Title: HOME RUN
Author: Heidi McLaughlin
Series: The Boys of Summer
On Sale: June 6th, 2017
Publisher: Forever
Trade Paperback: $14.99
eBook: $4.99
Blurb
LOVE ISN'T A GAME . . .
I've given up everything for the chance to play major league baseball.
Everything. Now I'm so close I can practically hear the crowd chanting my name.
There's nothing that could take my dream away from me . . .
Unless I lose focus. And Ainsley Burke is the most beautiful, distracting woman
I've ever met. When I'm with her, I can't think of anything else.
But no matter how much I want Ainsley, there's no room for love in my game
plan. I can give her a quick tour of the bases, but that's it. Then I have to
let her go. If she wants to think I'm a love 'em and leave 'em player, fine.
All dreams require sacrifice. I just wish this one didn't mean tearing out my
own heart.
Excerpt
“Where are
we going?” I ask. I turn my ball cap around to prevent it from flying away
since her convertible top is down and it looks like we’re heading toward the
parkway.
“I thought
we’d go to the beach.”
“Isn’t that
like thirty minutes away?”
Ainsley
glances at me quickly before turning back and focusing on the road. “Do you
have a curfew or something?”
I shake my
head. “Nope, drive on.” I may not have a curfew, but six a.m. comes very early,
and it’s our last practice before we start pre-season play. I suppose, since I
went without much sleep in college, one night now isn’t going to hurt me.
Besides, it’s for a good cause. I’m into Ainsley, and if she wants to take me
to the beach, I’m going to let her.
She turns up
the radio and starts singing along to the song. I know it as well so I join in,
and before I know it, we’re having our own karaoke party while we’re cruising
down the road. When we hit a stoplight, I expect her to stop singing, but she
doesn’t, and the people pulled up along the side of us start singing too.
Before I
know it, we’re at the beach. The car is shut off, the music has stopped, and
the only thing you can hear are the waves crashing onto the shore.
“Coming here
at night affords me the ability to sit and think without too many people
around.”
“Is it
safe?” I ask.
“I don’t
know. I never thought about that. I suppose in some aspects it’s not, but there
are always a few other people around so…” She gets out of her car before
finishing her sentence. She shouldn’t walk the beach alone at night, but who am
I to tell her otherwise? I quickly follow her, catching up with her in the
sand.
We walk side
by side until the dry sand turns wet, and then we both sit down.
“When I was
little, my mom used to bring me here all the time. I’d swim and play while she
read her book or she’d come in the water with me. It’s funny, when you’re a
kid, you have no worries in life, but the minute you become an adult,
everything changes.”
I wish I
could relate. “My life was the opposite. I’ve always had the pressure to
succeed in baseball on my shoulders. My dad, he was strict about everything. In
fact, if he knew I was out here now and not sleeping, he’d have something to
say about that.”
“That’s
sad.”
Shrugging, I
slip off my socks and sneakers, burying my toes into the cold sand. “It is, but
I wouldn’t be where I am today without that kind of structure.”
“Do you like
playing baseball?” Ainsley slips off her shoes and pulls her legs to her chest,
wrapping her arms around them tightly.
“I love it.
I love everything about the game.”
“Do you ever
wish you had done something else?”
I think
about her question and wonder what else I could’ve done. If my dad and I hadn’t
turned to tossing the ball in the backyard, where would we be? For us, it was
therapeutic and a way for me to express how angry and hurt I was that my mom
had died. The harder I threw, the better I felt. The more my dad cringed when
he caught the ball, the more satisfying it was that he was hurting as much as I
was.
“I don’t
know what else I would’ve done, honestly. Baseball is what I know. My dad used
it as a tool to help me cope with my mom’s passing, and before I knew it, I was
trying out for these elite baseball clubs and making all-star teams. College
and major league scouts would come watch my games in high school, and I thought
‘Wow, this could be a career for me.’ I was drafted out of high school but
chose to go to college first. I wanted something to fall back on in case
baseball didn’t work out.”
“What’s your
degree in?” She turns and looks at me. The moon is casting enough of a glow
that I can make out her facial features. Now would be the perfect time to lean
over and kiss her, but I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not what she
wants from me.
“Well, the
only thing that made sense.”
Ainsley
holds her hand up. “Don’t tell me, it’s something to do with sports.”
I nod,
holding back laughter. “Yeah, broadcasting. I figure I can become a commentator
or something when I retire.”
“Interesting,”
she says, turning back toward the ocean.
I lean into
her, bumping her with my shoulder. “Don’t be like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I took
the easy way out with my degree or my career isn’t the same as a doctor or
whatever.”
“Is it
though?”
“Baseball is
America’s game. It doesn’t know social class, race, or any other
classification. It’s a game every one can play and afford to participate in.
You don’t have to have straight A’s to go to college to play ball. Hell, most
players come to the majors right out of high school. It’s a game for everyone.”
“A game that
you make millions of dollars at.”
“It’s no
different than being an actor. We bring entertainment to people.” I counter her
claim.
“I don’t like this argument,” she says.
“Me neither.
I think we should talk about something else.”
“Like what?”
she asks.
Taking her
hand in mind, I kiss the top of it before meeting her gaze. “Like you going out
with me.”
She shakes
her head.
“I know, you
don’t date athletes, so think of me as a sports broadcaster.” I waggle my
eyebrows at her, and she laughs.
“You’re hard
to resist, Cooper Bailey.”
With those
words, I pull her closer. “Then stop resisting me, Ainsley.” This is my chance,
and I take it. My lips brush against hers lightly, testing her resolve. She’s
either going to punch me, push me away, or let me continue to kiss her.
Review
**4 Stars**
I was so excited for this book after I read Third Base. This is book 2 in The Boys of Summer series but can be read as a standalone. I recommend reading book 1, Third Base, first because you are introduced to the characters and learn amore about who they are and the background of the team.
Cooper Bailey has his shot with the Boston Renegades, something he has worked his entire life for. When he starts practicing with them during Spring Training, he isn’t prepared for the female that he would be introduced to because of a media event with the team. Ainsley Burke isn’t the distraction Will needs because; according to his father he has to focus solely on baseball to get where he wants to be. Will Cooper be able to achieve two different things because of the Renegade, love and a career, or will he have to pick one or the other?
Ainsley Burke does not date athletes, no ifs ands or buts about it. Insert Cooper Bailey. Ainsley wasn’t prepared to meet him during the Renegades media event at the zoo, but once her eyes landed on him, she found him extremely attractive. Will Ainsley break her rule to be with Cooper or will she hold strong and continue to swear off all atheletes?
I love this series and I can’t wait for Kidd’s book, Grand Slam, there is just something about him that makes me think his story is going to be emotional and funny all at the same time.
The Boys of Summer Series
Third Base, #1
Home Run, #2
Series Page on Goodreads
About the Author
Heidi McLaughlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in picturesque Vermont with her husband and two daughters. Also renting space in their home is an over-hyper Beagle/Jack Russell, Buttercup and a Highland West/Mini Schnauzer, Jill.
When she isn't writing one of the many stories planned for release, you'll find her sitting courtside during either daughter's basketball games.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram| Goodreads
Follow Forever Online
Giveaway
CINDI MADSEN
