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Logan nodded in the direction of the parking lot. Abby’s gaze followed his movement and she wanted to groan aloud. Tate was walking toward the stands.
“Tate isn’t my boyfriend.” Abby’s voice was taut with impatience.
“Oh, is that terminology passé?” Logan returned.
Stunned at the bitterness in him, Abby found no words to respond. They were both hurting, and in their pain they were lashing out at each other.
Logan slid from the bleachers for his turn at bat. Abby focused her attention on him, deciding she didn’t want to make a fuss over Tate’s unexpected arrival.
Logan swung wildly at the first pitch, hitting the ball with the tip of his bat. Abby could hear the wood crack as the ball went flying over the fence for a home run. Logan looked as shocked as Abby. He tossed the bat aside and ran around the bases to the shouts and cheers of his teammates. Abby couldn’t remember Logan ever getting more than a single.
“Hi.” Tate slid into the row of seats behind her. “You don’t mind if I come and watch, do you?” he asked as he leaned forward with lazy grace.
“Not at all,” Abby said blandly. It didn’t make any difference now. She stared at her laced fingers, attempting to fight off the depression that seemed to have settled over her. She was so caught up in her own sorrows that she didn’t see the accident. Only the startled cries of those around her alerted her to the fact that something had happened.
“What’s wrong?” Abby asked frantically as the bench cleared. Everyone was running toward Patty, who was clutching her arm and doubled over in pain.
Logan’s voice could be heard above the confusion. “Stand back. Give her room.” Gently, he aided Patty into a sitting position.
Even to Abby’s untrained eye it was obvious that Patty’s arm was broken. Logan tore off his shirt and tied it around her upper body to create a sling and support the injured arm.
The words hospital and doctor were flying around, but everyone seemed stunned and no one moved. Again it was Logan who helped Patty to her feet and led her to his car. His calm, decisive actions imparted confidence to both teams. Only minutes before, Abby had been angry because he displayed so little emotion.
“What happened?” Abby asked Dick as they walked off the field.
“I’m not sure.” Dick looked shaken himself. “Patty was trying to steal a base and collided with the second baseman. When she fell, she put out her arm to catch herself and it twisted under her.”
“Will she be all right?”
“Logan seemed to think so. He’s taking her to the emergency room. He said he’d let us know her condition as soon as possible.”
The captain of the opposing team crossed the diamond to talk to Dick and it was decided that they’d play out the remainder of the game.
But without Logan the team was short one male player.
“Do you think your friend would mind filling in?” Dick asked somewhat sheepishly, glancing at Tate.
“I can ask.”
“No problem,” Tate said, smiling as he picked up Logan’s discarded mitt and ran onto the field.
Although they’d decided to finish the game, almost everyone was preoccupied with the accident. Abby’s team ended up winning, thanks to Tate, but by only a slight margin.
The group as a whole proceeded to the pizza parlor to wait for word about Patty.
Tate sat across the long wooden table from Abby, chatting easily with her teammates. Only a few slices of the two large pizzas had been eaten. Their conversation was a low hum as they recounted their versions of the accident and what could have been done to prevent it.
Abby was grateful for Logan’s clear thinking and quick actions. He wasn’t the kind of skilled softball player who’d stand out, but he gave himself in a way that was essential to every member of the team. Only a few days earlier she’d found Logan lacking. Compared to the muscular Tate, he’d seemed a poor second. Now she noted that his strengths were inner ones. Again she was reminded that if given the chance, she would love this man for the rest of her life.
Abby didn’t see Logan enter the restaurant, but the immediate clamor caused her to turn. She stood with the others.
“Patty’s fine,” he assured everyone. “Her arm’s broken, but I don’t think that’s news to anyone.”
“When will she be back?”
“We want to send flowers or something.”
“When do you think she’ll feel up to company?”
