Out of Her League (20 page)

“
Not me.
”

“
You have to agree it would be a bad idea with all that
’
s happened. The bet, and the news, and the kids.
”

“
I agree. Bad idea.
”

“
I meant to tell you—I don
’
t want your job.
”

For a moment Evie just sat there, trying to keep up with the way his mind worked. The reminder of what had happened earlier that night, as frustrating as their kiss had been and a
s annoying as this con
versation was, made her speak more sharply than usual.

“
If you don
’
t want my job, why did you agree to the bet?
”

“
I saw which way the wind was blowing. They wouldn
’
t have given you the job, either. Mrs. Larson
looked like she
’
d swallowed a bug. I thought you could use some help.
”

Evie hadn
’
t asked for help since she
’
d applied for a job at Oak Grove. Which had gotten her indebted to a chauvinistic jerk. Twice over.
“
I don
’
t need your help.
”

“
And I don
’
t want your job. If you want it so bad, I
’
ll give it back to you when this is done.
”

She hadn
’
t thought she could get any angrier. She
’
d been wrong.
“
Give
it to me?
”
Her voice sounded high and thready.
“
Give it to
me
? Don
’
t do me any favors. I
’m going to win this bet, Scal
otta. You are toast.
”

“
That
’
s what Toni said.
”

“
Believe her. Good night.
”

“
Hey, wait a minute.
”

She hung up on him. He was right about one thing—dating would be a very bad idea. Especially since right now she wanted to do him bodily harm. Still, he didn
’
t have to say it right out, like she wasn
’
t worthy or something. She didn
’
t want to date him, either.

And she
’
d prove it. The next guy who asked her out, she
’
d say yes instead of no, for
a change. She didn
’
t need Joe Scalotta for kisses, dates or anything else.

* * *

Today
was
the
day
Joe began his new life. He
’
d decided that this morning while drinking coffee on his porch as he watched the sun rise and spread day across his lawn. During those years when he
’
d lost control of things—playing football, trave
ling, par
tying, running to Chicago whenever he could to see Toni—he
’
d often soothed himself with the thought of drinking coffee at sunrise on his very own porch in some out-of-the
-way town. For a change, the re
ality proved every bit as good as the fantasy.

Somewhere in the perfect hollow of Oak Grove was a woman for him. He just had to find her.

But first he had to stop thinking too much—about Evie.

He
’
d spent sev
eral sleepless nights caught be
tween remembering the magic of their kiss and lecturing himself to forget her altogether. Evie hadn
’
t seemed impressed or affected by their embrace. In fact, he
’
d made an idiot out of himself by calling her, and had angered her in the process.

“
Good going, Jo
e
,
”
he muttered now as he drove to another game.
“
If it
’
s Thursday, it must be T-ball. Monday and Wednesday are Big League.
”

When he arrived
, several of his kids were prac
ti
c
ing under the watchful eye of one of the moms. Joe recognized the red heads of the Vaughn twins, but a quick survey of the small, before-game crowd did not reveal Evie. He hoped her annoyance with him didn
’
t extend to skipping the twins
’
games.

“
Hey, Danny, Benji,
”
he greeted them as the two ran up and hugged his knees.
“
Where
’
s your mom?
”

He winced when two pairs of bright blue eyes contemplated him with too much knowledge.
“
Why?
”

Joe shrugged. He only asked because he didn
’
t want her avoiding the game on his account. Not for any other reason.
Really
.

“
You
’
re here and she
’
s not. Just curious.
”

“
She had to drop Adam off at the high school diamonds. Him and Toni were going to practice, then she
’
s coming back.
”

Joe frowned. Toni hadn
’
t mentioned that.

“
Hey, Coach Joe.
”
One of the twins tugged his hand.
“
You
’
re growlin
’
again. Mom says you do that
‘
cause you don
’
t know how to come—come—
”

“
Communicate, moron,
”
the other one offered.

Unfortunately,
“
moron
”
gave Joe no indication which twin was which.

“
Shut up, Benji.
”

Aha! The one holding Joe
’
s hand was Danny. Joe reached down and turned Danny
’
s hat backward with a playful tug.
That would help keep their iden
tities straight for
a while.

“
That
’
s what your mom said, huh?
”
For some
reason the fact that Evie had discussed him with the twins made Joe smile. Bad sign—especially since what she
’
d disc
ussed with them hadn’t been com
plimentary. He needed to stop caring about what she did, what she said, where she was.

The crowd for the game itself wasn
’
t as large as the previous week
’
s, but it was bigger than usual—or so he later heard. Joe turned his attention to the game. He enjoyed the job. Kids at this age were so joyous. They didn
’
t care if they screwed up. They just wanted to have fun, and in teaching them, Joe discovered he just wanted to have fun, too. He
’
d never had the chance before. He
’
d played many years of ball—but he
’
d never really
played
. Until now.

And the best pa
rt of T-ball league? While occu
pied with the six- and seven-year-olds, he couldn
’
t think about Evie, or Toni, or Adam, or anything but those twelve kids.

His team lost the game, and he didn
’t care. Nei
ther did they. They beamed at him, slapped his hand, hugged his knees. It was so cool.

“
Great job, guys. I
’
m proud of each and every one of you. You did your best and you had fun. That
’
s what we
’
re here for.
”

As they headed off t
o their parents like ants spill
ing from an anthill, Joe grinned. He would really like to have a bunch of kids of his own someday, but until then, he
’
d make due with these rentals

“
Coach?
”

A woman
’
s voice brought him out of his private
dream. He looked into a new face, a very pretty face.
“
Yes?
”

“
I just wanted to thank you for taking the team. My daughter, Kendra—
”
she pointed at a pigtailed little girl covered in dust
“
—is having a very good time.
”

“
I
’
m glad.
”
Joe grabbed his glove from the bench and surreptitiously glanced at Kendra
’
s mom
’
s left hand. No ring. Hmm...

“
I have to tell you, I was concerned when I heard you
’
d taken the team.
”

“
Join the club.
”

She smiled, and dazzled Joe. He
’
d always liked women—all kinds of women. They were, well, women—soft and sweet, and they smelled really good. When you spent most of your time with hard, loud, rough men who did not smell good at all, women became even more special.

“
I was afraid you would be one of those win, win, win coaches who screamed all the time and expected perfection.
”

“
From seven-year-olds?
”

“
You
’
d be surprised how many people do.
”

“
Not me.
”

“
Glad to hear that. Tell me, have you ever coached girls?
”

“
I have a daughter, Mrs....

“
Hanson. But it
’
s not
‘
Mrs.
’
anymore—and you can call me
‘
Julie.
”‘

Joe nodded, stifling a smile.

“
I know you have a daughter. May I call you
‘
Joe
’
?
”

“
Feel free.
”

She smiled that smile again. Joe really liked her smile—great teeth and excellent lips, though a bit too much makeup for a ball game. That made Joe frown.

He was comparing her with Evie, who didn
’
t wear makeup at all and managed to look just fine. The thought of Evie made him glance about—only to discover her deep
in what appeared to be a stimu
lating conversation with ... a guy! The annoyance that flashed t
hrough Joe was strong and unwar
ranted. The man was probably another coach or some kid
’
s dad, and Joe had no right to be jealous, or even wonder who she was talking to.

“
Joe?
”

“
Yes.
”
He turned back to Julie.
“
Sorry.
”

“
Anyway, I was pleased to hear you had a girl of your own. A lot of coaches yell, and as you must know from your daughter--yelling at girls is a very bad idea.
”

“
It is?
”
This was news to him.

Julie
’
s eyes narrowed.
“
I thought you had a daughter.
”

“
I do. But I just got custody.
”

“
Oh?
”
She stood up straighter, and Joe couldn
’
t help but admire the
view. Julie had a very nice fig
ure, though not as nice as—
Grr
. Why couldn
’
t he quit comparing the two women?
“
You
’re di
vorced?
”
Julie asked.