Homecoming King

by Jami Albright

“Brad?” Tiger sounds like she’s auditioning to be one of the Chipmunks.

  Then her head jerks to me, but I’m way ahead of her.

  “Watson was here this morning.” It’s not a question. I knew I saw him in that black Mercedes.

  “Oh, yes, Mayor Watson brought me muffins and coffee from Trudi’s this morning. He’s so thoughtful.” The message her disappointed look conveys is clear. We’ve just lost points because we came empty-handed.

  “Why would Brad want to buy the land?” Tiger addresses me, but our host is the one to answer.

  “Says here, it’s the Cunningham Corporation.” Elva is holding up the evidence of Brad’s treachery. “They want to build a lovely resort there by the river.”

  Tiger makes a strangled noise. “This is why he and the city council pulled the funding for the rec center.”

  I hold my hand out to Elva. “May I see that?”

  “Certainly.”

  I scan the page and see the amount they’re offering, and it’s a respectable number. “So you haven’t signed anything yet?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll pay you ten thousand more than this offer.”

  “What?” both women say at the same time.

  Tiger moves and looks over my shoulder. “Cash, you can’t …”

  “Actually, I can.”

  “Really?” The look she gives me is better than any trophy or title I’ve ever won.

  I try and fail to control the goofy grin that pulls at my lips. “Yeah.” I get myself together and turn to the woman who holds all the cards. “What do you say, Elva?”

  “Well”—she wrings her hands in her lap—“I don’t know.”

  “What would help you make your decision?”

  “It’s just …” More hand-wringing.

  Tiger goes to her and kneels beside the woman’s chair. “It’s okay, Elva. We don’t want to cause you any stress.”

  Elva grins, and tears shimmer in her eyes. Her small hand pats Tiger’s face. “You’re such a sweet girl.” She grins at me. “You know what doesn’t cause me distress? You two together. It’s like homecoming all over again.”

  Tiger’s right, this has to stop. “Actually, we’re not—”

  “We’re not telling anyone.” Tiger holds her hand out to me.

  I move to her and take her outstretched hand. What else can I do? The desperate look in her eyes is compelling, plus I just want to hold her hand.

  Elva chuckles. “Well, darlin’, I think that horse has already left the barn. The whole town is talkin’ about it.”

  I cringe on the inside. My mom has probably heard by now and will be mad that I didn’t tell her myself. How in the hell do I get myself into these situations? But I’ll play along, if this is how we can get the land away from that conniving bastard Brad. “Hear that, dumplin’? We’re the talk of the town.”

  “I heard.” Tiger must’ve forgotten that I make my living with my right hand because she clamps down on my fingers in a vice grip.

  “About the sale of the land, Elva …”

  She places her hand on her throat. “I’m not sure, Cash. I just have so much on my mind that I don’t think I can make a decision right now.”

  “What kind of things, Elva?” Tiger’s still kneeling beside the chair, and she’s still holding my hand.

  “Oh, dear, you don’t want to know about an old woman’s problems.”

  “Sure we do.” My fake girlfriend yanks me down to kneel in front of said old woman. “Don’t we, honey bear?”

  “Um, yeah. What’s put that frown on your pretty face, Elva?”

  A schoolgirl titter that clashes with her wrinkled face rolls from her lips. She wags a finger at me. “You are a devil, aren’t you?”

  “You have no idea,” Tiger murmurs.

  “What, dear?”

  “Nothing. Tell us how we can help, Elva.”

  “Well, I’m sure you saw those bird’s nests in my gables when you drove up. I need to get them down.”

  I stand and pull my phone from my pocket. “Done. I’ll call Garrett’s Handymen, and those nests will be down by the end of the day.”

  A fragile hand stills my arm. “I appreciate it, Cash.” She shakes her head. “But I don’t want strangers around.”

  “You know Buck and Tanner Garrett, Miss Elva. You taught them English Lit.” Maybe her memory is failing her.

  Her paper-thin lips go between her stained teeth. “No, Maxine and I will figure it out.”

  Is she kidding? She’s eighty if she’s a day, and Maxine’s the same age as my mother. No way I’d let my mom on a ladder that tall to clean out some bird’s nests. “Tell ya what, my friend Duke and I will take care of those nests this afternoon.”

  “Oh, I can’t ask you …”

  “I’ll help,” Tiger pipes in, cheerful as can be. “I took a personal day today, so my afternoon is clear.”

  Tears pool above Elva’s lower lids, and her hand goes to her heart. “Y’all are the sweetest. Thank you. I’m sure once that’s done, my mind will be free to think about the rec center. But I don’t see any need to sell the land to Mayor Watson, if you all have the money for the lease.”

  I pull Tiger to her feet, and we make our way to the door before Elva has time to change her mind. “See ya this afternoon.”

  She gives us a finger wave and mouths, “Bless you.”

  Out on the front porch, I eye the nests in question. We might have a problem. I’m pretty sure there’s a clause in my contract that prohibits me from performing tasks that would put me on a twenty-foot ladder.

  Tiger leans her warm body into mine. “Hey.”

  I glance down at her smiling face. “Yeah?”

  “Thank you.”

  Any clause in the contract is forgotten. I’ll climb a hundred twenty-foot ladders just to keep that look on Tiger’s face.

  Twenty-Eight

  Cash

  “Just a little to the left, Cash, darlin’.”

  Elva is sitting on her front porch in a giant hat and cat-eye sunglasses, directing me and Duke as we move a wrought iron bench to just the perfect place in her yard.

  “This is the last time you’re picking this thing up, do you hear me, King?” Duke whisper-yells from the other end of the bench. “I shouldn’t have let you pick it up even once. How’s your shoulder?”

  “It’s fine.” And surprisingly, it is. My pulse skitters at the thought that I might actually be back with the team if they make the playoffs, if McKay can get us there.

  Elva must sense Duke’s rising irritation, because she claps her hands and announces, “Yes, right there.”

  We lower the bench to the ground under a huge pecan tree full of nuts. I glance around and see several other pecan trees, each one fuller than the next. “You sure have got a lot of pecans, Elva.”

  “Yeah, it’s a shame that they’ll probably rot on the ground. I just can’t pick them up anymore, and I can’t ask Maxine to get out here and pick ’em up. That’s not in her job description.”

  “Don’t even think about it,” Duke says from the side of his mouth. “We’ve got a workout to get to, then I’ve got to head back to Fort Worth for a couple of days.” Irritation vibrates around him like agitated waves.

  “Everything alright?”

  He sits on the bench and draws the back of his hand across his forehead. “Yeah, I’ve got a new client who’s giving me a hard time.” His big hand scrubs through his hair, making it stand on end. “Or should I say, her father’s giving me a hard time. He thinks I should be at his beck and call.”

  “Oh, one of those parents.”

  A dry chuckle moves his voice box but doesn’t change his face. “Pretty sure he’s the king of those parents. The girl’s a head case too.”

  I join him on the seat, and the cool air blows across my sweaty skin. “How so?”

  “She’s pissed at her old man and instead of firing him as her coach, she passive-aggressively sticks it to him. I end up refereeing them instea
d of treating her.”

  “I’m surprised you haven’t fired them. You don’t generally put up with that shit.”

  He squints off into the distance. “Yeah, well, work is work.”

  That’s not the Duke I know at all. He seems all casual, good ol’ boy on the outside, but the man has an intensity that intimidates even me. There’s no screwing around when it comes to rehabbing a client back to health. “Mm-hmm.”

  He doesn’t respond to me, which is fine because all my attention just went to the former Miss Texas, who has bent over to grab the last of the weeds she’s been pulling from Elva’s small flower bed. Like a heat-seeking missile, my eyes go to her round butt in her cut-off shorts—and good Lord.

  “You might want to roll your tongue back into your mouth, there, lover boy.” Duke slaps my leg and stands to make his way to the back porch, where Maxine has just brought out a pitcher of iced cold lemonade.

  I ignore him and move to Tiger. “Need some help?” I ask from behind her. But the words are muddled, because my mouth’s gone dry, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

  “Would you mind holding that garbage bag open so I can drop these weeds and clippings into it?” She’s looking at me from under her arm with her ass still in the air.

  “Sure.” I do as she asks, and we finish up the job together.

  Her hands go to her lower back and she stretches. I try and fail not to notice how the motion accentuates her breasts under her Ryder Mustangs T-shirt.

  “Back hurt?”

  Brilliant, King.

  “It’s just tight from bending over so long. I’ll sit in the hot tub tonight, and that’ll straighten me right out.”

  My brain short-circuits thinking of Tiger Lyons in a swimsuit.

  She must take my silence as disapproval because she quickly adds, “I mean if it’s alright with you. It is your house now.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, of course you can use the hot tub.” I try to play it cool on the outside, but inside I’m screaming, Please, please, please use the hot tub!

  Her long finger swipes down the side of my face, and it’s all I can do not to turn my head and capture the digit into my mouth. Her eyes go wide, and for a moment, I worry that I’ve said that last bit out loud.

  “Sorry …” Pink-cheeked, she loops a piece of hair behind her ear. “You had grass stuck to your cheek.”

  I glance at the flower bed. “You did a great job.”

  “Thanks. You guys did too.” She sweeps her gaze around the yard and lands on our taskmaster, who’s peacefully sipping lemonade on the porch. “Poor Elva. Do you think she couldn’t afford to have the work done?”

  “Maybe, but mostly I think she saw an opportunity for some cheap labor and took it.”

  “You’re probably right.” Her laughter is a drug, and I’m a damn addict.

  I dust my hands off on my jeans. “I also think she’s a little lonely.”

  She glances toward the porch. “Huh. I was so caught up in saving the rec center that I never considered that, but you’re probably right. Still, I hope this is enough to convince her to not sell to Brad.”

  I pick up the garbage bag of weeds. “We should go talk to her about it now that we’re done.”

  Before we can move, Elva lets out a laugh that sounds like broken bed springs at something Duke says, and I can’t help but smile.

  Tiger chuckles and lays a hand on my arm. “Maybe we could wait until tomorrow to talk to her. She’s enjoying herself so much, and I don’t want to stress her out by bringing up the rec center. Besides, she knows you’ll give her more than Brad will if she wants to sell it.”

  I shrug. “Whatever you think is best. This is your show.”

  “Thank you for that, and for this.” She gestures at the lawn. “I’d like to fix dinner for you and Duke tonight, as a proper thank you for all your help today.” Her teeth sink into her lower lip. “If you don’t have plans.”

  “Unfortunately, Duke does have plans tonight, but I’d love to have dinner with you.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad about Duke.”

  I’d be jealous at her words, but she never takes her eyes from mine. “Yeah, he’s got a client in Fort Worth he’s babysitting. What can I bring tonight?”

  “Just yourself, I’ll do the rest.”

  “Okay, it’s a date.” I can’t remember the last time a woman made dinner for me. All the women I date expect us to go out for all of our meals. This is a nice change.

  She smiles and my heart does a weird acrobatic move in my chest. The only other time it’s done that was when I held her in my arms at the homecoming dance, twelve years ago.

  Her gaze goes to the porch. “We better go rescue Duke.”

  I turn to see Elva pointing her finger at him and giving him what for. “He can handle it, but yeah, let’s rescue him, if for no other reason than for me to hold it over his head.”

  Her laughter fills the backyard. “You guys go at each other like brothers.”

  “Yeah, we are.”

  “Were you friends in high school? I don’t remember.”

  I laugh. “Not hardly. First of all, I was a stupid freshman when he was a senior, and second, he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and I was a Ryder East punk. The two did not mix.”

  “Why do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Put that kind of judgment on where you grew up? You do it a lot.”

  “No, I don’t.” I absolutely do, but I don’t like that she’s picked up on it.

  “Yeah, you do. Ryder East is the same as Ryder West, the only difference is that a long time ago, folks chose to draw an imaginary line down the center of town and divide it into sections. The people are the same.”

  I bristle at that. What would she know about growing up in Ryder East or being the son of Bill King? “Spoken like someone who grew up in Ryder West.”

  “Maybe, but I know it doesn’t have to be that way.” Her footsteps slow, then stop, and she turns to face me. “What are you doing after this?”

  Her change in subject is so abrupt that it takes me a moment to catch up. “Duke and I are going to work out.”

  “How long will that take?” She pulls her phone from her pocket and checks the time.

  I shrug. “Depends, but around two hours. Why?”

  “It’s a surprise. Text me when you’re done with your workout.” She winks and walks away.

  And I’m pretty sure that I’d follow Tiger Lyons any damn place she goes and be happy doing it.

  Twenty-Nine

  Cash

  I’m not happy.

  When Tiger said she had a surprise, I thought she was speaking about something a little more private in nature. Instead, we’re standing on the basketball court of the rec center.

  “As you can see, the gym floor desperately needs to be replaced.” She motions toward a section of floor that’s warped from time and moisture. “I think they installed this floor in the eighties.”

  I pick up a basketball from the rack and roll it from hand to hand. Memories of my dad sitting in the stands screaming at me during Little League basketball games barge into my mind. It’s as unpleasant as it is unwelcome. “Yeah, it looks pretty bad.”

  “Am I boring you?”

  My gaze jerks to hers. “No. Sorry. Being here just brings back recollections that make me … uncomfortable.”

  “Oh, I thought you told me your memories of this place were good.” She clasps her hands behind her back and toes the old gym floor. “Sorry, I wouldn’t have brought you here if I’d known.”

  “No, it’s fine.” I dribble the ball a few times. “Mostly, they are good.” Three more dribbles, and I’m in shooting range. The ball goes up, and swishes the net.

  “That doesn’t hurt your shoulder?”

  I raise my left hand. “It’s my right shoulder that’s hurt.”

  “You just made a three-point shot left-handed?” She shakes her head. “Is there nothing you can’t do?” />
  “Not a very good whistler.” I dribble the ball between my legs, then come up for another shot. It goes in too.

  “Now you’re just showing off,” she laughs.

  I toss her the ball. “What can I say? I’m a showboat.”

  “Oh, I know.” She glances down then back at me. “What do you mean, they’re mostly good?”

  I glance to the side door where my old man used to stand. “It’s nothing, just my old man.” I clap my hands, and she throws the ball back to me, and I make another shot. “He was never one to hold back when he thought I wasn’t playing the way he thought I should. It’s why I stopped playing basketball.”

  “He didn’t do it when you were playing football?”

  I replace the ball on the rack. “He did, but I couldn’t hear him on the field.” I glance up at the dirty windows above the bleachers. “It was just my poor mom and anyone sitting around them who had to endure it during those games.”

  Her warm fingers wrap around my arm. “I’m sorry.”

  “Nah, you don’t have to feel sorry for me.” I give her my endorsement look, the one that looks happy, but means absolutely nothing. “I turned out alright.”

  The expression on her face tells me that I haven’t fooled her. “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “Pretend.”

  “I wasn’t.”

  She just stares at me.

  “Okay, it wasn’t fun, but I’m not lying when I say my mom had it much worse than me, in every way.” Hot bile burns my throat just like it always does when I think of the night I laid my father out and told him I’d kill him if he ever put his hands on my mom again. It was a lucky shot. I was still smaller than him. But I’ll never forget the hate in his eyes, or the thrill that raced through me when the hate bled into fear. He knew I wouldn’t stay small forever. I’m not proud of it, but I don’t regret it either.

  “Cash …”

  I’ve got to get us off this subject. “You’re right, this place was great back in the day, and Coach Dave really kept me in line, kept us all in line.” I chuckle and scrub my hand over my head. “Now him, I miss.”