Dirty Tackle: A Football Romance by Imani King Page A

for money. Although I was willing to help my parents to the best of my abilities, there was a limit that I thought to what was appropriate. Plus, I had my own daughter to think about and what was in her best interests.
    “Why didn’t you expect me home so soon?” I asked as I made my way to the stove. I picked up a spoon and took a taste of the sauce simmering on the stove top. It was delicious. I closed my eyes, and my stomach rumbled reminding me that I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
    “I just figured that you would want to spend time with Shane,” she said. My mother and I had always danced around this topic. So far, I had managed to keep her from saying anything that would tip off Scarlet to who her father was. But I knew that it was just a matter of time. Everything was coming to a head, and I had to get out of the storm that was brewing.
    “Well, that is something that I wanted to talk to you about,” I said. I finally turned around and faced my mother. I could see the open curiosity on her face. I loved my mother, but I hated the way she kept trying to interfere in my life.
    “What is it?” she asked. She looked altogether too innocent, which led me to believe that she knew exactly what I was going to be asking.
    “Shane asked me about going to his father’s funeral with him,” I said. I rested my hands on the counter behind me. “I haven’t said anything about the other thing yet.” I quickly scanned around her to see if Scarlet was anywhere close by. “And I will, after the funeral. But it might take a couple of days.”
    “So you want me to watch Scarlet,” my mother finished.
    “Would that be all right?” I asked.
    My mother started fidgeting around the kitchen. “Everybody in Rosewood knew Bob. I think that it would be strange if I did not go with your father to the funeral.”
    This was something I had never considered. I never expected my parents would want to go to the funeral. Nobody in town liked Bob Wright. I imagined the service would be small, if anyone showed up at all other than me and Shane.
    “I didn’t think that you knew Bob that well.”
    “It would be out of respect for Shane’s mother and for Shane. Cathy and I were reasonably good friends when she was alive. I feel like it’s appropriate for our family to pay its respects.”
    I rubbed my face with my hand. Even though I had grown up in Rosewood, and I understood on a basic level the intricacies of small town life, it still drove me mad. “This isn’t about paying respects to anyone. This is about you making sure that you’re in the middle of all the latest gossip and see everything first-hand. Like it might kill you to be stuck here without knowing anything about what’s going on at home.” My tone was sharper than I expected, but I was eager to get this conversation over with so I could get back to Shane.
    My mother’s mouth settled into a tense line, and I realized that I had probably overstepped my bounds. “I think that I have done my part in helping everyone in this family do what they need to do. I’m here to make sure that you don’t have to pay any child care for Scarlet so you can save some money. That means that I am away from my home. I’m away from my husband. That does take a toll. I’d like people to remember that I do exist, and going back would give me an excuse to see my husband and spend time with him,” she said.
    Instantly, I felt bad. I knew that it was difficult for my parents to be apart. No matter what they had gone through over the course of their marriage, I had never doubted that they loved each other. The whole ‘in good times and bad times’ definitely applied to their situation right now.
    “I’m sorry, Mom. Maybe I can ask one of my friends to come stay with me for a couple of days after the funeral see you can go home and spend some time with Dad,” I said.
    My mother shook her head. “Don’t bother yourself with that. It sounds like you need to pack a