This Much is True - Tia Louise Page 0,15
and anger tightens in my stomach. We were kids with dreams then. We stupidly believed people were good. “No.”
“Ah, come on. Nobody cares.” He jogs backwards. “Show me what you got, old man.”
“Old man.” My jaw tightens, and I turn the oval ball in my hands.
“Don’t leave me hanging,” he taunts.
I glance up to where he’s jogging in place and pull back, sending the ball in a tight spiral straight into his Velcro grip.
“Yeah!” He throws his arms up, holding the ball high as he jogs a tight circle before returning to where I’m standing. “The crowd goes wild.”
“You’re pretty good.” Hope’s voice is closer now, and when I look back at her, the anger subsides.
Something about her sweetness draws me. She keeps a distance between us, but she’s relaxing again.
“The Dunne brothers…” Scout holds up his hand for a high five before placing the ball in mine again. “Getting it done.”
He’s chanting, but I shake my head. “Not doing it again.”
Hope watches him, a smile teasing at her soft lips. “Was that a thing?”
Scout grins, jogging backwards again. “JR was team captain, starting quarterback… Mr. Palmetto State.”
I feel her studying me, but I don’t look. “That was a long time ago.”
“It wasn’t that long.” My little brother won’t stop. “I can catch anything he throws. Even the stinkers.”
“I don’t throw stinkers.”
“He threw some stinkers.” He’s baiting me, and like an idiot, it’s working. “I could read his mind. I knew where he was aiming… I dodged every defensive lineman.”
Remembering him slipping past those guys actually makes me grin. “He was like a fucking bar of soap.” Jackass.
“I bet you were fun to watch.” Hope is closer, like a magnetic field beside me. “I never had a sibling. I imagine it must be the best thing to have someone you can always depend on, no matter what.”
“Don’t build it up too much,” Scout yells. “He’s still a pain in the ass most of the time.”
I look up at the fading sunset. “As fun as this is, we’re on the clock. Let’s go.”
“Come on! One last throw.” My brother waves his hands.
I pull back and fire off an intentional stinker—outside and close to the ground. He pivots into action, springing off the lawn and diving, scooping it up before it touches grass. Just like always.
“He caught it!” Hope squeals beside me, jumping up and down and clapping.
She laughs, grasping my arm, and I shake my head, unable to hold back a smile.
“I knew you were going to do that.” Scout’s breathless as he jogs back to where we’re standing. “Asshole.”
“That was a great catch.” Hope claps his high five.
“Let’s go.” I circle around to the driver’s side. “I’ll take over for a while, see how close I can get us to El Paso.”
“I can drive.” Hope skips behind me. “I’ll use the cruise control. We won’t get stopped. I haven’t seen a cop the whole way.”
“No.” My frown is firmly in place. “I’m not taking a chance on this trip. Scout, get in the back and sleep. I’ll want you taking over when I’m done.”
“Roger that.” He hops in the backseat, and I slide behind the wheel, waiting as Hope climbs in the passenger’s side.
Having her up front makes her harder to ignore, but I turn on the radio and roll down my window. We don’t have to talk.
We’re not five miles down the road when my brother sits up. “Tell me, Hope Eternal, you got a fella back in San Francisco?”
I’d tell him to shut up and sleep, but I want to know the answer to this question myself.
“While we’re on the subject…” She teases, glancing at me briefly. She’s still doing it, and it’s like water dripping, wearing me down, making me want to meet her eyes, touch her.
“I told you my story,” Scout counters, and she shrugs.
“I was kind of dating this guy in February, but we lost touch after everything happened.”
“Isn’t that a bitch? Same thing happened to me.”
Her lips part, and she looks over her shoulder. “You said somebody’s waiting back home!”
News to me. I glance at him in the rearview mirror, but he doesn’t meet my eyes. “I said I hoped. I don’t know if she’s waiting.”
“When’s the last time you talked to her?”
His voice drops, so I almost can’t hear it. “When I left Fireside.”
I’m trying to figure out who he means, and Hope turns to face him. “You haven’t even tried to stay in touch?”
“I felt like I’d be leading her on. Then