He stared at the two women. Michelle at sixty-one was two years older than Evelyn but looked younger. But he had to admit his aunt looked better than when he last saw her. At that time there was a permanent frown between Evelyn’s eyes and deep lines had bracketed her mouth, and her once thick jet-black hair had thinned to sparse, graying wisps. However, there was never any sibling rivalry between the sisters, because Michelle never envied Evelyn, who’d managed to marry one of the Falls’ most eligible bachelors, while her relationship had been with a man who’d used and left her when she told him she was pregnant with his baby. Michelle had accepted her plight while always maintaining a positive attitude.
Sutton grew up not knowing the man who’d fathered him until after he’d become a first-round draft pick for the Braves. And when they’d come face-to-face in the lobby of an Atlanta hotel, it was as if he had been staring at an older version of himself. Sutton stopped the older man from saying anything when he’d put his hand up and walked past him because he did not want to hear any excuse as to why Gerard Clinton had deserted his mother when she’d needed him at the most vulnerable time in her life. Several reporters had witnessed the nonverbal interchange and the footage was replayed over and over on various sports channels. Years later when the topic of his biological father would occasionally come up during interviews, Sutton’s response would be the ubiquitous no comment until his publicist issued a statement that the subject of his client’s personal family was not up for discussion.
“A Stitch at a Time is the perfect name for my niece’s shop,” Michelle announced proudly.
Sutton’s thoughts shifted from his deadbeat father to his cousin. He’d attended Georgina’s grand opening and was awed by her artistic talent evident in the knitted and crocheted garments she displayed along with some of the Reed family’s hand-stitched heirloom quilts. She’d done a brisk business signing up people for lessons and others purchasing yarn and accessories to begin new projects. He was proud of Georgi, who at thirty-two had moved out of the house where she’d lived all her life to become an independent adult. Her decision to leave Powell’s Department Store, where she’d assisted the father managing it, had prompted him to step up and fill the void.
He had to agree with his mother. Completing any article in the shop required using a stitch. “It is ingenious.”
“Sutton, now that your mother is working at the store, what are your future plans?” Evelyn questioned.
“He has lots of options,” Michelle said, preempting Sutton’s response. “He has degrees in education and history. Which means he can always get a teaching position at a high school or even a college.”
Evelyn glared at her older sister. “Can you please let the man speak for himself?”
Sutton saw his mother lower her eyes with Evelyn’s sharp retort. There were times when his aunt’s tongue was as pointed as a samurai sword, and this was one of them. “My mother is right. I do have a lot of options, which also extend to becoming an athletic coach. Even though the new school year will begin in another week, I’m going to update my résumé and send it to several school districts.”
“I know it has been a while, but I still may have a few contacts over at the local school district,” Michelle volunteered.
“That’s okay and thanks for the offer, Mom. I’d rather do this on my own.”
“Sutton is a lot more fortunate than I was at his age,” Bruce stated solemnly. “I didn’t get the opportunity to go to college because my father and grandfather expected me to come on board and work full-time at the store within days of graduating high school.”
“If you’d gone to college, what would you have studied?” Michelle asked her brother-in-law.
A wistful smile parted Bruce’s lips. “Veterinary medicine. I was in the second grade and my best friend had a dog who’d had a litter of puppies. I’d go to his house every day to watch their mama feed them until they grew bigger and were old enough to be adopted. When I asked my mother if I could have a puppy, she told me she was allergic to dogs and cats, and that dashed my hopes of becoming a vet.”
Sutton wanted to tell his uncle that although it had been a long-held practice that he work in the family business, he could’ve broken with tradition and pursued his dream to attend veterinary college because he did have a brother and sister who could have stepped in to allow Bruce to live out his dream. The archaic mandate had been repeated in another generation with Georgina. Her dream of becoming an illustrator vanished with her younger brother’s passing. However, she’d finally challenged her family to control her own destiny. Sutton had offered to help her because he was transitioning from a professional athlete to a private citizen, and he’d also made his position known to Bruce beforehand that his tenure at the department store would not be permanent.
He never resented having a single mother because she’d raised him believing nothing was beyond his reach if he was willing to work hard to achieve his goal. The salary she’d earned working for the Johnson County school district paid the rent for a small two-bedroom house and put food on the table and clothes on his back. And when he was old enough, he went to work for his uncle at the department store during school breaks. Michelle took him to the local bank and had him open a savings account to deposit his first paycheck, and given her experience as the school district’s business manager, she’d taught him how to budget his earnings.
Dinner concluded with Sutton kissing his mother and aunt and thanking his uncle for his hospitality, and he drove the short distance to his house. He parked the sports car in the driveway and went into the house. He toyed with the idea of updating his résumé, then decided it was time to stop procrastinating and do it.
He exchanged his shirt and slacks for a T-shirt and shorts before retrieving a folder with transcripts and copies of recommendations from various instructors and professors. Sutton had just retrieved his laptop when he heard the ear-piercing sound of the Aston Martin’s alarm. Taking long strides, he walked to the front door and saw Zoey’s brother attempting to open the driver’s side door.
He was on the boy before Harper had realized that he wasn’t alone. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I... I wasn’t trying to steal your car.”
Sutton tightened his grip on back of the boy’s shirt when he turned to run away. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Home.”
“Wrong answer, Harper. I’m going to talk to your sister before I call the sheriff, and have you arrested for breaking into my vehicle.”
“Please don’t do that.”
Sutton ignored the quaver in the teen’s voice. “And why not?” he asked, forcibly steering Harper toward his house. He hadn’t formally met Zoey’s brother, but whenever he sat out on the porch at night, he’d observed him getting out of the same car several nights during the past week. He was coming home earlier than he had when Sutton first saw him with an unsteady gait. His hand went from Harper’s shirt to the nape of his neck as he steered him up the porch steps and rang the doorbell.
* * *
Zoey raced down the staircase when the doorbell chimed throughout the house. It appeared as if someone hadn’t taken their finger off the bell. She flung open the door to find Sutton gripping her brother’s neck as he struggled to free himself.
“Let him go!” Her hands fisted. “Now or I’ll call the sheriff, and have you arrested for assaulting a minor. And if you’ve hurt my brother, I’ll sue the hell out of you!”
“And what if I tell the sheriff that your dear brother tried to steal my car?”
Nothing moved but her eyes as she stared at Sutton, and then Harper. She hadn’t seen her neighbor in more than a week since they’d shared coffee on her porch. “My brother is not a thief!”
Sutton loosened his grip on Harper’s nape. “Maybe you’ll believe it if your brother will explain what he was doing trying to break into my vehicle.”<
br />
The tears filling Harper’s eyes overflowed. “I... I just wanted...”
Zoey felt as if her head was going to explode. She’d gotten her brother to come home before ten, but now he was attempting to break into someone’s car. “You just wanted what?” she asked between clenched teeth.
Sniffling, Harper bit his lip. “I just wanted to look inside.”
She covered her mouth with her hand to stop the acerbic words from spilling out. She was at her wit’s end as to what to do with Harper. Then, she slowly lowered her hand. “Look inside or take it for a joyride?” He’d recently gotten his driver’s license and had asked nonstop to let him drive her minivan. It was her only vehicle and she did not trust him with her mode of transportation.
Harper pulled back his shoulders as if girding himself for what was to come. “Both.”
Sutton grunted under his breath. “At least you didn’t lie about that.”
Zoey stood off to the side. “Please come in, Sutton. We need to talk before you make your phone call.”
“Zoey!” Harper cried, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.
She rounded on him. “Don’t you dare open your mouth to say another word until I talk to Sutton. It’s apparent you really want to ruin your life. I suppose being picked up for public intoxication and indecency wasn’t enough, so now you have to resort to car theft.”
* * *
Sutton went completely still. He had no idea Zoey had had to deal with a teenage boy who could possibly be charged as a juvenile offender or, depending upon the discretion of the prosecutor, as an adult. At thirty-six he was old enough to have had a sixteen-year-old son and wondered what he would do if faced with a similar situation.
He pointed to a chair. “Sit down, Harper. Now!” he ordered when the boy hesitated. Sutton waited for Zoey to sit on a love seat before dropping down beside her. There was enough illumination from floor and table lamps to see that her hands were shaking. He didn’t know if it was from fear or anger. Reaching for her hand, he threaded their fingers together to stop their trembling.
“I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but Miss Williams installed a security system that is linked to the sheriff’s office to monitor activity if anyone attempted to break in. And that means you were on camera when you tried to open the door to my car.”
Harper’s eyes appeared abnormally large as he stared at him. “Are you going to have me arrested?”
“That all depends on you, Harper.”
“Why me?”
“Do you want to get handcuffed and fingerprinted and become a statistic in the criminal justice system like so many young boys who look like you?”
Harper sandwiched his hands between his knees. “No, sir.”
“Then why do you keep messing up?” Zoey asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, and I don’t know,” she said. “I want you to sit on the porch while I talk to Mr. Reed.”
* * *
Sutton waited for Harper to leave and then gave Zoey’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Does your brother have a curfew? Because I’ve noticed he’s come in rather late for someone his age.”
“Yes, he does. He has a ten o’clock curfew and every Saturday morning he has to mow the backyard and bundle the garbage for the Monday morning pickup.”
“What about when school is in session?”
“I’ve told him he has to come home directly after class, and no hanging out with his friends.”
“What about sports, Zoey?”
“What about them?”
“Does he play on a school team?”
“No. However, he is an above-average student.”
“Academics are not enough. He needs a channel to let out some of his pent-up energy and other frustrations boys his age may be experiencing.”
Zoey eased her hand from his loose grip. “Are you talking about sex, Sutton?”
He was slightly taken aback that she was so direct, but then Sutton had to remember she’d shepherded her brothers from boyhood through puberty. “That could be part of it. I’ve been where Harper is now. Remember he doesn’t have a father and that, too, can impact his behavior. I grew up not knowing who my father was until I was an adult, and whenever I saw other boys hanging out with their dads it hit me hard, and I swore if I ever had a son I would strive to have a relationship with him even if I didn’t with his mother.”
“Are you saying you wouldn’t mind being a baby daddy?”
Sutton’s jaw hardened. It was apparent Zoey misunderstood him. “No. That’s not what I’m saying. I intend to be married whenever I have children.” He did not want a repeat of what his mother had had to go through. “However, if my marriage ends in divorce it doesn’t mean that I’ll divorce my children. Enough about me. Now about Harper.”
“What about him, Sutton?”
“I assume it hasn’t been easy for you to raise two boys on your own given your age. And you should know I don’t want Harper arrested because he doesn’t need to be added to the ever-increasing numbers of young black men who are incarcerated.”
Zoey closed her eyes for several seconds. “I told Harper that if he got in trouble again, I was going to court to apply for a PINS.”
“Don’t do that, Zoey. What you don’t want is for your brother to become a statistic in the juvenile legal system.”
Her hands fisted. “What other option do I have? I can’t lock him in the house when I leave for work, and there’s still more than a week before the new school year begins. With him in school, at least I’ll know where he is and that he has adult supervision between the hours of eight and three.”
“What time is your shift at the hospital?”
“I don’t work at a hospital. I’m registered with a Mineral Springs home health care agency. I begin work at eight and I’m off at four. I don’t accept overnight or weekend assignments because Harper still needs supervision.”
Sutton had mentored countless kids as a professional athlete, and he knew this was one time he had to step up to help Zoey with her brother. There was something about Harper that reminded him of himself at sixteen. Sutton had harbored a lot of resentment when he saw the fathers of his teammates who’d come to their high school baseball games to cheer on and support their sons. He didn’t know what issues Harper was dealing with and hoped they weren’t so deep-rooted that the boy would require professional counseling.
“What if I try to help you with your brother?”
* * *
Zoey stared at Sutton as if he’d suddenly taken leave of his senses. She recalled his I’ll be around if you need help with anything, but she didn’t think his anything extended to her personal problems. “How?”
“I need to know a little about Harper before I can formulate a plan to hopefully steer him in the right direction.”
She paused. “What do you want to know?” The only person she’d ever divulged anything about her family to was a counselor who legally and professionally could not reveal any of their discussions.
“Do you give Harper an allowance?” Sutton asked.
“Yes. I give him twenty dollars a week.”
“Other than mowing the grass and taking care of the garbage, does he have any other chores?”
Zoey shook her head. “No.”
“Is he into sports?” Sutton asked, as he continued questioning her.
“Yes, but only to watch them on television.”
“Does he have a driver’s license?”
A slight frown appeared between Zoey’s eyes. “Yes, but what does that have to do with Harper?” She hadn’t realized she was holding her breath when Sutton outlined his proposal. What he’d planned was so simple that it was almost foolproof.
“Do I have your permission to show him a little tough love and hopefully stop him from going down the wrong road th
at will probably end with a criminal record?”
Zoey prayed Sutton would do what she had been unable to do for her brother because Harper was in awe of the baseball phenom, and although he’d begun coming in before his curfew expired and getting up early on weekends to mow the backyard and bag the garbage, that still hadn’t stopped him from attempting to break into her neighbor’s car.
“Yes, you do.” She stood. “I’m going to go and get him.”
She found Harper on the porch swing, eyes closed and his head resting on the cushioned back. “You can come in now.”
Harper’s body language spoke volumes as he followed her. He was frightened. In that instant Zoey felt like doing something she hadn’t done in years—cry. Her heart turned over when she saw Harper’s shoulders slump in defeat, and she curbed the urge to hug him. She had to remember he wasn’t a frightened little boy who couldn’t sleep during thunderstorms and she had to sit in bed with him until he finally fell asleep. He also wasn’t the little boy who insisted on placing flowers on the graves of his parents on the anniversary of their deaths for years until he said it was stupid because they couldn’t smell them. Kyle was her quiet, obedient, willing-to-please brother, while it was apparent Harper was acting out in an attempt to mask what she believed were adolescent insecurities.
“Do you want me to stay?” Zoey asked Sutton when Harper retook the chair he’d vacated.
Sutton met her eyes, and then stared at Harper. “Yes, please.”
She claimed another chair, leaving Sutton on the love seat. He had outlined what he wanted to ask Harper, and although she’d agreed they were appropriate, she did not want to witness what she thought would become a heart-to-heart talk between the two.
A Winning Season Page 4
