Counting On It (Hearts for Ransom Book 1) (7 page)

“The bus should be here any minute,” Jesse announced to the world in general, an ear-to-ear grin firmly in place.

“This bites.” Bo once more gave his opinion.

“Better get that out of your system before the people from the
Ransom
Razor
get here,” Logan advised him. “Remember, they can photograph and record anything we do with the kids.”

The nine of them were sitting on the picnic tables grouped in the large pavilion. Emily had been there earlier and directed the guys to move the tables into more of an arrangement for a large group. It had surprised Logan when they quietly complied.

“I hope my boy needs me,” Jesse worried.

“If any of us could work up half the enthusiasm Stringbean has, we’d be in good shape,” Mason dryly observed.

“Here come the ladies.” It was Brody making the observation, and it was apparent he was only looking at one lady. Abby seemed to be unaware that she had captured his attention.

“Ready or not,” Emily said, as she walked over to stand by Jesse, who had grown too impatient to sit anymore and was now pacing.

“Not,” Colton piped up.

“Are you ready?” Brody asked Abby.

“Sure. I’m not the one who’ll have a shadow for the next two weeks,” Abby simply observed.

Coop groaned. “I hadn’t thought about it like that, but we will won’t we? A shadow.Haynes is flippin’ nuts.”

“He owns us,” Jake observed. “I can’t give up the Slammers, guys.”

“None of us can,” Matt admitted.

There were murmurs of agreement. It was as Logan had told Emily the night before; the team was a second career for the men.

“Here they come.” Emily’s voice was so soft that Logan barely heard her. He looked up to see a bright blue bus pulling into the parking lot by the picnic area. He could just make out the silhouettes of the boys’ heads as the driver parked.

“Come on, guys!” Jesse was already on his way, his long legs eating up the path.

“It’s not the boys’ fault, either,” Emily quietly told the others.

It was an uncharacteristically somber group that stood up and walked toward the bus, Emily and Abby trailing behind. This was the Slammers’ show after all.

As if thinking of shows had conjured it from thin air, a car pulled in beside the bus and a man and woman quickly got out. The man was already speaking rapidly into his smartphone, and the woman had her camera out, aimed at the ball players.

It was if somebody had flipped a switch. The Slammers suddenly became an animated group of men, seemingly anxious to meet their new charges. Logan, Brody, and that big man – Bo? - were the only ones who seemed unfazed as they continued their moderate pace to the bus.

The bus doors opened and a man with coal black hair stepped out.

“Hello!” he greeted the ball team. “I’m Pastor Rhinehart.” He began shaking each man’s hand as they introduced themselves to him.

“
He’s
the pastor?” Abby softly asked Emily, surprise in her voice. “He can’t be more than thirty years old.”

He was handsome, too, with his muscular build and black hair nearly touching the neckband on his gray and white t-shirt. Emily could see the blue in his eyes from where she stood—they were that bright.

“And which one of you two lovely ladies is Emily Scott?” The pastor smiled at the two women.

The men parted like the Red Sea and Pastor Rhinehart strode through them.

Emily stuck out her hand. “I’m Emily.”

He took her hand in his and covered it with his other hand. “I can’t tell you just how much it means that you are willing to donate your nursing services to our group. I was afraid we were going to have to disappoint several young men at the last minute.” His voice slid over her like hot fudge on a sundae. She would merrily go to his church every Sunday, just to hear him speak.

“I’m Abby Michaels, Emily’s best friend.” Abby introduced herself, shaking Emily out of her stupor.

He released Emily’s hand and shook Abby’s. “Thank you for your assistance too, Miss Michaels.”

“Abby, please.” She was blushing furiously. Logan noticed Brody glaring at the two of them during the interchange.

Two more men had stepped off of the bus, and the pastor turned and retraced his steps.

“Where did these guys come from?” Abby hissed to Emily, who had to admit they were certainly easy enough on the eyes.

Pastor Rhinehart gestured to the taller of the two, who had enormous dimples as he grinned at them. His long blonde hair fell loosely around his shoulders and his eyes were even bluer than the pastor’s.

“This is Fletcher Danning.” Fletcher began shaking hands with the other men as they once again introduced themselves.

“And this is Paul Findley.” Emily looked up and right into the hazel eyes staring at her. He wore his brown hair in a style that made it look like it needed to be combed while still appearing neat.

Paul didn’t mess around greeting the ball players. He walked straight to Emily and Abby.

“So, you’re our nurse for the next two weeks?” he asked Emily.

She mutely nodded.

“I’m her friend, Abby.” She had once again needed to introduce herself.

Logan was aggravated. He hadn’t liked the way the pastor greeted Emily, and he downright hated the way this Paul Findley guy was handling it. He forced a smile as he heard the camera clicking away.

“Let’s get the boys off,” Pastor Rhinehart suggested. He walked over to the bus and climbed the stairs. Logan could hear him saying something before he turned and came back down. Slowly, but surely, a dozen boys, probably in their early teens, got off the bus and stood in a haphazard line.

The pastor pulled a paper from the pocket of his jeans and unfolded it. “Let me just go ahead and pair you up as I introduce the boys. I chose partners by drawing names since none of you other than Paul and Fletch know the boys.”

“Let’s see. Kaleb Palmer, we’ll start with you.” One of the two smallest boys moved slowly out of the line and came to stand by the pastor. “You’re with Paul. I’m sure you remember he’s a dermatologist—a special doctor who takes care of skin.”

Emily wondered why his presence wouldn’t have fulfilled their medical requirements. While she didn’t know that much about dermatology, she assumed he would have the basics covered. Of course, it didn’t matter anyway. She promised Aaron to be their nurse, so she would.

Pastor Rhinehart faced the group of men. “I hope you don’t mind. Mr. Haynes was kind enough to provide me with a little information about each of you. I think it’s important for your little brother to know the kind of man he’s going to learn from.”

What were they supposed to do if they did mind, Logan wondered. His steel-toe work boot hitting Haynes’ butt seemed more and more appealing. Maybe the old coot could make a billboard out of that. “Sloopy’s Slammers Kick Butt!”

Paul turned and walked to the front of the men and beckoned for Kaleb to join him. “Come on, Kaleb. We’ll have fun.” It was with a bit more enthusiasm that the boy stepped over and stood by his “big brother”.

Pastor Rhinehart said something softly to the boys and a giant of a boy, larger than Brody for sure, with black hair and an obvious attitude problem, strode over to him. “Emmett Andrews, you’ll be with Fletch. Fletch owns an auto repair shop.

Even though Fletcher seemed genuinely pleased to be assigned to Emmett, the youth’s demeanor remained the same as he moved to stand beside the man.

“Kent Williams, you’re with me.” He was speaking to the only boy with a smile on his face. The chubby teenager walked over and stood by the pastor. Logan couldn’t help but think he might have been ideal for Stringbean.

“Boys, these men play for a very good fast-pitch softball team called Sloopy’s Slammers. Colton Rennard plays shortstop, but he works at a construction company that builds houses. He’s going to be Andy Davidson’s partner for the next two weeks.” Colton stepped forward at the same time as a big, blonde boy who looked like a speech bubble, with “Duh” printed in it, should be floating in front of his mouth at all times. Colton threw a look over his shoulder at Logan, and Logan was thankful the camera was aimed at Andy.

“Jacob Landon is an attorney, and he plays right field for the Slammers.” Pastor Rhinehart waited until Jake was in front of the others. “Duncan Laine, you’ll be with him.” The smaller of the two black youths looked satisfied as he walked over and stood by Jake.

“And for Matthew Newman, owner of his own hardware store and center fielder, we have…” He looked at his list. “Danny Adams.” A nondescript boy with brown hair returned Matt’s smile as he joined him.

“Jesse Rogers works at the hardware store and is the team’s center fielder.” Jesse was all but hopping up and down in place with excitement. Was he a glutton for punishment or just plain nuts? “Austin Nichols, you can come over here and stand by your big brother.” Logan couldn’t help but feel sorry for Stringbean when he saw the tall, thin boy with greasy, black hair and a “come and get it” attitude walking toward him. Jesse’s smile didn’t falter, though. Yep. He was just plain nuts.

“Cooper Grayson works at the construction company and plays third base. He’s paired up with Ryan Knutson.” Okay. This kid with the brown buzz cut probably had to be at least eleven or twelve to be there, but he could easily pass for seven or eight—at least in Logan’s inexperienced opinion.

“Brody Gaines, another attorney and second baseman, will be spending time with Luke Gaynor.” Oh, for Pete’s sake. The African American kid was bigger than Brody. Which one of them was supposed to be the “big” brother?

“Seth Stephens, you can come on over here. You get to be with Bo Daniels. He works at the construction company and plays first base.” There was something wrong with the red-haired boy—something more than shyness. He was afraid. He seemed to shrink in his shoes as he looked up at Bo, who was actually smiling.

There were two boys left. One of them looked like an all-American, blonde boy next door, and the other seemed to be his polar opposite. This teen, with stringy, black hair, was tall and too thin, like maybe he never got enough to eat.

“Spencer Hadley is paired up with Mason Wright, the foreman of the construction company and catcher for the Slammers, and that leaves you, Trevor Ryman. You’ll be with the owner of the construction company and the team’s pitcher, Logan Taylor.”

Logan watched as the blonde boy walked over to Mason, then managed to produce what he hoped was a welcoming smile for the young man coming toward him.

They were all paired up, and in Logan’s opinion, it was a recipe for disaster. Why hadn’t the pastor waited until they arrived and let them talk and get to know each other, then choose their own partners? His eyes met Emily’s and he saw in her eyes that she was unhappy with the whole thing, too.

She had stood by silently while the minister doled out boys like he was passing out lunch pails. She didn’t care for the method he used to pair them, nor the manner in which he introduced them to each other. Surely, something special about each boy could have been pointed out. The whole thing was a mess. These partners had to spend pretty much every waking hour together for the next fourteen days. No. The pastor with the velvet voice hadn’t handled it very well at all.

“Pastor Rhinehart, do you need help getting the boys’ tents out of the bus?” She thought somebody needed to break the awkward silence. Maybe conversations would start if they were busy.

“I’m sorry, Miss Scott. We only brought three tents.” Pastor Rhinehart was casting a strange look in her direction. “I understood that each man here has a tent for him and his charge to sleep in.”

Bo spoke up. “This b…bus is sure blue.” He had evidently remembered the reporter, who was now furiously typing on a tablet, in the nick of time.

Brody was eyeing the giant who was supposed to be sharing his tent. It was all Logan could do to keep from laughing. Poor Brody was probably praying that—Luke, wasn’t it?—didn’t roll over in his sleep and squash him like a bug.

“What about sleeping bags?” Logan asked. He was going to draw the line at trying to share his sleeping bag. He’d take the bus Haynes had left them, and drive to Ransom and buy some for the boys before he’d do that, reporter or not.

“Of course, each one of us has our own sleeping bag.” Pastor Rhinehart was starting to get on Emily’s nerves. Smooth voice or not, he didn’t seem to be very grateful to the team. Of course, the men weren’t doing this of their own volition. Maybe the pastor knew that and didn’t think they deserved his respect. Nope. She didn’t care. The fact was, they
were
helping out, and the man should be thankful he hadn’t needed to turn any of the boys away.

“Why don’t the boys get their stuff and you guys show them your tents?” she suggested, a smile plastered on her face.

“Come on, Trevor,” invited Logan. “I’ll help you carry your things.”

“I don’t have much,” Trevor self-consciously admitted. “Just a few clothes and a sleeping bag the church got for me.”

It was as Logan had thought. This boy was used to doing without. “Well, I’ll still help you.” He grinned at Trevor, and then followed him to the bus.