Read Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) for Free Online Page A

succession, with the exception of one thing: “Hmm. I guess I was wrong,” Sparks said. “The first baseman dropped the ball.”
    “Still, that’s pretty crazy.”
    “I told you you’d want me to stick around.”
    “The jury’s still out about you.” Ollie thought for a moment. “But I want you to stick around for my game. You good with that?”
    “Yeah. You want me to tell you where to stand in the outfield for the best positioning?”
    Ollie looked at him and considered things. “Sure… but you’re on a pretty short leash. Make me look stupid and you’re walking home. And not to my home, either.”

    ***

    Ollie only had enough time for a few warm up tosses with Keith before their game started. His team had won the pre-game coin toss at home plate and had chosen to be the home team. Ollie took his normal position in left-center, but seeing Sparks sitting in the bleachers pointing to a spot on the grass fifty feet in front of where he usually stood, he started to scoot up.
    “Ollie!” Keith yelled from right-center field. “We’re playing a four man outfield, not a rover. Move back.”
    Ollie looked at Keith and then at Sparks, then back at Keith again before he moved back to his original position. Sparks shook his head and pointed again at the spot in front of him. Conflicted, he moved to where he could stand halfway between where Keith wanted him and where Sparks was pointing. Sparks threw his hands up in the air as if to say, Fine. Let’s do it Ollie’s way.
    On the third pitch Ollie watched the lead-off hitter smack a line drive toward him. He didn’t have enough time to fully decide if he wanted to dive for the ball or let it bounce. Consequently he went into a half-hearted slide and failed to snag the ball as it hit the ground in front of him. It bounced over his left shoulder.
    After picking himself up off the grass he ran after the ball. Ollie reached it before Keith got there, hurling it back to the cutoff man as the runner slid into third.
    Ollie growled in exasperation. “Hey, Keith! Don’t you think we should play a rover?”
    “Not yet,” Keith yelled back. “We’ll move to rover if they keep hitting it in front of us.”
    “See,” Ollie said under his breath, “told you.” That’s for you, Sparks, if you can hear me, which you probably can. “Okay,” Ollie said to Keith, “but if this guy hits it in front of me, I’ll move to rover.”
    The same as before, Sparks was pointing at a spot in front of Ollie in the outfield, and also like before, Ollie shook his head no.
    The batter gave it a mighty swing, but he lined it softly over the shortstop’s head. When the ball came to rest, it was halfway between the shortstop and Ollie. By the time he was able to get his hand on it, the runner was already safe at second. Ollie cocked his arm to throw.
    “Don’t throw it!” Sparks yelled from the bleachers even before Ollie cocked his arm back. He threw it anyway.
    Even though it was a perfect throw to the third baseman, the ball bounced in and out of his mitt before rolling into the opposing team’s dugout. Ollie walked back to left-center feeling frustrated.
    “Hey Keith, I’m taking rover.”
    “It’s only been two batters. Give it a little more time.”
    “No, I’m taking rover. Trust me.”
    As each new batter stood next to home plate, Ollie looked at Sparks to see if he had any wisdom to impart, but Sparks sat quietly on the bleachers with his arms folded. Finally, when there were two outs in the inning, Sparks pointed back at the fence and Ollie moved back until he had nowhere else to go. A high fly ball landed solidly in Ollie’s mitt to end the inning, but the damage had been done. The opposing team had scored seven runs.
    “See?” Keith said as they jogged back toward their dugout. “Nobody else hit it to the rover spot. You only got that last one because you were playing deep.”
    “You’re gonna have to trust me. Some people I’ll play up and some