Free Summer Swing by Delia Delaney Page A

ignored him as I unlocked Gage’s truck and grabbed his jacket. The first guy had gotten into the car already, but the other one was still standing there , waiting for a response . He eyed what I had in my hand for a second, and then said, “Okay, if you can manage on your own…”
    I didn’t say anything further and hobbled past the car to return to the stands. I glanced back once to see if they had left, but the second guy was only leaning through the window talking to the driver. I took a deep breath, and once I was out of their view, tried to squat a little to stretch my thigh out somewhat. I was pretty sure I was going to have one nasty bruise within the hour.
    Once I thought I could handle walking norm al again, I re-entered the ball park and quickly found Gage to give him his jacket. I was pretty rattled from being nicked by that car, but I was glad that my boyfriend only thanked me and that was that.
    Harlan was still sitting where I’d left the group, so I quickly sat down between him and Dawn. My sister made a quick comment about the hit that had just scored a run for the opposing team, but other than that I just quietly watched the next batter.
    Until Harlan whispered in my ear, “What the bloody hell happened to your leg?”
    I glanced down at my thigh that was next to him, and even though I’d already noticed the tiny tear in my jeans, I wasn’t aware that I was bleeding.
    I wanted to freak out.
    “Don’t look at it,” he said quietly, covering it with his hand. “Take a deep breath through your nose.”
    I did what he said and released it .
    “Do it again.”
    I took another breath.
    “What happened?” he asked, careful not to let Dawn hear.
    “You’d better get your hand off my thigh or people are going to be asking questions,” I quietly responded.
    He removed his hand and I replaced it with my own.
    “Tell me what happened before I make a scene,” he gently threatened.
    “I got hit by a car in the parking lot.”
    He paused for several seconds. “You mean you hit your leg on a car while you were walking by it?”
    “No, an actual car flew around the corner and I barely got out of the way in time.”
    “But it hit you?”
    “Yes.”
    He was quiet for another second and then said, “It’s not broken, then? You walked back here okay?”
    “I have no idea.”
    “What do you mean you have no idea? You have no idea if it’s broken, or you have no idea if you got here okay?”
    I kind of smiled. “I don’t think it’s broken if I walked here, right?”
    “No, not right. You can still walk with a broken leg. Meet me outside the front entrance of the stadium in five minutes—” I was about to protest but he said, “You’ll do it or I’ll tell everyone you just got hit by a car.”
    He said polite departing words to Dawn and Wyatt, and then he left.
    “He’s so nice,” Dawn said instantly. “I love his accent.”
    “Mmhmm,” I replied vacantly .
    Once five minutes had actually passed, it just didn’t seem long enough. I was so paranoid that someone was going to catch on that I was meeting Harlan in the parking lot. I knew it was ridiculous because he only wanted to ask me questions about the injury , but I wasn’t sure why I had such a guilty conscience.
    “I need to use the bathroom,” I mumbled to Dawn.
    “Ooh, can you get me a Snickers on your way back?”
    “Uh, s ure.”
    My leg had stiffened up again the second I tried to walk on it, and I had to stop abruptly .
    “Oh, what’s the matter?” Dawn asked, fully concerned.
    “ Uh , I just have a cramp.” I took a second to get used to my weight and said, “It’s fine.”
    But it wasn’t fine. Just stepping down the bleachers almost did me in. I clenched my jaw to give myself something to focus on, and somehow made it to the parking lot.
    “You look horrible ,” Harlan said when he saw me.
    “Thanks.”
    “I mean you look like you’re in terrible pain.” He had a bag of ice in his hands and he motioned