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“McCombs.”
Saoirse’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know—”
“It’s a business school,” Sutter said, downplaying his alma mater. “Part of U.T. Austin.”
“Good sports school. My dad coaches for Columbia. He lives in fear of the Longhorns.” Her grin said her father feared nothing. “Did you play any sports?”
“Baseball, but I didn’t make it off the bench after sophomore year. Lots of guys better than I was.” What Sutter didn’t say was that he’d been taking a double-course load to finish undergraduate and his business degree in five years, so baseball took a back seat. “I’m hoping to play again in the fall.”
Saoirse raised her brows enquiringly.
“Local league only,” Sutter said with a laugh. “I’m not good enough for much more. But I still love the game.”
Saoirse nodded and drifted over to the grill to poke at the foil-wrapped corn. Sutter caught her fingers before they neared the heat.Much too hot for a Little girl.
“Let me,” he offered. He parted the foil with some tongs so Saoirse could check, and then resealed the foil and turned the ears over at her nod.
“Have you ever been to a baseball game?” he asked, after he gave the green beans the same treatment.
Pink to her hairline, Saoirse shook her head.
“The Bitterroot Red Sox are playing Thursday night. Local little league. They don’t even have bleachers. We can sit on the hill behind third base, eat hot dogs, and drink slushies. Sunset’s even better over second base than here.”
Saoirse folded her lips together.
Before she could refuse, Sutter whispered, “Be brave.”
“I do like hot dogs,” she allowed, peeping up at him from under the feathers of her black bob. “Do they have hot mustard?”
“The hottest. And pretzels.”
“Sold.” Saoirse smiled shyly. “Being brave isn’t my best thing anymore.”
“Was it once?”
“In the water.” She nodded. “I was always brave in the water. Out of it, I’m like that frog.”
If she’d sunk fishhooks into it, Saoirse couldn’t have tugged harder on Sutter’s heart. “Scared? Out of place?”
She nodded.
“Other than swimming, what do you love?”
She tipped her face up to the sky. “Sunsets. I guess everyone loves sunsets. I love the smile on someone’s face when they’ve felt themselves float for the first time, or when they’ve mastered a new stroke.”
Sutter didn’t point out that was swimming. “You’re a natural teacher.”
Saoirse lifted one shoulder, deflecting the compliment.
“What else?” he asked.
She chewed her lip and Sutter could tell she was avoiding telling him about something she really loved. He saw in her face when she chose a more palatable answer. “I love sappy movies.”
“Disney?” he asked, hoping to tease the truth out of her.
She nodded.
He named some classics, which got him more lip chewing. “Brave?”
