Stepping to a New Day Read Free Page B

“Not as good as the Dog’s but it’ll do.”
    â€œHater.”
    Eli grinned and took a draw on the straw in his cola. “Why do you think Gram’s coming?”
    â€œTruthfully? To try and convince me that Rocky’s not the one.”
    â€œDidn’t you tell me she did the same thing with Mom?”
    â€œShe did, and you know how that turned out.”
    â€œShe’s batting zero.”
    â€œAnd that losing streak will continue.”
    Eli noted the fire in his dad’s eyes. Personally, Eli liked Rocky a lot. She was tough both on and off the job, but underneath all that steel she seemed to love his dad. “You don’t think she’ll stoop to using the race card, do you?”
    â€œI hope not, but she did use the class card with your mother. ‘Blue bloods don’t mix with no bloods,’ she had the nerve to tell me.”
    Eli was appalled. “Because Mom was Italian?”
    He nodded as he dipped the end of a fry in the small pool of ketchup on his plate. “I was furious, to say the least.”
    Eli was furious for him. Since moving to Henry Adams, the two of them had gone a long way toward being father and son. After his mom died, Eli had been so full of grief, he’d turned on him like a mad dog, accusing him of everything from not loving him to trying to ruin his life by taking him away from California and his friends. Now that he was older and been set straight by the likes of the town elders and Crystal, he knew his dad loved him a lot. “I went to see Reverend Paula today.”
    His dad paused and studied him for a long moment before asking, “How’d it go?”
    â€œIt went okay. She lost her mom when she was a teenager, too.”
    â€œI didn’t know that.”
    â€œYeah. We talked about that and Mom dying, and how I felt. She said I had an advantage she didn’t have.”
    â€œWhich was what.”
    â€œYou,” Eli said softly. He saw his dad’s eyes glisten. “Dad, I’m so sorry I was so mean to you.”
    â€œYou were hurting, son.”
    â€œBut still. I’ve been wanting to apologize and could never find the right time. Reverend Paula said because I wanted to do it, the time would show up and that I should promise myself not to let it slip by, so the time is now.” He took a breath. “Thanks for putting up with me and not leaving me on the side of the road. And thanks for telling me to go see her. She helped a lot.”
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    â€œI’ve been thinking about Mom a lot lately—about how proud she’d be of me getting ready to go to college even though I’m a year behind and it’s just community college.”
    â€œThat you’re continuing your education is the most important thing.”
    â€œI know. I have Tamar to thank, too.” The town matriarch hadn’t taken any crap from him, and that made him grow up a lot.
    â€œI agree.”
    â€œAnd Crystal.”
    â€œHow are you two getting along?”
    Eli shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Even though I’m dating Samantha I still got a thing for Crystal if that’s what you’re asking. Not sure where she really stands though. Probably still waiting on that loser Diego to ride in on his bike and save the day.” Diego July was a cousin of the town’s mayor. Crystal fancied herself in love with him and she’d been crushed learning Diego didn’t feel the same way about her.
    â€œWomen tend to be complicated.”
    â€œYeah. Finding that out.”
    â€œIt’ll all work out in the end. Maybe the way you want and maybe not, but it will work out.”
    Eli noted that his dad didn’t judge. He rarely did. Even when Eli and the other kids were busted surfing the Net in places they all knew were off-limits, his dad had screamed and yelled and dropped down on him hard, but hadn’t judged. “So are you going to be able to handle