This Heart of Mine (Chicago Stars #5)(95)

He walked the kid.

Hannah sent up Andrew next, and Kevin put a soft one over the plate. Andrew missed, but he had a great swing for a little kid, and as Kevin watched an expression of mulish determination settle over his face, he knew he'd just caught a glimpse of what Dan Calebow had looked like at the age of five. Because of that, his next pitch was harder than he intended, but Andrew was game, and he gave it his best.

Molly, on the other hand, shot him a look that had "dickhead" written all over it. He's five, you idiot! Just a little boy! Is winning so important that you're going to strike out a five-year-old? You're definitely not ever, ever going to see another pair of bunny panties for the rest of your life! No way, no how. Adiós, muchacho!

Kevin gave him another soft one, and Andrew banged it into short right. The oldest O'Brian kid didn't know how dangerous even a kindergarten Calebow could be, and he was caught napping. As a result, Linus made it to third, and Andrew settled in with his dad on second.

Dan ruffled his hair.

"Kevin?" Hannah called out politely. "Mr. McMullen's up next. He wants to know if it's okay if he uses his walker?"

And didn't that just say it all.

Finally it was Cody's team's turn to bat, and Kevin was up. Near the pitcher's mound he saw Little Hannah Goodheart huddled with the Four Horsewomen of the Apocalypse: Molly, Phoebe, Lilly, and Julie. Finally the females dispersed, leaving their pitcher on the mound.

Molly, the bunny lady.

Kevin couldn't contain his grin. Now, this was more like it. And guess what, boys and girls? Benny the Badger was showing little Daphne no mercy.

Molly tried to stare him down, but he could tell she was nervous. Damn right. All-American. MVP. Heisman candidate. All-Pro. Good reason to be nervous.

He stepped up to the plate and smiled at her. "Just try to keep the ball away from my head, sweetheart. I like my good-looking nose right where it is."

"That," Dan said from behind him, "was a mistake."

Yeah, right…

Molly went through a few gyrations that were supposed to pass for a warm-up. Kevin tapped his bat to the ground and waited for the pitch, thinking how cute she looked. Better than cute. Her lips were all rosy where she'd bitten them, and her breasts pressed against her purple top the same way they'd pressed against his chest the night before. As she released the ball, her sweet little rear end wiggled inside those tight pink jeans the same way it had wiggled against—

The ball sailed past him while he was distracted. Whoa… what was that about?

"Strike one!" Mr. Canfield called out.

A fluke, that's all. A lapse in concentration brought on by too little eye on the ball and too much eye on the doll. He stepped away from the plate.

She knew it was a fluke, too, because she started gnawing at that bottom lip again and looking even more nervous than before. That made this a good time to start playing a few mind games. "Nice pitch, Daphne. Think you can do it again?"

"I doubt it."

She was definitely nervous. Definitely sexy. He loved the way that lady made love, with her whole heart and every part of her body.

Her butt wiggled. Oh, he remembered what that wiggle felt like.

The ball came fast, but this time he was ready for it—except it dropped unexpectedly at the last instant, and his bat met nothing but air.

"Exc'llent, Aunt Molly."

"Thank you, Hannah."

Kevin couldn't believe it.

"Nice going," Dan grumbled from behind him.

Molly stroked the inner slope of her breast with her index finger. The tip of her tongue flicked over that puffy bottom lip. God, she was making him hot! As soon as this game was over, he was dragging her back into the woods, family or not, and then he'd show her a real game.

She wound up, and just as she released the ball, looked right at his crotch. He instinctively stepped away to protect himself. As a result he missed most of it and tapped a feeble roller back to the mound. He started to run. She threw to Julie on first base, who caught it with something that looked like a pirouette from Swan Lake.

He was out. Out! He looked from the ballerina to the bunny lady and tried to take it in. Molly's eyes flicked from his face to his crotch. And then she grinned. "Did I ever tell you I went to summer camp for nine years?"

"I believe you mentioned it." He couldn't imagine any summer camp teaching that particular trick. The queen of the mischief-makers had thought it up all by herself.

By the end of the first inning Molly had given Cody an easy pitch, walked Dan, and struck out the oldest O'Brian kid, along with his father.

Jocks 0, Last Kids to Be Chosen in Gym Class 2.

She sauntered past him as her team came in from the field. "Nice day."

"I thought you said you weren't any good at sports."

"I said I didn't like sports, jock boy." She flicked his chest. "There's a difference."

He couldn't let her get away with that one, so he gave her some prime NFL sneer. "Next time you stare at my zipper, jock girl, you'd better be on your back."

She laughed and ran off to join her team.

Lilly was first up. She was all Guccied in coordinating colors with diamonds flashing from her rings and bracelets. She kicked away a pair of leopard-print sandals, slipped off sunglasses with interlocking C's at the hinges, and grabbed the bat. She took a couple of practice swings, then stood up to the plate as if she owned it. Right then he knew that he hadn't gotten all his athletic ability from the rodeo rider.