Page 106 of Recipe for Rivals

“Oh, honey, she isn’t in tonight.”

Shoot. “Did she work earlier today?”

“No, she was supposed to be here, but—well, you know how things are.” Cindy lowered her voice. “I don’t reckon that boy makes it easy on her to leave.”

A sinking feeling filled my gut. Was Brody hurt? He lived a very independent life. “Brody’s a good kid, ma’am. I have the pleasure of coaching him, and?—”

“Not Brody,” she said. “Good heavens. He’s an angel.”

Well, I wouldn’t gothatfar. The kid had a mouth on him during practices.

Cindy lowered her voice further, like a good southern woman with a juicy bit of gossip was apt to do. “I’m talking about that nasty son of hers.”

The hair stood up on the back of my neck. “You don’t mean Brody’s dad.” Saints alive, I sure hope she didn’t.

“Mmhmm. She won’t say anything, but you know he brings trouble.”

“I thought he was in jail.”

“Got out last month.”

Brody’s bruises suddenly had a lot more clarity. I’d never understood why such a popular kid was getting in fights. And here I’d been, trying to connect with him. Just a stupid, ignorant adult trying to tell him I understood when, really, I’dnevergone through what I suspected Brody had suffered.

I thought back to Henry finding him in the school gym, showering with a bloodied lip. If his father was responsible?

I was going to kill that man. No, because then I’d be in jail. I needed to breathe and think through this. Calling the police sometimes made these situations worse for the victims, so I needed to be sure that whatever I did got Brody’s dad away for good.

It wouldn’t be enough to find a place for Brody to stay, because that left Patty alone with the lowlife.

Think, Dusty.

“It’s really a shame. Patty can’t turn him away, but I’m not supposed to tell anyone,” Cindy continued, unaware of my broiling rage. “You know he’ll be in trouble if he’s found within one hundred yards of that place.”

My entire body stiffened. “Right,” I said, pretending I knew exactly what she was talking about. “Don’t want the law involved.”

“Maybe that would be best. Call in that he’s breaking the restraining order and they’ll cart him away, won’t they?”

I wanted to shout at her. Why hadn’t she done so already? That was sure to put him in jail long enough to figure out a safe plan, wasn’t it?

“I need to go,” I told her, suddenly feeling her release of information had been more calculated than I’d given her credit for. If I took care of it, she wouldn’t be breaking her friend’s trust. “Thanks, Cindy. You’ve been very helpful.”

I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket. The event was going strong. Floodlights had come on in the football field while I’d been on the phone, lighting the grassy area swarming with kids and bounce houses. The way back into the gym was crowded, and the tables with auction items were teeming with people.

Maybe getting enough money to send everyone to camp and supply them with uniforms free of charge next year was possible.A surge of affection for this town and their love and care shot through me. Maybe I’d grown up without parents, but I hadn’t grown up without love. Arcadia Creek was a community that looked out for each other, that showed up when we needed them.

I found Henry standing beside the table of refreshments chatting with a parent. When he noticed me watching him, he excused himself and came to my side. “You found him?”

“Not really. But I learned that his dad is back.”

Henry swore.

“My thoughts exactly, Coach.”

Henry ran a hand over his face. “We shouldn’t get involved.” The look on his face was saying the exact opposite.

“I also learned his dad is breaking a restraining order.”

Henry swore again. “We can call that in.”

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