Chapter Three

Alyssa

“That you, honey?” Mom called from the kitchen. The smell of homemade spaghetti sauce wafted through the house, and Alyssa’s stomach growled right on cue.

“Yeah.” She dumped her bag on the floor by the door and followed the smell of dinner.

Mom was busy stirring the sauce, the rising steam making her curly hair frizz at the edges. Alyssa had the same problem on humid days…and they lived in Texas. When wasn’t there a humid day?

She leaned over the stove anyway, taking a good whiff of the sauce. She wouldn’t eat much of the spaghetti, but she’d damn well enjoy every bite she took. “Where’s Dad?”

“Closing up a little late. Said he had some paperwork to look over.” Mom gave her a tired smile. Most of her smiles were tired. She was a nurse practitioner at a busy hospital and worked twelve-hour shifts.

“You two need a vacation, I think.” Alyssa put an arm around her Mom’s shoulders. “Me, too, but if I get into the conservatory, I’ll count that as mine. Maybe while I’m there, you two can run down to Galveston for a few days.”

“Hmm, we’ll see.” Mom kissed her cheek. “Such a good girl, worrying about her parents.”

Was it weird that she was worried about them? Their marriage was fine, as far as Alyssa could tell. They kissed each other in front of her and joked around, but there’d been a strain around the house for the last month or two, and Mom hadn’t gotten the new car she and Dad had talked about last year. They weren’t flat broke, but something was definitely not going right. Alyssa just wished they’d talk to her about it instead of keeping her in the dark to protect her. She was seventeen, for God’s sake. She could take it, whatever it was.

A sharp bark warned her of impending doom. Claws skittered on the tile, then their beagle, Buddy, was butting his head against her knees, demanding her attention. All her attention.

“Did the silliest dog in all of Suttonville miss me?” She looked at the floor. Muddy footprints led from the dog door to where she stood. Good thing she’d worn shorts today—there were muddy paw prints on her shins, too. “Doofus.”

Buddy barked and ran in a joyful circle. She hauled him out to the patio to wash his paws, just as her mom cried, “Buddy!”

“I got it!”

Buddy didn’t love having his paws washed, but she scrubbed at them with an old towel no matter how he felt about it. She was almost done when her father’s voice carried through the screen door.

“They finalized the report. It’s not good.”

Buddy wiggled in her arms, but she shushed him and leaned closer to listen.

“How long do we have?”

“Thirty days.”

“Thirty days?” Her mom sounded shocked. “How much?”

“Ten grand, give or take a few hundred.”

“Grant…we’ve already refinanced the house. Where are we going to get the money?”

Alyssa hugged Buddy tight. She was right—something was wrong. Her dad grunted in frustration. “I don’t know. I’ll…think of something, Rachel. I always do.”

Buddy let out a bark and tore from her arms, chasing after some birds that had landed in the backyard.

“Uh-oh,” Mom muttered, then louder, “Alyssa, it’s time to come in now.”

“Traitor,” she muttered in Buddy’s direction. He rolled onto his back and wiggled in the grass in answer.

Alyssa stood and stepped into the kitchen. Her dad gave her a semi-guilty look before smiling. “Get your homework done?”

“Yeah.” She pulled out a chair and sat across from him, nailing him with a serious stare. “What’s this about ten grand?”

Her parents exchanged a glance, and for a minute, Alyssa thought they were going to blow her off. Finally, her dad sighed. “It’s Swing Away. Top Sports has put a squeeze on the business. Then we got inspected.”

“By who?”

“The city. It happens.” Her dad toyed with the salt shaker. “Anyway, they found some things they need us to fix…or shut down.”

Alyssa’s chest grew hot. “Who cares if two of our pitching machines are broken—”

“And some of our nets have too many holes. Safety hazard. And our parking lot isn’t up to the new ADA codes. And there’s a leak in the roof. I can’t say it any other way, Chickadee. Swing Away is falling apart, and we won’t be able to open our doors if we don’t get it fixed.”

Mom set the spaghetti on the table and handed pasta bowls around. “That takes money. But don’t worry. We’ll…come up with something”

Looking at their faces, though, Alyssa knew they really couldn’t. They were out of options. She wasn’t, though. She had two thousand saved up. “There’s my dance camp money. Maybe we use that, and I can get a new part-time job.”

“No.” Dad’s tone was forceful. “You worked two years for that dance camp money, and we aren’t spending it.”

“But we don’t even know if I’ll pass the audition.”

Mom put an arm around her shoulders. “You will. So you’ll need the money. Maybe I can work some overtime.”

Her parents gave her false smiles, but there was no way Mom could work that much overtime in thirty days. And Alyssa’s two grand wouldn’t be enough, either.

If they couldn’t find the money, their family’s batting cages would close. For good.

Alyssa pushed her spaghetti away. “I’m not hungry. I’m going to bed.”

Her parents didn’t stop her, but a clacking of claws on the tile and the thump of paws down the hallway to her room let her know she wasn’t going alone. Buddy jumped onto her bed, wagging his tail. She settled down next to him and pressed her forehead against his side.

Her tears wet his fur, but Buddy stayed in the circle of her arms. “What are we going to do, dog?”

Buddy let out a short bark.

“You don’t happen to have ten grand buried in a hole in the yard do you?”

He licked her cheek. A no, then.

She sat up, petting him. She couldn’t give up that easily. She’d grown up there—she wasn’t letting it go without a fight. She had to find a way to save the business.

The real problem was figuring out how.