Summer Swing (9 page)

That did make me laugh.

“I was a little wounded to see you attached to his arm, though. I rebuked myself for letting my hopes get in the way of reality.”

I was thoroughly amused, but I also felt a little insecure if he was actually telling the truth. I was glad for the game in front of me to view when I didn’t know what to say.

“So I take it things are going well with Gage? You’re here, so I suppose that answers my question affirmatively.”

I finally glanced at him, because while I was busy watching the game,
he
had been watching
me
.

“Yes, things are going well. Gage is a great guy.”

He sighed and shook his head playfully. “Not what I wanted to hear. I was hoping that the two of you just realized the need for friendship instead of
courtship
.”

I smiled.

“I had hope when I saw you here. I was sitting over there—” he pointed to the other side of the stands, “—and
I thought, ‘Oh! It’s a sign.’ ” He smiled and then shrugged. “I was wrong again. I’m not doing so well with this.”

“I guess it’s not meant to be.”

“Ouch,” he slightly cringed. “Don’t burst my bubble.”

“My sister is here. Why don’t you rescue her from
her
boyfriend?”

“Is she a twin?”

“No,” I chuckled. “But we do look a little bit alike
—s
ame
brown hair and green eyes
. And she’s two years old
er than
me.”

“I won’t lie to you and say I’m not interested, but it would feel awkward to pursue her as a second choice.”

“I won’t tell her.”

It was his turn to chuckle. “Where is she?”

“
She
and her boyfriend went to the concession stand.
T
hey should be back soon.”

“So what’s the issue with the boyfriend?”

“Huh?”

“You’re trying to set me up with your sister to rescue her from her boyfriend. What’s wrong with him?”

“Oh, uh… I probably shouldn’t get into it.”

“Right. I should start at the bottom like everyone else has to. I would have an unfair advantage if I knew too much.”

I smiled at his sarcasm.
“He lacks commitment
, and he doesn’t appreciate her like he should
. That’s all I’ll say.”

“Ah, I see.”

“My sister is a nurse at Legacy Emanuel. You two could swap ER stories.”

“Hmm, now that could be a problem. I prefer dating women outside of my own profession. Life is more interesting that way.”

“
I’ll agree with that
. My parents are both nurses in the same hospital, but they absolutely love it. It’s not for everyone, I guess.”

“Three nurses in the family and one very squeamish stomach?”

I laughed. “Yes, squeamish is probably an understatement. Normally I would have passed
out after seeing Gage’s injury.
I think I was just trying to be tough so I didn’t look like an idiot on our first date.”

“Very stoic of you
,
but he would have felt really bad about it. A
circumstance like that could be a very bonding experience. It might have given you his sympathy and compassion for
your entire lives together
. You should have used it to your advantage.”

“
Shoot
, it’s too bad I don’t know how to plot things to my advantage.”

He chuckled
just as my sister and Wyatt returned to their seats. Dawn was looking us over pretty curiously as she sat down, so I attempted to introduce the three of them.

“My sister, Dawn, her boyfriend, Wyatt, and this is, uh, Dr.
Farrell
…” That’s all I could think of to say because I didn’t even know his first name.

“
Harlan,” he added with a smile. “It’s nice to meet the both of you.”

“Where you from, Ireland?” Wyatt asked.

I almost rolled my eyes but Dr. Farrell—uh,
Harlan
—answered, “No, but just east in Manchester.”

“That’s England, sweetie,” Dawn told him. “So how do you know Dr. Farrell?” Dawn asked me with a nudge.

“Uh, he’s the one that did Gage’s handiwork. On his arm,” I clarified when she gave me a blank stare.

“Oh! Isn’t that funny?” she said to Harlan. “Their first date and they end up in the ER. Gage is actually Wyatt’s cousin,” she informed him. “Aren’t Gage and Ellie really cute together? It was my idea to set them up, so when they get married and have a bunch of kids, I hope at least one of them is named after me.”

I was so glad the crack of a bat sent the crowd into a synchronized cheer. It was just awkward for my sister to be gushing about my relationship with Gage right after the conversation I’d had with Harlan. But the outfield caught the hit, and the third out sent Gage back onto the mound. I busied myself with the soft pretzel and drink Dawn had brought for me, and watched my boyfriend go to work.

“Well, it was nice to see you, but I should probably leave you alone,” Harlan said after a minute.

I glanced at him and tried to decipher
if he really did want to leave
. I wasn’t sure if he wa
s leaving for my benefit or his, but he didn’t get up right away, so I assumed that he
actually
preferred to sit with us.

I held out the pretzel and said, “Want half? You should stay and hang out. Maybe you can check out the pretty little scar you left on my boyfriend’s arm.”

He was pretty amused by that, but he did tear off
a portion
of my pretzel and said, “Thank you. I’ll owe you one.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” I said quietly. “I didn’t really want it, but Dawn tries to be accommodating. I just say ‘
thank you’
and it
make
s
her feel good.”

“Is that your way of putting in a good word for your sister? By telling me how sweet she is?”

“She is really sweet.”

“But so are you if just
accept everything from her
to make her feel good.” He had a little glimmer in his eye when he smiled at me and it was kind of cute.

I shrugged but didn’t reply.

Gage pitched until the sixth inning and then sat in the dugout. I was a little concerned when the team trainer began wrapping his entire shoulder and elbow with ice.

“What happened? Did he hurt himself?”

Dawn shook her head. “No, it’s just standard to wrap a pitcher’s arm after he’s done pitching. It’s supposed to
relieve the muscles and joints after being used so much.”

“Oh,” was all I said.

“I think it’s more beneficial if pitchers keep moving their arm afterward,” Harlan said. “It
naturally
helps flush out the build up around the joints after they’re done pitching.”

“Is icing it bad?”

“Mmm, no it might not be bad, but studies have shown that it doesn’t actually aid in recovering the muscle from soreness.
Cryotherapy
has always been a standard form of treating muscles after a strenuous workout
or injury
, but I don’t believe it actually
treats
the
injury
;
it only delays
the pain
.”

“So it’s a waste of time?”

“No, not at all
.
It keeps any swelling down, and s
ome athletes like the temporary relief of ice massage.
But as long as he cools it down properly as well.
It’s kind of a disputed subject, I
suppose
.”

“So brushing my hair more often doesn’t actually make it stronger?”

He laughed. “That’s another
debatable
practice, but not my area of expertise.
You have beautiful hair, though,
”
he offered.

I cast him a side-glance. “Thank you.
So if Gage were under your care would you tell him not to ice his arm?”

“No. I just believe that ice therapy is viewed incorrectly. As long as he doesn’t depend on it to prevent injury
it’s fine
. He’s better off warming up properly, and cooling down for a certain length of time. Just sitting down and putting ice on it isn’t what’s going to k
eep it healthy in the long run.
”

“So what do you think he should be doing right now to cool it down?”

“Maybe jog a little, keep moving his arm a bit. Nothing that his body won’t use to naturally heal it. It’s just like when we’ve completed a strenuous workout, and our bodies need that cool down period to restore it to its normal state. Now pitching doesn’t seem like much of an extensive cardio workout like some high-energy sports are, but just think about what his arm has been doing for the past six innings. It’s been hurling a ball over and over. His arm, from his shoulder to his fingers, has just been through its own massive workout. The muscles and joints have been exerted beyond normal use. But since it’s become used to it—because it’s been built up over time to take on the workload—it now needs to take the proper steps to restore itself. The body is an amazing piece of work.”

I took all of that into consideration and then said, “Hmm. That’s interesting.”

“It’s just my opinion,” he smiled.

“But still, it does make sense.
Do you think it would be beneficial to do a particular cool
down after snowboarding? It’s pretty tough on the knees and ankles.
Should I be doing something to cool down my joints?
”

He gave me a wry smile. “You’re a snowboarder, hmm?”

I nodded.

“Well like you said, skiing and snowboar
ding
are
pretty harsh on the knees
. You put yourself at risk anytime you participate in strenuous sports. Pitchers tear parts in their arms, they have a surgery to fix it, and then they’re right back out there
less than a year
later. It all comes with the territory. But what works standard for one person might not be standard for another. Some individuals are built to last, some are not.”

“So when Meg says she has weak ankles, she’s not kidding?”

He gave me a questioning look.

“Oh, just a Disney movie,” I mumbled. “So you’re saying that some people do sports that they aren’t really built for?”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t necessarily claiming that, but yes, I’m sure that’s true. Some people love a sport enough that they’ll just keep fighting through the setbacks. It’s life, suppose.”

“I’ve torn cartilage in my knees
twice
and torn
ligaments in my wrist and elbow. You think I love snowboarding enough?”

He smiled at me with astonishment. “Yes, I’d say you do. And you’re only…how old? Nineteen, twenty?”

“Twenty.”

“And how do most of these injuries occur? Do you have a lot of accidents on the mountain, or do you just have insufficient strength to your joints?” he chuckled.

“Mm, I’m not sure. I think I just play really, really hard. Because if I had weak joints I’d probably have a lot more injuries than that.”

“So you are truly a hardcore snowboarder.”

“She’s dangerous and out of control,” Dawn interjected. I glanced at my sister scowling at me. She looked at Harlan and added, “She’s crazier than anyone I know up on that mountain. Her next injury is gonna be a broken neck, and I’m not even going to feel sorry for her.”

“Gee, thanks for your compassion,” I told her.

“Hey, I’ve given you my compassion time and time again. And my worry, fret, concern… I think I’ve developed a couple of ulcers because of you.”

“Psst, Ellie,” I heard a voice call. At the same time the lady in front of me turned around and tapped my knee to look toward the dugout. Gage was standing there waiting for my attention, so I excused myself from everybody and trekked my way down.

“Nice game,” I told him.

“Thanks,” he smiled. “You see any of it?”

I gave him a questioning look and saw him look toward the stands to where Harlan was sitting. He and Dawn were conversing with one another.

“Of course I did. Dr. Farrell is here because his brother is on the other team.”

“Oh, yeah? Who is he?”

I realized I didn’t even know, so I shrugged and said, “Uh, I’m not really sure.”

“Hmm, well I was going to ask you a favor, but since you’re busy…”

“Oh, quit,” I laughed. “What is it? I want to do you a favor.”

“Can you get my team jacket out of my truck? I
think I
left it on the seat
.”