Stupid Boy: Senior Year - Winter 15

Chapter 15 -- Hard Choice

Thursday December 29

The trip home seemed to take forever. Whenever I wanted to be somewhere in a hurry, LA traffic reared its ugly head. Then the plane I was on had mechanical problems, and we had to switch to another flight. That meant that I lost my first-class seat and was sent to the back of the plane in a middle seat. It was either that or wait another day to get home. We landed in Chicago in the early morning, so traffic sucked getting out of the city.

When I finally got home, I found my mom, Angie, and Caryn in the kitchen.

"Good, you're home. Your dad should here be soon," Mom said.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Just wait until your dad gets here," Mom said.

Tim had invited me over before dinner so we could plan the upcoming week. Lexi had come up with some ideas for things we could do on our trip. The whole family arranged to meet us at our house for dinner tonight.

I missed my kids like crazy. My mom had decided to keep them in daycare, despite Peggy being on break. Mom reminded me what it was like to watch them all at the same time, so I didn't complain, even though we'd hired someone new to help. I'd wanted to swing by daycare to see them, but my mom had sent me a text to tell me to come straight home.

"Do I need to tell Tim I won't be over?"

"Probably not," Angie said, not really giving me an answer.

I sent Tim and Wolf a text to let them know I was being held captive. My mind was going a mile a minute as I tried to figure out why Angie was here and how it tied into Mom, Dad, and Caryn. I was happy when the front gate opened, and Dad finally got home. Caryn waited until he'd joined us before she began.

"Megan gave a report on the financials at our weekly staff meeting. We found an anomaly."

I looked at Dad, and he didn't look happy. I worried that someone had stolen money.

"Over the last two days, our GoFundMe pages for the two charities have been receiving donations," Caryn shared.

I was confused.

"That's good, right?" I asked.

"Normally, I would agree. We average about seventy-five hundred a month for the cancer charity and twenty-five hundred for teen moms," Caryn said, confirming what I knew. "Since Monday, both charities have pulled in ten thousand each, all small donations, with none greater than five hundred dollars."

"Did we send out a fundraising letter or get some publicity of some kind?" I asked.

"I asked the same thing," Dad said.

"No, we haven't done anything special to spur donations. I had Megan pull the donor list for me. Normally, very few donations are made anonymously. All of these have been," Caryn said.

"Then your mom got this," Dad said as he handed me a heavy-duty envelope.

It was sent to the attention of my mom for her charity. I checked, and there was no return address. I opened it, and inside were stacks of hundred-dollar bills with five-thousand-dollar bands around them. On the top was a typed note that said, 'Hope this helps your charity. Go Blue!'

"Did you count it?" I asked.

"That's twenty-five-thousand dollars," Mom answered.

I looked at Angie.

"Where's yours?" I asked.

Everyone's head snapped around and stared at her. Angie blushed.

"It's in the car," she admitted.

"Go get it," Dad said, leaving no room for Angie to back out.

"We need to talk about that at some point," Mom said after she left.

Angie came back in and handed over her envelope. Dad looked inside and then at her.

"Why has one of the bands been broken?" Dad asked.

"I took a couple hundred dollars to buy groceries with," she said sheepishly.

"If you're short of money, all you have to do is ask, and you know we would help you," Mom said, concerned.

That made Angie blush even more. I think everyone knew that Angie made enough to cover her bills. From the way she acted, we all knew she hadn't been short of cash. I made sure of that when she came to me and asked for a raise last spring. I'd also just prepaid for a bunch of massage certificates for Greg's business to help them have extra money for Christmas. Angie was just being Angie. I bet Greg would be furious when he found out that she had taken funds designated for the charity. I knew I was, but I had to set that aside for the moment.

"Let's focus on what matters. Who is all this money coming from, and why did we just receive seventy thousand dollars in donations?" I asked.

"My first and last thoughts were recruiting," Dad said. "When Caryn called me about the small donations, I thought they might be coming from Oklahoma. The guy who stopped you at the restaurant seemed a little shady. Then the note said 'Go Blue,' which made me think Michigan. I dug a little and discovered that Southwest Central State is called the Big Blue Machine."

I said a really bad word, and no one even flinched.

"This gives that douche at the NCAA his excuse to cause problems," I explained.

"What are you talking about?" Mom asked.

"I told you about the investigator and his threats if David didn't 'cooperate.' He wants David to help expose what Springbok and Southwest Central State are up to as far as paying recruits to play for them," Dad reminded her.

"So?" Mom asked. "I thought you got him to back off."

"More; I called his bluff. I told him that I wouldn't help with their investigation, and he could basically go pound sand," I confessed.

Mom gave my dad a look that said he might have left some of the details out. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, you would've been proud of him. He took charge and never lost his cool. David made it clear that he'd made his one attempt to get them to slip up. That was when he met with Coach Foster for his in-home visit," Dad said, defending both himself and me.

"I guarantee you Stewart Chadwick will use this to bone me," I reiterated.

"He didn't look happy when he left," Dad admitted.

"That being said, it looks like we need to deal with this," Caryn said to get us back on track.

"Why don't we just take the money and act like it was just a donation?" I suggested.

"You can't be serious!"

Dad was looking at me as if I'd either grown another head or lost the one I had.

"Think about it. The cost of this is going to end up being more than what we take in after the lawyers get done with us. It would also avoid the whole mess with the NCAA."

"Is that how you really think we should handle this?" Mom asked.

I wanted to say 'yes.' Just sweep it all under the rug and ignore it. It wasn't only the NCAA that worried me. I was sure the FBI would crawl all over this too. If we messed with them, it could get dangerous. What scared me was that they could basically arrest anyone and say they lied to them. That was a felony and would probably mean jail time. All it took were two parties to give opposing views in interviews. One of them had to be lying, right?

I knew that the FBI ordinarily didn't do that, but the scary part was, they could. All it would take was someone with an agenda to turn that kind of power into something truly unthinkable. Being in the public eye, I was an easy target if they needed someone to make an example of. When Maddie Addison had warned me not to provide the FBI with the video from our meeting with Stewart Chadwick, it had made a believer out of me. I was afraid she would make me tell them about the money.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. When did I become so cynical? I remembered being appalled when Teddy Wesleyan had more or less accused me of being after his family's money. That was when his niece had bought me clothes for our date. Looking back, I had no frame of reference for what he must deal with regularly. I'd grown up in a small town and didn't have any firsthand experience of what could happen. Since then, I'd had to deal with Cal when he tried to take Coby from me. I'd been attacked on a flight when the boxer had tried to strong-arm rob me. I'd had an attempted kidnapping by a gang in Mexico, a recruit's father attacked me in a bathroom, Zander almost killed me, and Stewart Chadwick threatened my eligibility. Then, finally, Maddie Addison basically scared the crap out of me about the FBI.

Regardless, I knew the difference between right and wrong. The right thing to do was to report it. But at that moment, I understood why people decided against it.

I also knew, probably better even than my parents, what doing the 'right thing' would cost me. My fight with the NCAA would go to a whole new level if this weren't handled correctly. Stewart Chadwick would be out for blood. It was very possible I would never play college ball.

For a brief moment, I was almost relieved. This could help me decide what I would end up doing with my life. Maybe I was destined to just do movies.

Then I had a horrible thought.

"Do you think Wolf and Tim got money?"

"What does that have to do with you reporting this?" Mom asked.

"Because if the NCAA finds out about it, they will eventually look at those two. If they pull my eligibility, they would have to do the same to Wolf and Tim," I explained.

"Would they really?" Angie asked.

"In a heartbeat," Dad said. "We need to find that out and call Ms. Dixon and Mr. Morris before we do anything."

"I'll set it up," Caryn said.

"What do we do with the cash?" Mom asked. "We can't leave it around the house, and I suspect we better not deposit it."

"Caryn and I will go to the bank and open a safe-deposit box for now," Dad said.

"I'll have Megan tally up all the GoFundMe money and make sure it's accounted for separately," Caryn assured us.

"Before you go play with your friends, you have to do two things," Mom said.

I looked at Dad and gave him my best put-out teen look. I mean, seriously--'Go play with your friends'? Was I six?

"I think we should get going," Dad said to Caryn.

He just didn't want to be here if my mom and I decided to go at each other.

"Catch Satan's Spawn and put him in the cat carrier I have in the back of my car. Then I want you to go to your grandmother's and pick up Duke."

My grandmother loved my dog, and if she came into town, she would swing by and pick him up. My mom had told me he needed exercise when I wasn't home, and he could run all over the farm to get it.

On the way to my apartment, I opened my bags and threw a load into the laundry. My housekeeper in LA didn't come until Friday, so I was on my own to get my clothes clean. When I entered my apartment, the golden kitten was sleeping on the back of the couch. Once I got near him, he opened an eye.

"Hey, there, remember me?" I asked as I reached out to rub his back.

He seemed to like that and began to purr. He wasn't so bad.

I picked him up, and he rubbed his head against my chest. I loved him up and then put him into the pet carrier. He just curled up and went back to sleep. My mom must have scared him somehow. I took him down to the kitchen, and Mom couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Did you have to bash him with a broom and knock him out?" she asked.

"I don't know what all the fuss was about. He was sleeping on the back of the couch, so I picked him up and put him in there. He seems like a sweet kitty," I assured her.

"I call bullshit. That kitten is not sweet," Mom informed me. "Now go get your hound. I'll finish your laundry."

That was more than a fair trade. I left before Mom changed her mind.

---

When I went out back, I found Cassidy waiting for me.

"I'm your security today," she informed me.

I'd planned to slip out without any security so I could drive the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. Getting a chance to finally see my buddy Cassidy more than made up for it. I wrapped her in a big hug and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you," I said for the hundredth time.

She'd been there to stop Aaron when he'd abused my baby boy and my dog. I could never fully repay her for that.

"Your mom sent me a text saying you needed to drive somewhere. Where are we going?" Cassidy asked.

"Grandma Dawson's farm. She's dog-sitting, and I have to pick up Duke," I explained.

"Good, I get to drive through the park."

The park's twisty drive was one of my favorites in the Demon. Part of Cassidy's repayment was a boon I'd granted her to let her drive my car. The sight of Cassidy's happy anticipation was enough for me to go along with my promise to her. I got in and buckled up.

"Tell me about the tigers," I said.

I had become an expert at nodding and making agreement sounds when a girl went into a monologue about a topic she was enamored with. Brook had already heard it all from Cassidy and felt she needed to repeat it to me, so I was able to half-tune Cassidy out. Meanwhile, I contemplated how truly messed up getting money from Southwest Central State was. There was a military term that fit this: FUBAR. It stood for F-ed Up Beyond Any Recognition, describing something that was a complete disaster. This situation had all the earmarks of heading there.

"They said I could bring them home if I got a big-enough enclosure," Cassidy concluded as we pulled into the drive.

"Uh, huh," I said.

Cassidy reached over and smacked me in the back of the head.

"You didn't listen to a word I said," she accused.

"You said you had a good time," I tried as I quickly got out of the car.

I whistled for my boy. I could hear his frustrated bark that told me something was up. Since Duke didn't come, I decided I better go see what was up. I found my grandmother wrestling with a goat, trying to get its head unstuck from the fence gate. She saw me, smiled, and then frowned.

"We've had problems with the gate getting open and the goats escaping. I finally found the culprit. This one figured out how to stick his head through and unlock it," she explained.

I had my doubts until he turned his head and licked the knob on the bolt latch. It was one of those that you flipped up the knob and then pulled the bolt back to open the gate. The crafty devil was smart enough to figure it out. His only problem was his head was really stuck between the slats.

"You should attach a board to his horns so he can't get his head through," I suggested.

My grandma thought about it for a moment and then smiled.

"Or we could have goat for dinner."

Cassidy blanched at that idea. I don't think she ever seriously thought about where the meat at the grocery store came from. I also knew that this wouldn't be the first goat that had crossed my grandmother and gone on to become a tasty meal.

"Let me try to get him out," I suggested.

Over the next several minutes, I tried to figure out how to get him free. I had no idea how he'd jammed his head through the gate. I finally had to go get some tools and take the gate apart. The whole time, the goat was crying, and Duke was agitated. I swear that my hound had the biggest heart. He worried about everything.

Once I finally got the goat free, I had a chance to love my puppy up. Cassidy laughed at his antics. There was never a doubt when Duke wanted to let you know he loved you.

While I was putting the fence back together, I saw one of the farmhands take our escape artist into the barn. I didn't tell Cassidy what he was up to. I was afraid she might stop him.

When I was done, Grandma Dawson invited us into the house. She had hot apple cider and cherry-walnut bars. They were all made from things we grew on the farm.

"Can you adopt me?" Cassidy asked.

"Sweetheart, I adopt all of David's friends. Feel free to come out anytime," Grandma Dawson answered.

"How is being Mayor Duke's proxy going?" I asked.

"I'd forgotten how much fun this could be. Knowing that Duke won't be running again has allowed me to do stuff that the city council never thought would get done because of the politics involved."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," I said.

"The city treasurer came to me and said that they had a backlog of people who owed the town money for one reason or another. Things like unpaid parking tickets, fines for not mowing their yards, or violating other city ordinances. She complained that it would cost us more to try to collect everything than it was worth and wanted to write it off. I had another idea.

"We had an amnesty day where, if they brought in a variety of items for the homeless or children in need, they could have their record cleaned up. But we did say that it was only for those who didn't have an open ordinance violation on the books. We offered them a chance to get the issue corrected. If they did that, they could take advantage of the donation offer," she shared.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"It was okay. The ones that didn't take advantage, we decided to go after. We turned those over to a collection agency. I figured we didn't need to waste city resources chasing people down for less than $300 a pop. If they weren't smart enough to show up with at least a pack of gum, then I wasn't going to worry about them."

"What else is going on?" I asked.

"We have some serious budget issues. The previous mayor embezzled from the city employees' pension fund, and we have an obligation to repay that. We're in the process of figuring out how we'll do that without having to raise property and/or sales taxes. There's talk of shutting down the libraries, public pools, and the like. If we do, Duke's not going to be very popular," she admitted.

I noticed that he took the blame when anything went wrong. And I realized that my grandma was using an old political trick: suggest the closure of popular venues or services. The alternative of a 'small' tax hike wouldn't seem so bad in comparison.

My phone rang, and I saw it was Halle James calling.

"What's up, Buttercup?" I asked when I answered the call.

"Did you forget that you promised to redo the song with me?" she asked back.

"I'm going to blame Lexi for this one," I said to try to wiggle out of my obligation.

"Nice. Blame your people. You're starting to sound like a typical Hollywood type."

"Is there some way I can do it from here? There has to be a local sound studio where I could lay down my track," I suggested.

"No need," she said, letting me off the hook. "We were able to piece together audio from your singing lessons with Jett."

"So, you just wanted to give me a hard time?"

"That, and I'll be in town tomorrow. I was hoping we could get together and do something."

"Are we talking bow-chicka-bow-wow, or something else?" I asked.

"David," Cassidy warned.

I looked up at my grandmother and gave her my innocent face.

She sighed.

"I'm starting to understand why your mother is put out all the time," Grandma Dawson said with a raised eyebrow.

I would have to learn to mimic that look for my kids. She had years of experience with the 'put-out mom' look. As her favorite grandson, I rarely received that from her. That was one of the perks of being a grandparent: you could leave the discipline to the parents.

"If you think you can talk Brook into it, I'm game," Halle flirted.

That brought a smile to my face, which caused my grandmother and Cassidy to double down on their glares. I snorted out a laugh in response.

"What's so funny?" Halle asked.

"Cassidy and my grandmother are giving me dirty looks," I confessed.

"You poor thing. I'll make it all better when I see you," Halle teased.

"You better hurry up and get here. I think Cassidy might hurt me, and I need protecting," I said in a scared little boy voice.

Even my grandmother's lips twitched as she tried not to smile. Cassidy just ignored me and grabbed another cherry-walnut bar.

"I really do miss you."

"Good," I decided. "I'll let Brook know, and we'll figure something out."

She promised to text me when they landed, and I hung up. I looked my grandmother in the eyes.

"Puleeease. Between Uncle John and my dad, I'm sure you've heard worse," I said to defend myself.

She gave me a thoughtful look.

"Thankfully, they grew out of it," she said.

I wondered what fantasy world she lived in, but decided to keep that question to myself.

---

When I got home, Cassidy dropped me off. She wasn't done driving the Demon. I knew exactly how she felt and just let her have her fun. I'd sent a message to Tim and Wolf to let them know when I would be home. They were both waiting for me.

Duke bounded in to tell everyone hello. I saw that our cook/housekeeper was here.

"Hey, Melanie."

"Welcome home. I made sugar cookies," she said, pointing at the table.

Tim and Wolf had glasses of milk and were in the process of demolishing the platter of cookies she'd put out.

Duke found the pet crate and was rewarded with a yowl of displeasure from Satan's Spawn. Everyone flinched. He sounded so much like Precious, it wasn't funny.

"Take the cookies and that ... that cat and go to your apartment," Melanie suggested.

"Come on, boys, we're being kicked out," I said.

Duke led the way. When we got upstairs, I opened the crate, and Satan's Spawn jumped into my arms for protection from Duke's intended puppy scan. I didn't know any cat that enjoyed being sniffed all over.

"What's up with you guys?" I asked.

"Looking forward to our trip to LA," Wolf said.

"I could use some alone time with Tami," Tim admitted.

Wolf's face lit up like he'd just discovered electricity or something. I think he caught my momentary twinge. Tim certainly picked up on it.

"Sorry, Dude, but she's my girlfriend."

He didn't sound sorry, and dang it, he was right.

"Eat your cookie like a good boy and leave me alone." I grinned to let him know I was okay.

Tim laughed.

"There's not a good bone in this body," Tim said, trying to act like he was bad to the bone.

"That sucks for you," Wolf countered with a sly smile.

"Good bones are all I have lately," Tim shot back.

I choked, spewing cookie everywhere.

"You both need to find girlfriends who're local if you're having a problem," I teased.

"I'm just fine with the one I have," Tim assured me.

Wolf didn't look like he was sure. Then he seemed to realize we were both staring at him.

"Bite me. I'm good. Mine is a model, after all," he said to try to reassure us.

Frankly, I thought he might have been reassuring himself. Even though Sarah was smoking hot and only an hour's drive away, it had to be hard to carry on a relationship long-distance.

I decided to change the topic.

"We might have a problem. I received cash in the mail, and I think it was from Southwest Central State," I said.

I could tell from the sideways looks Tim and Wolf gave each other that they'd also received cash. The truth was I really had no business telling them what to do about it, but red warning flags had gone up all over. I suddenly felt like I stood right in the middle of a potential minefield. One wrong step and everything would explode in the worst way possible, and it would be a bloody, frickin' disaster.

All I could do was give them the information they needed and let them make their own decisions as to what was best for them. I knew Wolf wasn't rolling in cash, and anything he received from them would probably help. Tim was another story. His parents made enough that he'd never felt the worry of not having anything.

"What do you intend to do?" Tim asked.

"I'm going to report it to both the FBI and NCAA," I said.

In my gut, I knew I would.

"Are you sure?" Wolf asked.

I'd shared with them what I'd been going through with both the NCAA and FBI so far.

"Of course he is," Tim said with more confidence than I felt.

"What makes you say that?" Wolf asked.

"David never shies away from something, even if it is the hard choice. If he thinks it's the right thing to do, he'll do it," Tim said.

Wolf nodded in agreement with his comment. I'd never realized they thought that about me. In a way, I was flattered.

"I'm worried this might come back on you guys if they sent you money," I explained.

"Are you asking if we received money or not?" Wolf asked.

With that question, I knew they had received money, too. Why else would Wolf ask that? Still, best to stick to the plan and not let them know that I knew.

"I'm afraid there will be blowback. I fully expect that the NCAA will pull my eligibility while they 'investigate' everything. The guy they sent out to see me all but told me that I had to continue to help them, or they would cause me problems. I told him to forget it. I wasn't going to keep pretending to go along with Southwest Central State. Not just to see if we could get them to make a mistake and admit what was going on solely for the investigator's and the NCAA's continued glory. I pretty much dared the NCAA guy to make an issue of it," I admitted.

"What do you think will happen?" Tim asked.

"At some point, they're going to look at the two of you to see if you took any money."

They both looked at each other again.

"Well ... to be truthful ..." Wolf started.

I held up my hands to stop him. If they didn't actually tell me, I would be able to truthfully say I didn't know.

"Before you finish that sentence, let me talk to my legal team and find out what they say. I have a feeling that if I don't know what has gone on with you two, then I would never have to withhold anything. I would just suggest that hypothetically, if you did receive something, that you not spend it or deposit the money--yet. My dad put the cash in a safe-deposit box so there's no paper trail," I said to clue them in.

"So, you're suggesting we keep the money?" Wolf asked.

It's funny how people hear what they want to. Even Tim gave Wolf a look of disbelief.

"He said nothing of the sort. He said to wait until he talked to the lawyers before we do anything," Tim said to clarify things.

"How much did you get?" Wolf asked.

"Seventy thousand," I admitted.

"Well, kiss my ass," Wolf chirped.

He winked at me to let me know he wasn't totally serious. From the looks Tim and Wolf exchanged, they didn't get near that much.

"I know. What were they thinking? I could make more on a photo shoot," I teased.

"Dawson, you totally suck. When are you going to get us roles in a movie? I mean, even Cassidy got paid in your last one," Tim complained.

I thought about it for a minute. She was in my last movie and had been given credit for a speaking role. That had to mean they paid her. The little shit never told me that.

"I do have a budget for my _Star Academy_ movies to hire people. That's how I hired Lexi to be my personal assistant," I said, thinking out loud. "Maybe when you're in LA, we could run over to the studio and find out if there's something you could do."

"That would mean we would have to miss our first semester of college," Tim said.

"We would just gray-shirt like David. I would bet they planned to redshirt us anyway our freshman year. I would rather get a paycheck and coin in the bank than go to school," Wolf reasoned.

"We would need to find out how much before we made a decision," Tim said.

"I would love to have you guys around. They're filming in New Zealand and Australia. I have to warn you, though, it would be work and not a vacation."

"He cracks me up," Wolf said. "He's worried we'll just goof off all the time."

"The star is getting us the job. Surely, they would understand that they're just paying us to find him girls and grab some sun," Tim added.

"Forget it," I said to tease them.

"Hang on. Tim talked out of turn. Just because he's a jerk doesn't mean you have to dump me too," Wolf almost pleaded.

"Just saying," Tim said to double down.

I got out my phone and sent Lexi a text, mentioning that Tim and Wolf had both been involved in construction and construction management internships already. I received one back that said they should send her their résumés, and she would take those with her and talk to her dad. He was in charge of the movies; starting at the top was probably best.

---

Tim and Wolf took off to spend some time at home before coming back for dinner. While we'd talked, Duke and the kitten must have become friends because I found them curled up on my bed, sleeping together.

"What's going on here?" I scolded.

Duke knew he wasn't supposed to be on the bed. I think he might have gained some privileges while I was gone. He slunk off.

"Merowff," the kitten rumbled lazily as he rolled onto his back so I could rub his tummy.

I had a sinking feeling that the kitten had chosen me as its master, and I wasn't going to get rid of him. If he acted anything like Precious, my uncle would never take him. I could just see the cat terrorizing his cattle. One yowl would have them stampeding. To be honest, I might stampede with them.

"You have to be super-nice when I introduce you to my uncle. He has a great big farm that you could roam and call home. It would be the perfect place for you," I said to try to reason with the feisty little tomcat.

Duke gave me a look like I was wasting my time trying to explain things to a cat. He was probably right.

"We've got some time. Want to go for a run?" I asked my buddy.

He knew what 'go for a run' meant and began to dance around. It seemed I'd better hurry up and get changed.

---

I timed it just right. As I was running up the block, I saw Peggy pull into the driveway. Duke and I squeezed in before the gate closed. I came around the back of the SUV as Peggy stepped out of the car.

"Oh, my goodness! You scared the crap out of me," Peggy said and then gave me a hug.

I made a mental note to talk to Fritz about what I'd just done. If it hadn't been me ... I let that thought just hang there since I didn't want to follow it to a conclusion.

Getting out the car on the other side was a young woman I'd met at the daycare but whose name I couldn't remember.

"David, you remember Ms. Lawrie," Peggy said as an introduction.

She was in her mid- to late-20s. Her glasses made her look like a nerd.

"Welcome home," she said.

"Need help getting them out?" I offered.

I didn't wait for a response as I opened the back door. Coby had an intense look on his face, like he was concentrating. That was a sure sign he was in the process of filling his diaper. I reached in, set him free, and handed him to Ms. Lawrie.

"You might want to check him," I suggested.

Little David was trying to work the restraints so he could free himself from the car seat.

"Hang on, Buster," I told him.

"Out!" he commanded.

I was impressed that his words matched what he wanted.

"Yes, sir. Right away, young man," I answered back as I undid his restraints.

He was all smiles when I picked him up.

"I need to change him," Ms. Lawrie said as she took Coby to the house.

"Help is a wonderful thing," Peggy said as the back door closed, and we were alone.

"I was afraid we would have to play 'not it' on that one," I said, agreeing with her.

"I'll take him since you need to go shower, and it's freezing out here," Peggy said as I handed Little David over.

She was right. It was too cold to be standing around after a run.

---

When I came down, I found that Ashley and Scarlet had arrived and brought the rest of the little ones. This was what I'd been missing for the last couple of weeks. The sight of my children all gathered together made my chest tighten. While I felt the joy of seeing them, there was another part of me that wanted to scream, 'Oh, my God! What have I done?'

I really should do a PSA about the consequences of not using birth control. I was just lucky that I had the resources to get away with this. If I'd been a typical teenager, I might have to be on that MTV show about teen dads. I could see myself more interested in playing video games than getting a job to help pay bills. I was sure I would be hated once it hit the airwaves.

Before I went in to visit the kids, I stopped to talk to Ashley and Scarlet.

"I sold my first house," Ashley announced.

"That's great news. Mom told me that it could take a while to get your first sale. It sounds like you're ahead of the curve," I shared. "How did it happen?"

"They were a walk-in to the office. I'd been following your mom around, learning what she does, so I wasn't nervous when I talked to them. I actually ended up showing and selling them one of your mom's listings," Ashley explained.

"That must have made her happy," I surmised.

"Since it was her listing that I made an offer on, she had Pam's mom help me with the paperwork and with making the offer. We wanted to make sure no one was given an unfair advantage."

Mom had told me about the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that went on when the listing and buyer's agent were either the same or in the same office. She had made a believer of me when she explained why you should never contact the seller's agent and expect them to treat you fairly. All she had to do was point out that the seller was the one who paid your commission for me to see her point. It was only natural to want to please the person paying you, even if you didn't do it consciously. In addition, a higher sale price meant a bigger commission for both agents.

"It looks like we'll both be able to get funds out of our trusts early. Ms. Dixon got us in touch with someone in their family law practice, and they've filed the relevant paperwork for us. When that happens, you won't have to give us money each month," Scarlet shared.

"You don't know how much your help has meant to us," Ashley added.

"How come you didn't come talk to me sooner? I mean, you both knew I was doing movies and had money. It just never made sense that you wouldn't have looked me up sooner to help support my kids," I said.

"We talked about it," Ashley admitted.

"Honestly, we didn't know if we wanted to get you involved," Scarlet said, shocking me.

"Then, why did you?" I asked.

"I'd run out of options. The prospect of being forced to marry and live in a trailer on the farm made me decide to tell you. I called Ash, and she wasn't much happier," Scarlet said.

"What were you afraid of?" I asked.

"Oh, come on, really? You have no idea?" Ashley asked.

"Besides me being younger?"

"That, and how we got pregnant. We basically took advantage of you with our little sex game. With that, and the whole statutory rape issue, we were afraid that if we approached you with lawyers, we would be even more screwed," Ashley said.

"I think I'd better go do ... something," Melanie said as she blushed.

Our poor cook/housekeeper always seemed to be in the room when these conversations started. I kept forgetting that she wasn't used to the open discussions we had in our household. She grabbed Ms. Lawrie, who didn't want to leave and miss our little drama, and took her to the living room where Peggy was watching the little ones.

Ashley blushed when she realized she had spilled the beans in front of the women.

"You have to see what a big decision this was for us," Scarlet said. "It turned out all our fears were unfounded. You've been great, and if I could do it over again, I would tell you as soon as I suspected we were pregnant."

"Now that you're finally going to get into your trust fund, that doesn't mean I'll stop supporting you financially if and when you need it. Nor that you and the little ones aren't going to be getting tons of presents now and in the future," I said.

"You already do enough. After all, you found us jobs that pay well enough for us to cover our bills. You pay for daycare and hired both Peggy and Ms. Lawrie to help watch the boys and Carol. Your mom and family are always there to help. And you set up trust funds for all the kids. I can't see asking for you to pony up more money. The agreement was that you would help out until we got our trust-fund money," Ashley said.

"Plus, we've learned that if we need money for anything, we can just ask you. It might be different if you'd been a jerk about all this. When you invited me home with you, even when you weren't a hundred percent sure that Carol was yours, that meant a great deal to me. It made Ash and me realize everything would be okay," Scarlet said.

"I'm not going to force money on you," I said with a little smile.

"Melanie! You can come back," Ashley called out.

As she walked back into the room, I winked at Ashley and Scarlet.

"Maybe you two can help Melanie out. She was unsure about how I would go about satisfying more than one woman at a time."

Melanie picked up a wooden spoon, raised it over her head, and started advancing on me. I decided I needed to go see little ones before she used it.

---

I was playing with the kids, 'getting them all wound up,' according to my mom, when Tami came in and took our picture.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"I want to remember you having fun like this. From what Brook tells me, you've become a workaholic."

"Anything for the art," I said.

"Hey, I have a funny Mike story for you."

"Did Harper finally get smart and break up with him?" I asked.

"Yes, but that isn't what this story is about."

"You'll have to tell me about that next," I said so she wouldn't forget I wanted dirt on the breakup.

"After the Christmas dance, some of the crowd went out into the parking lot to drink. Tim, Wolf, Sarah, and I decided to go grab pancakes, so we were able to see it."

"You totally suck at telling stories," I teased.

"Bite me, 'stupid boy,'" she said, and then continued the story. "Janet Hill was walking by to join her date at his car. He was a real gentleman and went to warm it up for her."

I snorted. It sounded like Tim was past all that stuff and made Tami get in a cold car. Maybe I could train Brook to go warm my car up in the winter so I wouldn't freeze my butt off.

"Sounds like you're still training your boyfriend."

"Again, bite me. So, Mike looks over at Janet and says, 'Hey, you forgot your panties in my front seat last night.' Janet flipped him off and shot back, 'In your dreams, Dirtbag.'"

"Good for her," I said.

"Wait, it gets better. Janet must have told her date. You have to imagine this. Her date was all of five-seven and probably weighed 150 pounds. You know how big Mike is. Anyway, Mike thought he would kick the kid's ass. Turns out Janet's date is a wrestler, and he must be pretty good because he kicked the stuffing out of Mike," Tami shared.

"Tell me you have video," I begged.

"It happened so fast, none of us thought to grab our cameras."

"I can't believe I spent time with both Tim and Wolf, and neither one told me about this," I complained.

"That's because I made them promise to let me tell you. I knew it would make your day."

"Was there any permanent damage?" I asked, hopefully.

"A split lip and a black eye. Mike's teammates broke it up when it was obvious that Mike was about to take a serious beating. They didn't try to help Mike with Janet's date, and they didn't try to rough her date up as a part of stopping the fight, either. I thought it said something about what his teammates really feel about Mike."

"Tim and Wolf didn't try to stop it, did they?" I asked with a scowl.

"No. They were happy to sit back and watch him get what he deserved."

"Good, because I wouldn't want to have to find new friends."

"No. You're good," Tami assured me.

"What about Harper?" I asked.

"They were on the rocks after his public comments at the Championship Game. Then she heard about what he said to Janet. She decided to cut her losses and broke up with him. We invited her out for pancakes as her reward for doing it right after he got his ass handed to him."

"Classic!"

One of the twins held his arms up for Tami to pick him up.

"Which one are you?" she asked.

I felt like a horrible father because I had to take a closer look.

"That's Dawson," I finally announced. "If Coby wasn't bigger, they could be triplets."

Even though Coby was the youngest, he was noticeably larger than his brothers and Little David. He was going to be a big kid. Mom had pulled out my baby records, and Coby was a little taller and heavier than I was at that age. His pediatrician guessed he would be as tall as or a little taller than me when he grew up. Pam claimed he would be the perfect size to be a swimmer.

I was rescued from entertainment duty when Momma Ashley and Momma Scarlet announced it was time for the little ones to eat. I had to smile as I watched Tami pitch in.

---

We had a houseful by the time dinner was ready. I was impressed by the Italian-themed spread Melanie had put on. My brother and I filled our plates and found a quiet corner so we could catch up.

"Did Mom tell you what Angie did?" I asked.

"Yeah. Are you going to fire her?" he asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it looks like it," I admitted.

"That's going to hurt because the hours were flexible and it helped pay the bills," he explained.

"Maybe we could find her something in the office where she wouldn't be exposed to temptation," I suggested.

He seemed relieved and then got serious.

"I sometimes don't understand her. She loves what she is doing, and it helped the pregnant girls in a meaningful way. I would hate to see the good work end because of what she did."

"Alright, I'll make you a deal. I'll make sure the charity keeps running, and Angie has a job through college. After that, I don't want her working for me."

"I don't blame you. Family only goes so far," he agreed. "I'm just glad you're not going to put us in a bind."

"If the situation were reversed, you would help me out," I said.

"You know I would."

Uncle John interrupted us.

"Your mom says you have a kitten I'm supposed to take home."

"Satan's Spawn?" Greg asked.

"Yep. Come up to my apartment, and I'll introduce you," I said.

"I've got to see this," Greg said, not being very helpful.

We went to the apartment, with Greg leading the way. When he reached the top of the stairs, Satan's Spawn yowled a warning, and Greg about fell down them. If Uncle John hadn't steadied him, he might have gone for a tumble.

"Aren't you a pretty boy?" Uncle John said as he walked around Greg.

I hurried up because I wanted to watch the show. Satan's Spawn eyed my uncle, but Uncle John kept talking to him and not making a move towards him. I couldn't believe my eyes when the silly kitten decided that my uncle was okay and came to him.

"I think we'll be fine," Uncle John said to make my day. "Most likely, I'll have to rename him, or your aunt will send him back."

"By all means. I think the name was meant more as a joke than anything else. I'm sure he'll make a good farm cat," I predicted.

"He looks like a lion cub. Maybe you could name him Leo or Simba," Greg suggested.

"Better yet, I'll let my wife name him," Uncle John said.

Both Greg and I rolled our eyes at him, even though he'd just schooled us. He did have a good idea now and then.

"Great! Mom and Dad will be off my back for letting the neighbor let her cat have kittens in the apartment. I owe you," I said.

"Your mom said you were letting us stay in your apartment tonight," Uncle John said with a smile.

Tomorrow was my meeting with Caryn regarding the businesses. I guessed Uncle John must be staying the night for that. I would just pack a bag and stay with either my grandmother or in one of Brook's cabins. If I had to bet, it would be off to Grandma Dawson's.

We all went back downstairs, and I spent time with everyone. It was good to be home.

---