Read Online 'Tis the Off-Season by Belle Payton - Free Book Online

jeans, trendy sneakers, black T-shirt, and close-fitting jacket. Like Coach, he was ruggedly handsome, but more like a guy in an aftershave commercial than, well, a dad. All the Sackett brothers had slightly curly hair, but while Coach had green eyes, Scott’s eyes were dark brown and shiny, like espresso coffee beans.
    â€œUncle Scott is coming to stay for a while,” Coach said to the kids. “We’ve invited him to spend the holidays with us.”
    â€œWhy didn’t you tell us?” squealed Alex. “We haven’t seen him—we haven’t seen you in ages, Uncle Scott! Have you been traveling the world?” she asked him eagerly. “Do you have a girlfriend? What happened to that glamorous actress you were dating back when Ava and I were in fifth grade? Remember we went to see her in that movie where she played a dead body?”
    Before Scott could answer, Tommy was also firing questions.
    â€œDo you remember when you took me to game four of the World Series when the Sox beat the Rockies?” asked Tommy. “And how Mike Lowell and Bobby Kielty both hit home runs and I almost caught a ball? Maybe we can go to a Mavericks game while you’re here. And did you hear we won State?”
    While Tommy was recounting the final few moments of the Tigers’ state championship win, Ava looked from Uncle Scott to her father and back again. Uncle Scott seemed a little ill at ease, and she wondered why. He had always had such an easygoing, relaxed personality. She remembered that Tommy had always looked up to Scott more like an older brother than an uncle, and no wonder. As the youngest of the four Sackett boys, Scott was the only one who’d stayed behind in Texas, even after Ava’s grandparents had moved to Florida. But as far as she knew, that was just a place from which he’d had his mail forwarded. For as long as she could remember, he’d been something of a wanderer, traveling the world, never holding down a job for long. For the first time ever, she wondered if her father and Scott got along. Could it be possible that maybe they had quarreled? Why else would Coach not have mentioned that Scott was coming?
    â€œHave you eaten dinner, Scott?” asked Mrs. Sackett.
    â€œYep, I just ate,” said Scott. “I didn’t want you to have to worry about my special eating plan on the very first night.”
    â€œSpecial eating plan?” repeated Mrs. Sackett. Ava thought she sounded way too polite and formal to be talking to her brother-in-law.
    â€œOh! Ha, yeah,” said Scott with a little chuckle. “I’m Ayurvedic now. Still vegetarian, of course, but nowadays I don’t eat eggs or dairy. Or nightshade vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers. Those toxic alkaloids affect my vibrational and physical channels in negative ways.”
    â€œI see,” said Mrs. Sackett faintly.
    â€œHey, I’m a vegetarian now too!” said Alex. “Should I stop eating nightshade vegetables like you?”
    Mrs. Sackett gave Alex a panicked look. Ava saw Coach slip his hand into her mother’s and give it a little squeeze.
    Scott laughed. “Maybe wait until you’ve gotten totally used to being a vegetarian, Alex,” he said. He ran a hand through his already unruly curls. “I’m pretty beat. It’s been a long day.”
    â€œYes, you do look tired,” said Mrs. Sackett. “We’ll put you in the study. Tommy, you can carry his bags in there. Ava, run and get some clean sheets and a pillow. And don’t forget a towel.”
    â€œThanks so much, Laura,” said Scott. “And Ava, don’t bother with a pillow. I brought my own. It’s kapok.”
    â€œWhat the—” Coach stopped and began again. “What is kapok?”
    â€œOh, it’s made from the seed pods of sustainably harvested kapok trees,” said Scott, with an apologetic smile.
    Mrs. Sackett was looking a little