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I know she means business when she does the full name drop. “Stubborn.” My tone is teasing, even though we both know I’m serious. I had to fight tooth and nail to buy her the house she lives in. She threw a fit, and I hated to threaten to have her old house torn down so she wouldn’t have a choice to get her to cave.
“That’s your money, son.”
“Mom. You busted your ass to keep me in gear and to get me to games and practices from the time I was five years old. I have more money than I can spend in my lifetime. I’ve invested well. Let me do this for you.”
“Nope. Not going to happen. Have you met any nice girls? You could give me a grandchild, you know,” she says, only half teasing.
“I promise you, if I ever happen to come across someone I think is worthy of your time, you will be the first to know.” I don’t tell her what she already knows, which is that there is a very slim chance of that happening. Not in the next few years. “How was your shift?” I ask to change the subject. Mom is an ER nurse at the local county hospital in Indiana, where I grew up.
“It was slow for once. You know, not a lot of action in this small town of ours.”
“How’s Howard?” I inquire. Howard is my mom’s boyfriend for all intents and purposes. She calls him her “man friend,” but they’ve been “friends” exclusively for about six years now. He’s a great guy who treats her right. That’s all that I can ask for.
“He’s doing well. He’s still coming with me this weekend. Is that okay?”
“You know it is. I have two tickets waiting at the booth for the both of you.”
“You nervous? First game with your new team?”
“A little, if I’m being honest. We have the preseason to work out the kinks. I think it’s more excitement to be on the field with Caleb again and to see where we can take the Ramblers this season than anything.”
“I sure did love to watch the two of you play together in college.”
“The A team.” I laugh.
“Most definitely,” she agrees. “All right, well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to check in on you.”
“Now the truth comes out,” I tease.
“I’m your mother, Brock. I will never not want to check in on you. I don’t care if you’re twenty-nine or fifty-nine. If there is still breath left in my lungs, and I’m able, I’ll be checking on you. When you have kids, you’ll understand.”
“Love you, Mom.” I ignore the kids comment this time. I know she wants to be a grandma, but I’m not sure that will ever happen. I work all the damn time, and in my line of work, it’s hard to know who is with you for you, and who just wants your fame and money.
“Love you too, son. I can’t wait to see you next weekend.”
“Dinner after the game?”
“Yes. Howard and I are driving there on Saturday and not coming home until Monday. I can’t wait to hug you.”
I chuckle at her reply. She’s told me that since the day I left for college, whenever any time passed without seeing her. “Have a safe trip. Are you sure I can’t buy you a plane ticket? Howard too?”
“Don’t be silly. It’s not that far. We’re both excited about the road trip.
“I won’t get to see you after the game since there will be meetings, but I’m happy that you can be there. The team’s public relations rep has me booked.”
“You might not get to see me, but I’ll see you. More than that you’ll know that Howard and I are there. I haven’t missed a season opener yet, and I’m not about to start. I Love you.”
“Love you too,” I reply and end the call. The fire has burned down to nothing but hot embers, so it’s time to call it a night. Quietly, or as quietly as I can for a six-foot-four, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound guy, I head into the house, locking the door behind me, before making my way to my room.
The last two days have been hard to sleep at night, living in a new place. I was here two nights several weeks ago before leaving for training camp. This is all still going to take some time to get used to. However, I’m exhausted after two nights of little rest. Thankfully, it’s not long after my head hits the pillow that I drift off to sleep.
CHAPTER
TWO
Joey
It’s midafternoon as I let myself into my brother’s house, disabling his alarm system with the security code. It’s one I’ll never forget—it’s my birthday. This place is absolutely amazing. Caleb’s four-bedroom, five-bath home sits on a large corner lot in a gated community and looks like it’s fresh off a magazine cover. He scored the property a few years back when the housing market was struggling, and interest rates were low. Now, he has a solid investment that he’ll easily be able sell, if he should ever need to.
