Page 10 of The Perfect Steal

“I think dating you has helped chill Penny out a bit,” Ben said, laughing. “But then again, I think you got the better part of the bargain because she got you to focus on your grades and your future.”

I agreed that Penny had been good for Jake. He was no longer the school’s playboy, and he was more focused on his school work and baseball. But a good part of the changes could have come from his parents finally getting a divorce. Things had been rocky for quite a while, even though he didn’t want any of us to know, and Jake seemed a lot happier now.

“We’re going to grab some food in about an hour and then head over to the game,” Dax said. “We’ll text you when we go, sound good?”

I nodded, walking to my Hummer. I was a little obsessed with it, the dark green color looking more like I should be in the army than in high school. Not that I had any intention of joining the Army. It was just my favorite color.

The drive was short, but I needed to grab my uniform since I’d gotten it dirty during our games the day before. It was on the washer, clean and folded. There was nothing better than a clean uniform.

“Mom!” I called out once I got back. “Are you home?”

I heard footsteps, more like the clicking of something on the marble floors. As she made an appearance, I looked down, seeing the heels a few inches high. How could anyone walk in those?

My mom was dressed in her bathrobe, brushing through her hair. “How was your day?”

I shrugged. “At least I was coherent most of it. What are you getting dressed up for?”

“Remember, we have that last rally tonight before the elections on Tuesday. It’s at the convention center downtown, and you need to be there. It starts at eight.”

I groaned and touched my forehead with the back of my hand. “I’m pretty sure the fever is coming back and,” I rubbed my stomach, “I might be throwing up again.”

My mom laughed and shook her head. “You’re not getting out of this one, Nathan. We need this to be a good appearance. Your father’s competitor is only a few points behind, and we don’t want things to slip at the last moment.”

I scrunched my nose. “Are you sure, Mom? Because if he lost, maybe he’d have more time for all of us.” The words tasted bitter as they rolled off my tongue. I missed the days when my dad and I would sit in the little workshop we had in our old house two hours from Pecan Flatts, working on coding an app or building a computer. He didn’t have much time for that these days, and I was sure his phone was an extension of his arm.

My mom stepped forward, placing her hands on my shoulders and looking up at me. “I know it’s hard, Nate. But if he can do some more good for this town, we should stand behind him and help, don’t you think?”

I tried to glance away, but she pulled my chin back to look at her. “You know he loves you. It’s just been hard with all the changes the past few years.”

A ball formed in my throat, but I held back the tears, not wanting to go down that road right now. I took in a deep breath and let out some of the tension constricting my chest. “I’ve got a game to get to. I’ll meet you at the convention center. I don’t have to stay the whole time, right? I’ve got a lot of homework to catch up on.”

A giant grin crossed her face. “Now that’s something I haven’t heard you say in a while. What spurred the sudden need to do homework?”

My first instinct was to say a girl, a mental picture of Brynn popping up. But I knew better than to admit anything to my mom about a girl who piqued my interest. “I just think it’s time I put in a little more effort.”

“Let me know if you need help with any of it. After the rally. It starts at eight, so don’t be late.” She went up on tiptoe, leaving a light kiss on my cheek. With a squeeze to my arm, she said, “You can be smart and athletic, Nate. There’s no rule that says you can’t do both.”

With that, she turned and walked back toward the master bedroom, leaving me with all the emotions running rampant. How easily she’d cut right through me. If only it were that easy to live out.

6

Nate

I was late for the rally. The game had gone into extra innings, and I had no intention of leaving my team without a center fielder to get to a rally. All the stuffy people who’d ask me lame questions about what I thought of my dad as mayor wasn’t on my list of fun.

With a quick glance at the clock, I groaned. 7:50 pm.I was at least twenty minutes out, by the time I changed and drove there.

I changed into my navy-blue suit in the parking lot of the field, despite knowing I wasn’t going to smell great without a shower. I threw the tie around my neck and slipped on my shoes. After a quick check of my hair, which I knew my father would probably comment on no matter how it looked, I started the engine and drove in the direction of the convention center.

The traffic on a Friday night was surprisingly light, which allowed me to speed a bit more than I usually did. On a regular day, I could tell where each of the police officers in Pecan Flatts was going to be, but I must have been distracted by going through the scenarios of what would happen if I arrived late to this function. As much as I didn’t want my father to be mayor anymore, I knew he was doing some good things for the town. And the guy he was running against, Tom Voight, was a jerk.

A mental image of Brynn appeared again, and I wondered why I was so intrigued by her. There had been dozens of Rosemont girls who’d thrown themselves at me, usually because of my father and the connections my family had. But Brynn was unfazed by that, and in a way, it was refreshing.

Was that why she had me constantly thinking about her? It seemed like she’d changed a lot over the summer. For the most part, she just looked like another girl athlete, often wearing sweats or workout clothes to school. But something about the way she’d dismissed the idea of us even dating had stuck with me.

I didn’t realize how fast I was going until I saw lights flashing out the rearview mirror.

“License and registration please,” the officer said before getting all the way to my window.

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