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“It’s okay, Faith.” Ryan got to his feet. He put a hand on her shoulder, his fingers gripping it hard. Clearly the look on her face suggested bodily harm was a possibility. “They were just leaving.”
“Who are you?” one of the women demanded.
“Your worst nightmare if you don’t move,” Faith snarled.
“He can’t be hurt,” they said in unison.
Faith growled, and Brad stepped in, standing between Faith and the women. He then marched them back to the stands.
“I’m okay,” Ryan said to her.
“I know that.” She shook off his hand, disturbed over her behavior. “Now maybe we can continue the game.”
She walked back to take her seat, ignoring the look her brother gave her.
Play continued, and Faith pushed aside the conflicting thoughts she had about Ryan. She needed to focus if they were going to win. Later, when she was alone, she’d think about that jealousy and what she was going to do about it.
“You doing okay there, sweetheart?” Tex touched her shoulder.
“Peachy,” she snapped back.
Going into the ninth, the teams were tied.
“No homers!” Buster roared from shortstop.
It was the last innings, and the Howlers were up by one, but the Ballbusters had a runner on second. The pressure was on.
Looking across at Ryan, she saw he had a small smile on his face that said he was enjoying himself. She remembered that look from when they were kids. Did he get to do things like this in LA? Things that made him happy.
A chant went up from the locals. “Howlers!”
The Brook crowd matched it with one of their own.
Lucy ran up and down the bleachers with Buddy barking and Mrs. C was screaming. Both held their signs above their heads.
“God, I love this town.” Brad laughed from the outfield.
“Amen to that,” Faith said.
She felt it then, the swell of emotion that being part of this community gave her. She didn’t need anything more than this. She caught the ball Ryan threw at her and sailed it back to Jake.
Life, she thought, was good right in that moment. Tomorrow she’d think about her mom and Ryan again, but right now, she was going to enjoy this.
Chapter 11
Ryan watched Faith walk back to her position. Black shorts showed off her lovely long legs and superb butt. Her hair was pulled into a short tail through the back of her cap like Annabelle had done. Face sweaty and alive with excitement, the woman packed a powerful punch.
That incident with those two women had rattled her. He knew this because she’d not looked at him again. They were what Talon’s drummer called A+ groupies. The ones who followed the band everywhere. These two for some reason had latched on to Ryan as their favorite, and clearly social media had directed them to Lake Howling.
“You’re doing awesome, Ryan!”
He smiled at Hope, who had come down from the bleachers and was standing with Branna and Willow, hand settled on top of her large belly.
“Thanks, sis.” If felt good to say that in person.
“Hey, what about me?”
“Go, Newman!”
