go into outer space.” She stands and the chair skids backward. “I don’t want or need another house. Sorry, but you wasted your money.”
“Mom—”
“Don’t Mom me.” This probably just surpassed the window incident. She’s furious. I know because she’s not yelling at me. When she’s really mad, every word is spoken with the precision of a surgeon’s blade and in a barely restrained whisper. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“Did what? Give you a gift? A really nice gift.”
Her jewel-green eyes narrow and she leans toward me. “You know as well as I do that you buying that house has very little to do with me and everything to do with you and your never-ending quest to prove something to this town.”
“That’s not—”
“Don’t make this worse by lying. I’ll never understand why you’re so embarrassed that I still live in the old neighborhood.”
“I’m not embarrassed. I only want you to have nice things.”
I hate the sad look in her eyes. “You still don’t get it. This is my home. It’s where my friends are, and I have no intention of going anywhere.” She sucks air down to her toes, then releases it. “You know what? I think you should go.”
“Mom …”
She shakes her head. “I need some time.” Her small hands go to my cheeks. “I love you with my life, Cash, but right now, I’m so mad that I can’t see straight.” Her lips touch my forehead and then she’s gone.
The kitchen’s quiet after she leaves.
I drop my forehead on my crossed arms resting on the table. What a mess. The worst part is, I knew it was a mistake when I was signing the papers at the realtor’s office, but I was in too deep by then to stop. Man, I’m batting a thousand today. The house and the money for the rec center, the way I treated Tiger. I don’t know which one I’m more upset about.
Even though I remember being excluded from things because of my last name, I’ve still tried to do right by Ryder. That grant application being turned down puts me in a bad position with the town that has as long of a memory as I do. And even though it shouldn’t, their good opinion of me matters.
Regardless of the foundation turning down the application, I’m going to give the town whatever money they need to save the rec center. But maybe I should be more involved than just writing a check. It might help get me out of hot water with my mom too.
But how would that work? I have my routine and getting this shoulder back to top performance has to be my priority. Of course, I don’t have to be in Fort Worth to do that. I yank my phone from my pocket and punch in a familiar number.
“What’s up, King?”
“Sorry to call so late, Duke. How does a trip home to Ryder sound?”
Duke’s low chuckle rumbles through the phone. “Sounds expensive for you.”
“Name your price. I need you, man, and I don’t want to rehab this shoulder in Fort Worth.”
“Okay, but why Ryder?” Both of us have our own hang-ups about our hometown.
“Have you seen the old rec center lately?”
“No.”
“Well, it’s in bad shape.”
“Shame, that place was the hub for everything back in the day.”
I rest my elbow on the table and prop my head in my hand. “Yeah, it’s the only reason I didn’t spin completely off as a kid.”
He laughs again. “Yeah, Big Dave would’ve kicked your ass if you had … if any of us had.”
A pang of sadness pulls at me. Dave Rogers, the center’s director when we were growing up, was the closest thing to a real father I had. I cried like a baby at his funeral and never shed one tear at my dad’s.
“Anyway, I want to stay here for a while and help with getting it back in shape.”
“Alright, but where are you planning to do all this rehab? It’s not like there are a ton of options in Ryder.”
“The high school weight room.” The more I think about this idea, the more I like it. I can get back to basics, and we can give a little motivation to the hometown boys.
“Sounds good. Let me move some things around, and I’ll be there in a couple of days.”
“That’s fine, just get your ass home.” I disconnect the call and sit back in my chair, liking the way this plan is coming together.