Sacred Waters by Lydia Michaels Page B

impress him.
    Sam bent at the knees and faced the pitcher again. Maybe she was good at baseball. Maybe if she kept her eye on the ball and swung real hard she could hit the ball right into right field and into the dumb blonde’s head. And it was nasty thoughts like that that were a perfect example of why she should not be around a holy man.
     
    * * * *
     
    “Nice play.”
    “Thanks.” Colin took a seat next to Kelly and watched as Samantha took the plate. “She any good?”
    “I have no idea. She looks nervous,” Kelly commented watching the newest player.
    Colin thought that was what she always looked like. At least that’s how she looked whenever he was around. He felt terrible for not locking the bathroom door this morning. Although it was Braydon’s bathroom too, he wasn’t used to his brother being home. And he never expected a strange woman to be sleeping in the room next to him. He’d clearly embarrassed her and that was never his intention.
    “Helmet,” Luke yelled from the pitcher’s mound.
    “What?” Samantha yelled back.
    “Oh boy,” Kelly said out of the corner of his mouth. “This ought’a be good.”
    Colin watched as Samantha fitted the helmet to her head, her freckled cheeks a shade pinker.
    “Eeeeeasy out!”
    Kelly groaned and Colin frowned. “God, she is such a bitch,” his younger brother complained.
    “It looks like Braydon’s saying something to her now. She has to know he isn’t going to react kindly to her disrespecting his girlfriend.”
    Kelly laughed. “I think you give Jen Miller too much credit where brains are concerned. The woman’s a viper.”
    Colin grunted in response. He watched as Luke threw out a slow pitch. Samantha swung with the enthusiasm and determination of a major leaguer. Unfortunately, she missed completely.
    Jen Miller’s laugh echoed across the field.
    “Take your time, love,” Kelly yelled encouragingly from beside him.
    Luke threw another slow ball and she swung again, this time without as much zeal.
    “Strike two!”
    Before he realized he left his seat, Colin yelled, “Come on, Sammy. You can do it!”
    She turned sharply to look back at him, a surprised expression on her face. Was she not used to encouragement? She looked back to Luke and adjusted her stance.
    Luke opted for an underhand pitch this time, which wasn’t allowed, but no one seemed to complain. Colin didn’t miss the silencing look Braydon gave Jen when she noticed the exception being made.
    When the bat hit the ball Samantha stared as it bounced across the field.
    “Run!” the team shouted all at once.
    Samantha gave a startled yelp, dropped the bat, and hauled ass to first base. Colin actually heard himself laugh out loud. By the time she was halfway there the other team already fielded the ball and was sending it toward first base. Luckily Braydon was manning the base. When Finn threw him the ball with ridiculously obvious bad aim, Braydon ran in almost slow motion to retrieve it.
    “Get the ball!” Jen shrilled.
    By the time Braydon had the ball in hand Sam was safe at first. He earned a severe scowl from Jen when he gave Samantha an encouraging swat on the rump. Oddly, the act seemed to startle Samantha as if she were not used to Braydon’s touch.
    Were they a couple? Had he misinterpreted their relationship? Perhaps they were just friends.
    The ball went back to Luke and Kelly stepped up to bat. After Kelly’s turn Sam had moved all the way to third. It wasn’t until Kelly was actually close enough to whisper in her ear that she realized she needed to move past second, but she made it to third all the same.
    She was really quite beautiful. Nothing like what Colin imagined was Braydon’s taste. His brother’s usual type was Jen Miller, but nicer. Samantha was the exact antithesis of Jen.
    Samantha was soft and sweet, an obvious degree of honesty shone clear in her eyes. She appeared up for anything, quite agreeable, and was refreshingly trusting. She had that