Page 17 of The Scout

“Mom, did Cash talk to you about scouting me?”

“Your mom is going to come to my place tonight, the house right behind this one, to talk more about your future.”

Hannah gasped right before she glared at me. I hated sounding like an asshole, but I needed answers. I deserved answers.

“Really? That’s great.” Jimmy turned once again toward his mom. “The guys are going to the bonfire tonight. Can I go?”

“Where and who will be there?”

“It’s at Jacob’s, and his parents will be there. You can call them if you’d like. Please, Mom, all the guys are going. Max said his mom would take us.”

This had to be hard for Hannah. Only being fourteen and on a team with older kids couldn’t be easy to balance when it came to parties and going out.

“You can go, but be home by ten.”

“Ugh, how about eleven?”

“Ten thirty and no later.”

“Come on, Mom. Things don’t get started until then. Plus, Max can stay longer.”

“James Arthur Hall, is it polite to talk back to me?”

Jimmy’s face flamed red. “Sorry. Ten thirty is fine.”

James.My name. My real name. James Cassius Jameson. I was named after both of my grandfathers. Since my uncle and cousin were also named James, I went by Cash. Even in school, all my paperwork had “Cash” on it. When I turned seventeen, my parents made it my legal name. Hannah knew my real name. She knew everything about me.

Yet I knew nothing about our son. Was he a good kid? Rambunctious? When he was little, did he like reading? Does he now? I knew he skipped a grade, which meant he was a smart kid, but what was his favorite subject? Math? English? Did he draw like his mom used to? The only thing I knew was he excelled at baseball, like me.

“If Max wants to stay longer, I’ll come and get you, okay?”

He kissed his mom’s cheek. “Yeah. Fine, I guess. I’m going to go call Max.”

Unable to stop myself, I smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jimmy. We’ll talk more then.”

“Cool.”

“Maybe we can play catch, and I can show you a few tricks.”

“No way! I mean, that would be amazing. Thanks.”

Shocking me, he stretched his hand out. Taking it in mine, I gave him a shake.

“You’re a polite young man.”

Hannah hadn’t said much since her curfew debate with her son ...ourson. She handled it perfectly. There had been zero doubt she was a great mom. I moved across the floor to the front door.

“This was your grandmother’s house.”

“You remember that?”

I nodded. “I remember a lot of things. I’ll see you tonight, Hannah.”

She gave me a tight smile, and when the door clicked closed behind me, I leaned against it and stared at that swing. An image of me, Hannah, and a very young Jimmy sitting on it while we read him a book popped into my mind. Then I looked at the front yard and imagined playing catch with him.

So many years gone ... time that I could never get back. Now all I wanted was to know why.

Chapter7

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