Then just as the team started warming up, he noticed Erma’s car pull into the lot. His heart rate jumped. Had Riley changed her mind? He was thrilled to see her exit the car, despite thinking a few minutes ago that she would be too much of a distraction. Then he saw her go to the passenger side of the vehicle and help Erma out of the car. He laughed. He should have known Erma wouldn’t stay away from the ball field for long.
He gave Riley and Erma a wave, then ran the practice as efficiently as possible, which wasn’t difficult with this team. Once he got the players started on batting and fielding practice, he turned to see Riley sitting in a lawn chair next to Erma, who was positioned as close to the fence as was safe.
“Lift that bat higher, Tanner!” Erma shouted. “You look like a girl out there.”
Hayden smirked as Tanner shot her an annoyed look. Riley ducked her face behind her hand, then removed it when Tanner slammed the next pitch over the fence. He turned and started jogging backward, giving Erma a sarcastic salute, then made his way around the bases.
“That’s how you motivate a young man, sugar.” Erma sat back in her seat, seemingly proud of herself. “Most men, really. Appeal to their egos.”
“Tanner doesn’t need much motivation, and he has plenty of ego.” Hayden crouched next to Erma’s chair, but not before he checked over his shoulder at Riley. She had gotten up and was organizing the dugout again, probably more to get away from Erma’s method of coaching than anything else. She was moving the nearly empty ball bag to the other end of the bench from where Hayden had dropped it when he arrived, and out of the way of the entrance, so no one would have to walk around it or trip over it. Then she sat on the bench, and he saw what seemed to be a sketchbook next to her. She picked it up, pulled a pencil out of her crossbody bag, flipped the book open, and started to draw.
“She’s okay, Hayden.”
He glanced up at Erma, who was smiling. “I know,” he said, believing it. The conversation they’d had this afternoon had shifted things between them.Not to mention the kiss.But he knew he still had to tread lightly with her.
“She came home from the shop in a good mood today.” Erma faced the field again. “I asked her if something had happened.”
Hayden stilled. Surely Riley wouldn’t tell her grandmother about their kiss. Then again, the two of them were close. “Uh, what did she say?” he asked as Lonnie pitched a perfect strike to Jared, who had yet to miss a ball behind the plate.
“That it was an ordinary day.”
Ouch.Maybe he had read Riley wrong again. Then their kiss came back to mind, particularly how she had responded to him. He definitely hadn’t read that wrong.
“Hayden,” Erma said, drawing him out of his thoughts. A good thing considering the path they were on. “I meant to tell you last night that I’m sorry for asking you to take on Riley as your assistant.”
“It’s okay—”
“No, it wasn’t, especially for Riley. But it was also wrong for me to put you in an awkward position. Occasionally I have to admit that not all my ideas are good ones.”
This was a side of Erma he hadn’t seen before. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice barely audible. Then she turned to Hayden. “Riley has something up her sleeve, though. She’s had her head in that sketchbook since she got home from the shop. She even had it next to her while we ate supper. I encouraged her this morning to spend time on her art while she was visiting, but I didn’t think she would do it right away. I haven’t seen her this excited in a long time.” She elevated one eyebrow. “Are you sure there aren’t any other secrets you’re keeping from me?”
“Uh...” Hayden peeked at Riley again. She happened to look up at the same moment and meet his gaze. He expected her to ignore him, or worse, give him that blank expression that bothered him so much. Instead, she smiled, then went back to her sketch.
He grinned and got to his feet while Erma told Jared to get lower in his stance behind the plate, preventing Hayden from answering her question. He glimpsed the dugout again.We’ve officially turned a corner, Riley McAllister.
He couldn’t wait to see where they went from here.
***
As the softball practice continued, Riley kept sketching in her book. The ideas were flowing now, and although she only needed a rough drawing of her plans, she had become engrossed in filling in the details. Other than doodling around with her sketch of Hayden, she hadn’t done much drawing since she’d moved to New York. She was never one to map out her art, because she preferred to discover each creation organically. This was different. While her drawing was a far cry from artistic, it suited the purpose and filled a dry spot in her soul. Soon she would explain her plan to Mimi, but right now she was enjoying the creative process.
She lifted her head occasionally to watch the practice. Or more accurately, to watch Hayden as he ran the practice. She leaned one elbow on her knee and rested her chin in her hand as she watched him correct Lonnie’s pitching form on the mound. Although the team played in a slow-pitch softball league, Hayden was just as comfortable pitching underhanded as he had been pitching a baseball.And just as fine. What a gorgeous man.She sighed.
“Something wrong, Riley?” Mimi leaned forward, studying the field as if she were still Hayden’s assistant coach.
She straightened. “No. Nothing. I’m good.” She glanced at her sketch again before closing the book. She’d done more drawing today than she had in years, and it was time for a break.
She set her sketchbook on the bench and left the dugout to stand by Mimi. The warm wind had kicked up, a soft breeze fluttering the leaves of the elms and oaks around the field. She scanned the chain-link fence surrounding the ball field, noting numerous patches of rust. Then she took in the metal bleachers that were also dotted with orange spots of rust. The last time she was here she’d been so uncomfortable and out of sorts that she hadn’t noticed. Now she was seeing every decrepit detail. The splintered and warped wooden roofs above the two dugouts, the lack of a scoreboard, the rusted signs—their faded lettering impossible to decipher—stuck on the fence behind the outfielders.
Hayden was right. Maple Falls was dying away. The things that made a town vibrant—strong businesses, safe open spaces where families could spend time together, activities that attracted both young and old—were disappearing. She shouldn’t care. This town represented nothing but disappointment to her, except for being home to Mimi and the Bosom Buddies. Still, for some reason, the declining state of the town over the past ten years saddened her. Where would Maple Falls be in another decade?
Where will I be?The question popped into her mind out of the blue. What did she have to show for her past ten years in New York? An empty bank account, extra pounds she didn’t need, and a few sales at the flea market. Maybe she had more in common with Maple Falls than she wanted to admit.
“Olivia!” Erma hollered as the woman approached the plate, hefting the bat as if it weighed fifty pounds instead of less than sixteen ounces. “Sugar, keep your eye on the ball this time.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Olivia touched the brim of her light-gray baseball cap, her chin-length, straight black hair tucked behind both ears. She held the bat at such an awkward angle that Hayden held up Lonnie’s pitch and jogged over to her. He repositioned the bat, gave her a few instructions Riley couldn’t hear, then scooted away from the plate. Lonnie released a pitch, and Olivia connected with it, hitting a weak grounder to Jimmy at third base.
