them approached me before I could get to Honor.
“You’re the catcher, right? Archer O’Brien?” one girl said, stepping into my path.
Fixing the frown on my face, I nodded. Honor and June were only a few feet away. My goal was to make this as quick as possible. “That’s right.”
“Your knees must hurt after squatting so long like that.”
“Eh, you get used to it.”
“It’s really impressive.” She looked me up and down, not trying to disguise the way she was checking me out while she twirled a lock of her red hair. “Your thighs must be so strong, and you’d have to be flexible to hold that pose for so long.”
“I guess. If you’ll excuse me, there’s someone I—” But as I went to step around her, her friend put a hand on my chest.
“Oh Ashley,” she said, meeting my eyes, “don’t scare him off just yet. I wanted to speak to the captain, too.”
I sighed to myself, but it wasn’t as if this was new territory. The fans liked to talk to us after the games. It wasn’t usually a hardship, but man, I really wanted to talk to my girl.
“Sorry Marguerite, I was just being nice,” the redhead said.
“That’s okay,” Marguerite said then changed her focus back to me. “So, they say you and your brothers may play in the MLB someday. That true?”
I crossed my arms. “Not sure yet.”
“You looked pretty good out there today,” she said.
“Yeah, real good,” another one of their friends piped up, causing a bout of giggles.
I raised a brow. “Thanks.”
“Could you sign something for me?” she asked, holding up a marker she’d pulled from her purse.
“Sure,” I said. It wasn’t the first time a fan had asked for my autograph. “What did you want signed?”
“Just this hat”—I took the Wolves cap and pen and scribbled my signature quickly—”oh, and my shirt. Just here.”
When I looked down, she was pointing to the area between her collarbone and her chest.
“It may be worth something,” she said, staring at me as if it was a dare. “You know, if you get famous.”
Staring past her, I could see Honor and June watching the whole thing, close enough to hear every word that’d been spoken. June was shaking her head while Honor just sat there slack-jawed. From personal experience and some of the fan stories I’d heard from the guys, this wasn’t unusual, so I wasn’t surprised. Honor, though…she looked like someone had just socked her in the gut.
Turning back, frown still in place, I said, “Sorry, only one autograph per fan.”
Cheeks pink, Marguerite muttered her thanks, and she and her crew left soon after. I didn’t like being a jerk, but you had to draw the line somewhere. Plus, they were keeping me from seeing my girl. Speaking of which…
I was about to walk towards her—when another obstacle suddenly blocked my way.
The two men who stood in front of me were wearing red shirts, khaki pants and red baseball caps with the Phillies stamp on them. Even without the clipboards in their hands, I would’ve known they were scouts from a mile away.
“Hey Archer,” the first one said, holding out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Jeff Perkins, and this is my associate Barkley Soledad. We’re recruiters for the Phillies, and we just wanted to tell you good game, son.”
“Thank you,” I said after shaking both their hands. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“We did,” Jeff said. The little bit of hair I could see beneath his cap was graying, but he was obviously the younger of the two men. Barkley was more wrinkled, shorter, and didn’t seem to have any hair at all. “Your team played like a well-oiled machine out there. Though I hear that’s the norm for you Wolves. Your wins and overall record proceeds you.”
I shrugged. No need to brag. He was right. Our record spoke for itself.
“Are you interested in playing professional ball?” Barkley asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Though I think just about anyone on this team or any other would say the same.”
“Good to know.”
“I’m just going to get right to it.” Jeff nodded. “You’re a great player, and your catching skills are among the top in the nation, collegiate or professional. You’re a hot commodity, Archer. We need leaders like you on our team. I’ve already talked it out with your Coach. Daisy O’Brien’s not one to beat around the bush either. She told us you’d received other offers?”
“A few,” I said.
“I hear it’s more than a few,” Barkley put