was trying to get hold of me.
But I sighed. It wouldn’t do me any good not to answer. She’d just call again…and again…and keep right on calling until I picked up, especially if she’d found out I’d returned to town. I hadn’t announced when I was getting back because I relished the peace and privacy after we wrapped early, but maybe Kane had let something slip. I tried to think back to if he’d mentioned seeing her, but I was pretty sure he’d gone no-contact since she came to his place and bitched about Adrian right in front of them both.
I waited just a moment longer, capturing the moment Ricky kicked the soccer ball from the center spot and the game started, complete with the whooping and yelling I’d come to expect from any sports match.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket just as the noise stopped, but it immediately started up again and I swiped to answer her call.
“Hi, Mom.” I forced some brightness into my tone. “How are you doing?”
She tutted. “Are you with your brother?”
I jerked my phone away from my ear and looked at it. Typical. “Not even a hello? And I’m fine by the way.”
She huffed. “I’m trying to contact Kane.”
I nodded slowly, taking a moment before I replied. Kane had frozen her out when she disrespected Adrian and him over their relationship. Mom had tried to repair things as soon as she found out Adrian was a Caldwell—apparently they blipped on her radar now in a way they wouldn’t have when Leo and I were younger as more and more of the brothers made their own achievements and a name for themselves, growing the family dynasty, which was yet another reason for me not to try to control my bitter feelings toward her—but Kane wouldn’t even entertain her efforts at greasing her way back into his life.
“I don’t think he wants to talk to you.” I tried to keep my voice neutral as I lifted my shoulder to hold my phone in place while I took another shot of the soccer match.
The kids were having a great time, and Leo wore a wide grin as he chased up and down the field.
“Well, you need to get Kane’s head out of his ass because I have something I need to talk to the two of you about.”
I rolled my eyes, unsure which point to address with her first—my brother or the fact I really didn’t enjoy guessing games. Then I made her wait again as I took three more photographs, capturing a sliding tackle, a goal, and Leo’s small dance of celebration when Ricky scored. The way his shirt rode up as he offered Ricky a high-five sent a dart of desire to my cock.
“Are you still there?” Mom’s voice squawked in my ear.
I flattened my lips into a tight line. “Sadly, yes,” I murmured.
“I said I want to talk to you and your brother.”
I blew out a breath. “Look, it’s not my job to mend the fences you broke with Kane. You did the damage there and he has my full support.”
She huffed again, her growing frustration evident as it hummed down the line. “Why, God, why? Why did you see fit to give me such insolent sons?”
I shook my head, used to her melodramatics as I walked to another position on the field to watch one of the kids take a corner kick. He didn’t do a great job, but I made sure I caught a shot of an absolute masterpiece any professional soccer player would have been proud of.
“Why?” Mom repeated again, still deep in her own histrionics, and I pictured her wringing her hands or clutching at the pearl necklace that usually sat at the base of her throat.
I chuckled, forcing it out to antagonize her further. “That’s just the way karma works, I guess.”
She made a small noise like I’d surprised her. “Then I need to pin all my hopes on you now, Shayne. We’ll be relying on you to get things right for the Abbott family name. Don’t let us down.”
I didn’t wait to hear her say anything else. “You know what? I’m busy. I’ll call you back when I have time.” Then I ended the call and slid my phone away, my movements jerky.
The way she’d spoken to me took me right back to my childhood. And what she’d said didn’t bode well.
She managed to affect my mood even when I didn’t want her to, and stress teased