Hill Country Hero Read Free Page B

cut him off. “Son, your contract’s up this year.” His smile didn’t make it to his eyes. “And as team owner I make the final decision about exercising our option to sign you again.”
    Jake sighed. “Yes, sir. I realize that.”
    Texas Bob seemed satisfied by his answer, and turned back to his daughter. “I have a great idea. I got a call this morning from Camp Touchdown. The director we had lined up for the summer left without bothering to give me notice. I’d like you to go up there and run things for the next month. That will help you with your résumé and get us through the end of this year’s session.”
    Camp Touchdown was the family foundation’s pet project,a camp in the Texas Hill Country that provided teens from poor Houston neighborhoods a respite from crime and dysfunctional families. It was an opportunity for them to have a little fun in the sun.
    CiCi squealed. “Yes!” This was way better than being the Road Runner mascot. Camp Touchdown was the answer to her prayers. She could spend a good portion of the summer working in her chosen field. She should have thought of it before.
    “And you,” Texas Bob said to Jake, “are going to help her. You can coordinate the sports and athletics. Your minicamp will be over Friday, so bright and early Saturday morning I want you on your way to the Hill Country. The facility has a complete gym so you can keep in shape. You’ll be back in time for Road Runner summer camp and the preseason.”
    “What in the…what’s Camp Touchdown?” Jake asked. “And what kind of athletics are we talking about?”
    CiCi answered for her father. “It’s a camp run by our family foundation for kids from the inner city. It gives them a chance to get out to the country for the summer. Play sports, swim, canoe, that type of thing. You’d be amazed at how many of those kids think drive-by shootings and heroin are the norm.”
     
    J AKE WAS AFRAID to open his mouth; there was no telling what would come out. He’d grown up in the kind of environment CiCi was describing and thanks to football he’d managed to claw his way out.
    “Are you talking about juvenile delinquents?” Like his cousins Dwayne and Darrell, the bane of his existence. Being on the bad side of the law was a habit with those two.
    “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way,” CiCi replied.
    Of course she wouldn’t. The only way Miss Debutantewould run into someone with a rap sheet was if they cut her grass or stole her designer purse.
    “Then let me use terms you might understand,” Jake sneered. “Are the cops intimately familiar with these brats?”
    CiCi gave her father a pleading look. “This isn’t going to work.”
    “Culpepper!”
    Jake scrubbed a hand down his face. He’d encountered do-gooders from the “right” side of the tracks before. Every time some church group would show up at his trailer with a box of hand-me-downs or food, Mama would cry when they left. Oh, yeah, those folks were nothing but a pain in the rear.
    “Look, I grew up with kids like that. My cousins spent more time in juvie hall than they did at home.” Jake didn’t bother to mention that he’d also had a couple of minor run-ins with the juvenile justice system.
    “I’ve worked my entire adult life trying to straighten out my relatives, but I haven’t been very successful.” He shrugged. “At least they’re not permanent guests of the Department of Corrections, so I guess I’ve accomplished something. But I have no desire to spend my summer puttin’ up with crap like that.”
    Texas Bob scowled. “If you want to come back to this team, you will. Get my drift, son?”
    Yep, he got it. If Jake didn’t toe the line, he’d be catching footballs for the worst team in the league. Damn!

Chapter Four
    Jake sank into his overstuffed sofa, a Baccarat tumbler of Johnnie Walker Blue Label in his hands. Tackling the boss’s daughter ranked right up there with his all-time worst screw-ups. He was just grateful