Angels Walking

Zusatztext "Kingbury’s fans and new readers alike will love her newest protagonists and relate to the struggles that hinder their finding fulfillment and joy." Informationen zum Autor Karen Kingsbury Klappentext Originally published in hardcover in 2014 by Howard Books.Angels Walking 1 SINCE HIS FOURTH BIRTHDAY, Tyler Ames had logged nearly twenty thousand hours training and practicing and preparing for the game of baseball. Two decades of wins and losses, warm-ups and strikeouts, game after game after game. But there was one thing Tyler had never accomplished. He’d never been perfect. Until now. Tyler adjusted his Blue Wahoos cap and dug the toe of his shoe into the soft dirt of the pitcher’s mound at the Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. Redemption was at hand. Bent at the waist, the ball an extension of his arm, Tyler stared down the next batter. Nearly five thousand fans screamed beneath the lights on this beautiful August evening. Here . . . now . . . Tyler actually felt perfect. As if tonight even the ghosts of his past were cheering for him. His heart slammed around in his chest as he reeled back and released a pitch. Ninety miles an hour, he thought. At least ninety. “Strike!” The umpire stood and pumped his right arm. “One ball, two strikes!” One more, Tyler caught the ball from the catcher. Just one. A breeze blew in from the bay, but Tyler couldn’t stop sweating. Breathe, Ames. Just breathe. They were the words he told himself every time the game got tense. He dragged his arm over his forehead, stood straight up on the mound, and took a deep breath. One more strike. Tyler squinted at the catcher’s signals. The dance was as old as the game: catcher signaling the pitch, pitcher waiting for the right signal, the pitch he wanted to throw. The signal came. No. Tyler shook his head. Not that one. The catcher changed signals. Again Tyler shook his head. The third signal made Tyler smile. At least on the inside. The change-up. Perfect pitch for this batter, this moment. Tyler glanced at the stands. Four scouts from the Cincinnati Reds were here. If things went well he could bypass triple A and join the Big Leagues. As early as next week. The Majors. His dream since winning the Little League World Series twelve years ago. Six years making minimum wage, trekking around down South on a bus would all be worth it after tonight. He could do it. He had never pitched like this. Not in all his life. Tyler wound up and released the pitch. It flew from his hands like a blazing fastball, but halfway to the plate it braked. The batter—a new third-round pick out of Texas—swung early. Way early. “Strike three!” Tyler jogged toward home and high-fived his catcher, William Trapnell. Six innings, eighteen straight batters. Fourteen strikeouts. Three ground-outs to first. One caught fly ball. Jep Black, the Blue Wahoos manager, met him at the dugout. “Got someone to hit for you, Tyler.” He patted his back. “Rest your arm.” Tyler nodded and took a spot at the end of the bench. This was his second season with the Blue Wahoos, and though the roster changed constantly, he generally liked his teammates. Several of them shouted congratulations. “You’re perfect tonight, Ames.” William swigged down a water bottle, breathless. “You own this.” Tyler gave him a thumbs-up. “Thanks. Keep it up.” He volleyed a couple more compliments, slid a jacket over his pitching arm, and leaned back. He could relax this inning with the designated hitter taking over. He closed his eyes and filled his lungs with the ocean air. Hadn’t he known this would happen? When he...

Product details

• Authors: Karen Kingsbury
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.02.2015
• EAN: 9781451687484
• ISBN: 978-1-4516-8748-4
• No. of pages: 352
• Series: Angels Walking; Angels Walking
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature