organizing, and pulling together my wardrobe for Blue’s photo shoot tomorrow—jeans, vests, skirts, cute tops, boots, silver-and-turquoise necklaces—and then return to Mineral Wells to pick up the boys from school.
On the way home, Hank reminds me it’s Mineral Wells High School’s homecoming tonight, and he wants to attend the football game and the dance afterward. I hadn’t planned on driving back into town today, but Hank rarely attends the games and I think it’s great that he’s interested in going, so I agree.
Bo immediately chimes in that he wants to go, too, and although I’ve allowed him to tag along with Hank in the past, I say no now. “You’ve just missed two days of school. You can use tonight to catch up on your homework.”
“Homework on a Friday night?”
Here comes another argument, I think, pushing my hair back from my face. Everything’s an argument lately. “School comes first, you know that.”
“But I don’t have anything.”
“How is that possible? You missed two days of school. You’ve got to have homework, classwork, something that needs to be done.”
Bo flushes, making the purple-and-yellow marks on his brow, temples, and jaw darken. I hate the bruises. I can’t wait for them to fade completely. “I did it at school today,” he says. He sees my expression and groans. “It’s the truth, Mom.”
“Okay, fine.”
“So can I go to the game tonight?”
“If your work is really done.”
“It is.”
“Then yes, you can go.”
The boys have been home only an hour when Blue arrives in his silver Range Rover. It’s the newest supercharged model, a car that cost well over one hundred thousand dollars, and every time I see it I want to throttle Blue. Why does he need a car that costs that much money? And why is he already looking at ads for the 2011 edition, a car that doesn’t officially hit the market for another couple of months?
But the car’s forgotten as soon as he steps into the house. Blue is handsome and charming, and as the father of girls, he enjoys my boys. It also takes him only one look at Bo to know what happened earlier in the week.
“Whoa, gunslinger,” he says to Bo, “no one told me about this.”
“Got into a fight,” Bo answers, crashing onto the living room sofa.
Blue takes Pop’s old leather chair, stretches his legs out on the matching ottoman. “I hope the other guy looks as bad.”
Bo grins, the first real smile I’ve seen from him in days. “Worse.”
Blue laughs appreciatively and then asks the boys, who’ve now gathered in the living room, if any of them are planning on playing basketball. “Especially you, Coop,” Blue says. “With your height you’d totally dominate.”
Cooper flushes. “But I don’t want to play basketball. I want to learn to ride. I want to be like Uncle Brick and compete on the circuit.” Cooper glances around the room as if expecting to be ridiculed.
“Brick told me you’ve been doing a bit of riding and roping,” Blue answers. “I didn’t realize you were serious about it.”
“I am. And Mom’s going to get me lessons. Maybe even from Dane Kelly.”
Cooper really has Blue’s attention now. “Dane Kelly?” Blue repeats.
Coop doesn’t even blink. “Uncle Brick’s friend.”
“I know who he is,” Blue answers before glancing at me as if to say, Did you put him up to this?
“I told Coop that it probably won’t be with Dane, but yes, I am looking into hiring someone to work with him.”
Blue’s narrowed gaze still rests on me. “Probably not with Dane?”
“Don’t bully me, Blue,” I flash.
“I just think your loyalties would lie with your family, Shey.”
I roll my eyes but am saved from answering by the ringing of the phone. I jump up and head to the kitchen, where the mustard yellow corded phone hangs on the wall near the back door, stuck in the same sixties time warp as the rest of the house. “Hello?”
“Shey, it’s Dane.”
Speaking of the devil. My
On the way home, Hank reminds me it’s Mineral Wells High School’s homecoming tonight, and he wants to attend the football game and the dance afterward. I hadn’t planned on driving back into town today, but Hank rarely attends the games and I think it’s great that he’s interested in going, so I agree.
Bo immediately chimes in that he wants to go, too, and although I’ve allowed him to tag along with Hank in the past, I say no now. “You’ve just missed two days of school. You can use tonight to catch up on your homework.”
“Homework on a Friday night?”
Here comes another argument, I think, pushing my hair back from my face. Everything’s an argument lately. “School comes first, you know that.”
“But I don’t have anything.”
“How is that possible? You missed two days of school. You’ve got to have homework, classwork, something that needs to be done.”
Bo flushes, making the purple-and-yellow marks on his brow, temples, and jaw darken. I hate the bruises. I can’t wait for them to fade completely. “I did it at school today,” he says. He sees my expression and groans. “It’s the truth, Mom.”
“Okay, fine.”
“So can I go to the game tonight?”
“If your work is really done.”
“It is.”
“Then yes, you can go.”
The boys have been home only an hour when Blue arrives in his silver Range Rover. It’s the newest supercharged model, a car that cost well over one hundred thousand dollars, and every time I see it I want to throttle Blue. Why does he need a car that costs that much money? And why is he already looking at ads for the 2011 edition, a car that doesn’t officially hit the market for another couple of months?
But the car’s forgotten as soon as he steps into the house. Blue is handsome and charming, and as the father of girls, he enjoys my boys. It also takes him only one look at Bo to know what happened earlier in the week.
“Whoa, gunslinger,” he says to Bo, “no one told me about this.”
“Got into a fight,” Bo answers, crashing onto the living room sofa.
Blue takes Pop’s old leather chair, stretches his legs out on the matching ottoman. “I hope the other guy looks as bad.”
Bo grins, the first real smile I’ve seen from him in days. “Worse.”
Blue laughs appreciatively and then asks the boys, who’ve now gathered in the living room, if any of them are planning on playing basketball. “Especially you, Coop,” Blue says. “With your height you’d totally dominate.”
Cooper flushes. “But I don’t want to play basketball. I want to learn to ride. I want to be like Uncle Brick and compete on the circuit.” Cooper glances around the room as if expecting to be ridiculed.
“Brick told me you’ve been doing a bit of riding and roping,” Blue answers. “I didn’t realize you were serious about it.”
“I am. And Mom’s going to get me lessons. Maybe even from Dane Kelly.”
Cooper really has Blue’s attention now. “Dane Kelly?” Blue repeats.
Coop doesn’t even blink. “Uncle Brick’s friend.”
“I know who he is,” Blue answers before glancing at me as if to say, Did you put him up to this?
“I told Coop that it probably won’t be with Dane, but yes, I am looking into hiring someone to work with him.”
Blue’s narrowed gaze still rests on me. “Probably not with Dane?”
“Don’t bully me, Blue,” I flash.
“I just think your loyalties would lie with your family, Shey.”
I roll my eyes but am saved from answering by the ringing of the phone. I jump up and head to the kitchen, where the mustard yellow corded phone hangs on the wall near the back door, stuck in the same sixties time warp as the rest of the house. “Hello?”
“Shey, it’s Dane.”
Speaking of the devil. My
Similar Books
