Dare You to Fall for the Catcher (Rock Valley High 3)

“Jayden...?” I wasn’t sure what I was trying to say, but he tore his gaze away from my mouth just long enough to glance up at my eyes.

“Yeah?” he asked gruffly.

“I...” My heart was pounding like a gong. “You—”

The metal ting of a baseball against a bat rang out and the dugout broke into a frenzy. We both looked over to see Lawrence run over home plate. The crowds cheered as the scoreboard gave a point to the home team.

I shook my head and snapped the first aid kit shut. Whatever spell had been cast over me had been broken. The fact that I’d just been obsessing over Jayden Paul’s perfectly shaped mouth was embarrassing. Thank goodness Audrey wasn’t here to see me blushing. I avoided Jayden’s gaze, even as he gently placed a hand on my upper arm, causing tingles to burst along my skin.

“Thanks for putting me back together, Mandy.”

He dropped his hand, stood, and began walking toward the front of the dugout, leaving me to stare in shock at his retreating back.

I’d wanted a distraction to keep me from missing track, but this was definitely not what I’d had in mind.

Jayden Paul was not kissable.

Not for me.

I couldn’t forget that.

Chapter Ten

The diner was always bustling on a Saturday morning. Brunch was my mom’s specialty. But without a manager and with one of the waitresses calling in sick, today was especially crazy.

“I can’t thank you enough for filling in, kiddo.” Mom peered through the kitchen window as she plopped a steaming hot dish of apple huckleberry waffles, crispy hash browns, and scrambled eggs on the bar. Blonde wisps of hair fell into her flushed and sweaty face.

“Ditto, sweetheart.” Dad stood behind me, checking out a customer on the cash register. His dark blond hair was combed neatly to one side and held in place with some kind of product. He smiled over his shoulder at me. “Thanks for taking some of the load off. Once we get a new manager in here, things will be back to normal. I promise.”

“No worries.” I put the newest order of food up on the receipt reel. “I don’t mind.”

I really didn’t mind. It was kind of nice to have something else to take my mind off of track and school. But most of all—to take my mind off of Jayden and whatever it was that had passed between us at the game yesterday.

“By the way, how’s your ankle holding up?” Mom asked, her concerned gaze moving to my thick plastic boot.

“It’s fine,” I said with a shrug. It had been a little sore this morning, but nothing I couldn’t work through. “I’m just glad I have the boot now so I can help you guys out.”

The thankful smile Mom gave me was worth any amount of time I spent filling in at the restaurant. They didn’t ask me to do it very often. My parents had always been very big about keeping family and business as separated as possible, especially when it came to us kids.

They didn’t want to put any of the pressure of running it on our shoulders, but we’d always been welcome in the diner. There was a red vinyl-covered booth over in the corner that had been our designated spot since we were tiny kids, where we had unlimited soda fountain refills and all the waffles we could eat.

Charlotte sat there now, her math book and notes spread open on the table and her brow wrinkled in frustration as she stared at it. I grabbed the plate Mom had just dropped off and headed in the direction of the booth, stopping briefly to snag some silverware and add a dollop of whipped cream to the waffle. Charlotte was under the solemn opini

on that a waffle wasn’t a waffle until it had whipped cream.

“Brunch is served,” I announced, sliding into the booth across from her. My customers were all good at the moment and I could use a little break off the ankle. Now seemed as good of a time as ever to corner Charlotte. “I don’t know how Mom does it, but everyone is raging about this new waffle flavor. You’ve got to try it.”

She cupped her face with her hands and glared at the textbook. “Not now. I think if I stare hard enough at my homework, it’ll combust and I’ll never have to think about tangent functions again.”

I smiled sympathetically at her. Although I might have been better at math, I knew what it was like to struggle in class. I didn’t have Trina’s brains or Audrey’s drive to do well in school. The only reason I was so devoted was because a failing grade would’ve kept me off the track during the season.

“Here, at least take a bite.” I put the plate on the book, directly in front of her nose. “Maybe a break will help revive your dying brain cells.”

Her low sigh hinted at surrender and she tore off a piece of the waffle, dipping it into the cream before stuffing it in her mouth. The satisfied moan she made had me laughing.

“Told you it was good.”

“How does she do it?” Her blue eyes darted toward the kitchen where the top of Mom’s head showed in the window. “And will I ever find anything I’m as good at?”