Page 6 of Playing for Keeps
“Get a new life,” Estelle snapped. “If you can admit that your father and his ridiculous, lazy way of thinking was wrong, then you can walk away. It’s as simple as that. You can still get into Berkley and go for a master’s in business since you’re interested in running things.”
“I’m interested in running the auto shop,” Rylan insisted.
“She’s interested in being Greasy Peasy all her life,” Naomi interjected. “Don’t even waste your time trying to talk sense into her, Mama. You know how stubborn she is.”
And that was Naomi’s not-so-gentle slap-in-the-face way of helping Rylan out of the conversation she’d had with her mother all of her life. The only good decisions Rylan could ever make were the ones orchestrated by Estelle. Any of her own thoughts were wrong on one level or another because Rylan wasn’t the second daughter that Estelle had wanted.
“It’s a waste of time, Rylan. You’re a pretty and smart girl. You can do anything you want with your life,” Estelle continued.
Rylan whirled around to face her mother. “I am doing what I want with my life!”
Silence immediately fell over the room. Rylan and her mother stared at each other. Naomi picked up her phone and stared at it. And the microwave dinged.
“Ellis is coming for dinner tomorrow!” Naomi screamed. “He’ll be here in the morning. We have to get this place cleaned up. And Rylan, don’t mess up the sweet potato pie because that’s Ellis’s favorite.”
Rylan didn’t want to hear another word about Ellis—even though he’d scored an amazing 47 points in the playoffs last year—so she opened the microwave door and removed the bowl of melted butter.
“Don’t worry about my pies, Naomi. I’ve got this. That’s why you’re only allowed to chop the food and not actually cook anything,” she quipped.
Naomi rolled her eyes but didn’t bother to reply because she knew Rylan was right.
The conversation in the Kent kitchen immediately shifted to Ellis Colby and how much he was worth, to a possible summer wedding even though there hadn’t been an official proposal. Rylan kept quiet and continued working. She had nothing to add to the discussion of wedding colors, event planners or honeymoon locations. She’d never thought about who she would marry or what their wedding would look like. Probably because in all her years of dating she’d deduced that relationships were overrated and sexual pleasure could be a solo achievement.
Rylan also didn’t believe in the butterflies dancing in the stomach which Naomi was now describing about each time she was with Ellis. Rylan had never experienced that when with any of her dates. Eager anticipation was what her mother called it, followed by more flowery and romantic words. Rylan kept mashing the sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. She’d never anticipated any date with a guy. She had, however, looked forward to her nightly chats with GCSports18, which was all the way ridiculous because she had no idea who he was.
But she could find out. Last night he’d said they should meet. Today, Rylan wondered if he was right.
Del frowned at his phone for the billionth time today. He stuffed it into his pocket at the exact moment that Camy walked into the living room.
“You on your phone again?” she asked as she passed where he sat on the couch and dropped down on the other end. “The bar’s closed for the holiday so nobody’s texting you about an emergency down there. “
Del knew the bar was closed. He’d been there at quarter to nine when they’d wished the last customers of the night a happy Thanksgiving. The guys unanimously agreed to close early tonight and remain closed until noon on Friday. Even though they’d each had a rough start in life, they all recognized the importance of family and spending holidays with them instead of at a bar drinking. Which was why he’d come to his childhood home where his sister now lived alone, to offer his help with the family dinner she was hosting tomorrow. Of course, he’d come once all the preparations were completed, but he’d decided to stay and keep Camy company for a while anyway. He wouldn’t tell her that he was actually the one who needed the company.
“I know,” he replied. “The bar’s all locked up for the night.”
“You guys are doing good there,” Camy said as she reached for the remote control.
Del let her take it. He wasn’t watching whatever was playing on the television anyway.
“Hosting the kids’ football league barbeque last weekend was a fabulous idea,” she continued as she changed channels. “It was so much fun watching them all run around the park, eat and have fun.”
Del nodded. “Yeah. That was Ethan’s idea. He and Portia have lots of plans for activities for the young people in Providence and once Game Changers Safe House opens, we’ll all be chipping in to offer unique programs to carry out throughout the year.”
“That’s what’s up,” Camy said and leaned over to slap him on the shoulder. “You guys have been doing a lot of good in the community since you’ve been back.”
“Not enough for some people,” Del snapped.
Camy shook her head, knowing who he was talking about without him having to recount the run-in he’d had with his arch-nemesis yesterday. “He’s an ass. He was jealous of you in high school when you made captain of the football team and took all the girls, and he was even more jealous when you got into the DEA at such a young age. No matter what you do, Mal Penning is always going to dislike you. But that’s his problem, not yours.”
Del and Mal had a history. It was a dark and sometimes dangerous history stemming from the time Del broke Mal’s nose when they were sixteen and culminating with part of the reason Del resigned from the DEA. The fact that Mal was now in a position of authority over him wasn’t sitting well with Del. But as always, he was trying to handle the situation as diplomatically as possible.
He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. “You sound just like her.”
Camy chuckled. “I’m her daughter. And you’re her son. She raised us to be confident and compassionate and to look out for each other. Which is why I’ve been going to the town council meetings and speaking up each time Mal tries to slide in something negative about you and the guys. Others in Providence see what he’s trying to do and they’re on your side too.”
“I don’t want anybody choosing sides. I want them to accept that people can change. We all changed,” he said.
“You got that right,” she quipped. “I’ve never seen you checking your phone as much as I have in the past few days. You texting someone special?”
