Ray Quinn, the sophomore who had taken Yuri’s spot at third, was up. St. Joe’s pitcher was worried about me and had me dive back to first base a couple of times before he threw home with the ball. Ray had been instructed to keep the bat on his shoulder until the pitcher threw a strike. Moose wanted to see what their pitcher had today before he forced Ray to hit. It turned out to be a good strategy because their pitcher tried to throw around the edges and get Ray to chase a pitch. Four pitches later, I was on second base. Five more pitches and I was on third.
Jim came to the plate with the bases loaded. Over the winter and spring, Jim had taken to the training program. He was now up to 275 pounds of muscle, and he’d also lost a few inches on his waist, so he no longer looked boxy. His goal was to put on another ten to fifteen pounds before the start of football. Alabama would get him into their program and more than likely redshirt him. He had the frame to be a beast. At six-five, he already looked the part on the baseball field.
On the first pitch, Jim hit a curveball on the ground up the middle. The second baseman and shortstop charged it so they could turn the double play. This was when the two of them not playing together all year hurt their team. They collided, and the ball rolled into center field. Everyone had run on contact because it was on the ground. Ray and I scored easily, with Bryan ending up at third and Jim at first.
Their pitcher settled down and got Brock to hit into a double play, but Bryan was able to score to make it 3–0.
When I came up in the second, we were still up 3–0 with one out and two on. I shook my head when they hit me again. This time they clipped my forearm, which loaded the bases. That meant they needed a new pitcher, and their assistant coach was also gone. The new pitcher came in and served up a batting-practice ball to Ray, who hit his first home run of the year to make it 7–0.
In the top of the seventh, I came up, and they hit me for the fifth time. St. Joe had come back, but we now led 12–7. The umpire had warned them if they hit me again, they would forfeit the game. I guess they figured, ‘Why not?’ By now, I was ready to kick someone’s ass. Even with the new Range Sports gear, my back was starting to complain.
“David Allen Dawson!” cut through the crowd noise.
The last thing I needed was for my mom to come out on the field. I took a deep breath and let my anger go.
◊◊◊
After I was finally done with handing out baseball cards and showering, I came out to find my mom waiting for me with Alan. He had a guilty look, and he glanced at my mom.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I heard her let out her breath, and Alan glanced at her again. Mom gave him a pointed look.
“I’m sorry for playing the music before the game. My actions have consequences, and you getting drilled five times was part of those consequences,” Alan said.
Someone had rehearsed their lines and delivered them poorly. I didn’t believe he was sorry for a second. He was just afraid of what my mom might do to him.
“Okay, fine. Just don’t do it again,” I said.
He looked at my mom, and she nodded to him. Alan took off. What a jerk.
“I hate to say this, but I’m starting to not like him very much,” Mom said, shocking me.
“Here, I thought it was just me. In fact, Tami has had about enough of him as well.”
“She told me, but I didn’t believe it until today. How are you?” Mom asked.
I pulled up my shirt. There were some red spots where I was hit, but it didn’t look like there would be any bruising. When she was satisfied, she let me put my shirt back down.
“What are you doing tonight?” Mom asked.
“Boys’ night out. Jim’s only here for a few more weeks, so we’re going out,” I said.
◊◊◊
I slipped my security tether, telling Fritz he had the night off, that I planned to stay in. For once, I just wanted to be a teenager and have some fun with Jim and the guys. I had to take the baby seats out of the Jeep. It felt good to actually drive a car.
I’d talked to Fritz about us signing up for a defensive driving class with the Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV. The Raptor pickup was designed by Ford to be an off-road vehicle. Hennessey had taken it apart, turned it into an oversized SUV, and tricked it out. The modifications made it a beast. I’d read that the biggest complaint arose when people treated it as a true off-road vehicle; they’d bent the frame because the wheelbase was so long, longer than the original pickup.
Because of the extra suspension, the Ford Hennessey VelociRaptor SUV ride was very comfortable. You would never guess you were driving something that big. They’d also done work on the engine that made it perform like my Dodge Charger had. Fritz had agreed that we needed to see what it could really do in a
