Page 64 of Angel In Armani

“So are we going to see this Sam Basara that Dan keeps telling me about?” Maggie said.

“That’s the plan. Dan’s going to give him a trial in the game today. See how he goes. He’s sent a couple of them home already, so pressure’s on.”

“Thank God I don’t actually play baseball,” Maggie said. “I’ve never liked this part. I mean, it’s fun to look at stats and try to work out who’s undervalued and go with the scouts and study the guys playing. But it’s harder when you get to the part where you have to crush their dreams.”

“I don’t think anyone aspires to crush dreams,” Lucas said. “But we can’t hire everyone.”

Even if he wanted to. It had been hard when Dan had told him he’d already cut Walsh and the other two older pitchers who’d been after a contract. He agreed with the assessment on the older guys, they were about done, but Walsh had been a good strong candidate. Sadly for him, not as strong as his friends. Or the pitcher from the Preachers who was still hanging in there. But Walsh was going back to his college team and had a few more years to prove himself and get a shot.

Maggie was swarmed by the players sitting in the bleachers as soon as she walked out into the stands, so Lucas continued on alone to find Dan. He saw Sam sitting alone in the stands, down near the fence line, and decided to make a detour.

“Hey, kid,” he said. “How’s it going?”

Sam looked up and pulled off the shades hiding his eyes. “Mr. Angelo,” he said, sounding nervous. “Okay, I think.”

“It’s Dr. Angelo,” Lucas said. “Or Lucas, outside hours. You’re still here. That’s better than okay.”

Sam nodded. “I know. And I’m happy about it.” He didn’t sound all that happy. He sounded stressed. Working himself up in his head. Lucas knew about that particular monkey. Maybe Sam needed another trip in Sara’s helo. For that matter, maybe Lucas needed another trip in Sara’s helo. One where she took them somewhere secluded so he could put his hands on her. It had only been a few hours and he was already going nuts thinking about when he could be back in her bed.

And that was a line of thought that wasn’t going to help him make a nervous kid less nervous. He tried to push Sara to the back of his mind. They needed pitchers, and this kid was the best of the bunch. So it was time to think about him.

“I heard about Walsh,” Lucas said. “That’s tough. But he’ll be okay. He’s talented, he’ll find a home. Coach tells me he’s thinking of giving you a start in today’s game. So concentrate on that.”

“I am,” Sam said. His forehead wrinkled. “Coach said you were a pitcher. Played for U of T?”

“Yeah, I did,” Lucas said.

“What happened? Did you blow it?”

Lucas shrugged. “No. Didn’t end up getting a chance to take my shot. I got hurt. In an accident. Screwed up my shoulder, and it was never going to be stable enough for pro ball. So I became a doctor instead.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Baseball?” He grinned. “Why do you think I bought a team? This game gets into your blood. But I don’t have to tell you that. So you need to take care of that arm of yours, okay? No doing anything stupid.” Like running into burning stadiums. Not that he could regret saving lives or that he’d do anything differently if he had to do it again. But he would do his best to make sure that this kid and anyone else on his team never had to make that choice.

“I will,” Sam said. “I’m doing everything they tell me to.”

“Good. And tell you what. If you do okay, I’ll see if Sara can take you for another spin in the chopper. How about that?”

“That would be cool. Could Tico come, too?”

“As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid,” Lucas said. “Is he getting a chance this game?”

Sam shook his head. “Coach says next time.”

“How’d he take that?”

“Okay,” Sam said, but the words came a little too quickly.

Not so well, was what that translated as. Lucas made a note to check on Tico. There was something a bit wild about him, and he had the kind of attitude that suggested a chip on his shoulder about something. He reminded Lucas of Mal in some ways, and Mal had always been the wildest of the three of them. He didn’t want Tico losing his chance because he cracked and did something dumb under pressure.

“You’d better go join the others,” Lucas said. “You can meet Ms. Jameson.”

“Okay, sir. Are you coming to the game?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

For this to work, Lucas decided much later that night when he was finally alone in his hotel room, the cold water in his shower needed to be a lot colder. At this stage, maybe a walk-in freezer would be required. The cool water might have temporarily killed the inconvenient hard-on but it couldn’t kill the thoughts of Sara that plagued him. Even through the postgame celebration dinner—they’d actually won—he’d been distracted by her.

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