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Thirty minutes later he found himself turning up Nicole’s street, having driven toward the running trail near her house without thinking.
What was it that someone had said? There aren’t any accidents?
That was almost a comforting thought, to think there was a plan or purpose in everything. Maybe he should kick it around in a column. It wasn’t a place to wax philosophical too often, but his readers liked being surprised.
He ran for an hour, finally slowing and heading by the baseball field so he could get a drink at the water fountain. Besides, it could be fun to stop and watch the kids at their game for a while.
His hair was dripping and his T-shirt stuck to his skin. The endorphins coursed through his veins and he felt much better than when he’d started…until he saw Nicole crouching in front of the backstop in the place where an umpire was usually situated.
She wore a protective mask so he couldn’t actually see her face. But gold hair rippled in a light breeze, and those long, shapely legs couldn’t belong to anyone else.
Swallowing, he moved closer, hoping he was wrong. But there was Toby sitting in the dugout as if waiting his turn in the batting lineup, his tail wagging as he watched the game.
“Strike,” the woman called.
“Aw, Nicole, not really.”
“Yeah, really, Danny. I calls ’em like I sees ’em.”
The boy giggled and, even when he finally struck out, didn’t seem too upset. Jordan wondered if he was old enough to be wowed by a beautiful woman, or if he just liked her. There were a few men in the bleachers and they were clearly enjoying the sight of Nicole’s sexy figure shifting side to side as she sought a good view of the ball. Could one of them be her date for the evening? Or had the guy been crazy enough to stand her up? If so, she seemed to be taking it well.
Fascinated, Jordan kept enough distance that Nicole was unlikely to notice him, but close enough to see and hear what was happening.
“Which one is yours?” a voice inquired.
He turned and saw a burly man with a military-style haircut standing nearby.
“I don’t have kids,” Jordan said. “I just stopped to watch the game for a while. My name’s Jordan.”
“Rick. The girl at second base is my daughter.”
“I know your umpire,” Jordan said. No doubt the man had a legitimate concern about a strange guy lurking around a group of children, so while Jordan would have preferred complete anonymity, it seemed best to indicate where his interest lay.
“Nicole?”
“Right. I didn’t expect to see her here tonight, though. How did that happen?” he asked, wondering whether umpiring a baseball game might be the plans Nicole had made. It would be the last thing he’d expect, but he was getting the feeling his expectations were screwed up when it came to her.
“The kids wanted someone neutral to call the game,” the man said. “It blew my mind when she accepted, but she’s good and exceptionally nice. You know her long?”
“Back when we were kids. We recently reconnected.”
“Brilliant, as my kid—the Harry Potter fan—would say.” A jingle sounded through the air and he pulled out his cell phone. “Hey, hon, everything is fine…no, we got a game going, and you know who’s umpiring it? Nicole George…yeah, the model…no, I’m not ogling her…it may be a while before we get home… Jess is doing great, hit a homer in the second. She’s a chip off the old block…yeah, I’m talking about you, not me.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket and nodded at Jordan. “Have a nice evening.”
Rick strolled back to talk with the rest of the parents in the bleachers. Several of them glanced at Jordan before focusing on the playing field again. Rick had probably been deputized to make sure the stranger watching their kids was on the level. Smart parents.
The game continued another twenty minutes before a team was declared the winner.
In the melee that followed, Rick spoke to Nicole, who looked at Jordan and bobbed her head. She handed the umpire’s gear to Rick before taking Toby’s leash and walking in Jordan’s direction. Her progress was slow because the kids kept stopping her to talk. They also had to pat Toby, who was licking hands and wagging his tail so hard his entire butt swayed.
