Page 22 of Cheap Shot
Beau cocks his head to the side, his eyes scanning my face like he’s trying to solve a complex puzzle. “Why? Momma promised us snickerdoodles after the game.Snickerdoodles, Cole.”
Much like all my brothers, I have a soft spot for Momma’s baking, especially her snickerdoodles. “I’ll be here after the game so you can have some of your precious cookies. I just don’t want Momma to be uncomfortable.”
After everything that happened earlier and how awkward dinner was, I knew something was up. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. Momma was fine when I hugged her, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t still leery of me being in the house.
“Why would she be uncomfortable in her own house?”
He can’t be serious.“You are so fucking dense, Beau.”
“No, I know exactly what your dumb ass is thinking. I just think you’re being a dumbass.”
“I almost hit her earlier. I’m surprised she even let me touch her after that.”
“You’re right. Any other woman probably would be terrified of you after what happened. But this isn’tanywoman. This is Momma. You know she is made of stronger stuff than that. She raised four boys practically on her own. No family to help when times got tough. A little screaming match and watching a grown man throw a temper tantrum are nothing new to her.”
“But she—” I begin, but he cuts me off.
“Cried.” I nod my head in response as Beau steps closer, bending slightly to whisper in my ear. “Because this is the first time she’s had two of her sons in the same place in almost ten years. Not only are we in the same room together, but it is the home she raised us in. The place where we made a home as a family.”
When he puts it like that, it makes sense. Momma has always been sentimental, especially when it comes to her boys. I take a moment to scan the walls of the hallway. Both sides are covered with framed photos of me and my brothers, both together and individually, in chronological order. I haven’t set foot in this house since the night I left, choosing to have dinner with Momma in the city whenever I was in town. It makes sense that having us back together like old times could cause her to choke up.
“Are you sure?” I ask, more for myself than anything else.
Momma has never once done anything she didn’t want to, but if there’s a chance that she might be afraid of me for any reason, I need to be sure.
Beau doesn’t hesitate before responding. “As a heart attack. Now get your ass out the door, or we are gonna be late. I don’t want to hear her mouth for being late.”
Beau grasps my shoulder, spins me around, and shoves me hard in the back, causing me to stumble slightly. Thankfully, I manage to regain my balance and scowl at him over my shoulder. “Her who?”
“Alise and Ramona, of course,” Beau responds as if this is a regular Thursday night. Well, for him, I guess it is. Hanging out with the family, going to the high school for games, promising to stop by Momma’s because of the promise of getting some freshly baked snickerdoodles.
“Then why did you say her and not them?” I question, pulling the front door open and heading down the stairs toward the unfamiliar truck in the driveway.
“Semantics.” Beau strolls past me toward his car, hitting a button on the key fob. The headlights flash once in time with a loud beep. “Hop in. They both aren’t going to give me a hard time for being late. That will be all Ramona. As a matter of fact, I’d better text them so they know we are running late.”
“Seems like you’re going about and beyond for Cooper’s…” My voice trails off slightly as I try to remember how Cooper introduced Ramona to me, but I’m coming up empty. I have no idea what’s going on between Cooper and Ramona. I remember she was at the hospital when I woke up, and they seemed pretty close, but that could mean anything.
“Fiancée?” I pull the passenger side door open and climb inside.
“Yup, there’s a woman in the world that’s willing to put up with our older brother’s shit for the rest of their lives. Poor woman.”
“Poor woman, indeed.” I chuckle as Beau starts the truck, pulling out of the driveway and heading toward the high school.
We drive down the familiar roads of our childhood in silence, each of us lost in deep thought. Memories of my childhood flash before my eyes as the scenery speeds by. During the summer, we used to play street hockey at the park at the end of our block. We’d have to get there early in the day to beat the other boys who wanted to play basketball instead. If we got there first, we kept the court until lunchtime. If they arrived first, they’d do the same. Those were the only days Momma managed to get the three of us out of bed before noon.
Beau makes a quick left, heading toward the center of town. Redwood Falls is nothing but an enormous square. There are four major streets running through it from north to south, with four principal streets running east to west, making it easy enough to get from one place to another. When we were younger, we’d give each other the cross streets on where our houses were instead of a number. It was so much easier to find our way around that way.
A loud chime fills the cab of the truck, alerting Beau to an incoming text. Instead of waiting to respond, he hits the accept button, and an electronic voice reads the message.
Ramona
Thanks for the heads-up. Alise is late too.
Ramona
Oh, and the gate to the back of the school is open.
“That girl would be late to her own funeral.” Beau shakes his head, turning right, into the high school parking lot. “The lacrosse games are on the soccer field behind the school. Fingers crossed the gate is open, or we’ll have to hoof it to the game.”
