Striking Out In The Mountains (Greene Mountain Boys)

The townspeople perk up and start paying attention when I step onto the pitching mound. I guess they’re curious about what else I can do after my home run.

I throw a few warm-up pitches, but I save my real heaters for the game. I want to see the look of surprise on these firefighters’ faces as I whizz one by them.

The score is nine to four now, for them.

I try to keep my eyes off the hunky fire chief, but it’s harder than expected. He’s even hotter up close. And he can’t seem to take his eyes off me.

I feel my cheeks getting hot as I watch him squirt his water bottle into his mouth. Those hands… They look so strong.

My body starts tingling as I wonder how they would feel on my hips, on my arms, on… other places.

Ryland comes over to talk to me. He looks a little nervous.

What is with this man today?

He’s been calm and cool since I arrived in town. I saw him arrest a big violent biker the other day and he wasn’t phased at all. But this softball game has got him all shaken up? I don’t get it.

“Doug is up first,” he says, whispering into his glove.

“Which one is Doug?”

“The second baseman,” he says. “The one with the big ears and the big mouth.”

I grin as I watch him warming up, cockily saying how he can’t be struck out by a girl.

“He looks like a putz, but he’s pretty good. Maybe try a curveball.”

I’m throwing it right down the fucking middle. I’m going to shatter his ego into a gazillion pieces.

“I got this, Ryland,” I say, trying to calm him down. “What’s the big deal with this game anyway? You have money riding on it or something?”

I thought it was for charity, jeez.

He glances at the fire chief and grits his teeth. “I’m fine,” he says, backing away with his hands up. “Totally cool.”

I fight back a laugh when I realize what’s up. He must have some kind of rivalry with the fire chief. They do look like they’re about the same age, so maybe the rivalry goes back a few decades.

“Don’t worry,” I say, smiling reassuringly. “Enjoy the show.”

“Let’s go!” the umpire shouts.

Doug struts over with a baseball bat slung over his shoulder.

I can’t even with this guy…

“Should I go straight to home?” he asks as he digs his feet into the dirt and squares up. “Save you the embarrassment in front of the whole town?”

Oh, this is going to be good…

I don’t say a word. I let my arm do the talking.

I set up, wind my arm, and launch it at the catcher’s mitt. In slow motion, you might see flames traveling behind the ball.

It rips past him before he even has a chance to swing, landing in the catcher’s mitt with a satisfying thud.

“Strike!” the umpire shouts.

“Whoa,” Ryland says from the bench. I flash him an I-Told-You-So grin.

The cockiness melts from Doug’s face as he steps back and swings the bat. He looks worried. Really worried.

I’m trying to hold back a laugh as I set up again.

I glance over at the firefighters’ bench and smile shyly when I see the way Graham is watching me with those dark possessive eyes. He has a thick salt and pepper beard that matches his short hair which is shaved on the sides. His shoulders are so broad, which I’ve always been a sucker for. I love a broad set of shoulders.

His yellow T-shirt is pulled tight across his massive chest and those short sleeves are hugging his big strong biceps. Everything about this man screams power. He’s tall and thick and just so goddamn manly. It’s like he was made to wander these mountains.

I still don’t know why he keeps looking at me.

I’m not the kind of girl who usually gets a lot of looks. I’m stocky and muscular with broad shoulders of my own. My biceps aren’t as big as the fire chief’s, but I bet I could beat Doug in an arm wrestling competition.noveldrama

I’ve always been strong and sturdy. It was always useful on whatever sports field I was on, but not so great when I was trying on dresses and trying to get a boyfriend.

Doug’s face is all business as he steps back up to the plate.

I grin. “Not so cocky now, are you?”

“Just throw the ball,” he says, clearly peeved. “I got three singles already for your information.”

I laugh. “And you’re bragging about that?”

He shakes his head and frowns as he swings the bat to warm up.

I let another fastball rip. This time, he tries to swing at it, but he misses wildly and nearly falls to the dirt as he stumbles forward.

“Strike!” the umpire shouts.

Doug kicks the dirt and then circles around, huffing and puffing he’s so upset.

“Let’s get this over with,” I say as the catcher throws me the ball. “Getting struck out by a girl isn’t as bad as you think. You’ll see.”

He shoots me another bitter look as he raises his bat.

I let another one rip, faster and harder than the first two. He swings, but his bat only crosses the plate after the ball is already in the catcher’s glove.

“Strike three!” the umpire shouts.

“Do you have to yell it so loud?” Doug mutters as he shuffles back to the bench with his shoulders slumped.

“Go, Kylee!” the firefighters shout as a tiny girl walks over to the plate.

She looks pretty fit and athletic, but I doubt she’s any good because she looks terrified to face me. I feel bad, so I give her something she can hit—it is for charity after all.

The ball rolls to Emmanuel at third base. He throws it to first, but she gets there a split second earlier.

“Safe!” the umpire shouts.

I smile when I see her jumping around, looking ecstatic.

“Way to go, baby!” Aiden from the Search and Rescue says, looking so damn proud.

I’ll go easy on the girls, but the boys aren’t getting any mercy from me.

“Here we go…” I whisper as Mr. Hot Fire Chief grabs a bat and walks over to the plate.

He never takes his heated eyes off me as he digs his feet into the dirt and starts swinging the bat with those massive arms. His sexy shoulders are hypnotizing me with the way they’re rippling and moving. God, he’s hot.

I run my fingertips over the stitches in the ball as I get a full-body shiver.

“Let’s go, Grandpa!” one of the twins behind the fence says. The other twin comes over with a fresh plate of nachos and two large sodas. “Don’t have a heart attack while you’re swinging.”

He ignores them, keeping his smoldering eyes on me. This man is throwing me off a little. He’s got me all shaken up.

I pull my arm back and throw the ball down the middle. It’s not nearly as fast as my other pitches and he probably could have hit it out of the park judging by those hard, strapping arms, but he doesn’t even swing.

“Strike,” the umpire says as the catcher throws the ball back to me.

“Why didn’t you swing?” I ask him. “That was right down the middle.”

He exhales long and hard as his sexy eyes bore into me. “I don’t want to accidentally hit you.”

I tilt my head to the side, glaring at him. “You should worry about me hitting you. Swing, or I’m aiming for your head.”

Those sexy lips curl up into a wolfish smile as I get ready to throw another pitch. This one has a bit more heat to it. It tears through the space between us and he swings hard. He connects, but it goes straight up, sailing over the fence, and it comes down hard into the crowd.

“Watch out!” someone shouts.

The ball lands on the twins’ huge nacho plate with a loud smack, sending melted queso and sticky soda flying all over them. They scream as they get drenched in it. Everyone at the park bursts out laughing. They’ve been annoying everyone all day and finally got what they deserved.

The crowd claps, cheers, and whistles as the twins hurry off to the bathroom to clean themselves up.

“Strike two,” the umpire says as I get the ball back.

I’m surprised he hit that. It had some crazy heat on it, but I guess he’s as quick and coordinated as he is strong.

Instead of my fastball, I throw a curve on the next pitch. He lets it go, thinking it’s a ball, but it curves back in and the umpire yells ‘Strike!’

Graham stands up, grinning in amusement as he watches me. “Very good,” he says, nodding. “Very good.”

I love how he took it like a good sport and didn’t throw a tantrum like Emmanuel or Doug. He’s all class, smiling at me before walking back to the dugout with his shoulders back and his chin held high.

He doesn’t look like the type of man who’s threatened by women. He’s too confident for that.

My crush deepens as I watch him head to his water bottle for a drink.

He’s so hot. I want him back on the plate where I have an excuse to shamelessly stare at him. I should have thrown him a few balls to make it last longer.

But it’s too late now… Another big muscular fireman with tattoos all over his skin comes over with the bat resting on his massive shoulder.

I strike him out too.

Easily.