he could. Aunt Jenny’s door was still closed. Cody sure didn’t want to be the one to wake her. He’d never seen anyone so grumpy in the morning.
The minute he stepped out onto the porch, he sighed in relief. The rain had stopped. His game wouldn’t be canceled. But when he looked to the end of the dock where the plane was anchored, he frowned. The cockpit was empty, and the plane was silent, but he still heard the whirring noise. Looking around, he finally spotted Jared at the far end of the hangar using a Weed Eater.
For a moment his chest hurt like it had when Troy Reed had accidentally nailed him with a fastball. Before Dad had left, he’d mowed their lawn and trimmed around the backyard fence. His mom kept telling Dad he didn’t have to do that; they could hire someone. But Dad had said he liked being outside after a long week of being stuck indoors. Now, ever since Dad had left, a guy in a red truck came once a week and took care of their lawn.
Cody still didn’t get why his dad went away. There were plenty of sick kids here that needed his help. No matter how many times his parents explained it to him, it still didn’t make sense. He sat down on the top stair and picked at a piece of chipped wood.
It wasn’t fair. His mom worked all the time, and his dad was gone. They tried talking on the phone, but there was this funny echo and a lot of static that made it hard for either of them to hear. His dad sent letters, and Cody wrote back, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t anywhere near the same.
The small sliver of wood tore free, and he began to dig at another one. As much as he hated how his mom wouldn’t let him stay home by himself, at least Aunt Jenny spent time with him. Even if it was doing the dorkiest stuff. Like last night. Right after dinner, she brought out another one of those board games. Cody smiled, remembering how Jared had winked at him and said they should be spelled b-o-r-e-d instead of b-o-a-r-d. Jenny had told Jared to go clean up his mess in the kitchen and put away the chili that nearly killed them because it had been too spicy. Cody had thought it tasted good, but he kept quiet. In a weird way, he liked hearing them argue. Well, not arguing. No one got mad or yelled or anything like that. They just talked. Like his mom and dad used to. Now, his house was always so quiet.
After dinner, Aunt Jenny had dragged out Monopoly and insisted they all play. Even though the game was so stupid, and he’d never tell Parker or any of his friends what his aunt forced him to do, he kinda had fun. And even Jared had joined in their game last night. He said he’d never played Monopoly before, but Cody didn’t believe him. He’d kicked their butts.
“Hey. You’re up early.”
Jared was at the bottom of the stairs, the Weed Eater in his hand. Cody hadn’t even heard it shut off.
“Aunt Jenny and I have to go to the store and get snacks.” He wasn’t about to admit he’d run outside, hoping to see the plane take off. It sounded lame, even to him.
“That’s right. Your game is today. You must be excited.”
“Sorta.” Cody dropped his gaze. “I didn’t get to practice pitching this week.” And he didn’t want to suck. Not today. Not when there was going to be someone in the stands cheering just for him. “Do you wanna . . .” He dropped his gaze and stubbed the toe of his sneaker against a nail sticking up on the stair. “You wouldn’t want to come to my game, would you?”
Jared was silent for so long, Cody didn’t dare look up. Of course Jared didn’t want to go. “Never mind. It was a stupid idea.”
“I want to finish the yard work today.”
“It’s okay, I understand.”
“If I had an extra pair of hands, it would go a lot faster.”
Cody’s gaze shot up. “You mean you’ll come?”
“You any good with a lawn mower?”
His dad had always told him he was too young to use theirs, but Cody had watched him use it a hundred times. It looked super simple. Besides, he was older now. “Yep.”