“I need to talk to Rodney about his schooling. Here is the thing. He has a full baseball scholarship. He doesn’t seem interested in pursuing that as a career. I think he is good enough to become a professional, from what his coaches and the scouts who recruited him for college all have said. His mother and I have both encouraged him to try. What he seems to want is to be part of Gentry Construction.” He looked at me.
“Ut oh.” He realized the problem immediately.
“The thing is, Rodney is very talented with the business already, and he is making an impact. His mother wants him in school and trying for the MLB. I want him to be happy. If he works for Gentry, he ultimately needs a degree in business. If he wants to pursue pro ball, I will support that, too. The problem is I won’t stop him from working for Gentry if that’s what he wants. His mother has threatened to kill me if I don’t tell him he can’t work for me until he has a four-year degree.” I rubbed my face.
“You have quite the dilemma. Do you have a plan?”
“Iwas thinking of offering him a job with Gentry where he works part of the week and maybe does an online bachelor’s degree in business. His mom is going to flip out. The work he has done for me this summer is outstanding. I think the business degree will help him overall.”
“That sounds like a good possibility. It’s not the MLB. Professional sports are difficult and not a good fit for everyone. I assume he likes what he is doing for you?” I liked that River was helping me by allowing me to talk through my thoughts.
“When I asked Rodney if he liked working for Gentry, he said he did. I haven’t asked why he doesn’t want to play baseball, though, and plan to do that in our meeting today.”
“I assume you want my opinion, which is why you are bringing this to me.” He took a deep breath. “Having dealt with many people that have made it in their sport, they don’t always love it. People say they took something they loved and turned it into a job because they had pressure. He may love baseball and not want to hate it. You have given him the gift of having choices. I would ask him why he doesn’t want to chase that anymore. Which it sounds like you plan to do.” I nodded at him. “Not much help, I know.”
“I think this is harder on his mother than on him or me.”
“One more thing. I don’t know if you planned it, but you should tell Sarah what you are thinking before you talk to him. I feel like you owe her that. Maybe you can get on the same page before talking to him.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed it.
“You are right. Which means I need to get going.” I stood up and pulled him to me. I lifted his chin so I could claim his mouth. My tongue searched him out. When we met, my jeans got much tighter, and I pulled him against me so he could feel what he didto me.
He was wearing his pajama bottoms, and what I did to him was apparent. I called Daisy, putting her in her harness. I looked over at River. His ears were red, and he was looking down. I had started to see the signs of him being awkward, and I knew he wanted to say something.
“Hey. What are you thinking?”
“I don’t want to seem needy.” Come here, I brought him into a hug.
“Let me know what you have going on in that head. You are adorable when flustered, but you can share anything with me.”
He looked at me. His eyes were a bit glassy. “It’s silly. I don’t know how I am going to sleep without you. I’ve gotten used to it.”
“You know, I guess I didn’t think about it. I just assumed I was coming back here after work. That was arrogant, but I couldn’t imagine not being with you overnight.”
“How about you spend the rest of the week here?” He got embarrassed again.
“Yes. I will stay tonight and Wednesday. I want to take you and Charlie to my home Thursday night after the wine tasting and for the weekend. We can decide what to do Sunday night after Sunday dinner?”
He looked radiant. “I would like that very much. I can’t wait to see your house.”
“Good, I can’t wait to show you my world. I hope you like it.”
“If it’s where you live, I know I will love it. Now, get going. You have a big conversation. I’ll make us some dinner tonight.”
“Sounds great.” I kissed him and headed out the door.
When I got across the street, I took a deep breath before I entered the trailer. I wanted to talk to Sarah before I met with Rodney.
“Good morning, Little Brother.”
“Hey, Sis. I’m ordering some breakfast. Would you like something?”
“Sure. Please get me the usual and a giant coffee.”
“Done and done. Should be here in about twenty minutes.” Sarah handed me an envelope. Matt sent these over. I opened it up. Included were three bundles of paper. He printed out a bunch of online degree programs. There was a second one of adult-only, women-oriented cruises, and the last one was inclusive vacation destinations that were also adult-only.
“I had Matt find some cruises. Pick one you and your friend will like, and I’ll send you on it.” I looked at the last packet of cruises and all-inclusive resorts. There was everything you could think of, from couples only to Alaska and a hotel with heart-shaped hot tubs in Mexico. I set those aside and looked forward to picking one with River.
Our food arrived, and I turned to face Sarah. “I’m meeting with Rodney today. We are going to talk about his schooling and working for Gentry.”
