Out of Her League by Lori Handeland

Author:Lori Handeland [Handeland, Lori]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Amazon: B00AD54OY0
Published: 2012-11-24T05:00:00+00:00

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Chapter Eleven

Joe kept trying. He’d never been a quitter. But after several weeks, and many more dates, he had to admit Julie was right. Every single woman in Oak Grove only wanted out.

Dating became a chore, like a job he despised. Since Joe hadn’t had a job he hated this much since he was fourteen and spent the summer baling hay—a dirty, sweaty, backbreaking, soul-smashing job—he didn’t know how to handle the helpless despair that came over him when he discovered his dream was everyone else’s nightmare. The unaccustomed feeling of failure kept him awake nights, which only made his aching loneliness worse.

He was busy enough. He had T-ball games and practice, and Big League games and practice. The little kids had no idea who he was—or, rather, had been. They just liked him, and Joe liked them. The big kids had taken a few days to warm up. They’d gotten his autograph, tiptoed around, asked him about star teammates, then got back to business. Even the kids on Toni’s team now seemed to see him as just another dad. Joe was glad.

To be honest, he probably scheduled more practices than necessary just to have something to do.

But it was summer; his kids were bored, too, and they didn’t seem to mind.

What Joe minded was the continuing interest in his team, Evie’s team and the silly bet they’d made. Attendance at T-ball increased, his Big League games were standing-room only and Evie’s weren’t much better. Every week or so a camera crew showed up and filmed a game, or the kid reporter who had written the first story on the school board meeting wrote another article, keeping the bet the talk of the town. Joe had to figure Mrs. Larson spent her spare time piling kindling on the already smoldering fire between Evie and him.

He even got a letter from the president of OGCC, thanking him for being such a team player, which made Joe feel like a fraud. He had no one to blame but himself, his overblown sense of competition—and his secret desire to rescue damsels in distress, even when they spit in his eye. The fact that he had no one to talk to about how he felt made Joe lonelier than ever.

Toni spent as much time with her team as Joe spent with his. Then there was Adam, hogging all her attention—not to mention the days and evenings she spent in the Vaughn household. Heck, she was over there right now. Joe was supposed to meet her at the game. Even when Joe managed to catch Toni home for an hour or two, all he heard was “Coach this” and “Coach that” or “Mrs. Vaughn says...” blah, blah, blah.

It took Joe awhile before he admitted he was jealous of Evie’s relationship with his little girl—a selfish reaction. Obviously, Toni needed a woman in her life right now. But along with dreams of a family and a white-picket fence, Joe had harbored dreams of a special friendship with his daughter.

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