Page 24 of Double Play

“Hi, Dwight,” Nina said, poking him in the ribs. “Rude,much?”

“Hi, Nina.” He scrubbed a hand across his eyes. “Sorry about that, don’t mean to be a dick. Can I talk to Maggie for a minute inprivate?”

“Sure, I’ll get us some drinks.” Nina headed for the crowd of blue jeans and cowboy boots. “See you in a sec, Maggie. Dwight, you’re welcome to join us if you promise not to be a grouch-monster.”

“Grrr,” he muttered in her direction. When he turned back to Maggie, he found her bristling with anger, hands on hips, fire inhereyes.

“Don’t you be mean to Nina. She’s the sweetest person in theworld.”

“I know that,” he snapped. “She’s my best friend’s sister. Who says I was mean? That wasn’t mean. Only someone who spends their life talking to computers would say thatwasmean.”

“So now you’re going to insult me too? What’s up, Dwight? You wanted to talk to me.Sotalk.”

Since a boot-kicking line dance was starting up around them, he took her by the elbow and steered her toward the edge of the room, where it was quieter. Nestled between the jukebox and an empty table, he confrontedMaggie.

“Have you been watching anysportsnews?”

“Of course. I work for a baseball team. It’smyjob.”

“Your job might be in trouble, then. I don’t like being the messenger of doom, but your programdoesn’twork.”

She didn’t flinch or say anything in her owndefense.

“In case you missed it, I stank. I was like the fucking Titanic of call-ups. I was a one-man Southern CaliforniaMassacre.”

“There is no suchthing.”

“Now there is. Too bad there wasn’t…I don’t know…some way to predict something like that. To put all the information into some kind of data-processing unit and see it coming. Crazy thought, I know. Because something like that wouldneverwork.”

As he spoke, he kept leaning closer to her, until he was bracing one hand against the wall above her head. Between the smell of beer and peanut shells, the scent of Maggie filtered into his awareness. It both relaxed him and stimulated him, but mostly it captured him, so that all he knewwasher.

Even in the low light of the chili pepper Christmas lights strung around the Roadhouse, he saw her pupils dilate. “My model works just fine,” she said in a voice that was almost too low for him to hear. “So far, it’s ninety percent accurate. I’m working on some improvements, and that success rate willgoup.”

He stared at her in confusion. “So I’m part of the unlucky ten percent, isthatit?”

She held his gaze. “No, Dwight. That’snotit.”

Finally, it clicked. “You didn’t suggest I get called up. Thatwasn’tyou.”

“That wasn’t me,” she agreed. “They didn’t ask, and I didn’t say. However, I did run you through the model, as I have with every one of the Catfish. If they had consulted me, I would have recommended they hold off on callingyouup.”

Even with his stomach cratering, he had to give her credit for her courage. To stand in front of an angry ballplayer and tell him you wouldn’t have endorsed his call-up—that tookguts. “Why?”

“Because that’s what the numbers say. I don’t know ‘why.’ That’s just psychological speculation. All I know isthemath.”

“Psychological…” He pulled back and let out a harsh laugh. “So that’s it, you just deliver the numbers and let the players figureitout?”

“Yes.”

She licked her lips, causing him to remember what they’d felt like that giddy moment when he thought his life was breaking wide open. In the park at night, she’d tasted like hope and wild excitement and wine. Now would he taste bitterness and defeat? Shame at hisfailure?

“Dwight, listen. I’m sorry about what happened. And I know you must feel pretty awful rightnow.But…”

She hesitated, drawing her lower lip between her teeth. As she deliberated over her next words, his gaze made a quick detour down her body. Damn, but she really filled that dress out perfectly. Had he considered her lacking in curves the first time he’d seen her at the hospital? He must have been blind. The dress she wore made that veryobvious.

Unbelievably, considering his distress over San Diego and her distress over him, he was actuallygettinghard.

“Will you go somewhere with me tomorrow?” sheasked.

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