I gotta update for the gym, but after that I’d love to take you out again. Or maybe have you come over for dinner again.” He left the rest of the words unsaid, but she could read them on his face. And maybe do something more after dinner, too.
Oh, she was in so much trouble.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Sienna didn’t tell Max. She didn’t tell anyone. She wanted to keep it as a secret, at least for a few days. The town of Whispering Pines buzzed and talked about everything and everyone. She had no desire to be the center of its grapevine. So she savored the memory of Dash’s kiss and replayed every word, every touch, as she lay in bed at night too giddy to sleep.
The weekend dragged. The following week was worse. Dash was busy enough that he cancelled her two training sessions, and she would’ve been disappointed except he sent her silly text messages from the continuing education classes he was taking over in Silver Valley.
4 hrs??? Feels like it’s been 45 & its only Monday.
Best dancing dog video ever. Ck it out
Is it Friday yet??
She kept them all, reading and rereading them and imagining the first thing she’d say when she saw him again.
Missed you.
Is that dinner invitation still on?
Want to skip dinner and go straight to dessert?
“Control yourself, Sienna,” she told herself more than once, but then she wondered why she needed to. She’d carefully controlled every action, every decision, she’d made for as long as she could remember. Why not let down her hair? This was the perfect time. And Dash was the near-perfect guy.
MID-MARCH SURPRISED everyone with near-record temperatures. Dash checked the weather report three times before leaving the gym on Friday, and when it still predicted a high of sixty-five with zero precipitation, he grabbed two gloves and baseballs.
“Thought we might do a little preseason training,” he said when he walked into Sienna’s classroom. He held up the gloves. She gave him a quizzical look, but Silas almost fell out of the rocking chair in excitement. He ran to Dash and took one of the gloves, stroking the soft leather and laying it next to his cheek.
“Mr. Dash, we always do read-alongs on Fridays at two o’clock,” Caleb said with a worried expression. He turned to Sienna. “Miss Cruz, we always—”
“I know,” she said. She put one hand on his shoulder and steered him to a seat at the table. “But since the weather’s so nice today, how about we read two books instead of three? Then if there’s time, we’ll go outside and play catch.” She gave Dash a wide smile and mouthed Hi there in the cutest way possible.
He couldn’t wait to get her alone again.
Caleb eyed Sienna with doubt, but he didn’t say anything else. After Dash had finished Where the Wild Things Are and I’m Going to the World Series!, he picked up a glove again. “So how much do you guys know about baseball?”
“The Yankees!” shouted Billy.
“Well, that’s one team,” he agreed with a laugh. “Any others?”
“There are two leagues and three divisions in each league, in Major League Baseball,” Caleb began in his serious voice. “The American League and the National League. The American League — ”
“Why don’t we let Mr. Dash talk?” Sienna interrupted. “We can learn a little more about baseball history next week, but I’ll bet he can tell us about the sport. Would that be okay?”
“Yes, yes,” Billy and Bailey nodded. Caleb pulled at his bottom lip, but he nodded after a minute too.
“Okay,” Dash began. “Does anyone know what this part is?” He ran his fingers over the inside of the baseball glove.
“Pocket!” Silas called out. He clapped in excitement.
Dash looked at the boy in surprise. “You’re right, buddy. That’s where players always try to catch the ball.” He picked up a ball in his other hand. “Now, does anyone know why baseballs have stitches on them?”
Silas grew sober. Caleb screwed up his face in concentration. No one answered.
“One thing the stitches do is keep the inside part where it’s supposed to be. There’s rubber inside this leather, but the rubber has to stay on the inside.”
“Can you imagine if our insides were on the outside?” Sienna asked them.
“Ewww!”
“We don’t have stitches, but what do we have?” she asked.
“Skin,” Caleb answered. “Lots of it.”
“Right.” Dash said. “The second thing the stitches do is give the pitcher control when he’s throwing the ball. He can hold the ball a certain way, and spin the