Dead Wrong (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 7) by Jack Patterson (ebook reader for pc .txt) 📕

Ford withdrew and turned around to face Jameson. “Is that what you call this? It’s more like Jameson and his cast of supporting actors—many of whom deserve a lead role far more than the man who gets top billing. You may have hit the game-winning shot tonight, but anybody with a basketball IQ of four would know that you nearly cost us the game in regulation and got lucky in overtime. I’m happy we won, but sad that it masks just how much of a detriment you really are to this team.”

Ford pushed his way past Jameson and headed for the showers.

Jameson spun around to see the entire team staring at him. It was yet another moment when Ford undermined his leadership on the team. Jameson felt the blood racing to his face. He needed to get out of there to cool down before he did something he regretted.

***

AN HOUR LATER, Jameson sat across from KJ, who managed to wrangle two extra scoops out of his dad for a triple-decker ice cream treat.

“That was just amazing, Dad,” KJ said. He paused only to lick around the edges of the cone or take another bite. “You’re going to make ESPN’s top ten plays tonight—I just know it.”

Jameson forced a smile as his altercation with Ford still weighed heavily on him. “You never know.”

“I know for sure,” KJ said. “Just like you knew you were going to win tonight.”

“Nothing’s certain in life, son, but we can’t do anything but put ourselves in the best position to succeed.”

“You’re too humble, Dad,” KJ said as he waved off his father. “You knew you were going to win the whole time, didn’t you?”

Nodding, Jameson stared at his son. KJ delved into what his next day at school would entail with all the guys talking about his dad’s awesome shot, but Jameson drifted off. He gave occasional cues to his son that he was listening, but he was thinking about how much he loved his son—and how he was the only reason he and Tonya were still together. His wife of ten years, Jameson couldn’t believed she’d stuck around that long. But KJ forged a bond that seemed virtually unbreakable, though Jameson knew the moment he walked out the door to be on his own, he’d likely never see Tonya again.

KJ continued to rave about his father’s prowess on the court but Jameson struggled to engage. He looked at a tabloid lying on the table next to them with an article on the front page about Tonya and DJ O.T.U.S., the most successful hip-hop artist to come out of D.C. since DJ Kool. Jameson cringed as he snatched the paper and flipped it over. He didn’t want his son to know that his mother had a reputation for hanging out with other men behind his back. It wasn’t like she cared though. She liked to get her picture in the tabloids, especially with people whose fame wasn’t on the decline.

He knew when he married her that she was a fame hound, trying to score more than fifteen minutes by hitching herself to a superstar athlete. Everyone warned him, but he didn’t listen. And here he was, stuck in a loveless marriage. Stuck only because he held deep convictions about marriage and divorce. He wasn’t about to abandon his morals like many of his peers just because he could get any woman he wanted. Heaven knows plenty of women had thrown themselves at him, though he held fast to his principles. He wasn’t interested in taking the easy way out with divorce, even though not a soul would’ve blamed since he was married to a woman like Tonya. But he was stuck for another reason—KJ He’d watched firsthand what so many of his friends experienced when they went through divorce. And he wasn’t about to relegate the most formative years of his son’s life to weekend visits during the offseason.

KJ crunched on the last piece of the waffle cone and grinned as chocolate ice cream leaked from both corners of his mouth.

Jameson stood up. “We better get going before your Mom gives me an earful about keeping you out so late and feeding you ice cream before bedtime.”

KJ laughed and then hugged him. “Thanks. You’re the best dad ever.”

***

JAMESON KNEW HIS WIFE all too well. The moment KJ slipped into his room to get ready for bed, Tonya became unhinged toward her husband. With arms flailing and fingers wagging, she explained to him what a delinquent father he was for staying out so late with KJ

“He’s got school tomorrow,” she said. “Couldn’t you have waited another day to celebrate over ice cream? He’s got a big test tomorrow and I doubt he’s going to do all that well on it now. He’ll be tired and cranky. And you don’t have to deal with him in the morning like I do.” She sighed and put her hands on her hips. “I just can’t believe how incredibly selfish you are sometimes.”

She followed it up with a string of expletives. Then she turned and disappeared down the hall.

He couldn’t believe what a hypocrite she was. He glanced toward the corner of the room where their regular babysitter sat. She gave him a half-hearted wave. Jameson knew the reason she was there: Tonya was going out tonight, too—again. She could’ve put him in bed herself or taken him home early, but she was out partying with her friends. And she wasn’t done for the night apparently.

Jameson meandered back to KJ’s room and found him climbing into bed. He knelt down beside the bed and joined him for good-night prayers. Then Jameson kissed him and tucked him in before heading for the door.

“Dad?”

“Yes, Son.”

“Are the Wizards gonna win a championship this year?”

“Now, that’s a question I can’t answer.”

“Why not? You were right about tonight.”

“Who knows what can happen between now and then, Son. If we do our best, who knows. Maybe we just might