down. Evie glanced out the window in time to see the man in question lead his team toward the pool.

His attire consisted of a towel looped about his neck and a pair of baggy, blue swim trunks. Her heart thundered; her mouth went dry. She tore her gaze from the well-defined muscles of his back, only to discover Toni grinning at her and Adam scowling.

“
I
’
ll get the keys and the room numbers,
”
she muttered, then got off the bus in a hurry.

But not quickly enough to miss the twins
’
whoop of laughter and Hoyt
’
s knowing smirk. The universe and everyone in it seemed to be conspiring against her these days.

The
knock
on
Toni's
door came before she
’
d even unpacked. A glance through the peephole revealed Adam scowling in the hallway. She opened the door with a smile, but he continued to scowl as he stepped in and edged a stopper beneath the door to prop it open.

“
What
’
re you doing?
”
she asked.

“
Keeping us from getting kicked off the team and me from getting murdered.
”

“
Huh?
”

“
If my mom or your dad catches us alone in a hotel room, we
’
re toast.
”

“
But we won
’
t
do
anything. Will we?
”

“
Not with the door open.
”
Adam sat at the desk, and Toni sat on the bed.
“
What are you up to, Toni?
”

Her smile turned to a frown.
“
Up to?
”

“
With my mom and your dad. I know something happened, and now they barely talk to each other.
”

“
But they look at each other all the time when they think no one
’
s watching.
”
She gave a sigh at the thought of how romantic it was.

“
But my mom mopes around like her best friend died.
”

“
Really?
”

“
It
’
s nothing to be happy about. If your dad hurts her, I
’
ll—
”

“
What?
”
Toni
’
s hands curled into fists.
“
Who said it was his fault?
”

“
What
was his fault? What happened?
”

Toni got up and began to pace. She picked up a pillow and hugged it to her chest.
“
I don
’
t know. That night you went to the pool party—
”
Adam nodded.
“
I took the twins home early so my dad and your mom could watch the fireworks alone.
”

“
Are you nuts?
”

“
I don
’
t know. I thought they liked each other—and all they needed was a little bit of time. I love your mom. I think Joe does, too.
”

“
I don
’
t think Joe knows the meaning of the word.
”

That made her mad, though Toni had thought the same thing until recently. But her dad loved her, so he might love Mrs. Vaughn. Toni wasn
’
t willing to give up on her dream of having Adam
’
s mom for her very own without a heck of a fight.

“
What have you got against my father?
” she de
manded.

“
You want a list?
”

Then several things happened.

Someone yelled through the open door,
“
Hey, Adam, I thought we were going swimming.
”

Toni hit him up alongside the head with a pillow so hard he fell out of the chair. While she stood gaping at what she
’
d done, he threw the pillow back into her face.

Then someone else yelled,
“
Pillow fight!
”
Things went downhill from there.

Joe
had
sent
his team upstairs to shower and change. They had practice time at the ballpark right after dinner. Then
he swam a few more laps by him
self, trying to get Evie out of his mind.

He might as well h
ave told the birds to quit sing
ing, for all the good it did him to try to swim Evie out of his brain. She was in his blood. All he thought about was her. Their one night together had only made him crave more. When he
’
d held her in his arms he
’
d known she was the woman for him—forever. But how could that be, when their wants in life were so divergent?

Joe climbed the stairs to his floor. A riot of sound
drifted down the stairwell, breaking into his reverie. He opened the door and got hit in the chest with a pillow.

For a moment Joe stood there and stared. He couldn
’
t believe his eyes. His team and Evie
’
s were out in the hall slamming pillows into one another. A few pillows had torn open, and where in the old days feathers would have been floating in the air, now polyester stuffing lay all over the floor, making the carpet look like it had dandruff.

He squinted through the throng, searching for his daughter, only to find her beating Adam Vaughn over the head. To Adam
’
s credit, he didn
’
t fight back; he just put his hands over his face and let her go. He must have screwed up good to get Toni so mad.