Burning Ambition by Amy Knupp Read Free Book Online Page B

now.
    Troy stepped up, spent forever and a half pondering the shot, then hit the ball onto the green. Looking smug, he turned around to face them. “Beat that, suckers.”
    “We’re on the same team, dumb-ass,” Ryan said. He was a pretty boy beneath the facial hair, with chiseled features and dark lashes longer than most women’s.
    “Same team, sure. But we could make things more interesting.” Jorge dug his wallet out from his back pocket and waved a twenty. “What do you say a little wager among family? Twenty bucks a hole? Winner takes all.”
    “In.” Ryan raised his chin, clearly thinking he had a good chance at collecting.
    “Hell, yeah, I’m in,” Troy said. “I could use some spending money.”
    Being the blue-collar guy, Joe had three measly twenties in his wallet. All the more reason to beat these paper pushers. “Might as well give me your cash now,” he said, moving up to the tee, taking a practice swing.
    “You’re all talk, Joe,” Ryan said.
    “Put your money where your mouth is,” Troy added.
    Joe tuned out everything the morons behind him chattered about and focused. Maybe said a little prayer. He couldn’t afford to lose more than a couple of holes at twenty bucks a pop. He swung and watched his ball arc through the cloudless sky, silently coaching it along. It made it to the green, barely, but he’d take it. Putting was his strong point, in spite of what Troy liked to believe.
    Two strokes later, Joe collected his first sixty bucks of the afternoon.
    “Can I write this off as a donation to charity?” Troy asked as he handed over his bill.
    “Don’t write too soon,” Joe said, buoyed by his victory and letting the insult to his lower tax bracket slide right off. “I’ll be taking more.”
    They traded taunts and insults as they walked to their carts, and Joe admitted to himself this wasn’t so bad. Sunshine, golf and his artificial family. Soon they’d be the only family he had.
    His mother made no secret that she wanted Joe and his steps to form stronger bonds. The last thing he wanted her to do was worry about him, so he was making an effort. Heck, still making an effort, as he had been since she remarried, five years ago. He visited her and Jorge in Corpus more often, since she couldn’t get out much and no longer made the trip to the island. Spent time with these three when he could be doing other things. He would never fit in, but if it gave his mother peace of mind, he’d continue to try.
    “You still planning to come for your mom’s birthday?” Jorge asked Joe as they climbed out of the cart at the third tee.
    “Of course.” That it could be her last hung heavily on his mind, and he wondered if the thought crossed Jorge’s, as well.
    “You got a girlfriend yet?” his stepfather continued.
    “Is my mother recruiting you for the get-Joe-married campaign?” Joe took a drink from his sports bottle and closed the top.
    Ryan cackled next to him. “I hope not, for Dad’s sake. It’d be easier to get a twelve-year-old girl voted in as governor of Texas.”
    “I don’t have to tell you how much your mom worries,” Jorge said to Joe, and the way his tone changed when talking about her, how it softened with affection, reaffirmed his devotion to his wife. “I remind her all the damn time that you’re a grown man, but you know how women are.”
    “As much as I’d love to put her mind at ease, I’ll go out on a limb and predict I’ll be showing up by myself,” Joe said.
    “You could always pay for a companion,” Ryan suggested.
    “I might be able to pay for one night, but that’s eternally better than paying a lifetime for that high maintenance glamour girl you married.” Joe liked what he knew of Shelly, but he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give Ryan grief.
    “I reckon he got you there,” Troy said, grinning.
    “Reckon he did. Price you pay to sleep with a beautiful woman every night.” Ryan didn’t seem too upset by his lifetime sentence.