Bluetooth. Gets me every time.
I settled into the table, marking down names of the camp attendees as they came through. The swag bags were an upgrade this year and I forgot to hand them out to the first few campers. Usually the most my dad had managed to put together was a t-shirt and a wristband.
The group grew bigger as it got closer to seven-thirty and I felt like I’d gone through dozens of attendees already.
As one of the boys was signing his name, I glanced down the long line stretching all the way back to my snack stand near the middle of the complex. How many were we going to have this year? My dad usually capped it at fifty, knowing that with the number of coaches he’d need to pay to help him with the different skills and drills, it would still give him a little profit in the end to make it worth his time. But maybe that was another bonus to hiring Eliza, more interest in the camp and the ability to host more kids.
Sophie arrived, looking like she’d just survived a natural disaster. I filled her in on all the things that had changed this past year.
“Thanks, Sara. I take it you’ve met Eliza?” Her gaze darted over to the fence where Eliza was pacing back and forth, looking like she was talking to herself.
“What’s with her?” I asked, leaning in. Sophie was the best gossip out there and I knew that my dad’s evasion at the airport had to mean something was going on.
Sophie leaned over and got the registration taken care of for one of the last campers before turning to me and saying, “There’s nothing official, but they have been hanging out a lot together, ‘talking about the camp’ of course.” I was surprised that Sophie still used air quotes for that. She seemed young and trendy. That action made her seem way older than I thought.
I nodded and stood up, stealing one more glance at the girl who looked closer to a model than sports camp coordinator. Was she after my dad? And would I be okay with sharing him?
It was getting late and I knew I should probably organize the snacks and drinks before the guys got started.
“Sara?” a deep voice called out.
I turned, my eyes searching the line to see which of the boys would have called out to me. Please don’t let it be Steve.
My insides trembled as I thought back to the guy who’d essentially broken my heart two years ago. Not so much because I was in love with him, but he was the first guy to take interest in me. I didn’t realize until too late that he was just trying to suck up to my dad. I’d been so devastated that he’d never kissed me, just flirted a ton in between practices and games throughout the camp. Now I was grateful I didn’t have to look back at him as my first kiss.
I saw a familiar face and, after a few seconds, I sighed with relief. “Isaac?”
He was standing in line and it took a minute for my eyes to adjust to seeing his face with a baseball cap on, but it was the same kid from the plane. I’d pegged him for an athlete, just not a baseball player destined to come to my father’s camp.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, smiling wider than I’d seen him do on the plane. He looked more excited than most guys did when they saw me at school or the coffee shop.
“My dad is the camp director here. And I see you came to Florida for more than just amusement parks.” I gave him a quick full-body glance, trying not to let the sight of him in a baseball uniform sway me. But when I made it to his face, his nearly turquoise eyes stood out and there was something about his hat hovering over them, almost shading them, that made him even more attractive.
But when I’d said something about being the director’s daughter, I watched as a look of terror was recovered with a smile.
“I didn’t think I’d get to see you again. Are you going to be here for the entire camp?” Was that hope in his expression?
I chuckled, kind of glad things had worked out with me being at the camp. Then again, what about all those promises to myself to not date until college? “Yeah, I’m the water girl.”
“Sweet!” he said, moving forward in the line. The guys around him were giving him strange looks but it was refreshing that he didn’t come up with some lame pickup line that he’d have to come see me to get snacks or whatever.
“Well, I need to go get that all figured out before you guys start running drills. But I’ll see you around.” I waved, trying to keep myself upright when I knew he was probably watching me walk away. That was a lot of pressure for a book nerd, and I was okay with it for now.
A little fun for a week would be worth it. I knew better than the think a holiday crush could turn into anything long term.
Chapter 5
Isaac
Nate hit me in the chest with his glove. “Is that the girl?”
I could only nod as I watched her walk away. I’d resigned myself this morning that I wouldn’t ever see her again, something that I’d been strangely sad about. I mean, I’d known the girl for all of three hours and we’d only talked for about five minutes of that. But here she was. Even better than how my mind had remembered her. She was dressed in sports shorts and a t-shirt, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail falling over one shoulder. Attraction sparked through my chest and then the one sentence she’d said turned on the alarm in my brain. My dad’s the director.
That meant my future with her was going to be nothing. Nada. I wasn’t daring enough to chance ticking off the head coach, and I wouldn’t be here for very long anyway.
I glanced over at Coach Frank and recognized the eyes and shape of the face from Sara. The rest of her features must have been from her mom. I needed to stop analyzing everything about her.
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Nate asked, bringing me back to the present. I turned to him, pursing my lips since his voice was louder than I wanted it to be. I glanced over in the direction Sara had walked, toward the long table near the center of the complex, hoping she hadn’t heard him. When she didn’t turn around, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m not going to do anything,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m here to impress the college coaches so I can get a scholarship for school.” At that thought, my stomach tied itself in knots. Nothing like a lot of pressure about the future to turn up the stress level.
“There’s nothing wrong with a little Christmas fling, though, right?” Nate’s sly grin had opened a door. The idea that I might get to know her a little better and make camp more enjoyable. My parents were attending a real estate conference for the next several days and if I had to just hang out with Nate during that time, I might go insane.
“Just don’t say anything about her in front of my parents, okay? I don’t want them to think I’m distracted after they spent all this money to come here for the camp.” My eyes locked onto his and I waited until he nodded before looking away.
Nate used his pointer finger to cross the area over his chest. “My lips are sealed, Isaac.”
I almost wanted to hug him because he sounded like he was completely serious. I only hoped it would last.
A whistle blew after most of us had registered and put on our cleats. I turned to see Coach Frank in the middle of the complex waving us all over.
“Those of you already checked in, come join me here in the middle.”
A few of the guys jogged over, setting the pace for the rest of us. If I was going to have a chance of standing out in front of the seventy-five to one hundred participants, I’d need to make sure I was hustling everywhere I went.
The man in the center of the field pointed down and we all knelt on one knee.
“I’m John Frank, head of this camp. Welcome to all of you. We’ve got quite a few locals as a lot of you are from around the states.”
“And Germany,” a voice called from the back of the group.
“And Italy,” said another.
The rest of us chuckled and Coach Frank joined in. “Wow, it sounds like this camp has just turned international. Give yourselves a hand for being here. The flights and the time change. You guys are troopers.”
I tr
ied to clap, but it sounded muffled with one hand hitting against my glove. I did my best to focus on what Coach said, but over his shoulder, I could see his daughter getting things ready for whatever snack and drink break we’d get.
“Okay, we’ve got a lot to cover in the next seven days if you want to impress all the scouts scheduled to come. I’m going to introduce you to the coaches who will help us out during your time here, and then we’ll divide up and start warm-ups. You’ll start with this routine each day you come in, so make sure you remember the sequence because we might call you to lead out.”
That was the last thing I wanted—to be in charge of a bunch of kids I didn’t know. It was one thing to lead out as team captain when I’d been playing with the kids for four plus years, but I wouldn’t receive the same respect from a bunch of strangers.
“Okay, those of you who play outfield, head over to Coach Marks. Infielders will be here with me, pitchers with Coach Jordan over in the bullpen area, and catchers will be with Coach Thomas over there too. We’ve got about an hour for this first group so make good use of the time, boys.”
I groaned. Of course, I would be stuck in the heat running drills under the command of the dad of a girl I was kind of crushing on.
We broke away into our groups and I studied most of the guys in the infield. I’d been a third baseman for as long as I could remember. I loved the fact that the ball would come whipping in my direction, and with the way I’d trained myself to react to it, I’d thrown out a lot of runners. Even Nate had a hard time beating my throw to the bag.
We started in a couple lines by taking some grounders and I was surprised by Coach Frank’s sternness. I glanced between him and Sara a few times, trying to reconcile that they were even related. They were peanut butter and pickles. He was all gruff and she was the sweetest girl I’d ever met. So much for staying focused.
“Stay down. The back of your glove should be flat against the ground,” Coach Frank barked at one kid in front of me. “Go again.”
The kid squatted down, doing as the coach asked and readying himself for the ball. At the last minute, his body would shift upward, making it so the ball went through his legs and back to the rest of us.
“Again,” Coach Frank called out, pointing to the kid. I felt sorry for him, but then again, my insides twisted in the thought of what would happen if I missed the ball.
The kid got it on the third try and Sara’s dad looked a lot happier, proud even that the kid had gotten the ball and thrown it to the person catching for him.
I was up a couple people later and Coach Frank rocketed a ball in my direction, just a little to the right. I crossed my left foot over my right, reaching out to grab the ball as it stung my palm. Doing my best not to wince at the throb in my hand, I threw the ball to the catcher and made my way to the back of the line.
“That was sick,” one kid in front of me said.
“Uh, thanks.” I nodded, pulling at the strings on my glove to focus on something else. Recognition wasn’t my favorite thing, but I knew that if I ever got where I wanted to go, the major leagues, I’d have to get used to it at some point.
Nate struggled to make a clean pickup of the ball and had to go a couple extra times. He could be annoying, but I felt bad for the guy. He loved baseball and just wanted to be successful, no matter what kind of attention he got.
A few minutes later, Coach Frank sent us over to Sara’s table underneath a large awning. From the way everything was set out, it reminded me of a more professional lemonade stand.
She was busy filling up more drinks when I walked up and it allowed me to study her for a moment. Her brown eyes were focused on the cup at the bottom of the jug.
“Thanks for this,” I said, stepping to the side of the table closer to her.
She glanced up and her cheeks turned a deep pink. “No problem,” she said, grabbing another cup and repeating the process. “Part of the job.”
“Do you usually come to this camp?” I asked, taking a sip of the Gatorade.
“Every other year. I alternate holidays with my parents.”
Divorced parents. She’d told me about switching holidays on the plane. That had to be hard. I’d seen plenty of my friends have to do the parent shuffle, and I was grateful that mine were still together and didn’t fight all that much.
“Is this your first time at the camp?” she asked, turning to move several of the cups toward the edge of the table, making it easier for the campers to grab one and then get out of the way.
“Yeah, I’ve always wanted to come to it but didn’t think I’d ever get the chance. My parents surprised me with the registration this year as part of my Christmas. I’d love to get recruited by one of the college scouts and continue playing next year.”
“You’re a senior?” she asked, glancing up at me for several seconds.
“Yeah. What about you?”
“I’m a junior at Groveton in Texas. It’s a small town—”
“On the other side of Pecan Flatts.” I stared at her, surprised that we lived maybe five miles away. When she gave me a look that said she was a little creeped out, I chuckled. “I go to Rosemont High.”
Her face lit up and she laughed. “No way! What a small world. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone at this camp who’s lived close to me. And it sounds like we’re school rivals.”
I stretched my arms out to the side and smiled. “Now you have. I won’t hold it against you that you’re Groveton Gunslinger.”
She chuckled, spilling some of the sports drink in the process.
I heard a voice behind me, telling me it was time to head back to the field. “I’ve got to run, but I’ll see you on the next break.” I couldn’t wait. For the first time, those images of a future peeked through and I smiled. The possibility of a longer relationship had opened up with a few words. This wasn’t how I usually operated when it came to girls, but Sara was changing all that.
Chapter 6
Sara
What was with me? I didn’t flirt, hadn’t since I’d decided I wouldn’t date until I got to college. It was Steve’s fault mostly, the jerk who’d used me to suck up to my dad the last time I came to this camp.
In college, I figured that by then, the guys would be a lot easier to understand, and hopefully they would have grown up by then. The guys at my high school seemed like they would never get there and sometimes it was just easier to imagine all the good guys from the characters in the books I read.
I’d made it through the first break with plenty of drinks left but I hadn’t had the time to grab the snacks from the back of the large supply van. I wondered if Eliza had ordered the snacks and frowned when I saw the dry granola bars and little packages of dried fruit. I should have grabbed a couple boxes of those prepackaged Santa cakes I’d gotten the last time I was in town. At least they would be delicious and give the fun of Christmas.
I lifted several boxes and took them to my table, the sun beat down on me with each step. The beach was calling my name. As fun as it was being here and talking to Isaac, I knew things wouldn’t go further than this week, even though we lived just a few miles from each other. No relationship was the best line of defense for my heart.
“How did the first break go?” Eliza asked, stepping up to the table with a clipboard in hand.
“Really well,” I said, pulling out some energy bars and a few of those energy chewy bites that looked just like fruit snacks from one of the boxes. Things like this would be important in the Florida sun, even if it was just after Christmas.
“Great. Do you need anything from me?” the woman asked, waiting for my response.
My attention shifted as my eye caught on a figure behind her, diving for a ball to the side. Isaac had made that play look like it was an everyday thing.
“Sara?” Eliza asked, bringing me back to the present.
“Oh, uh, sorry. I think we should be good for now.” I gave her a thumbs up.
Eliza’s smile looked more forced than anyth
ing, and she nodded. “Okay, I’ll be over at the injury tent if you need any help.”
“Wait,” I said, my hand reaching out as if I could stop her even though she was already several feet away. Eliza turned, her eyebrow raised to ask the question her lips didn’t try to.
“Is there something going on between you and my dad?” The words came out more civil than my mind had planned out, as I was just as defensive of my dad as I was about my own dating past.
Eliza smiled, the first real smile I’d seen all morning. “Nothing official.” She took a step back in my direction and said, “I really like him, but he’s a wild card. Kinda hard to tell.” I saw a flash of vulnerability and the shock of having confessed all that to me. But from what I could tell, it was genuine, and that much softened my protective instincts.
I gave her a small smile and said, “Tell me about it.” With a quick pause, I blurted out, “Thank you. I mean, for everything you’ve done to help him with this camp. He must like you somewhat to let him give you some control over this thing.” I motioned toward the fields and she laughed.
“That is the truth.” Her laugh sounded more natural this time, like a great wall had just toppled between us.
Someone called to her, and she said, “We’ll have to chat more later, okay?” What could I say? I could almost get behind the idea of my father dating again, and from what I’d seen from Eliza in all of thirty minutes was impressive. But had she been doing that to gain my favor? I’d have to be a little more cautious and work to figure out if she was a good match for my dad.
She walked away, waving to my dad as he turned around to pick up a ball that had fallen on the ground. He gave her a quick smile, so fast I almost didn’t see it. There was something there and I was going to figure out what.
But then my attention turned to Isaac and I smiled, surprised by the butterflies in my stomach. I’d known the kid for all of ten minutes this morning and only talked to him for a few more before when we deboarded the plane. It had to be some weird reaction to a guy paying attention to me. He would have some hidden ulterior motive to hanging out with me so I couldn’t get too close.
'Tis the Season for Love: A Charity Box Set Page 72