Sweet Harmony (Harmony Falls #1) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,54
she had known Daniel a long time and the way his gaze shifted to the left and back, made her see red.
“You asshole! You did do it on purpose. Why? Are you upset that Connor is more of a man than you?”
Confusion crossed Daniel’s face. “Kira, what is going on with you? I didn’t mean to hit your man, all right? It was an accident. It happens sometimes. My arm is a little tired, and -”
“Bullshit,” Kira spat. She wanted to slam her palm into Daniel’s chest but resisted. “You did it on purpose, Daniel Moore, because Connor is a better ball player than you and you know it.”
“You gonna let her talk to you that way, dude?” Brad said.
“Shut up, Brad,” Daniel said. He tried to take Kira’s hand and she yanked it out of his grasp. “Kira, I didn’t do it on purpose, okay? It was an accident.”
“You’re lying,” she said.
“No, you’re upset, and you only think I’m lying,” Daniel said. “I promise you I didn’t.”
“Stop it,” she said. “Just stop -”
“Kira.”
Connor’s low voice made her whirl around. He was standing up, being supported on one side by Jack, and she ran over to him, touching his chest and then his face gently.
“Connor, honey, are you okay?”
He nodded even though his face was twisted with pain. “I’m all right. Just need to walk it off. Isn’t that right, Jack?”
“No, you need to get off of it and put some ice on that knee,” Jack said. “Immediately.”
Kira made a low sound of dismay when Connor, pain lines etched around his mouth, limped his way to the bench.
“Connor, maybe you should go to the hospital,” she said.
He shook his head. “Nah, it’ll be fine.”
“That knee is already sore,” she said. “If it was already injured, then -”
“I said it’s fine, Kira.” He collapsed on the bench before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. But,” he lowered his voice, “it’ll be fine. Trust me. The ball didn’t hit me that hard, all right? I have a bad knee and the ball happened to hit it wrong. It’ll be back to normal in the morning.”
She gave him a doubtful look as Daniel joined them. He held his hand out to Connor. “Man, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Go away, Daniel,” Kira said.
“It’s all right, Kira.” Connor shook Daniel’s hand. “Appreciate the apology.”
“Kira, can I talk to you for a second?” Daniel said.
“No,” Kira replied. “I’m busy. I’ll call you later.”
Daniel looked like he was going to reply, but the umpire shouted, “Time’s wasting, let’s get back to it.”
“Sorry again, doc.” Daniel jogged back to the pitcher’s mound.
Jack appeared with ice wrapped in a towel and plopped it down on Connor’s knee. He winced but gave the man a nod of thanks.
“Put your foot up on the bench,” Jack said.
Connor swung his leg up obediently, balancing the ice pack on his knee and smiled at Kira. “I’m good, but I won’t be playing. You don’t need to stick around and watch the game.”
She frowned but before she could reply, Jack touched her arm. “The game’s starting. You need to go back to bleachers.”
She wanted to sit on the bench with Connor and badger him into going to the hospital. Instead, she made herself smile at him and said, “I’m sticking around. I’ll see you after the game.”
“Yeah, sure.” Connor’s voice was distracted and the way he grimaced when he shifted the ice pack, suggested he was in more pain than he would admit.
Worry gnawing at her belly, Kira headed back to the bleachers.
* * *
Kira stared at Connor, wondering if the hurt she felt was clearly written across her face. “You don’t want me to come back to your place and help you?”
She was standing next to him in the parking lot of the sports complex. The game had ended almost half an hour ago and most of the players were long gone. After it took nearly twenty minutes for Connor to limp his way to his car, Kira was even more determined that at the very least, she should go back to his apartment and help him somehow.
“No, it’s not that. Honestly, I don’t need help. My knee is already feeling better,” Connor said.
“Is it?” She studied the way he stood, barely putting any weight on his right leg. “Because it doesn’t look like it is.”
“It is,” he insisted. “But it is sore, and I’m tired, and I won’t be very