Dugout Rivals by Fred Bowen

Author:Fred Bowen [Bowen, Fred]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781561456451
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers
Published: 2010-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Wh … what?” Jake stammered. “There’s no way you caught that ball.”

“Then how did it get in my glove?” Adam asked, still smiling.

“I can’t believe it!” Jake screamed, slapping the sides of his legs. “I can’t beat you at anything.”

Just then Adam’s cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket.

“Hi, Mom … yeah … okay. Love ya. Bye.” He turned to Jake. “My mom says she’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

Oh no, Jake thought. Twenty more minutes playing Outs with Adam.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Jake said.

“Sure.” Adam followed him inside to the kitchen, where Jake’s sister Ivy was making popcorn. Mr. Daley sat at the table, reading something on his laptop.

“Hi, guys. How’s it going?” Mr. Daley said.

“Adam’s mom is picking him up soon,” Jake was quick to point out.

“Okay,” Mr. Daley said.

Jake squeezed tight on the tennis ball as he glanced at his father and then at Adam.

“Is everything all right?” Mr. Daley asked, looking at Jake.

“Yeah.” Jake nodded. “Everything’s fine.” Except I can’t wait for Adam to leave, he added to himself.

“So Adam, how many home runs have you hit this season?” Mr. Daley asked, filling the awkward silence.

“I don’t know,” Adam said. “A bunch, I guess.”

“I have the team stats right here,” Mr. Daley said as he pulled them up on his computer. “I think you have at least five.”

“I saw one,” Ivy blurted out, as she emptied the warm bag of popcorn into a bowl. “You hit it really far.”

“Dad, I thought you didn’t like us looking at our stats before the end of the season,” Jake reminded his father.

“I’m just curious,” Mr. Daley said. He studied the numbers on his screen. “Yep, I was right. You have five home runs. You’re batting over .600 and you have twenty-four runs batted in.” He leaned back and shook his head. “You’ve had one terrific season already, Adam, and it isn’t over.”

“Hey, Ivy, can I have some of that popcorn?” Jake asked. He wasn’t interested in talking about Adam’s stats.

“You’re hitting really well, and you’re pitching great too,” Mr. Daley said. “Which do you like better?”

“I like them both, I guess,” Adam said. “I just like to play.”

“Well, after high school more than 40 percent of the players are pitchers. So you may want to concentrate on pitching. You might even get a college scholarship.”

Bing-bong. The Daleys’ doorbell rang, and Mrs. Hull rushed in with Adam’s little brother Chad tagging along.

“Is everything all right?” Mr. Daley asked.

“Oh, fine … fine,” she answered, a bit out of breath. “I just wanted to get here quickly. I worry about Adam wearing out his welcome.”

“He’s no problem at all,” Mr. Daley said. “The boys have fun together.”

Just then Jake’s mom walked into the kitchen. “Oh, hi,” she said to Mrs. Hull and Chad. “How are you?”

“Good, thanks,” Mrs. Hull said. She looked from Mrs. Daley to Mr. Daley and back again. “I was wondering whether Jake might like to sleep over at our house tonight?”

Mr. and Mrs. Daley exchanged glances.

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