Page 9 of The Sweet Spot

“Whatever, Madman. I’m going to bed.” I hop down to leave but stop cold when my phone vibrates.

Did Deacon take my number when he gave me his?

I pull it from my pocket and see two text notifications.

One is from Deacon. It looks like he did text himself from my phone.

Sneaky fucker.

The other is from my mom.

Mom

Good morning, Brynn. I need you to come by the house today.

“Awful early for a text, B.”

I glare at Maddox.

He’s not wrong.

After a minute wasted staring at my phone, I decide to call my mother. Scarlet Kingston-St. James doesn’t know how to sleep late. She never has, as she just demonstrated by texting at the crack of dawn... literally.

It barely rings before she answers, and out of the corner of my eye, I catch Maddox grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and pull up a stool. Like I said, such a fucker.

“Hey, sweetheart. I didn’t expect you to be awake so early on a Sunday.” I hear coffee beans grinding in the background before she must move out of the kitchen. “How are you feeling?”

“I was fine until I got your message, Mom. What’s going on, and why do I feel like I’m being summoned?”

Maddox pulls his pocketknife from his shorts and cuts a slice of his apple while I roll my eyes at my audience. One of these days, he’s going to slice his mouth open with the way he bites the damn thing right off the blade. And when that day comes, I’m going to laugh before I faint from the excessive amount of blood.

“Don’t be dramatic, Brynn. You’re not being summoned. I just want to discuss something with you.” Well she certainly brought my attention right back to her.

“Discuss what?” I question as my stomach sinks and I glare at my cousin.

No way was he right.

She wouldn’t do that to me.

“If I wanted to discuss it over the phone, I would have called you, Brynlee,” my mother chastises, like I’m a child.

“I have things to do today, Mom. I’m not even in Kroydon Hills. What’s going on?” I ask a little firmer this time.

Maddox coughs, and I glance his way quickly.

And suddenly it feels like the my world is shifting.

Holy. Hell.

He was right.

“It’s a business thing, honey. Just come over for lunch or dinner, and we’ll discuss it then.” My mother isn’t used to being told no.

In her defense, she’s almost always right, so it doesn’t have to happen often.

In my defense, it’s about to happen now.

“You’re not really going to try to make me switch from the Revolution to the Kings, are you, Mom?” My shaking voice betrays any confidence I was attempting to project. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you? You know I love my job. You know how hard I work. You wouldn’t go behind my back and pull rank... right?”

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