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Her heart wobbled dangerously.
He glanced up, and Colleen looked away fast.
Savannah was coming up to bat. She wiped her eyes with the back of her arm. “Time!” Colleen called, and ran over to her sister. “Honey?” she whispered, kneeling down. “What’s wrong?”
Savannah’s pressed her lips together. “It’s my last at bat, that’s all,” she whispered, and a tear streaked down her chubby little cheek. She glanced toward the dugout, obviously afraid that her tears would be noticed.
Colleen squeezed her shoulder. “Oh, sweetheart. I’ll talk to them. I told you that already. Don’t cry.”
“Do you really think you can change her mind?”
“Please. Who do you think you’re talking to? Does anyone say no to me?”
Savannah gave a watery smile. “I guess not.”
“Ofcoursenot!” Colleen glanced over at her father; he was standing, looking concerned. She’d take him aside later and force him to let Savannah stay on the team. Cheerleading was fine; in fact, Colleen herself had done a little in middle school. It just wasn’t for Savannah. “Now come on. I want you to knock it out of the park, okay?”
“Okay.” Savannah wiped her eyes once more. “Don’t tell anyone I was crying.”
“Gotcha. Here, let me pretend to check your eye.” Colleen examined Savannah’s eye solemnly. “It looks clear to me,” she said in a regular voice.
“Everything okay?” the umpire said.
“She had something in her eye. We’re all set now. You ready, Yogi?”
Savannah grinned. “Yeah. Thanks, Colleen.”
Coll ran back to her spot between second and third. She felt warm, suddenly, and the back of her neck prickled.
Lucas was watching her, his eyes steady on her, and for a second, it felt as if they were the only two people here.
“Stee-rike!” called old Mr. Holland, their home plate umpire.
Colleen smacked her fist into her glove and gave Savannah a smile. Big Frankie, the pitcher for Stoakes and a lug-headed jock, wound up and threw again.
“Stee-rike two!”
Lucas was still watching her.
He’d always had a way of looking at her that went right into her bone marrow, making her skin thrum and buzz.
The crack of the bat made her head snap back to the game. Line drive to the gap, Coll could catch it in three paces, but she’d be damned if she was going to. She took two strides and made a dramatic, full-out lunge for the ball, pulling up an inch short and hitting the dirt hard. The ball flew past her and into the outfield, rolling into no-man’s-land.
The crowd roared. Savannah rounded first and chugged toward second—hurry, hurry—and Shannon Murphy scored. Colleen picked herself up and watched as Lefty Moore streaked after the rolling ball. People were screaming and yelling as Savannah hit third and kept going, and Colleen’s toes curled—an in-the-park home run, thatneverhappened, let alone to a nine-year-old girl.
Lefty fired the ball to Colleen. She caught it and threw it home, timing it so the ball hit Evan Whitfield’s glove just a second after Savannah’s foot hit the plate.
“Safe!” Mr. Holland shouted, and everyone on both sets of bleachers was on their feet, cheering and screaming and whistling. Connor ran out of the dugout and scooped up their sister, giving Colleen a subtle thumbs-up.
Savannah’s sweet face shone as the entire O’Rourke’s team swarmed her. Con hoisted her up on his shoulders, and the rest of the team—the fabulous Murphy girls, Bryce and Paulie, Ned Vanderbeek, everyone, all high-fived her, cheering and hooting. Con said something, and Savannah turned and tipped her hat to the crowd, getting another roar, and Colleen guessed this was pretty much the best day of her little sister’s life.
“So close, Colleen,” said Emmaline Neal, the third baseman, with a knowing smile.
“Quite a dive,” Robbie Mack added, slapping her on the butt. From the stands, Faith pointed at her and smiled, then continued clapping.
“Nice try, Colleen,” Jeremy called from first. She held out her hands in the “whatcha gonna do” gesture and grinned.
So, sure. She’d thrown the play. She was a good player, and Savannah’s hit had been catchable, especially by the town’s best shortstop. But it was worth it, and her teammates knew it. Just abouteveryoneknew it except Savannah, and Colleen felt a rush of love for her town. No one would ever tell Savannah that she’d been handed that hit.
