Double Play

Chapter 2

2

Maggie Blythe kept blinking at the spot where moments ago two giant princesses had stood. She hadn’t hallucinated that, right? She had an extremely active imagination, but still.

“Did you see that?” Nina whispered. “I can’t believe they just turned around and ran!”

“Runaway princesses? Maybe they’re incognito.”

Nina did a double-take, but Maggie kept her expression deadpan.

“You do know those are guys? Not only guys but ballplayers, and actually famous members of the Kilby Catfish.”

“I can definitely see they’re famous. My gosh, they were in a movie!”

Nina laughed. In the few days that they’d been roommates, she’d quickly gotten the hang of Maggie’s dry sense of humor.

Crush Taylor, Maggie’s current boss, had proposed the arrangement, and so far, it was working out great. Taking a step away from the academic world of graduate school was daunting enough, but stepping into the rough-and-tumble world of baseball? That was even more overwhelming. At least she had a female friend to help her adjust.

Nina’s smile dropped. “All joking aside, one of those guys was Jim Lieberman, the one I mentioned.”

“Mentioned?” Nina had “mentioned” Lieberman at least fifty times since Maggie had met her. But Maggie didn’t want to embarrass her. “You mean the cute shortstop with the great smile? The one they call Bieberman?”

“Yes, but honestly, he looks nothing like Justin Bieber, he’s much more mature. And he’s brilliant. He dropped out of a neurology degree to play baseball. How sexy is that?”

Maggie smiled at her with real affection. Nina had to be the most endearing person she’d ever met. “I guess you like him.”

Nina’s smile disappeared. “Yes, of course I do, but not if he’s going to run at the sight of me.”

The nurse who had taken Maggie’s information reappeared with a clipboard. “I think we’re all set now, Ms. Blythe. Just a few things for you to sign.”

Maggie took the clipboard and leafed through to the HPAA release and other pages that required her signature. She was here today because it was a condition of her taking the job here in Kilby. She’d been stunned when the San Diego Friars had contacted her after one of their executives stumbled across her MIT thesis project, which had the catchy title, “Statistical Projections Regarding Outcome of Player Advancement in Major League Baseball.”

The Friars offered her the chance to test her computer model on their farm teams while working under Crush Taylor, a baseball legend and the owner of their Triple-A team, the Catfish.

Her parents were totally opposed to the idea—how could they monitor her health from two thousand miles away? She’d been born with a congenital heart defect, which meant a childhood filled with hospitals, homeschooling, medications, constant checkups and chronically worried parents.

She loved her parents, but she was ready to experience life on her own. So she’d made a deal with them. She promised to make sure the local hospital and the cardiologist, Dr. Hill, had her medical history in case of an emergency. It was a small price to pay.

As she finished signing the intake form, she thought about the two baseball players in their ridiculous princess dresses. Her eye had actually been drawn to the taller, bigger, more swaggering of the two. The African-American with the most magnetic smile she’d ever seen. The one who was waving and chatting with everyone, who seemed not one bit uncomfortable with his ridiculous outfit.

“Who was the other player?” she asked Nina while she signed.

“That’s Dwight Conner.”

The nurse, an older woman, gave a sigh. “Dwight Conner is the hottest player. The nicest too. He comes here almost every week. The children just love him.”

Dwight Conner. Maggie’s brain rattled through his stats. Six feet, two hundred and four pounds of perfectly honed male physique. His batting average was .294, on base percentage a healthy .365. Of course, her data didn’t mention his power and vitality, or his singing voice either.

“Everyone loves DC,” Nina agreed. “He’s probably the most popular player. Crush says he’s a future star, that he has that mystique. This entire town will go into mourning when he gets called up.”

“Hm.” Maggie kept her focus on the clipboard. According to her model, although Dwight Conner had huge potential, he would initially have big troubles in the Major League. Minor League stats didn’t always tell the whole story, which was why she included psychographic data in her model. Dwight scored low in her program, meaning he would struggle to adjust. Luckily, so far the Friars hadn’t requested data on any of the current Catfish players.

She handed the clipboard back to the nurse. “Thanks so much.”

“I hope we won’t be seeing you. You take care.” She patted Maggie on the shoulder and hurried away.

“Well, that’s done. Thanks for bringing me, Nina. I had no idea how far things would be in Texas. I’m used to walking everywhere or taking the T.”

“Oh hey, no worries, what are roomies for?” Nina slung a friendly arm over her shoulder as they turned toward the exit. She wore a peach sundress and gladiator sandals and looked like some kind of ice cream dessert. Maggie really needed to go shopping. Her computer nerd t-shirt-and-corduroys wardrobe worked for Cambridge and MIT, but not for Texas in the summer. “Want to go grab a burger? My treat. It’s a ‘Welcome to Kilby’ kind of thing.”

Maggie didn’t want to mention that she didn’t eat much meat. “Um—”

“You know there’s only one way to welcome someone to Kilby.” A vibrant voice resonated from halfway down the hallway. They both spun around.

Dwight Conner and Jim Lieberman were walking toward them, and it was pretty much the most hilarious thing Maggie had ever seen. She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud at the way their ballplayer physiques strained the seams of those princess gowns.

“It’s gotta be barbecue, and it’s gotta be with a couple of Catfish players.” Dwight’s smile blazed so brightly, Maggie felt it all the way in her gut. “Hi there. I’m Dwight Conner.” He shook her hand. She felt that too, down to the soles of her feet.

“I’m Maggie Blythe,” she said, ending the handshake before it got her too rattled. “I’m a big fan of you both.”

“Yeah? Been watching our games? Haven’t seen you at the stadium,” Dwight said.

“No, I mean Frozen. Great movie.”

He threw his head back in a laugh that sent his thick blond braid swinging past his broad shoulders. “I wanted to do Moana, but Bieberman refused to wear a grass skirt.”

Jim Lieberman shook himself out of the trance the sight of Nina had apparently inspired. “I didn’t want to scare the kids with my hairy legs.”

With a mischievous look, Nina lifted the hem of his dress to reveal boots and lots of hair on his muscular legs.

Lieberman blushed to the roots of his hair. “I told you I was hairy, but they say it’s a sign of virility—not that I’m saying that—or denying it—”

Dwight stepped in with a calming hand on the shortstop’s shoulder. “What my man wants to say is that we hope you’ll join us for some barbecue after we’re done entertaining the kids here.”

“Yes.” Lieberman nodded emphatically, then adjusted the wig that kept sliding off. “That’s exactly what I wanted to say. It would be our honor to welcome Maggie to Kilby.”

“Just Maggie?” Nina asked teasingly.

“No! You especially. I mean, both of you. Equally.”

Maggie bit her lip to keep from laughing at poor Jim Lieberman’s confusion. Obviously he liked Nina just as much as she liked him. She stole a glance at Dwight, shocked to find that he was looking right at her. His expression was somewhere between curious and friendly. He had such a sparkle in his eye. Something lit up inside her, a spark of excitement, a kind of hidden thrill.

“Well, Ms. Maggie Blythe?” he asked her. “Will you and Nina join us?” He tilted his head toward the other pair, just enough for her to get the hint. He was trying to get the two of them together. She was definitely in favor of that.

“Sure, but I don’t usually eat meat.”

They all stared at her for a shocked moment.

“This is Texas,” Nina pointed out.

“I’m aware. It’s a…it’s just a thing.” Jeez, she really didn’t feel like explaining all the naturopaths and nutritionists and osteopaths her parents had consulted.

Dwight seemed to sense her discomfort. “How about that new wine bar that just opened up?”

Great. She didn’t drink alcohol either. Too risky for her heart.

Lieberman looked at Dwight as if he’d just switched to another language. “I’m sorry, did you just mispronounce ‘beer’?”

Nina laughed even more than the joke deserved.

Dwight flipped his braid over his shoulder. “Can’t a ballplayer enjoy a glass of wine? Open your minds, y’all.”

Nina gave Maggie a pleading glance. Obviously her roommate wanted to go out with the Catfish players. Maggie wanted to offer support, but socializing with baseball players would definitely be a new thing for her. As much as she’d studied baseball, as many games as she’d watched, all the time she’d put into writing her computer model, she’d never actually spent time with a real ballplayer.

Then again…a double date with two hunky ballplayers—not bad for a geeky grad student. “I’m in,” she said, then grinned happily. “As long as you guys promise to wear your dresses.”

Their shocked expressions caused her to burst out laughing. “I’m kidding.”

“This one’s trouble, Beebs.” Dwight shook his head. “Trouble with a capital M for Maggie and a capital S for Smart-ass.”

“Trouble begins with a T,’” Lieberman pointed out.

“Okay, Spell Check. You got me.”

“Please don’t tell me that’s my new nickname.”

“It’s a lot better than ‘Bieberman,’” Nina pointed out. “I’m starting a petition to dump that one.”

“Hand me a pen,” said Lieberman promptly, causing them all to break into laughter.

This. This was why she’d moved halfway across the country. So she could have a little fun for once in her life.