Fifteen

“Josie.” Doris huffed up the stairs, her words trembling ahead of her.

Josie stuck her head out the door. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank goodness you’re home.” Doris stopped and sucked in a breath. “You’ve got a call downstairs. Said she was your sister.”

Why would Kat call her? Josie looked from Doris to the door. “Can I get you anything?”

“Go on ahead. I’ll just catch my breath.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Josie brushed past Doris and hurried to the back room of the grocery store. Someday it would be so nice to have a phone in the apartment for privacy. At least they didn’t get many calls. She picked up the receiver. “This is Josie.”

The wire crackled and popped. She pulled it tighter to her ear. “Hello?”

“That you?”

Josie could barely make out the words. “Yes.”

“This is Kat. We made it to a championship this weekend. You’ll come, won’t you?”

“Who made it to what?”

The sigh was strong enough Josie could imagine Kat rolling her eyes. “My baseball team, silly. We made it to the big tournament. You have to come.”

“I’ll check with Art. I don’t think we have anything going on.”

Kat squealed. “Then you’ll come.”

Josie laughed. To have the enthusiasm of an “in-between-er.”“I’ll see what we can do. When do we need to be there?”

Kat filled her in on all the details. “And be sure to bring Cassandra with you. We all want to meet her. Does she have the best accent in the world? Can you understand what she says? What does she think about Cincinnati?”

“You can ask her those questions when you meet her.”

“Make sure you’re here Friday night, so we can get an early start Saturday. You won’t want to miss a game. Bye.” Like that, Kat was off and on to her next event.

Josie shook her head. Mr. Duncan stuck his head around the corner.

“Everything okay?”

“Yes, sir. Thanks for getting me.”

“No problem. Doris enjoys an excuse to hustle up them stairs.”

His wry look left her chuckling as she hiked up those same stairs. When she entered the apartment, Doris sat on the sofa, flipping through Josie’s Bible. A stab of something, violation maybe, flashed through Josie.

“Find what you’re looking for?”

“No. I’m looking for an elusive verse. Ah well. It’ll come to me. Probably in the middle of the night, but they always come.”

Josie perched on the wing chair. If they spent the weekend in Dayton, she needed to pack. Figure out what they would need at the ball diamonds.

“Well, I’ll head back down. Tell Cassandra I’ll have fresh cookies for her.”

“She’ll probably smell them and stop before she comes here.”

Doris shut the door behind her. Time to pack.

❧

Art hurried up the stairs. The next place they lived would be closer to the ground. Today he didn’t have the energy to charge the steps like usual. He opened the door to a whirlwind of activity. Josie had two bags lying next to the couch.

“Going somewhere?”

Josie looked up at him with a coquettish smile. “How’s a weekend in Dayton sound?”

“Honestly? Terrible.” All he wanted was a quiet weekend. Maybe take Cassandra for some ice cream. Keep life simple. Yeah, that sounded really good. Until he looked at Josie’s face. “I take it we’re going.”

“Kat’s team is in a tournament, and she wants us there.”

While there were many things Art didn’t know about Josie, it had been clear from the beginning her family took priority. That made them his priority, too. Guess they’d make the trek. “When do we need to arrive?”

“Not sure when the games start tomorrow. Could we drive tonight?”

“Is that why the bags are packed?”

She had the grace to wear a sheepish look. “Do you mind?”

“As long as you’re happy, it’s fine with me.”

The door opened behind him. He turned to see Cassandra, cookie crumbs dotting her chin. “Doris sent extra sugar cookies up with me.” She stared at the bags, a frown growing on her face. “What’s all this?”

“How’d you like to go on a weekend adventure?” Josie’s voice begged her to share the excitement. “We’ll stay with my family and watch Kat play baseball games.”

Cassandra wrinkled her nose. “You promised to take me to the movies.”

“We will.” Josie looked at Art before continuing. “In fact, I bet we’ll go while we’re in Dayton. We can’t watch baseball all day. Besides, this is another American sport. You’ve enjoyed basketball, and I think you’ll like this, too. Better yet, you’ll get to meet my family.”

❧

Art picked up the first couple bags. “Will we eat here first?”

“I’ve got supper ready.”

“All right. I’ll load the bags, then we can eat and get out the door.” The tournament could be competitive since Kat played on a good team. And Mark might have time to play some games this trip. Josie’s Mom would dote on Cassandra. Everybody needed extra mothering from time to time. Especially girls thousands of miles from home.

An hour later, he’d loaded the Packard and they’d eaten. The wheels turned as they made their way to Dayton. Art cracked his window and let the breeze blow through the vehicle. When they pulled in front of the Millers’ home around nine o’clock, welcoming lights blazed in each window.

Art parked at the curb. “Do they know we’re coming?”

“I’m sure Kat told them.” Josie shrugged like it didn’t matter one way or another. She was probably right.

The front door bounced open and a flash of checked fabric raced to the car. When it stopped, he saw it was Kat.

❧

“You made it!” Kat’s words ran on top of each other, bringing a smile to Josie’s face.

“I promised we would.”

“No, you said you’d talk to Art. That doesn’t mean much until you’re here.” Kat smiled so big her face almost cracked. “You got here in time to watch my team win the whole contest.”

Art laughed. “Nice to see your ego’s still intact.” He urged Cassandra forward. “I’d like you to meet Cassandra Wilson. Cassandra, this is my sister-in-law, Katherine Miller.”

Kat stuck out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Cassandra. But you can call me Kat. Katherine is way too long of a name to yell across a baseball diamond.”

“What are we going to do with you?” Josie pretended to frown but had a feeling Kat saw right through her. Somehow Kat knew the world would revolve around her whims. If that meant playing baseball with the boys, so be it. She’d never let anything slow her down—and she’d just turned fourteen.

Cassandra grabbed Josie’s arm and hung on.

“Don’t worry, Cassandra. You and I will become friends. Maybe even grab an ice-cream cone after the games.”

“Could we get a sweet, too?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Cassandra’s face lit up.

“Let’s introduce you to Mom and Dad.” Kat led a willing Cassandra into the house.

Art slipped an arm around Josie’s waist. “Do you think we could have her move in with us?”

“Who?”

“Kat, of course. Other than you, I haven’t seen anyone else get Cassandra to trust them that quickly.”

Josie leaned her head against Art’s arm as they strolled up the walk. “Call it the Miller girl charm.” She felt the rumble of his laugh, and it pleased her. “Though you do well with her, too. She lights up when you’re home spending time with her. Ready to cheer Kat on?”

“We wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” He patted his jacket pocket. “I’ve got a magazine or two stashed for the dull periods.”

Josie pulled away from him and playfully slapped him. “There will be no dull moments.”

“Of course not.” Art held his hands in front of him. “It’s the Boy Scout in me. I like to be prepared for anything.”

“On your best behavior, Art. You don’t want Kat to hear.”

“No, ma’am. Can’t guarantee good behavior.” His face took on a long pious look.

“Why on earth not?”

“You have to buy my good behavior.”

“I don’t do it with Cassandra, so why on earth would I do that with a big guy like you?” Josie crossed her arms and stared at him.

“Because it’s a small fee really. Just a kiss.”

“A kiss?” Josie made a show of tapping her finger on her mouth and thinking about his proposal. She hoped he wouldn’t notice the warmth spreading across her cheeks. “All right, but you’d better kiss me good and long.”

A slow, Cheshire cat grin spread across Art’s face, until his dimple appeared on his left cheek. “My pleasure.”

❧

Once everyone had met Cassandra, Mother showed them to their rooms. Cassandra would bunk with Kat, and Josie and Art had her small room. They slipped into bed so they’d be ready for the morning. Cassandra jumped into their bed as soon as the sun’s rays filled the room with light.

“Is it time to leave yet?”

Josie peeked at the child. Cassandra fairly vibrated from where she’d bounced. “I can’t wait to watch Kat play.”

“What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“Let Kat get you breakfast, and we’ll be down in a bit.”

Cassandra bounced out of the room, then Josie rolled over with a groan.

“What was that?” Art’s muffled words drifted out from under the pillow he’d pulled over his head.

“That would be your cousin. We might as well get up and ready for the day.”

An hour later, Josie’s family joined them for the game. As Mark bantered with their dad, Art settled back, providing Josie a place to lean. Rain the night before had knocked down the dust, and the crowd yelled encouragement and jeers, depending on their loyalties.

After they’d been at the ball fields a couple hours, Josie decided she was thirsty.

“Would you get me a Coke?”

“Sure you don’t want to come with me?”

Josie smiled but shook her head. “I don’t want to miss a play.”

“One Coke coming up. Want to come, Cassandra?”

The girl shook her head, eyes fixed on Kat as she played shortstop. Josie loved watching Kat play that position. Normally, a taller, more athletic guy played there, but Kat played like she had springs on her shoes. Art pouted and pulled Josie to her feet. “We’ll be back in a minute, Cassandra.”

The girl didn’t seem to notice, as she stayed fixed on the action. Mother motioned that she’d take care of Cassandra. Art grabbed Josie’s hand and tucked her against his side while they walked.

The line at concessions was several people deep when they reached it. The gent in front of them kept looking over his shoulder and shaking his head.

“Have you ever seen anything so ridiculous?”

Art looked at the man. “Were you talking to me?”

“No, but you’ll do. What are they thinking, letting a girl play?”

“Probably that she’s good enough.” Josie didn’t try to keep the snap from her voice. Insolent man to question Kat’s playing.

“Nah.” The man swatted a paper through the air. “I bet her father’s sponsored the team or her boyfriend’s captain.”

Art shook his head. “Nope. Kat’s too young to have a guy. What’s your name?”

He stuck out his hand. “Jack Raymond. I’m only here because my editor sent me. Seems he thinks a small tourney like this has a story buried somewhere.” A sour expression twisted the young man’s face. “I am definitely not cut out for this kind of sports reporting.”

“Stick around, Jack, and I’ll introduce you to that girl. She could very well be your story.”

The thin man clamped a pencil between his teeth. “Maybe, but I can’t see it.”

Josie bit her lip to keep from making a retort. Kat’s play should speak for itself. If the reporter didn’t know that by now, then he hadn’t watched the game at all.

The line moved forward again and it was Jack’s turn to order. Art nodded at the window. “Go ahead.”

“Dames aren’t supposed to play baseball. Anyone in their right mind knows that.” Jack looked toward the field. “Though she is a cute thing.”

Josie hoped this Jack Raymond wouldn’t take Art up on his offer to introduce him to Kat. Kat wouldn’t hesitate in taking on each of his ridiculous comments.

“Well, back to the salt mines. I’ve got a story to file.” He tipped an imaginary hat. “Nice to meet you.”

Josie watched him saunter off. An unsettled feeling flared. It was a good thing he wouldn’t stick around to meet Kat. She didn’t need someone like him telling her not to play with the boys. It brought too much joy to Kat. Yep, they’d all be better served without Kat and Jack meeting.