Free Dropped Third Strike (Portland Pioneers #1) by Micah K Chaplin

You’re in the office early. This is the only number I have for you, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I forgot to ask you last night – what time should I be there today?”
    It took her a moment to shake off the shock of hearing Reid’s voice on the other end and respond, but only a brief one.
    “I’ve scheduled the announcement for 11,” she said. “You should probably be here a little earlier than that. Feel free to park in the players’ lot. I’ve given the guard there your name, so you’ll be able to get in without any trouble.”
    “Sounds good, I’ll head out now,” Reid said. “See you in a little bit, Katie.”
    He hung up without another word, denying Kate the opportunity to remind him not to call her “Katie.”
    She shook her head and turned back to her computer to print out the short write-up introducing Reid to the media. After reading through it a few times, she took a break and shifted her eyes to the windows and the field below. In a few hours, there would be people milling about in the dugouts as part of the full ballpark tour. The outfield would be open for fans that wanted to play catch. The rest of the action would be in the main concourse that circled the ballpark – autograph sessions, question and answer segments with various players and coaches, and a few kids’ games.
    Kate turned back to her desk, reading over her agenda for the day and singing along softly to the Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers song coming out of her iPod speakers. She didn’t realize she wasn’t alone until she heard someone else singing along. She looked up and saw Reid standing in her doorway. She stopped singing immediately and even turned off her iPod.             
    “You still like that band, huh?” Reid asked. “It’s a shame they’re not together anymore. After you introduced me to their music, I’ve done pretty well at keeping up with them. Nothing can beat that first show we went to though.”
    She ignored his attempt to discuss their past and commented on his appearance instead. He was dressed in the same suit as the previous day, but with a deep red shirt this time instead of black.
    “Wearing the team colors is a nice touch,” she said, ignoring his mention of their past.
    “Yeah, I’d like to say I planned it that way, but honestly, I just like this shirt,” he said, smirking.
    Kate could understand why. The shade complemented his coloring very nicely. Then again, she’d never seen Reid look unattractive. He had even managed to make school-issued heather gray gym clothes look hot. More than once during her high school days, she’d lingered in the gym entrance during his class, watching him run laps and smack volleyballs with athletic ease. She didn’t notice she had studied him for so long until Reid cleared his throat.
    “Are you ok, Katie?”
    “Yeah, I guess I’m just spacey today,” she said. “Yesterday was exhausting, and I didn’t sleep well last night.”
    Reid laughed lightly. “With the time change and all the excitement, I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep either, but once I hit the pillow, I was out.”
    Of course he’d had no trouble sleeping. Kate shouldn’t have expected any different, yet it bothered her quite a bit that she’d been so stressed and sleepless over their reunion, and he was unaffected by the whole thing. She wondered how he could be so at ease around her considering their history. Then again, awkward was her specialty, not Reid’s.
     
    Katie and Reid studied together that entire fall, all through winter and on into spring. Other girls at school were extremely jealous of Katie and all the time she got to spend with the star athlete. They did everything they could to make her school days miserable, whispering behind her back, completely ignoring her in the hallways, and spreading lies about her. Fortunately, Katie didn’t care much what they thought. They’d never been her friends anyway so their opinions didn’t matter.
    Her