Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
CHAPTER TWO
Cara
“I’m so sorry, Cara,” my neighbor Arabella says as she rushes out of her car. “My car battery died and I had to wait for someone to come along and give me a boost.”
“No worries,” I say as I grab my baseball glove and bag. I quickly say goodbye to Daniel and rush to my Jeep. I knew babysitting my neighbor’s five-year-old this morning would be risky time-wise, but Arabella was desperate after her babysitter canceled on her last minute.
My new boss—the big tough Sheriff of the Greene Mountains—has been talking about this softball tournament for the entire three weeks I’ve been working at the station. The whole force has. Apparently, it’s a big thing in town—the cops versus the firemen. I guess small towns like this one don’t have too much going on, so a softball game is a pretty big deal.
It’s kind of nice. Especially after being a cop in Chicago for the past seven years with all of the chaos I had to deal with on a daily basis. A little change of pace is very welcome.
I knew I needed a change of scenery after taking a bullet in the field. It went into my thigh and out the back. I recovered, but the event shook me and I knew I needed a change to somewhere a little less dangerous. So when I discovered there was an opening in the Greene Mountains in Montana, I jumped at the opportunity.
“Bye, Cara!” Arabella waves as I pull out of my driveway. “Sorry again! Have fun at the game!”
I wave to them through the window and hurry down the street.
I’m so late. This is horrible.
I’m supposed to be pitching for the team. Sheriff Gray was ecstatic when I told him I played softball in college and used to be one of the best female pitchers in the state.
It’s been a while since I’ve played, but it’s going to come back to me fast. I doubt any of those firemen are better than me on the field. I’ll be surprised if any of them can hit my fastball.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter as I race through town, heading to the field.
The parking lot is packed when I arrive a few minutes later.
Oh my god. This is a bigger deal than I thought.
I know I won’t be able to find a spot close by, so I just park on the grass, grab my bag, and sprint over to the field.
“Cara!” Sheriff Gray says, waving me over from the dugout. “What happened? I said eleven!”
“I had to babysit my neighbor’s kid!” I say as I rush over, putting my cap on. “She showed up late. I would have brought him with me but I didn’t have a car seat.”
“Well, you’re here now,” he says as I hurry into the dugout and throw on my cleats. “It’s the second inning and we’re already down nine to two. They’re hitting everything I throw at them.”
The firemen are in the field and we’re at bats. My partner Henry is a runner on second base and Emmanuel is batting now.
“You’re up next,” Chief says. “One out. Please hit something.”
I grab my bat and take a few quick warm-up swings as Emmanuel finishes up. He strikes out and slams his bat onto the plate before storming back to the bench. He’s a beast of a man and has the temper to match.
“You’re late,” Emmanuel grunts as he stomps past me.
“I got here as fast as I could,” I say to his broad rigid back.
I shake it off and head to the plate, ready to show these mountain men what a city girl can do.
My heart is pounding as I dig my feet into the dirt and take a few practice swings.
The huge burly guy from the Search and Rescue who always has that adorable bloodhound by his side—Colin, I think—is pitching.
“New blood,” he says with a grin as he runs his glove down his beard. “Do you want it fast or slow?”
I knock the end of my bat on the plate and roll my neck as I glare at him. “Give me some heat.”
“Alright,” he says with a grin. “One fastball coming up.”
He winds his arm and launches it.
I want to laugh. This ball is arching it’s coming so slowly.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fast and I understand why a brute like Emmanuel can’t hit it, but I’ve faced off against pitchers way faster than this and I have a ton of home runs on my old stat line.
It flies high, so I let it go.
“Ball,” the umpire behind the catcher says.
“Yeah, that’s it!” a lady shouts behind the fence. “Take her head off!”
“What the fuck?” I whisper as I turn around to look. Oh my god, there’s two of them.
Two twins are sitting on the grass, eating hot dogs while they heckle me.