Fourth Down Read Online Free PDF

and depressing.
    As we neared our house I
saw an old rusted Honda in our driveway, parked in my spot.
    My mom noticed my scowl and warned me,
“You be nice. I don’t want to scare her off on her first day.” Why
was she always telling me to be nice?
    The Honda was empty as I pulled up
next to it. Looking toward our front porch I saw a girl standing at
the door. When I had called the agency to line up an aide, I
declined a personal interview and asked them to pick the two aides
that would alternate days. I was now regretting that decision as I
saw how young she looked. Surely they didn’t send someone who was
still in high school.
    She hadn’t heard us arrive and was
still facing the door, probably waiting for someone to answer it.
With long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, she was average
height and slender though her figure was concealed under a pair of
bright pink scrubs. When we walked up the sidewalk she heard us
approaching and turned around.
    Oh, hell no.
    Her eyes widened as she saw me, and
even though I wasn’t close enough to see now, I knew they were
hazel. I remembered them from the night before when she tried to
order a drink without ID at the pub.
    Looks like she remembers me too. The
pleasant smile fell from her face, and she started wringing her
delicate hands in front of her.
    Yeah, sweetheart. You should be
nervous, because there was no way in hell I’m letting some
irresponsible party girl take care of my mom.
    My mom greeted the girl warmly,
oblivious to the tension between us. “Hello! You must be Poppy
Mitchell. I’m Maggie Walsh, and this is my son, Ford.”
    Poppy? What the fuck kind of name is
that?
    They shook hands and Poppy’s eyes
flicked to mine. “It’s nice to meet you, Maggie.” She paused a
moment before acknowledging me. “Ford.”
    My mom was looking at me with a no
nonsense expression and practically sending me mental messages to
be nice. I stuck out my hand but didn’t say anything or smile. I
wasn’t going to make this easy on her. Poppy eyed my hand warily
before placing her hand in mine. Her skin was soft but she had a
good grip. She raised her eyes to mine, and I could almost see her
trying to regain her professional demeanor.
    My mom unlocked the door and went
inside. I held the screen door for Poppy to go before me. I wasn’t
a complete asshole, and I knew I would hear it from my mom if I
abandoned my manners. But she hesitated and turned to face me
instead. I was a good eight inches taller than her, so she had to
tilt her head to look up at me when she spoke.
    “Um…I want you to know that I wasn’t
trying to drink underage last night. Brooke, my friend…she ordered
for me all on her own.”
    My eyes swept over her face before
locking with hers. I didn’t say anything for a minute, kind of
enjoying making her uncomfortable. She could very well have been
telling the truth. I knew girls like her friend, and they were
nothing but trouble. Even if she wasn’t trying to drink underage,
it didn’t erase the fact that she was young. I didn’t have any
confidence that she should be taking care of my mom.
    “Mmm hmm,” I muttered and motioned for
her to go into the house. She seemed taken aback that I didn’t
automatically accept her excuse and frowned at me. Her eyebrows
pulled together and her full lips pouted slightly. Young, pretty
and sexy - even in scrubs. A dangerous combo. But I doubted she
would last more than a day, so I didn’t need to worry about
it.
    My mom immediately started to show
Poppy around the house while I went to change my shirt. I had to be
at work in less than an hour, so I traded my sweatshirt for a long
sleeve shirt with The Last Call logo on the chest.
    By the time I got back downstairs, my
mom and Poppy were sitting on the couch chatting and laughing like
old friends. I narrowed my eyes at them and took a seat across from
them. Time to start the interrogation. When I left for work I would
call the agency and have them find a