I started to snap back at her, but stopped myself when I realized that Cassidy blamed herself for what had transpired.
“Cassidy, we are all upset with what happened, but none of us was seriously hurt.”
“I should’ve figured a way to get the drones through the trees, and when they came out of the woods, I should have zapped them then. It’s all my fault you got shot because I didn’t do my job. I think you’d be better off without me as your security,” all came out in a rush.
“If you’re going to act like that, you shouldn’t be,” Dad said as he walked into the kitchen.
“Rob!” Mom chastised as she came in, too.
“Cassidy, from everything I know about you, you’re not a whiner,” Dad said. “You’re a strong young woman who can handle anything. If you plan to someday lead Marines, you can’t be second-guessing yourself like this. I’m a firm believer in dissecting a situation after it’s happened and figuring out what went right and what went wrong. That’s how you get better. Wallowing in self-doubt never solved anything,” he lectured.
“Dad’s always told me that you’re going to make mistakes. If you don’t, you’re not trying. The measure of a person is how they handle it afterward,” I shared.
“We are all going to get together tonight to go through all the video,” Dad said. “I’ll bet you see things that’ll make you cringe and others that will show you really did do a good job. We’ll use this review to figure out what we should do to get a better result the next time something like this happens.”
“If you all are just going to lecture each other, I’m making breakfast,” Mom announced.
I blinked a few times as I tried to remember the last time Mom cooked.
“Does she even know how?” I asked in a stage whisper to my dad.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. I decided I’d better go help Peggy get the boys before my mom took a chunk out of my ass bigger than what Paul had lost.
◊◊◊
Cassidy drove us to school. When we arrived, she hugged Dare to say thanks for how the drones had performed. He was all smiles when they ran off to watch the drone footage from Saturday.
“Did she just steal my boyfriend?” Chrissy asked as we were left standing there.
“It’s just drone stuff. You know how Dare is when he gets talking about that.”
“Yes, he becomes obsessed,” she said and then turned to me. “Are you okay?”
“Bruised, but fine. Dare’s drones really did come through for us. We couldn’t have done it without him.”
“You should tell him that.”
“He already thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. I don’t need him getting a hero complex on top of that,” I sagely advised.
“Then I’ll tell him,” Chrissy said with a little irritation in her voice.
“I’m sure he would rather hear it from you,” I said as I gave her a little eyebrow waggle. “Maybe he deserves another hickey.”
“And here I thought you were a nice boy.”
I gave her an evil grin and headed into the school.
◊◊◊
I wandered in to PE and showed Becky and Jill my chest. They immediately invoked their trainers’ authority over me and declared I wasn’t allowed to practice or play baseball until they said so. Becky then dunked me into an ice bath, followed by Jill committing evil acts on my bruises. If it wasn’t for her applying the analgesic cream, I might have complained.
Becky directed me to report to her after school, and we would repeat the process. Knowing I had that to look forward to took all the fun out of the rest of the day.
◊◊◊
When I turned my phone back on at lunch, I found it had blown up. I scrolled through the missed calls and text messages with urgent requests to call and picked Lexi to call first. Most of the others were from Frank and my mom. The one from Sheriff Cochran concerned me a bit.. At least Lexi wouldn’t chew me out and would tell me what was going on.
“You called?”
“One of your local news stations has video of your ‘heroic rescue,’ and the news has been picked up nationally. Be on the lookout for at least a few paparazzi making the trek to Lincoln to get some pictures,” Lexi shared.
Great! This was all I needed.
“Any negative press?”
Lexi responded that one broadcaster was playing up that Bill’s jail time was drug-related and speculated that I might have been involved somehow.
“Don’t worry about it, overmuch,” she said. “Frank and Ms. Dixon are on it, and that outlet is well known for being a gossip rag, anyway. Just be aware that some enterprising reporters might show up on your doorstep.”
I asked her to call my parents and Fritz with the news. Then, shaking my head, I proceeded to go about the rest of my day. There but for the grace of God, and Fritz’s paranoia, went I.
I hurried to the lunchroom, grabbed one of the sack lunches, and headed off to track down Moose. I found him eating lunch with Coach Hope in the teacher’s lounge.
“Sorry to interrupt your lunch, but I need to talk to you both.”
“The trainers said you’re sidelined for the foreseeable future. I’m not even allowed to let you practice,” Moose complained.
“I was afraid of that. Did the trainers say how long they expect I’ll be out?” I asked.
“At the least, you will miss both Tuesday’s and Thursday’s games. As I recall, you planned to leave for LA this weekend, so you’ll miss Saturday’s game, too,” Moose said.
“Why are you going to LA?” Coach Hope asked.
“I’m up for the MTV Award for Best Kisser. Believe it or not, I have talents in areas other than sports,” I shared.
I’d intentionally changed the award’s name from ‘Kiss’ to ‘Kisser’ to tweak Coach Hope.
“And you let your daughter be alone with him,” Moose poked at Coach Hope.
“My daughter can take care of herself. I worry about all the other daughters out there.”
I could see this wasn’t going to end well, so I skipped out on their bonding session.
My next task was to call the Oklahoma coaching staff. They’d seen the news that I’d been shot. I wasn’t surprised when they requested I send copies of my medical records and asked for permission to talk to our training staff. One of the requirements for an offer was you had to be physically able to perform. This prevented players from taking scholarships after they’d suffered a career-ending injury. I promised to get them what they wanted.
◊◊◊
Manaia picked Cassidy and me up, and we drove home. Cassidy said she wanted to go to the dojo, but I reminded her I was still hurting from being shot. She called me a wimp, but I wasn’t about to fall for that.
“It feels weird being home so early,” I admitted when I found the house empty.
I’d just entered the kitchen when I felt a blinding pain in my shoulder and found myself on my knees. Cassidy put her lips near my ear.
“What were you thinking, not taking security with you Sunday?”
Manaia walked to the refrigerator and grabbed himself a soda.
“Do you have anything that isn’t diet?” he asked, like it was no big deal for me to be on the floor like this.
Mom had removed all the ‘real’ soda from the house when Dad had his heart problems.
“Check the pantry. David hides a twelve pack of Mountain Dew next to the door,” Cassidy said.
“Do you want one?”
“Sure,” Cassidy answered and turned her attention back to me. “What were you thinking?”
“That I was going to help Tracy and Tami get the lake house ready for Senior Skip Day.”
“The same place where gunmen were just the day before?” Cassidy pressed.
Frick! She had a point, but I’d be damned if I would admit it.
“Let him up. He’s not going to make that mistake again … are you, David?” Manaia asked.
“No,” I grudgingly promised.
Cassidy let me go. I’d just made it to my feet when the back door opened, and Duke came bounding in, followed by Peggy with both Little David and Coby.