Hooked on You, Kathleen Fuller [book club suggestions TXT] 📗

team started to show up and make their way to the field. Tanner Castillo, who played shortstop, wore his usualSunshine Diner baseball cap, his long ash-blond ponytail pulled through the snapback of the cap. Hayden and Tanner’s friendshiphad started in elementary school, and although they had gone their separate ways after high school, they picked up right wherethey left off when Hayden returned to Maple Falls.

The catcher, Jared Young, was the new pastor of their church and only two years older than Hayden. Anita Bedford, a waitressat the Sunshine Diner, where Tanner worked as a cook, played right field. She and Olivia took turns playing right field. TheMathis cousins, Jimmy, Jesse, and Jack, who was known as Jackie—all in their late teens and pretty good players—made up therest of the infield. Lonnie Finch, a construction worker in his early forties, was a decent pitcher, and bringing up the rearwere Junior Dobbs and Eddie Trimble, two men in their fifties who struggled to pick up ground balls due to their love of Southerncooking, not to mention their fondness for enjoying a few beers now and then. They would take Myrtle and Erma’s places inthe outfield. The team was short on subs, but maybe once the season progressed, more people would be interested in joining.

Hayden smiled as he watched his eclectic team heading toward him. He’d known most of these people all his life, except forHarper, who had attended a private school in Hot Springs, and Jared, who was new to all of them. Hayden was proud of thisragtag group, despite the fact they hadn’t gelled on the playing field yet. He was confident they would, eventually.

Once he paired off everyone for warm-ups, he spotted Erma’s car again. Riley hadn’t gotten out of the vehicle yet, and Ermaobviously hadn’t accompanied her. Hayden was glad for that. Erma needed rest, and she wouldn’t get it here on the ball fieldsince she couldn’t stop herself from coaching, even to the point of Hayden having to remind her that he was in charge of theteam.

He frowned as Riley remained in the car. Was she all right? Should he go check on her? Then again, he had vowed to keep hisdistance.

After a few minutes, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He yelled to Tanner, who was rolling grounders to Jesse Mathis, “Be backin a minute,” then jogged over to Erma’s Town Car. Sure enough, Riley was sitting in the driver’s seat, hands in her lap,staring straight ahead, the motor still running.

Hayden tapped on the window. She rolled it down and then turned off the engine.

“Hey,” he said. What to say next was eluding him. “Uh, did you come to watch the practice?”

She grimaced. “Yes. Sort of.” Then she blew out a breath. “Mimi wants me to help you coach.”

So, Erma had talked to her. “What did she say, exactly?”

“She wants me to take her place.”

“And you don’t want to.”

Her eyes lifted in his direction. “You don’t seem surprised about this.”

“She called me yesterday.” He put his hands over the top of the door and leaned forward but made sure he didn’t get too closeto her. “Why didn’t you tell her no?”

“Did you tell her no?”

He grimaced and shook his head.

“Exactly.” Riley sighed. “I did point out that this was a mistake. I’ve never played softball before. Then she reminded methat I liked to watch baseball.”

Now that was an interesting tidbit of information. “You do?”

“I used to,” she said quickly. “That doesn’t mean I understand how to play the game.”

“You’re not the only one here who doesn’t. I had to teach Olivia the rules at the first practice. At least you’re familiarwith them.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I have a clue about coaching.” She put her hands on the steering wheel but didn’t turn on thecar. “None of that changed her mind. She said this will be good for me.”

He wanted to ask why, then remembered his promise to himself. Riley’s business wasn’t his business, and he needed to stickto his word, especially since it appeared that she was going to be his assistant whether she liked it or not.

“It’s not that hard,” he said, hoping to encourage her. “I can teach you about coaching and whatever else you don’t know aboutsoftball.” He surveyed the ball field. Olivia and Harper had stopped practicing and were talking to Anita, who was barelypaying attention when Eddie threw her the ball. He needed to get back to the team before this turned into social hour. “Whydon’t you sit on the bench and watch practice? Then if you still think this is a bad idea, we’ll talk to Erma together.”

After a moment, she nodded, then got out of the car. As an afterthought, she reached through the window and grabbed the glovelying on the passenger seat. “Mimi’s,” she said.

He nodded, and they walked back to the field, neither saying anything. He gestured to the dugout. “You can hang out there.”She nodded a second time and trudged to the dugout, then sat down on the bench.

Before he gathered the team to start practice, he glanced at her again. She looked miserable, and that bothered him, probablymore than knowing she didn’t want to be around him. But not by much. There was something else at play here other than her not wanting to coach, and he wondered what it could be.

*  *  *

Riley fidgeted on the bench inside the dugout, wishing she’d been able to stand up to Mimi and tell her she was the worstchoice for Hayden’s assistant coach. She protested several times when her grandmother brought up the idea yesterday, but Mimihad been insistent.

After Riley returned from her disastrous run sweaty, sore, and still a bit out of breath, she walked into the kitchen to getsome much-needed water. She was also just in time to see her grandmother turn off her cell phone.

“Mornin’, sugar. Where have you been off to?” Mimi placed the phone in her lap and wheeled to the kitchen table.

Before answering, Riley took a green glass tumbler out of the cabinet