Luck Be A Lady (Destiny Bay Romances-The Ranchers Book 5) by Helen Conrad Page A

hand and she was advancing as well. Penny didn’t have the slightest idea of what she was supposed to do. The yells and taunts from the crowd confused her even further. She looked at the crowd, helpless. Eyes filling with tears, she dropped to a crouching position, waiting for the inevitable tag—the final out that would lose the game for her team. The first base player made a flourish for the crowd, then tapped Penny with the ball. Penny squeezed her eyes shut and tears slid down her cheeks.
    The screaming all around was earsplitting. On the Unicorns’ side of the stands, shouts of laughter filled the air. From the Robins’ side came calls of outrage and anger. Kelly tried to quiet the girls, but they were beyond logic. Their frustration had found a target in poor Penny. Kelly knew it would be only a few minutes before they would regret their unkind words, but for now, those words were spilling out in abundance.
    Giving up the lost cause quickly, she tried to see what was going on in the field. Surely Glenn would be comforting Penny. But no. Penny was still in a heap and Glenn was walking away, shaking his head in disgust.
    “Oh, poor Penny!” Kelly exclaimed, exasperated with everyone now. She struggled, trying to break out of the crowd that was pouring out of the stands. She shoved and pushed, not caring who she slighted.
    “Let me through!” she demanded, dodging around the people who danced in front of her. Finally she broke out of the pack and stopped to get her bearings. Where was Penny? She surveyed the mob quickly, searching for her player. And then she saw her, heading for the parking lot.
    Penny was with Cody. His arm was around her and he was leading her away from the jeers of the crowd, his head bent over her, his shoulders wide enough to protect her. Something burst inside Kelly’s chest, something hot and breathstopping. She ran to catch up with them, but then slowed her steps. She wasn’t sure of her reception.
    “You know what I think?” Cody was saying to the girl as Kelly got within earshot. “That was one fine hit you had. You ought to work on developing that.”
    “I lost the game,” Penny said tremulously.
    “No, you didn’t.” He pulled her to a stop next to his car and gazed down earnestly into the girl’s face. “Every player on your team who made a mistake, everyone who dropped a ball or struck out or had an opportunity to make a good play and didn’t come through—every one of them helped lose the game. No one player can do it on her own.”
    Penny blinked away her tears. “Really?”
    He smiled and chucked her chin. “Of course, really. You work on that hitting. Concentrate on that. The rest will come.”
    Kelly stepped forward. “Penny...”
    The girl looked at her, stricken, then turned her face away. Cody glanced down at Kelly. “I’d like to give her a ride home,” he said. “Vouch for me. Tell her I’m not a bad guy, so she won’t be nervous about my giv ing her a ride.”
    Kelly looked from Penny to Cody and back again. “I... I’m not so sure she should go with you,” she began.
    His face hardened. “Really?” he said coolly. “Am I such a villain that you won’t even trust me to take a young girl home to her family in safety?” His tone was deceptively light, but his eyes flashed silver fire.
    Kelly saw his reaction and shook her head. “No, you don’t understand what I’m saying. I think she should come back with the team. I want them to apologize—“
    Cody waved away the rest of her statement with a grimace and leaned forward to say softly, “Not now. She’s too torn up. Let her face them when she’s calmed down and cleaned up a little. Let her have some dignity.”
    Kelly hesitated. Maybe he was right.
    Cody saw her uncertainty and his face relaxed a lit tle. “Tell her I’m okay,” he said, gesturing toward Penny.
    She still hesitated. “Penny, this is Cody Marin, a friend of mine,” she said quickly. Should she let him take her home?