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Copyright 2020

Chapter 68

"Thank you for bringing me to my senses, James."

James chuckled while driving back to the Lasko ranch.

"I have an interest in bringing you to your senses. You see. I like you. You are pretty and I want to see you in your bikini again. That vision is stuck in my mind," he quipped.

Angela began laughing. She reached for his hand and squeezed a gentle squeeze. James answered her with one of his own.

"Angela, I do care for you. I hope you don't think harshly of me for the tone I brought on you earlier."

"I probably deserved it," she offered. "You're right. I shouldn't have spoken to Mama like I did. And you are dead on with the negotiation thing. I've never had a harsh word with cattlemen. We always got what we wanted. I'm going to work it out with Mama and Daddy. I still want to be with you."

"I feel better," he replied. "I'm looking forward to talking with you about your college plans, and how I can see you at the same time. You never know what's around the bend in the road. Opportunity, I hope."

Michael was following them in Angela's truck. When they arrived at the Lasko home, James ushered Angela from her side of the pickup, held her hand, and smiled. She stood on her toes and kissed him on the lips. A thank you kiss.

He followed her with his eyes as she approached her parents who were waiting for her on the porch. James waved a gentle wave to George as Angela and Cynthia went into their home, arm in arm. George responded with one of his own. He watched as Michael returned from giving the truck keys to George.

"I heard you and Angela talking before supper tonight," Michael said, as they drove away. "I learned something from you, Uncle James. I've been negotiating with Mom and Dad my whole life and never realized I was doing it; until now."

Chapter 69

"Uncle James, I would like to talk to you. About baseball."

James had just finished his breakfast and was sipping coffee, when Michael spoke up. Michael had the physical traits James had at his age and was very athletic for his age. Well above his peers in the region.

"OK. Talk."

"I played well this year," Michael offered. "I lead the region in put outs. My two seam fastball moves in on right hand batters and away on left handers. My curve breaks hard at the plate and my changeup is OK; 76 miles per hour."

"OK."

"I didn't receive any offers to college, but, I feel I could walk on at Division 1 if I could get some help. Learn how to throw without hurting my arm. Get help on my changeup. Maybe my slider."

"OK."

James looked across the table at David. He was still eating. He then looked at Cathy. She was looking at him with a little hope in her eyes.

"Do you think you could help me? Point me in the right direction? Tell me what needs to be done to pitch at the next level?" he asked, with hope.

"It took you long enough," he chuckled. "You're not gonna make the fall season in college. You waited too long. You'll have to sit out at least a semester before you're ready."

"I know."

James paused to gather his thoughts, because, this was serious business. Baseball at the next level requires a commitment, way, way beyond high school baseball.

James repositioned himself in his chair and looked Michael in the eye. "The next level is not high school ball."

"I know."

"The next level requires a commitment. A commitment you likely have never experienced before. It's serious business," James offered.

James looked at David again. Still eating.

"I know. I may need help from you to focus."

James paused again. "There are others your age who already know this and have prepared. You will be behind right now."

"I will do my best to catch up. I'm determined."

James paused another long pause. He turned to look at Cathy. Hope was still in her eyes.

James winked at her without the others seeing it.

"Would you be disappointed if you didn't start out at D1? Perhaps at the junior college level? It happens a lot for kids like you."

"Absolutely not. I'll play anywhere. I'll study hard to make sure I can go to D1."

James ran his finger across his chin and looked to the ceiling for effect.

"I'll make some phone calls today. We'll talk again tomorrow. I need to be convinced of your commitment. Because, other kids have already committed and you will be trying to take their place."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Cool, Michael!" Emily yelped.

"Sounds great, Michael," Katie offered.

"What are you talking about?" Little James chirped.

David was sipping coffee after finishing off his plate.

Cathy smiled.

Chapter 70

"Hi, Angela. Hi, James."

"Hi, Jennifer," Angela replied.

James waved and smiled. The two love birds were walking hand in hand toward the entrance of the KOC hall. They were double dating with Michael and Maria. James couldn't help but muse about three 18 year olds, and a 37 year old, double dating to a dance and social. The entire county had heard the two love birds were together, and, amazingly there was very little comment about their age difference.

As they entered the hall, James was surrounded by the locals, wanting just a minute of his time to talk baseball. Angela laughed and went to the kitchen for iced teas. When she returned, she whispered she would be waiting for him at a table on the other side of the dance floor.

After speaking with Mr. Jenkins about cattle, James walked up and sat down next to Angela. "My popularity is waning. The last time I was here, it took nearly an hour to be seated. It only took twenty minutes this time," he mused.

"Great!" Angela yelped. "More time for me!"

"OK," James barked. "Dance with me?"

"YAASSS!"

As they danced the Texas twostep, James reflected on his date for the evening. She was wearing the purple sundress her mother wore the first time he was at the KOC hall. She wore a white headband in her black and naturally wavy hair, to match the print in the purple dress. Strands of hair fell from the sides of her head to touch her face and neck. She wore low heel white strap sandals. And her light blue seductive eyes were messing with his concentration. She's a great dancer, he thought.

He was about to finish a dance with Angela and go get food, when suddenly...

He saw a familiar and unexpected face.

As he passed her, while dancing, he twisted his head to look at her, again. She began laughing.

When the song ended, he escorted Angela to their table.

"Trouble," he said.

"Trouble?" Angela asked.

"Lisa Matthews."

Chapter 71

James made his way through the crowd and stepped up to Lisa.

"Good evening, Lisa," he smirked.

"Good evening, James. You're one hell of a dancer," she yelped, over the noise of the crowd between dances. "I didn't know."

Lisa had dressed the part. Designer western jeans, boots, an open plaid shirt with a white tank top underneath. The shirt tied in a knot near her waist. Her blue eyes shined with slyness, and her straight and dark brown hair was cut into a pixie. She was an inch shorter than

Angela and she was James' age, or thereabouts.

"You can understand my surprise when I passed you a few moments ago," he began. "You're my first visitor from Kansas City since I moved. But, I don't think you are here to visit. It's business."

"Always. You know that, James," she mused.

The music for the next song began to play.

James was about to make a comment when Angela stepped up and said, "Ms. Matthews. You look pretty this evening. I didn't know you knew the twostep and Texas waltz."

"Thank you, Miss Lasko," she began. "You are pretty as well. More so than the other women I see here this evening. I can see why James is with... YOU tonight. And, I don't dance very well, especially those dances you just mentioned."

"You don't?" James's barked. "I can fix that!"

James' took Lisa by the hand and pulled her to the center of the dance floor, catching her by surprise. Her eyes were as wide a saucers. He twirled her around with one hand and placed his other hand on her hip. As he began the twostep with Lisa in hand, he looked to Angela and winked.

Angela laughed and giggled as James took Lisa around the dance floor for a spin. Soon, Lisa had the hang of the twostep and began enjoying herself, especially with this famous baseball player. Once James felt she had the hang of the twostep, he passed her off to a young man standing on the edge of the dance floor.

"Keep her busy until someone cuts in," he whispered, as he handed Lisa off.

Angela was dying with laughter. James made his way to Angela and spoke to her over the dance music, "Let's have fun with her. Get your friends from high school to dance with her for the next 30 minutes! Have them take turns at her. I want to see blisters on her feet before the night is over!"

"Yeah!" With that, Angela turned to one of her friends and told him to pass the word along.

Within 10 minutes, men were lined up to have their turn dancing with Lisa Matthews. And, Lisa seemed to be enjoying her new found attention with men. With his phone, James began taking photos of her dancing, with Angela giggling the entire time.

Turning to Angela, James mused, "Brenda is going to die when I send these to her!"

Chapter 72

"My, my... Lisa has become the popular woman tonight."

James was standing off to the side, holding Angela's hand, admiring the sight before him. Just a few feet away, a young and handsome cowboy was flirting up Lisa, and she seemed to be flirting in return. She was acting as though she had forgotten all about James and Angela, at least for a couple of hours.

James turned to Angela. "Thank you for passing the word around. It went off much better than I expected."

Angela laughed and stepped in front of James. Looking into his eyes, she gave him a quick kiss of "You're Welcome."

"Let's invite her to my family's ranch," Angela began. "She can see what I do when I'm not at your benefit auctions. Perhaps Lisa and I can become friends, instead of adversaries."

James took a turn to a small frown. "Brenda would skin me alive if I agreed to that."

"Brenda also said, 'Kill them with kindness.'"

Chapter 73

"Good morning, Lisa. I saw you leave with a young man last night. Anyone we know?"

James and Angela met Lisa in the lobby of the hotel. The only hotel in Thermopylae.

"His name is Chad," she smirked. "And, he was a total gentleman. At least until I got his shirt off!"

Angela, Lisa, and James giggled a little too loud.

"So, other than Chad, you enjoyed yourself last night?" he mused.

"Yes, I didn't expect you to yank me to the middle of the dance floor and pass me around to every man in attendance. You enjoyed every minute of it, didn't you?" she chirped.

"Yes, I did," he chuckled. "It was nice to see you have fun. That's a side of you I haven't seen in the past 14 years."

"I can have fun when I want to. I'm lots of fun. Just ask Chad," she giggled.

Again, James and Angela laughed too hard. The desk attendant gave them a "you're too loud" frown.

"OK... Here's the rules. Take them or leave them," James began.

Lisa nodded.

"No photos unless I give you permission. I will take the photographs with your phone. No recording devices. You take your notes with pen and paper. That includes quotes from each of us. Our relationship is off limits. This is the only quote you will receive on our relationship. We are friends. Yes, we are hopeful our relationship matures to something more than friends, but, neither of us is at the point where we can comfortably say it is more than friends. Again, this is the last comment you will receive on our relationship."

Lisa was writing down James' quote. She looked up when she was finished. "OK, I like your rules. What's next?"

"Breakfast... At the Spartan Diner."

Chapter 74

"And, this is your home?"

"Yes, it is," Angela replied.

"And you live here with your parents?" Lisa asked.

"Yes. Until I go to college in three weeks. Coastal Plains College. It's a junior college in Thessaly."

"You graduated second in your high school class. I would have thought you may be interested in a university."

"I don't have ambitions beyond junior college," Angela offered. "I will study animal husbandry, animal science, agronomy, and general business. I have a thriving business with ranching, cattle, and support services for other cattlemen. I'm continuing a family business that has existed for generations."

"Impressive. Family tradition. I looked it up. Lasko is a Greek surname," Lisa quipped, as she was writing her notes.

"Yes, it is. I'm a Greek American. About 40% of the surnames in George County are Greek. Seventy Greek families immigrated to George County about 170 years ago. And, other families followed, later. I'm a descendant."

"I would like to see your business."

Chapter 75

"You expect me to ride a horse?"

James laughed. "If you want to see Angela's herd, yes. I'm giving you my horse to ride. Youngster is the gentlest gentle horse within 500 miles. He already likes you."

"I've never ridden a horse! I don't know how to drive it!" Lisa yelped.

"You don't have to! Youngster will follow me!" he offered, with a chuckle. "Now stop being a cry baby and come over here. I'll help you mount."

James helped Lisa mount Youngster and she settled into the saddle. He showed her the stirrups, reigns, and saddle horn.

"Give me your phone," he barked. "I'll take a picture of you with Angela. Angela! Come over here next to Lisa! I want to take her photograph with you and Blister!"

After the photographs, James opened the gate.

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!" yelped Lisa, as Youngster walked through the opening and stopped.

Angela and James laughed hard. "He already knows where we're going. Just hang on," James offered.

The three of them spent the next two hours looking over Angela's herd and breeder stock. Angela explained her operation and that she sold both breeder and feeder stock to customers as far away as Waco and Corpus Christi.

"Angela's herd is the best Black Angus herd within 250 miles," James offered. "She knows what she is doing and has being doing it since she was 14 years old."

"I wish I knew more about cattle," Lisa sighed. "This is all new to me. Can we sit down and go over this again?"

"Of course," Angela barked.

Chapter 76

"Can we meet in the morning after breakfast to discuss your business and operation again?"

"Absolutely!" offered Angela. "I'll be here at 8:30 am. OK?"

"Perfect. Thank you for a wonderful day. I learned a lot and now, I can say I have ridden a horse!" Lisa said, with a smile. Then, turned to enter the hotel.

As James entered the driver's seat of his pickup, Angela turned in her seat and looked him in the eyes.

"I was thinking about what Lisa said today," she offered.

"Yeah? What was it?" he replied, as he turned to start the pickup.

"When will I get a chance to take off your shirt?" she mused.

Angela's comment took him by surprise. A big surprise. He turned in his seat to face her more directly.

"Is it that time, already?" he asked, with a little hesitation in his tone.

She nodded. "Maybe."

"Can we discuss it after Lisa leaves?"

She nodded again.

He paused, then a sly grin appeared on his lips.

"I'm pretty sure you could've taken my shirt off at the Turner pool in Kansas City."

Chapter 77

"I've called the head baseball coach, Mark Collins, at Coastal Plains and offered to coach the team as an assistant for no salary. He seemed happy I called. He can't let me do it for free, though. The employment agreement requires a 'salary.' He thinks the athletic director will let him pay me one dollar."

James was in the living room at the Lasko home to discuss Angela going to college and how they could still see each other.

"It will keep me busy while Angela is attending classes and studying," James offered. "There is a little problem, though. The college has a policy. Employees can't socialize with students. I called Mr. Turner and asked for assistance. He called the college counsel and they worked out a compromise. I will have to sign a release of liability, stating if the college is sued by Angela, because of me, I will accept complete liability. Also, Angela must sign a release of liability. Promising not to sue the college, because of me. Double insurance for the college I guess. It still isn't a done deal. The college board of directors must also approve the agreements."

"What about housing?" George asked.

"Angela will be in her apartment as she planned. I will likely buy a small house near the campus."

George and Cynthia looked at each other, then nodded together.

"Angela," her father began. "We trust you. We believe you understand the consequences of your decisions when it comes to men and your relationships with them. Please be careful."

"Yes, sir."

Chapter 78

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

James was caught off guard when he answered the phone call from Angela.

"What?"

"You sent Michael off to a baseball camp in Florida and now Maria is miserable! What were you thinking?"

she yelped.

James was temporarily stunned with her statement. He was embarrassed he didn't consider Maria when he found Michael a camp for him to improve his pitching.

"Did Michael not tell her he was leaving? It's just for six weeks."

"Yes, he told her. But she won't see him until he gets back! If he comes back! She said, he said, you said, if he does well at this camp, you will send him to a pitching coach you know in Tennessee. Is that true?"

Angela huffed.

"Yes."

"Maria is my best friend! Do you stomp on women's hearts like this often?"

"No... I mean... I don't know if I do or not. You're the first one to bring it up."

There was silence on the other end of the call.

"Angela, are you still there?" he asked.

"I'm thinking! How I am going to explain to my best friend that my boyfriend is heartless!"

The phone disconnected.

Chapter 79

"How was the first day of practice?"

"It was a good day. Coach Collins has some good prospects. The fall semester is for training and improving skills. Games won't start until the spring. How was your first day of classes?" James asked, while talking on the phone and relaxing on the couch.

"Excellent! I've already made two friends in my animal science class. And, I've signed up for a study group in my algebra and general business classes,"

Angela offered.

"Wow. You've been busy."

"James,"

Angela began.

"We've been so busy the last three weeks, we haven't discussed taking your shirt off."

She giggled.

"Angela, I have to admit. It has been so long since I've been with a woman, I'm a little nervous. Also, I'm afraid if we aren't careful, it could jeopardize your college career. I'm not certain I want to 'score a run,' so to speak. I wouldn't mind playing on first or second base for now."

Angela started laughing... hard.

James was embarrassed.

"You've been playing baseball too long, silly! OK... Let's keep it on first and second. Then we'll talk, later. I just want to get your shirt off!"

she yelped.

"Come on over. I have supper started, and we can talk our way through removing your shirt."

Chapter 80

James walked from his house to Angela's apartment.

She lived just one block away and both Angela and James lived 3 blocks from campus. Along the way, some students recognized James and stopped to chat him up. They had heard he was the new assistant coach for the baseball team. He told them to come out for the practices to see the players and he thought they had a chance to win the conference next year. The new players looked good, he said.

Angela saw him talking to the students through her window. She shook her head with a grin. After all, her man was a famous baseball player. Former player, that is.