Jaqueline Snowe - No Easy Catch

Totally Bound Publishing books by Jaqueline Snowe

Out of the Park

Evening the Score

Sliding Home

Rounding the Bases

Classic Curves

Whiskey Surprises

Cleat Chasers

Challenge Accepted

The Game Changer

Best Player

Cleat Chasers

NO EASY CATCH

JAQUELINE SNOWE

No Easy Catch

ISBN # 978-1-83943-568-3

Copyright Jaqueline Snowe 2022

Cover Art by Erin Dameron-Hill Copyright January 2022

Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

Totally Bound Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the authors imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

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Published in 2022 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.

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Book four in the

Cleat Chasers series

A jock and a party girl teaming upmakes total sense, right? Actually, maybe

Ambar Henderson is a senior communications major who has no idea what she wants to do in life. She spends most of her time working on her blog after gaining a lot of readers with a story she wrote junior year andnever followed up on. The last thing she expects is an angry jock accusing her of involvement in a scam that could shake the college to its foundations.

Jeff Maddow should be focused on his senior season of baseball and not the suspicious activity happening on the team. Its his time to shine and get drafted, but after seeing incriminating evidence, he cant not investigate. And his first lead is the campus bloggerwhos related to a name in the document he saw.

Ambars been coasting, writing about campus fashion and hook-ups rather than politics and economics, but when Jeff shows up at her place spouting wild accusations, she agrees to help him just to prove the stubborn athlete wrong.

Long nights, impassioned arguments, close quartersboth Jeff and Ambar find opposites more than attract when things heat up.

Dedication

As always, thank you to Rebecca for your guidance and help with Ambar and Jeffs story.

To my husband, thank you for your patience as I spent hours writing trying to meet a deadline before the birth of our first kiddo.

The characters of the Cleat Chasers series have felt like friends and, while Im so happy to write the final book, it feels like saying goodbye to people Ive known for years.

Trademark Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Bumble: Bumble Trading Inc

Chevy: General Motors Company

CrossFit: CrossFit, Inc.

Desperate Housewives : Buena Vista Television LLC

Game of Thrones : Warner Bros. Television

Instagram: Facebook, Inc.

iPhone: Apple Inc.

Mac: Apple Inc.

Netflix: Netflix, Inc.

Riverdale : Warner Bros. Television

Rolex: Rolex SA

Tinder: Tinder Inc.

Chapter One

Ambar

Convincing the hostess to let me into the second semester sports fundraiser was easier than it shouldve been. With one little promise of featuring her on my blog and bam, the young girl ushered me into the ballroom where the schools biggest and best athletes mingled with coaches, alumni and the press.

Ah, the things people do for attention.

I tapped my pen against my lip while I took in the surroundings. It wasnt black tie, but it was fancier than a casual get-together and I sent a prayer of thanks to my roommate whod convinced me to wear a sleek black dress. It was a little tight and I kept running my hand down to the side to make sure my love-handles werent bulging out. My coordination was abysmal and I tripped over my own two feet sometimes, but at least I didnt stand outwhich was the goal.

I needed a new story to boost views on my blog or I would be shit outta luck. No views meant no affiliates, which equaled less money, and with my less-than-stellar first two years at school, I had no internships or job opportunities waiting for me at the end of the semester. The real world was knocking with graduation looming and I hadnt a clue what I wanted to or could actually do.

But, I did have a clue about what the student body loved to gossip about more than any other topicthe latest on the hot jocks. Girls, guys, scholarships and walk-ons. Readers loved hearing about the latest flings or scandals and this fundraiser was hot-jock central.

Ambar Henderson? A familiar voice caught my attention and I glanced at my left to see Peyton Gentry smiling at me. What are you here for? Sneak in for the free booze?

Ha ha. I plastered on a fake smile despite the flash of hurt. Peyton and I had become friends freshman yearright in the smack of my party daysand he always brought it up no matter how much I had changed since then. Im here for a story, not the booze.

Right. He smirked and lowered his voice. Is it a juicy one? He slung an arm over my shoulder in a quick hug and, while I didnt dislike Peyton, I was glad when he removed his arm. Heard theres something weird going on with the volleyball team with one of their new freshmen.

Yeah? I waited for him to respond, but his attention drifted elsewhere and he gave me a weak wave before heading off. Great to see you too, Peyton, I mumbled to myself. He was an average player on the soccer team but always managed to make himself seem bigger, better, more handsome. I snorted to myself at the headlines I would love to write someday.

Athletes and their egossize does really matter

The bigger and not betteregos exposed

I took a deep breath, gathered as much courage as I could and walked about the event searching for anything that could be of interest. There were a couple of girls I recognized from the volleyball team, but they seemed normal, laid-back even. Each table had a large tented sign with the sport listed and it amazed me to see how much attention was given to athletes at our Division I school. Were there events like this for scholars? For those who made the Deans List year after year? Doubtful.

Schools spend money on sports, not smarts

Yeah, that headline wouldnt sell shit. I derailed those thoughts and tried to ignore the tinge of jealousy weaving its way through my body. All these athletes had futures after college. They had tutors, scholarships, teams that supported them and, as someone who came from the opposite end of the spectrum, it was easy to envy them.