“I think he’s got plenty of time. He can start thinking about college next year,” Katrina said.
“Well, when you do, you know we’ll all weigh in with our opinions,” Barrett said.
Leo laughed. “I’ll be happy to hear your opinions. I’ll probably need them, since right now I don’t have any idea.”
They talked about colleges for a while, then helped clear the table and do the dishes. They’d long ago learned from their mother that the kitchen wasn’t just a woman’s place. You ate the food, you either helped prepare it or you cleaned it up. So Barrett and Leo put the food away while Tucker and Grant did dish duty.
After, they walked out back and surveyed the construction work that was going on. Grant and Katrina showed them the plan for the outdoor kitchen and eating area, plus the expansion near the pool.
Leo picked up a football and was tossing it in the air, so Tucker took it and threw him a few.
“You sure you know which end of that is the right one?” Grant asked him.
Tucker wanted to toss out a curse, but with the kids there, he reined in the urge. “Yeah. The pointy end.”
Grant came over and took the ball from him. “Here, you’d better let me take that. Maybe you can go out there with Leo and take some passes. If you know how to catch.”
“Go fuck yourself, Grant,” he mumbled to his brother before taking a run out to the back of the yard to meet up with Leo.
They played a light game of catch, with Anya and Katrina included, just to work off dinner. But then Barrett tackled Grant, and the women decided they were going inside to make some iced tea, which was the signal for the game to get tougher.
“You in for this?” Tucker asked Leo.
Leo grinned. “Of course.”
He slapped Leo on the back. “Let’s take them down.”
They blindsided Barrett on a trick play. Tucker ran with the ball, then tossed it to Leo, who skirted past a diving Grant and scored.
“Sonofabitch, that kid is fast,” Grant said.
When Leo laughed, Grant said, “I mean, good job, Leo.”
Barrett’s gaze narrowed. “He’s the enemy. Quit telling him he did good.”
“Come on, he’s my kid. I have to tell him when he did a good job.”
Tucker couldn’t help but notice the wide grin on Leo’s face. He’d never had a father figure—or at least one that he remembered. Having Grant in his life now meant the world to him. That made Tucker happy for Leo.
Barrett scored on a toss from Grant after Barrett shoved a shoulder into Tucker and knocked him down—the bastard. So when they had the ball next, Tucker pulled Leo aside.
“How’s your passing?”
“Uh . . . kinda sucks.”
“That’s okay. All you have to do is throw it up in the air. I’ll catch it.” He discussed the play with Leo, then they broke and faced off against Barrett and Grant.
“I’m gonna bury you,” Barrett said to him.
“Quit talking shit and prepare to get your ass kicked,” Tucker said.
Barrett dug in. So did Tucker. Then they were off. Tucker ran like hell, and turned to catch the ball Leo had lofted into the air. He could see the ball, and in a few steps he’d have it.
He ran smack into a pile of discarded rocks. He didn’t have time to stop, so he tumbled over them and banged his head—hard—on the ground.
For a few seconds, everything went black. And everything on his body fucking hurt.
He rolled over onto his back, hoping like hell he hadn’t broken anything important, like his pitching arm.
“Hey, dumbass, you hurt?”
He blinked and saw Barrett standing over him. At least he thought it was Barrett.
“Don’t know.”
“Shit.” Barrett held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get you up and check the damage.”
He reached out and Barrett hauled him to his feet.
“Oh, fuck.” He dropped like a rock back to the ground, dizziness making him feel like he was going to barf up the contents of that amazing dinner he’d just eaten.
“Uh-oh. That’s not good,” Grant said, crouching down beside him. “Did you hit your head?”
“I don’t know. Maybe, when I hit the ground.”
By then Katrina and Anya were out there surrounding him.
“What happened?” Katrina asked.
“He can’t run for shit,” Barrett said. “That’s why he plays baseball.”
He wanted to say something sarcastic back to his brother, but his head had started to pound. And then everyone started talking at once, which only made his head hurt worse.
“He needs to go to the ER.”
That got his attention. He looked up at Katrina. “No, I don’t. I’m fine.”
“You are not fine. You hit your head. You’re dizzy.”
That much was true. But the last thing he wanted to do was go to the hospital. “I’m fine.”
“I think Katrina’s right,” Grant said. “Come on, Barrett. Let’s pull him up and we’ll take a drive to the ER.”
He felt hands grab him under his arms, then he was lifted. And then he got the spins again. And felt like throwing up.
Not good.
“I feel a lot better when I’m sitting down.”