Chapter 7
1925 Words
Seven
Austin
“Francie told me you played the white knight this morning.” Jack hits balls to the guys from home plate while I stand off to the side. “No, Jaden, throw the ball to your cutoff man.”
Jack shakes his head at me. We’re fortunate we have Elijah this year, so we don’t have to rely on our fielding.
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” I say.
“Like I shouldn’t believe what Buzz Wheel said?” He raises a brow.
“f*****g Buzz Wheel. I stopped reading it years ago.”
Jack tilts his head, questioning my truthfulness.
“I did. I’ll take that as you still do?”
He shrugs. “Francie reads it to me at night.”
I imitate a woman’s voice as I say, “‘What a great bedtime story, Jackey.’ Does she give you a glass of warm milk too?”
“I’m sure Principal Radcliffe wouldn’t mind tucking you in.”
I shoot him a death glare and shift my vision to the guys in the field. Luckily they’re all razzing Jaden for missing three in a row and not paying us any attention.
“Be professional,” I remind him.
“Sorry.” He cringes, but I know Jack and he doesn’t care. “So, Elijah and JP are in detention?”
“Yeah. I mean, would we have let a chick get in the way of our friendship back in the day?” I drop the clipboard on the bench and sit down. “Let’s call practice. My balls are about to freeze off.”
“Run your laps and head to the showers,” Jack announces, throwing the bat in the bag.
The players pick up their equipment and head to the track to run ten laps apiece.
I laugh. “Don’t have to tell you twice.”
“My blood hasn’t thickened back up yet.” He puts on his hat and gloves, sitting next to me. “Back to your question. You know as well as I do this is JP, not Elijah.”
“Can’t say that for sure.”
Though he’s probably right. JP walks around like an entitled little prick most of the time. And we all know it’s his mom’s fault.
“I know. But going after a friend’s girl? I mean, could you imagine if you would have gone after Francie?”
I laugh. Francie’s a great girl, but she’s not really my type. “I would never.”
“I know.” He smacks my shoulder. “But Coach wouldn’t have let us mess up our friendship over a girl either.”
“Yeah.” My gaze falls to my hands clasped between my legs. Sometimes I feel as though I can never live up to my mentor.
“Come on, Francie’s cooking poppy seed chicken tonight.” He stands, eager to get home to his wife.
I’d probably take him up on his offer, but I have more than my two teenage sisters to entertain me tonight. “Thanks, but I have papers to grade.”
See what I did there? Jack expects me to tell him everything, but I didn’t even have to lie to him to keep my whereabouts tonight a secret.
“You work too much.”
I chuckle as we follow the boys into the locker room. “You work seven days a week.”
“Nope. I just hired Jaden for Saturday and Sundays.”
I smack him on the back. “I sure hope he can figure out the difference between a nail and screw better than he can a curveball and knuckleball.”
We laugh, walking into the halls that were ours once upon a time.
My phone rings as soon as I climb into my Jeep. Savannah’s name flashes on the screen, so I switch her to Bluetooth.
“Hey,” I answer.
“You’re never going to believe what that slimeball at North Forest Lumber Company did!”
“Calm down.”
“He tried to poach Ventures Housing from us.” I hear something smash in the background. Savannah has a little bit of a temper. She wouldn’t actually hit a person, but coffee mugs are fair game when she’s mad.
“Did he succeed?” I ask, turning a corner.
“I swear I’m going to burn down that place.”
“Jeez, Sav, let’s hope the line isn’t bugged. Now answer my question.”
“I mean, we’ve been around for how many years? He comes up here from God knows where and thinks he’s going to take over our clientele? The clients that Daddy and Granddaddy fished and hunted with? I bet he thinks I’m weak because I’m a woman. Well, he’s about to find out that I will not roll over.” Another smash echoes over the speakers.
“Sit down for a second.” I bring the car to a halt at a stoplight.
“No! How can you be so calm? This is our family legacy. The business that affords us what small luxuries we have. It’s my future, Austin. I get that you want to hightail it out of this town as soon as the twins cross the stage with their diplomas, but this is it for me.” The anger in her voice fades and she sighs. “Sometimes I think I’m disappointing Dad.”
The key with Savannah is to let her anger burn out on its own. There’s no reason to rush her to come to the right conclusion. She usually will on her own after a good fight with herself. Not that I don’t understand her feeling that way. I was just on the bleachers, thinking the same thing.
“You’re not. Dad would be so proud of you. Just ask Grandma Dori. Speaking of, have you asked her for advice on this?”
“No. I want her to be assured that I can handle these things on my own. If she’s ever going to hand the company over to me completely, I need to be capable.”
The light changes and I drive slowly through downtown Lake Starlight. The green-and-white banners with the Bailey Timber Corp logo decorate the light posts for the upcoming Founder’s Day.
“Well, here’s some good news for you. I’m driving through downtown and everything is looking good.”
“Really?” she asks, a chipper tone overtaking her stressed-out one. “That’s one thing, I suppose.”
“So back to this other issue. What have you done so far to fix it?”
“I’m having dinner with the Venture reps tomorrow night. They want to renegotiate the terms. Said that asshole Clint’s offer was five percent less.” The tapping of a pen on her desk echoes through the receiver.
“There you go. Why are you calling me? You’ve already got this handled.”
She laughs. “I needed to vent, and I have no one but you.”
“Jeez, thanks.”
“You know what I mean.” She sighs. “Do you ever think it’s sick that we only have each other? Here we are, almost thirty—well, you’re already over that hump—we’re pseudo parents to our siblings, and we’re both single?”
I can tell from her voice that she needs to be lifted up once more.
“You could get a husband if you wanted one,” I remind her, slowing for another stoplight.
She laughs. “No one wants to date a woman who runs a company.”
“Sure, they do.” I slam on my brakes when two guys jump in front of my Jeep before I’ve come to a complete stop. “f**k!”
“What?”
I look up after my whiplash. My brother Denver and his friend Liam laugh and smack the hood of my Jeep. “Our dipshit brother and his best friend just ran in front of my Jeep.”
Denver’s been gone flying supplies up north for the past few months. He must just be back in town today.
“See?” She releases a breath. “Immature. The guys around here can’t find their way out of a wet paper bag. What is it about this town and all the men who are incapable of growing up?”
“Hey!” Denver bangs on the window.
“Hang on a sec, Savannah.”
“Who are you talking to?” Denver asks me through the window.
I roll it down, and the cool spring air wafts into the Jeep. “Savannah.”
Liam hops in the passenger seat without warning and rifles through my glove box.
“Hey, Savannah. Miss me?” Denver asks.
“No,” she deadpans.
“Come on. I’ve been gone a long time. You weren’t worried about me?”
“Oh, Denver, I only worry if your health insurance covers STD examinations.”
Liam laughs. “Good one, Savannah.”
“Oh great, your sidekick is there too. Gotta go.” Savannah clicks off before anyone has time to say goodbye.
“She’s so uptight. If you weren’t her brothers, I’d suggest someone loosen her up.” Liam smirks at us.
Denver narrows his eyes at Liam. “She’s my sister, dude.”
This is where Denver and I differ. Savannah’s my sister and I hope she finds a better guy than Brooklyn has, but I don’t really give a s**t who it is as long as he treats her well and she loves him. She definitely needs a guy who can handle her outbursts of doubt though. We’ve both given everything to this family, so I would never give her s**t for anything.
“Your older and hot sister,” Liam says.
Denver tries to climb through the window over me, his arms outstretched. Liam laughs, snatching something out of my glove box, and opens the door.
“Hey!” I say.
“I’ll return it.” Liam yells, holding up my tire pressure stick, turning around.
He pretends to be a boxer in the ring with Denver when he comes around his side. They’re twenty-three, but these two will never f*****g grow up.
I pull up and off to the side so the vehicles behind me can get past. Then I honk the horn as they test the tires on Liam’s 1970 Pontiac GTO. It’s his pride and joy and I swear he’d marry the damn thing if he could.
Denver jogs back up to the Jeep and passes me the tire pressure stick.
“Thanks,” I say and toss it back inside the glove compartment.
His arms hang in the passenger window. “I was at the house earlier. Sedona’s boyfriend was there.”
“Yeah.” I shrug.
“You need to keep a better eye on her. Remember when I was seventeen?” He cringes.
“They’re fine.”
“Well, we don’t want Sedona to make headlines on Buzz Wheel like you do. I meant to ask you, how is the new principal?”
Liam laughs, coming up beside him.
“Both of you can f**k off.” I put up my middle finger, and Denver jumps back as if I’d run over his toes.
I should be used to being at the center of the news in Lake Starlight. Being the oldest Bailey, I feel as though I’ve lived in the spotlight my entire life.
- Writer
