Stealing Second: Sam's Story: Book 4 in the Clarksonville Series by Barbara L. Clanton

to her left for the sizzling grounder, but missed. Sam took a step in, and instantly regretted it. The ball was too fast. She mistimed the bounce and it hit off her wrist. She ignored the pain and scrambled after the ball. She threw it to Mae at first base, but too late. The runner was safe.
    “Shit,” Sam muttered. “What the frig is wrong with me?” She blew out a sigh and headed back toward her second base territory, terrified that Coach Gellar was going to yank her out of the game in front of everybody.
    “Hey, Marlee,” Abby called, “give us a second.”
    Marlee nodded and bent down to retie a shoe.
    “Samantha Rose,” Abby said, “don’t be mad, okay? Coach wanted me to, uh, I mean, she—okay, this is what I do before every single pitch. I picture a ball coming at me, and I scoop it up clean. I think, ‘It won’t hurt if it hits me.’”
    “That’s not exactly true.” Sam displayed the red welt rising up on her wrist.
    “I know, but you have to psych yourself into getting in front of those hard ones.” Abby headed back to her shortstop position. “Just try it, okay?”
    Sam nodded and pounded her glove. Marlee put her hands together for the next pitch. Sam pictured a hard hit grounder coming at her. She pictured scooping it up cleanly like she’d done with Susie before the game.
    Marlee sent the pitch toward the plate. The batter swung and sent a searing line drive foul off the third base line.
    “You’ve got the steal,” Abby said and cheated a few steps toward third.
    Sam nodded and took a step closer to second. Sure enough the runner on first took off on the next pitch.
    “Going,” Sam yelled to Lisa and headed to cover second base.
    Lisa snagged Marlee’s pitch and fired it toward second base from her knees.
    The throw was right on target. Sam moved in position and Lisa’s bullet smacked in her glove. The runner slid feet first. Sam held her ground and put all her might into tagging the runner low and strong. The runner slid into the glove, but her momentum carried her across the bag knocking Sam over. Pain exploded in her cheekbone. She clutched her face with her free hand trying to get the pain under control.
    “Out!” the umpire yelled.
    Thank God!
Sam thought.
    Abby rushed over. “Are you okay?”
    “I don’t know. You tell me.” Sam pulled her hand away from her face.
    “Shit,” Abby said. “You’ve got a nasty welt under your eye. I think she got you with her knee. Are you trying to get another black eye?”
    Sam chuckled in spite of the pulsing pain in her cheek. Her teammates, Lisa included, swarmed around her. Coach Gellar and the team trainer pushed their way through.
    “Give us room, girls,” the trainer said. Sam’s teammates backed away. She said to Sam. “Look at me.” Sam looked up. “Left, right, down. Okay, good no damage to the eye,” the trainer mumbled to herself. She felt around the cheekbone, and Sam tried hard not to wince at the mauling she was receiving. “You’re fine. We’ll get ice on that when the inning’s over, okay?”
    Sam nodded and stood up. She pulled the glove off her hand and brushed herself off. She tried to open her eye wide only to wince as the cheek protested. She felt her face; her cheek was already swelling.
    “You okay to stay in the game?” Coach Gellar asked.
    “I’m good.”
    Coach Gellar and the trainer headed back to the dugout. The trainer glanced back at Sam and said to the coach, “She’s been taking a beating out there lately.”
    “No kidding. She’s working on borrowed time.”
    Sam groaned. The trainer said something else, but they were too far away for Sam to make it out. She shot a glance at Abby who was still standing on second base. “Didn’t you say it wouldn’t hurt?”
    With a shrug and a grin, Abby backpedaled to her position.
    Lisa stood in the pitcher’s circle with Marlee. She mouthed to Sam, “Are you okay?”
    Sam nodded and smiled to reassure Lisa. Thank God this was the last day of