This Heart of Mine (Chicago Stars #5)(96)
She arched an eyebrow at him, and her eyes caught the light. Green like his.
I know you're my real mom and I love you very much…
He didn't try to burn her. Instead, he sent it nice and easy over the plate. She took a great swing, but she was rusty and didn't catch it all.
"Foul ball!"
He gave her the same pitch again, and this time she caught it clean. The bat cracked against the ball, and as her team whooped, she made it to second. He was startled by the burst of pride he felt.
"Nice going," he muttered.
"Past my prime," she said.
Captain Goodheart was up next, all solemn and serious, with the same worried look on her face he sometimes saw her aunt wearing. Hannah's straight brown hair was a little lighter than Molly's, but they had the same stubborn chin, the same slight tilt at the eyes. She was a serious kid, as well as being neat. Her American Girl T-shirt didn't show any sign that she'd been playing with a couple of poodles and eating chocolate cake. He spotted a tiny notebook sticking out of the back pocket of her shorts, and something inside him melted. She seemed more like Molly's daughter than Dan and Phoebe's. Was this the way his little girl would have looked?
Out of nowhere his throat tightened.
"I'm not very good," Hannah whispered from the plate.
Oh, man, not that… He was dead meat. He threw wide.
"Ball one."
She looked even more worried. "I'm better at drawing. And writing things. I'm pretty good at writing things."
"Cut it out, Hannah," her insensitive jerk of a father called from second base.
Kevin had always considered Dan Calebow one of the best parents he'd ever known, which just proved how wrong he could be. He shot him a quelling look and threw a lob so soft, so gentle, that it didn't make it to the plate.
"Ball two."
Hannah bit her bottom lip and spoke in a helpless whisper. "I'll be so glad when this is over."
Kevin melted, and so did his next pitch, just as it passed over the plate.
Hannah bunted it with a choppy little swing.
Kevin went after the ball, but he didn't hurry so he could give her enough time to make it to first base. Unfortunately, Cody missed the catch, and she made it to second.
He heard a chorus of cheers go up and saw Lilly slide home, Gucci pants forgotten.
Last Kids to Be Chosen in Gym Class 3, Jocks 0.
He cocked his head at Hannah.
"I'm not a very good batter," she said in her lost-little-girl voice, "but I can run really fast."
"Brother," Dan said in disgust.
Kevin was about to say something comforting when the little girl exchanged a look with her aunt that just about knocked him off his feet. It was only a smile. But it wasn't an ordinary smile. Oh, no. It was a sly little hustler's smile!
An expression of such perfect understanding passed between niece and aunt that he nearly choked. He'd been conned! Hannah was a world-class mischief-maker, just like Molly!
He turned on Dan, who looked faintly apologetic. "Phoebe and I still aren't sure if she plans it ahead of time or if it just happens."
"You should have told me!"
Dan gazed at his youngest daughter with a combination of irritation and fatherly pride. "You had to see this for yourself."
Sports sometimes had a way of making everything clear, and right then it all fell into place—from Molly's almost drowning and the incident with the canoe to Marmie's uncharacteristic trip up into that tree. Molly had been stringing him along from the very beginning. Cody came forward, clearly unhappy with his pitcher's lackluster performance, and the next thing Kevin knew, he was standing on second base while Dan took over at the mound.
Hannah the Con Artist exchanged a sly glance with Molly, and Kevin saw why. It was Phoebe's turn at bat.
Oh, and didn't the good times just start to roll then? There was more butt wiggling, lip licking, and breast thrusting than anybody under the age of consent should be allowed to witness. Dan started to sweat, Phoebe cooed, and the next thing he knew, the Stars' owner was perched on first while Miss Hannah claimed third.
It had turned into a bloodbath.
The Jocks finally managed to beat the Last Kids to Be Chosen in Gym Class, but only because Captain Cody was smart enough to replace Dan with Tess, who was immune to butt wiggling, plus being nobody's fool. Tess made short work of the nursery set and politely but firmly put the oldsters out to pasture. Even she, however, couldn't stop Aunt Molly from hitting a homer in the last inning.
For someone who hated sports, Molly sure did know how to handle a bat, and the way she ran the bases left Kevin so aroused he had to bend over and pretend he was rubbing away a leg cramp to keep from embarrassing himself. As he rubbed, he remembered how crowded Molly's bed would be this week with all the kids snuggling up against her. The way he understood it, this was Julie's night, tomorrow it would be Andrew's, then Hannah's, then Tess's. Maybe he could sneak into the cottage after bedtime and kidnap Auntie M. But then he remembered her telling him Julie was a light sleeper. He sighed and resettled his ball cap on his head. Face it. There wasn't going to be any joy in Mudville tonight. Mighty Kevin had struck out.
Chapter 21
? ^ ?
The woods were spooky, and Daphne's teeth chattered. What if no one ever found her? Thank goodness she'd brought along her favorite lettuce and marmalade sandwich.