Page 56 of Silver Player

Sadie stands, brushing past Kristy in a way I’ve witnessed from my little sister—a defiant brush-off. She picks up her ball, which happens to be highlighter yellow, and steps up to the line. The ball heads straight down the middle with a little gusto and knocks down the first pin, which then takes down the rest of them. Strike.

“You did it!” I holler, giving a one hand clap. Sadie twirls on one foot, kicking out her other behind her, and then she takes a bow.

“Since when do you date teenagers?” Kristy snaps.

“It was a figure of speech, Kristy. I’m not dating a teenager.” She’s my daughter.

“Since when do you date period, Billy Harrington?” Kristy adds.

“Since he started dating my aunt Roxie. The bookstore owner.”

Sweet Jesus. Sadie has no idea what she’s saying or doing or the shitstorm she’s brewing, but she looks even more pleased with herself than the strike she bowled.

“I don’t believe it,” Kristy mutters, her gaze on me while her arms cross over her voluptuous chest which I unfortunately know is fake.

“Oh, believe. Billy is practically living with us because he’s over so much,” Sadie interjects.

“What?” Kristy screeches.

Oh. My. God. This kid. She’s stirring up the pot well and good now. I leap up from the seat and step between Sadie and Kristy, putting my back to Kristy.

“Sadie,” I hiss. “Leave it.” My eyes widen in warning, but there’s a playful gleam to Sadie’s eyes. She’s enjoying this little display of female dominance and cat scratching.

“Well, I won’t be seeing you around, Billy Harrington, so don’t be looking for me,” Kristy states, and I don’t have to turn to know Kristy’s attempting to stomp away without much success. Sadie covers her mouth to stifle a giggle.

“You’re up…Billy,” Sadie drawls, and for a moment, I almost thought she’d call me dad. Standing there with my heart racing, Sadie brushes past me, and I realize I might just want her to call me the label.

You don’t deserve it, my head reminds me as I’m not acknowledging Sadie’s relationship to me either.

I take my turn, watching my ball go too far to the left and only knock down a pin or two in the corner. As I return to the bench, a young guy dressed in black with matching midnight hair hanging into his eyes but shaved up the back walks past our seats.

“Hey, Sadie,” he says, tipping his head at her as he continues past.

“Hi…Christian.” Sadie shifts to follow his gait and lifts a hand too late for him to notice she waved. Suddenly, my blood boils, especially when Sadie turns back to the lane, and her cheeks are a deep pink.

“Who was that?” I can’t contain the growl in my throat.

“That’s Christian Grady.”

Grady. Grady. Grady. How do I know that name?

“He’s in my school. I mean, in my class. Well, he’s in one of my classes. He’s in my grade.” Sadie giggles, then covers her mouth and closes her eyes. She sits up straighter and takes a deep breath. Then she stands for her turn. I don’t even notice her bowl before she plops down next to me. I’m still concentrating on the Grady name.

“So, is that the type of woman you’re interested in?” Sadie nods in the general direction of Kristy’s exit. I don’t need to turn to see if Kristy is still watching me. I can feel her eyes tossing daggers at the back of my head.

“If I was, you just” —cockblocked me—“buzzkilled it.”

Sadie shakes her head as if she can read my thoughts. “So you like her?”

“Actually, she’s not my type.”

“Hiya Billy,” Sadie mocks, and I laugh at the imitation. “That’s not your type?” She assesses me a moment, taking in my dark jeans and the lighter denim shirt with pearl buttons. “Then what is your type?” Oh boy, here we go again.

“You know, that little stunt you pulled, saying I’m dating your aunt, that’s gonna get around town from a woman like Kristy. It’s called gossip.” I tip up an eyebrow, and the “Rumors” song comes to mind. I’m not half as upset as I should be, though. It wouldn’t feel wrong to have people thinking I’m with Roxanne, the bookstore owner.

“Rumors are going to spread anyway because you’re at a seedy bowling alley with an underage kid.” Sadie crooks up the edge of her lips. No one said she was stupid.

“You’re my kid,” I state without thought.