Lakeside Romance (8 page)

Chapter Eight

W
ith the bases loaded, Sarah needed a solid hit to bring her team home so they could win the game. Pulling her sunglasses off her face, she wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and squinted against the sunshine beating down on the field. The air was thick with humidity. Gray clouds clustered overhead. Rain would cool things off a bit. Sarah took a swig from her water bottle, enjoying the refreshing coolness of the icy liquid.

“Sarah, you're up.” Nate stood at the backstop and nodded toward the field.

She capped her water and set it on the dugout bench. Approaching home plate, her eyes connected with Alec's as he crouched into the catcher's position. Knowing he'd be watching tightened the knot in her stomach, but she tried to focus on the field and not on his muscular arms. He'd arrived wearing a red T-shirt advertising his sister's early learning center and gray shorts.

Even though things had been tense between them the past few days, he continued to show up at the community center to share his cooking skills with the teenagers. When one of them asked him to join their team against the other half of the teens in a friendly game of softball, and he'd said yes, she hadn't been able to contain her surprise. All he'd said when she asked about it was “maybe it was time to give them a chance.”

Hearing her name being cheered behind her, Sarah donned a batting helmet and took the bat Daniel held out to her. The helmet glued her sweat-soaked hair to her scalp. The scent of grilling hot dogs caused her stomach to roll.

After waking up with a major headache, the last thing she wanted was to play softball, but the boys had been looking forward to playing...and attending the picnic that was to follow.

And now she and Alec played on opposing teams.

Positioning her feet in the dirt, she moved into a batting stance. She wiped her clammy hands on her shorts, then tightened her grip on the aluminum bat. Tuning out the noise, she nodded to the pitcher to let him know she was ready.

One hit. That's all she needed.

He threw the ball underhand. As it came toward her, Sarah swung and missed. The ball thumped into Alec's mitt.

“Strike one!”

She shuffled her feet, lifted the bat into position again.

“Come on, Miss Sarah. You can do it!”

Her stomach rolled again. She wasn't so sure she could do it. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then regained her focus on the pitcher. The only thing she cared about was hitting the ball. Then she could go home and lay on the couch with an ice pack over her eyes to dull the throbbing headache.

The pitcher tossed another underhand ball. She swung and missed.

“Strike two!”

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. She didn't want to strike out in front of Alec. Her pride was at stake. Sweat rolled down between her shoulder blades. She tapped the bat against home plate the way she'd seen the pros do it. Tightening her grip, she crouched into position with her bat ready to connect with the ball.

The pitcher stepped forward and tossed the ball. As soon as the ball was within range, she swung hard. Aluminum connected with leather, the momentum reverberating up her arm. Stunned, she stood watching the ball sail across the field. The outfielders ran like jackrabbits to retrieve it.

“Run, Sarah! Go! Go! Go!” Her team screamed behind the backstop.

She snapped out of her daze and dropped her bat. Pumping her arms, she charged for first base. She touched the bag with her toe. A quick glance showed the other team rushing deeper into the outfield, so she continued to second. Hearing cheers and her name called out by her teammates propelled her feet toward third.

Exhilaration pulsed through her. Despite playing softball in high school, she'd never made it past second base.

A stitch pierced her side, and her chest burned. She tagged the bag and slowed until her team's windmilling arms drew her home.

Alec stood at the home plate with his glove open above his head. She had seconds to master this home run. A scurry of activity out of the corner of her eye warned her to head back to third, but she was so close.

Barreling toward home, she pushed herself to move faster. Her teammates touched home base, creating dust clouds as they ran. Lungs screaming and sweat dripping into her eyes, Sarah kept her eyes fixed on home plate. The toe of her sneaker tagged the plate as Alec caught the ball and jumped forward to tag her.

Her head came up and knocked into his chin as he reached down to touch her arm with the ball. She tripped over his foot and lost her balance, crashing to the ground with a heavy weight pinning her shoulder to the dirt.

A fiery pain set her nerves and muscles aflame, searing her right arm from shoulder to wrist. Tears blurred her vision. Her splintered breathing caught in her chest. The weight lifted quickly, and she rolled onto her back, cradling her arm to her chest. A whimper slid over her lips.

She cinched her eyes closed to block out the blinding sun. She needed to move—to stand, to get her head off home plate, but every time she tried to sit up, the ground spun and the pain kept her pinned to the dirt. Her stomach rolled. Bile burned her throat.

People called her name, but the only voice she homed in on was Alec's. He knelt beside her and placed his hands on her cheeks, thumbing dirt off her skin. “Sarah, I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?”

“My arm.” Her voice sounded as dry as the dirt caking her lips. “And my head.”

“You hit the ground pretty hard.” He reached for her left hand and slid an arm around her shoulders. “Can you stand?”

Leaning on him, she dug her feet into the ground and forced her legs to lift her. The second her right shoulder left the ground, a scream escaped from her throat. Multicolored spots danced in front of her eyes as darkness rushed through her head. Her stomach tossed again.

“Someone call 911!” Alec's shout close to her ears made her cringe.

“I'm on the phone with them now,” Nate called out.

Shouting increased the pulsing in her head. She wanted them to hush, but when she opened her mouth to say something, a wave of nausea crashed over her again. She swallowed several times to push the feeling down. Dropping to her knees, she vomited in the dirt.

If only she could curl up in the grass and take a nap—long enough for the pain to stop.

Alec pressed a wet cloth against her face. He stroked her hair off her forehead and then pressed her head against his shoulder.

Wailing sirens in the distance grew louder until the noise threatened to crack her skull in half. Two uniformed EMTs knelt beside her and started asking her questions. She tried to mumble responses. Minutes later, they lifted her onto a gurney and rolled her into the back of the ambulance. She tried to sit up, tried to get Alec's attention, but the sudden movement stole her breath. She fell back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Darkness beckoned and offered sweet relief against the pain.

* * *

Waiting on word about Sarah was driving Alec nuts. He couldn't erase the look of pain that had contorted her face...pain he'd caused. She was here because of him. He paced from the vending machines to the rose-colored vinyl chairs that formed a horseshoe shape around a glass table covered in dog-eared magazines in the Shelby Lake Memorial emergency department waiting room.

Since her brother and sister-in-law waited in the exam room with her, he was stuck out here with Daniel and Toby. After the EMTs had loaded Sarah into the ambulance, he'd had no choice but to bring the boys to the emergency department with him. With their grandma still in the hospital and now Sarah injured, someone needed to keep an eye on them.

No doubt they were as upset and tired of waiting as Alec.

After getting another glare from the triage nurse, he dug a handful of change out of his pocket, fed quarters into the vending machine and punched the water button. He repeated the action two more times, then he grabbed the bottles and headed to the chairs, handing one to each of the boys.

“Thanks,” they said in unison, taking the bottles. Toby twisted off the cap and guzzled his water while leafing through a past issue of
Sports Illustrated
.

Daniel set his bottle in his lap before returning his focus to the TV, where a game show host called out to the audience, who responded with cheering and enthusiastic applause. He crossed his arms over his chest and slumped deeper into the chair, purposely turning away from Alec.

Not that he could blame the kid. Maybe he should talk to him, but what could he say? He hadn't been the most compassionate person to them.

Truth be told, he'd been acting like a jerk.

He could still keep his distance but perhaps offer a little comfort.

Alec sat next to Daniel and sipped his water. At least it gave him something to do. The magazines held no appeal, and the TV gave him a headache. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and looked at Daniel. “You okay?”

Jaw tight, Daniel glanced at him, shrugged, then nodded. “Fine.” He sat straighter in the chair and looked toward the entrance of the emergency department. “What's taking so long?”

Alec sighed and shook his head. “No idea. If we don't hear anything soon, I'll check in with one of the nurses.”

Daniel glared at Alec, then returned his eyes to the obnoxious game show. “We'd never hurt her.”

Alec placed a hand on the kid's shoulder, feeling him stiffen. “What happened on the field was an accident. It's my fault she got hurt.”

He shook off Alec's hand and jumped to his feet, his fists knotted at his sides. “I'm not talking about that.”

“Then what?”

The kid's chest rose and fell rapidly. “I heard what you said on the porch the other day.”

Alec pushed to his feet, glanced at the other people in the waiting room watching their heated exchange and nodded to the door. They didn't need an audience. “Let's step outside if you want to talk, so we don't disturb the others.”

“Fine.” Daniel pushed his way through the chairs and stomped to the exit.

After letting Toby know where he was headed, Alec followed Daniel.

The afternoon heat slammed him in the face. A sheen of sweat slicked his skin. Alec glanced around looking for Daniel and found the kid sitting on a bench facing the Shelby River, which ran parallel to the hospital grounds.

Alec sat next to him and reached for a leaf. Twirling it between his fingers, he asked the question hovering between them. “What did you hear me say?”

“That you don't trust us.”

Alec exhaled slowly, then rubbed a thumb and finger over his eyelids. “Listen, man, it's not about you...directly.”

“You treat us like we have a disease. I don't know why Sarah asked you to help us cook anyway. You don't like being there. Why not bail if you hate us so much?”

“I don't hate you. Besides, I gave Sarah my word.”

“Maybe she should give it back.”

Alec laughed.

“You think this is funny?”

“No, kid, I don't.”

“I'm not a kid.”

“Yes, you are. At least you should be. Listen, Daniel, I'm sorry. Okay? What I said to Sarah had nothing to do with you—I mean that.” He repeated the same story about Justin that he'd shared with Sarah at the beginning of the summer. Alec blinked several times, trying to erase the pictures from the past flickering in his head, and rubbed his hands together, suddenly feeling cold. His gut twisted.

Silence floated between them until Daniel cleared his throat. “I'm sorry, man.”

“Thanks. Me, too.”

“It wasn't your fault.”

“So people keep saying. Justin didn't see it that way.”

“So I guess I get why you don't like teenagers, but we're not all like that punk, you know?”

“You know, Daniel, my head agrees with you, but...” He paused and pounded on his chest, his throat thickening. “My heart is still struggling with the difference.”

“So whatcha gonna do about it? You can't go through life hatin' on teenagers.”

“I know. I'm trying.”

Before Alec could continue, someone called their names. They stood and turned to find Toby standing outside the emergency department door, waving them in.

They strode across the grass and parking lot and headed inside to find Caleb Sullivan, Sarah's brother, standing in the waiting room. Alec went over to him and held out a hand. “Hey, man, how's Sarah?”

Caleb shook Alec's hand. “She has a sprained wrist. X-rays showed no broken bones, not even a fracture.”

Relief washed over him like a cool shower. The knots in his gut loosened. While annoying, her injuries were treatable. “Well, that's good. What about her head?”

“No concussion, but she has a nice goose egg. She'll probably have a headache and end up with a colorful bruise.”

“Wow, I'm surprised. What about the vomiting?”

“Apparently she woke up not feeling well but didn't want to back out of the game. Add in the heat, not drinking enough water and then that sweet homer I heard about—her body'd had enough. Probably heat exhaustion.”

Alec's mouth curved into a smile as he remembered how she'd rounded those bases. “Yeah, it was a nice hit. When will she be released?”

“Zoe's helping her get dressed now, so they'll be out shortly.”

“Great. I can give her a ride home. Her car's still at the field.”

“Actually Zoe mentioned taking her back to our house.”

Alec glanced at Daniel and Toby watching their exchange. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. “Listen, I don't want to get in the middle of a family decision, but if Sarah's at your house, then who will keep the boys?”

Caleb shot them a startled glance. “Oh, man, that's right. Sorry, guys. With all the excitement, I had forgotten you were staying with Sarah for a couple of days. Of course, you can come, too. The house will be packed, but you guys can camp out in our son Griffin's room.”