Page 33 of The Home Game

There was nothing from Alexis, and Eli just hollered a “bye!” back, but River came running in.

He swooped her up into his arms and kissed her cheek. Oh, damn, her pigtails were kinda lopsided this morning. That was what he got for doing her hair before he had coffee. “Bye, River. Love you.”

“Bye.” She smiled, her eyes bright, and he squeezed her tightly before he set her down again.

Antoni felt good as he left the house. He could do this. So there were rough patches and there probably always would be, but he could do this.

He felt good enough to shoot off a message to Matty saying, Yeah, let’s do the park sometime soon before he started the SUV and headed to the school.

Feeling more cheerful than he had in days, he waved at Clancy in the booth as he cruised by, then parked.

He checked his phone and found a message from Matty with a Yessssss!!! Can’t wait.

Grinning, Antoni reached for his work laptop bag and tote but his phone rang before he could snag them.

For a second, he thought maybe it was Matty but when he checked, tension flooded through him at the sight of Rob’s name on his screen, his good mood vanishing.

They’d gone to school together and he was a good guy and a skilled mechanic, totally willing to cut Antoni a deal on labor for the van, but God, Antoni was afraid of what he had to say.

“Hey, man,” Antoni said tightly. “What’s up?”

“Hey, uh, I won’t beat around the bush. I’ve got some bad news for you.”

Antoni closed his eyes. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “Hit me.”

“So, it’s worse than I hoped. You’re gonna need a new engine.”

“Oh fuck,” he whispered. “I … that sounds expensive.”

“Uhh, yeah.” Rob sounded apologetic. “Look, I’ll ask around and see if I can find a decent refurbished one with a warranty but that’ll take time. And it’s still not gonna come cheap.”

“How much are we talking?”

“Well …” Rob rattled off a number that made Antoni’s stomach drop.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, and it could be more. I don’t know. I haven’t worked on a van of that age for a while.”

“That’s just the parts?”

“Yeah. I know you’re in a pinch with the kids. I’ll work on it in my off hours and all that and waive the labor costs but engines don’t come cheap.”

“Apparently.” Antoni felt numb. “Fuck!”

“I’m sorry. If you want to pay it off in a couple of chunks, I can do that.”

Thank God Rob owned his own garage. Antoni would be fucked otherwise.

“Yeah, that would help,” he said tightly. But there was no way around it. He had to get this van fixed. He couldn’t borrow Matty’s SUV forever.

“Sorry.” Rob sounded genuinely upset. “I wish I had better news for you.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Antoni reassured, though it definitely wasn’t. “Thank you. Sorry if I sound ungrateful. I honestly appreciate everything you’re doing for me. I’m super stressed but I don’t mean to take it out on you. Keep me updated.”

After they said goodbye, Antoni ended the call, eyes stinging as he stared sightlessly across the parking lot.

He was fucked. So absolutely fucked.

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