Page 97 of Roughing the Player
“Thanks,” Kaylee says. And then something thuds.
“Kaylee! Did you just slam the door in that lady’s face?”
“Sure did.” She doesn’t sound the least repentant.
“That’s rude, sweetheart.”
“You’d do the same thing if you were here, Mom.”
“Now why would I do such a thing?”
“Because they’re pests, locusts. The whole lot of them. You’d think those women would have something better to do than drop by day and night, always with a casserole, or a dish, or a pizza box. One even brought a bucket from the colonel. The fridge’s groaning from the food in there.”
“They’re neighbors, honey.” I try to put the best spin on it. She shouldn’t be this cynical at her age. “Maybe they’re just trying to be friendly.”
“Three cars had out-of-state tags.”
“Really?” How’s that even possible? Brock lives in a gated community with only private access. How on earth are they getting in? Are they bribing somebody at the front gate? “Just how many have shown up?”
“Since I arrived . . . about ten.”
She’s been there only a few days. “Good lord.”
“Yeah. The ones that don’t bring food ask if they can borrow a cup of sugar.” She snorts. “Like he’d have any. They’re vultures, that’s what they are. Mom, you have to get down here.”
“Honey, we talked about this. I can’t.” After Brock walked out, she’d refused to accept that he’d left for good. She’d sulked, she’d cried, she’d hidden in her room for hours on end with Butch by her side. When a week had gone by with no more arguments from her, I’d thought she’d finally come to terms with it. Turned out she’d been making plans. When she’d politely asked if she could fly to Charleston to spend time with her father, I didn’t have the heart to say no. It wouldn’t do her any harm, and I could certainly use the break from her teen angst.
Before she flew down, I’d told Brock what I’d do to his package if he did anything inappropriate. Rather than get insulted, he’d laughed and promised he’d take good care of her. Still, I couldn’t help but imagine the worst. But now it seems I have nothing to worry about. At least not until she says the next words.
“I met a boy, Mom.”
“A boy?” I hadn’t cautioned Brock about Kaylee and boys. I didn’t think I had to. Since her puppy crush on Meghan’s brother fizzled, she’d shown no interest in other teens. But she’s about to turn thirteen, so her hormones could be kicking in.
“Yeah. He lives right next door. And guess what? He loves computers, just like I do. He invited me to his house to check out his setup.”
“What?” My stomach flip-flops. Is that what teenage boys do these days? Ask innocent girls to their houses to check out computer setups? What if he’s tried something? Even worse, what if she’s let him? I frantically do a search on my phone to find the next flight to Chicago. I’m flying down there and bringing Kaylee home.
“You got nothing to worry about. His mom was there the whole time. She made us chocolate chip cookies.”
Okay. That makes me feel a little better. A very little. I can’t help but worry, though. I don’t know the boy’s mom. I don’t know the boy. I don’t know the neighborhood which seems dicey at best. After all, their ‘security’ is letting in all kinds of friendly ‘neighbors.’ “What grade is he in?”
“He’s a freshman.”
“In high school?” Please don’t let it be college.
“Yes, He’s only a year ahead of me. Anyway, you should see his equipment.”
My heart jumps to my throat. Get a grip, Ellie. She’s not talking about his junk.
Blissfully unaware of the track my mind has taken, Kaylee runs on. “It’s the bomb. He attends the number one high school in South Carolina. Number 29 in STEM education in the entire country. When he saw how good I’m at programming, he said I could probably get into his school next year. But I’d have to be enrolled here this fall. They don’t admit kids from out of state.”
Alarm bells go off. She can’t be talking about moving to South Carolina, can she? Because if she is, that’s definitely not happening. It’s one thing to spend part of her summer with her father, it’s another to move permanently to Charleston. But I can’t come at her heavy-handed. If I do, she’ll definitely dig in her heels. “Honey, they have STEM schools in Chicago as well.”
“Not rated as highly as this one, they don’t. Did you know Advance Tech has a hub here?”
Advance Tech is one of the top technology companies in the United States. They’re involved in everything from robotics to self-driving cars.
“No. I didn’t know that.”
