Life Should Be Beautiful (Summer Lake Silver #12)

Chapter Fourteen

Davin leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes. He and Alexis were sitting in his truck in Giuseppe’s parking lot.

“Are you tired?” Alexis asked. “Would you rather …”

“No. I’m fine. I’m just concerned about him. He should be coming out soon.”

They’d hung around after they’d eaten, sitting at the bar for drinks so as not to take up one of Tino’s tables. Davin had managed to take Tino aside and ask what time Booker would get off work. Since he was in the kitchen, they wouldn’t be able to see when he left, but Davin hadn’t wanted to sit outside in the truck for hours.

Of course, Tino had wanted to know why, and he’d felt bad when Davin had shared their concerns about the kid. Davin had reassured him that they were going to find out what was going on – and what they could do to help. Tino had said that he’d tell Booker to go home at 11.30pm and that he’d pay him in cash for the night’s work. Apparently, the kid was working for tips so far. He hadn’t been there long enough to get his first check yet – and as with most hospitality jobs, the bulk of his pay came in the form of tips.

Alexis checked her watch. “Ten minutes or so.” She looked around the parking lot. “Do you think he walks?”

Davin frowned. “Shit. Probably. I imagine if he had a car, he’d be sleeping in that rather than Lily’s trailer.”

“Exactly. Although …” She pointed at a bicycle chained to the fence near the side entrance to the restaurant. “I’ll bet that’s his.”

“Do you want to drive the truck? We can’t follow him in it, if he’s riding his bike,” Davin explained.

She laughed. “I’m aware of that.”

“I can follow him on foot – run – just to make sure that he really is going to the barn. I’ll let you know if he goes somewhere else – and if that is his destination, I’ll let you know when he’s inside and you can come without the sound of the truck alerting him.”

“Or we could just both follow him.”

Davin couldn’t read her expression. “Of course. I … Shit! I’m sorry. I … it might take me a while to figure out how to blend being considerate of you as a woman and respecting your abilities as a teammate. You tell me how you want to play it.”

He was relieved when she smiled. “That’s okay. I understand. And I think your idea works best. I can make my way out toward the barn and wait for your directions.”

“Or we could both follow on foot,” Davin suggested.

“We could, but then we’d have to walk home again afterward. And …” She leaned across the console and pressed a kiss to his lips “… I’d rather not take all night getting home. We still have promises to keep when we get there.”

He smiled through pursed lips. “We do. And you’re right – of course.”

She laughed. “I often am – but I don’t need to be. I’ll always listen – and be prepared to discover that I’m wrong.”

“I’m glad,” Davin told her honestly. “I don’t deal well with people who need to be right all the time. I don’t mind being wrong, and I don’t mind hearing other perspectives on what’s the best course of action. I …”

She grinned. “Good because right now, I think the best course of action is for you to stop talking and get out so that you can follow him. Are you sure you’ll be able to keep up if he gets on that bicycle?”

“I believe so, but to be on the safe side, why don’t you hang back instead of going on ahead. I’ll text you if he deviates from the course that we expect him to take or if I can’t keep up.”

“Perfect.” She took her phone out of her purse. “Can I connect this to the truck?”

“Go ahead.” He watched Booker unlock the chain on his bike and opened his door before sliding quietly to the ground. Alexis was already climbing over into the driver’s seat.

She grinned when he met her gaze. “I think I’m going to like working with you. Oh – there he goes. Enjoy your jog. I’ll close the door once he’s out of earshot.”

He grinned back at her – he’d been about to tell her to do just that. “Right. See you on the other side.”

~ ~ ~

Alexis watched Booker disappear around the corner onto Main Street with Davin following behind like a shadow. She could have kept up if she needed to – but she didn’t need to. Davin was in amazing shape, and he moved with natural ease that she’d never possessed even at the height of her physical fitness.

Once they were out of sight, she closed the truck door and fastened her seatbelt before starting the truck. She’d been momentarily offended when Davin had suggested that she should drive, but that was just because she was used to having to defend her abilities as a woman in a male dominated field. He hadn’t hesitated to leave her with his truck – a stark comparison to Gordon who had refused to give her his keys so that she could drive his car when he’d had too much to drink. He’d preferred to take a taxi rather than let her drive his precious car.

She drove out onto Main Street and could see both Booker and Davin in the distance – heading in the direction of the barn. She waited until they turned off before following them to the intersection. She waited on the corner, watching Booker slow down as he made his way up the hill. She imagined that Davin was grateful for the reprieve.

When Booker passed the end of her road, she decided that she might as well pop into the house and grab her laptop. She was now ninety-nine percent sure that he was going to the barn. If she had her laptop, they could watch on the camera and wait until he was settled before they went in.

She eyed her phone; she’d only be adding a couple of minutes at most. If Davin needed her to pick him up, she’d be right there.

She had her laptop and was on her way again in less than two minutes. She could no longer see them, but she headed slowly toward the barn. After another few minutes, her phone rang.

“Go ahead,” she answered when Davin’s name showed up on the screen.

“He’s gone to the barn. I stopped at the end of the driveway. I’ll wait for you here.”

“I’m almost there; how long should I give it?”

“You should be fine to come this far. We can leave the truck and go on foot from here.”

She smiled at him as she pulled up beside him. “Climb in,” she told him when he came to her window. “I stopped for my laptop so that we can keep an eye on him. We can give him the chance to get settled in before we move. And give you the chance to get your breath back.”

He went around to the passenger side and climbed in. He was still breathing hard, but not as hard as she would have been if she’d run like that.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yep. Although, I haven’t run like that in years.” He gave her a rueful smile. “The treadmill isn’t the same.”

“I will admit that I’m grateful it was you and not me. Perhaps we should start running together?”

Davin laughed. “Or maybe we should save our energy for more enjoyable activities.”

She laughed with him. “True. That’s a much better option.” She opened her laptop and logged in to watch the feed from the camera in the trailer.

Booker was just finishing making his bed. Then he went into the bathroom.

Davin blew out a sigh. “Poor kid. I wonder what his story is.”

“We’re about to find out. I’d normally be much more suspicious, but he’s a good kid.”

“Right? I’m with you. I should be more concerned about Lily’s property than about the person trespassing, but he’s not doing any harm, he’s just trying to survive.”

“And from here on out, we’re going to help him.”

Davin grinned at her. “You’re up for that? I was planning to …”

“Of course I am! We’ll figure out what’s going on with him, and we’ll do what we can.”

They both turned back to the screen when he came out of the bathroom and got into the bed.

“Let’s make our move. It’d be a shame to let him get to sleep before we burst in on him.”

Davin frowned. “We should still be cautious. For all we know he may have a weapon and be prepared to use it to defend himself.”

She smiled. “Of course. I’d have been dead years ago if self-preservation wasn’t my top priority. I imagine you’re the same.”

He smiled back. “Yep. Forgive me – it’s just that I’ve known a few spooks who were a bit too gung-ho for my liking.”

“So, have I – but none of them are around anymore. And if that’s not a cautionary tale, I don’t know what is. Ready?”

“Ready.”

~ ~ ~

When they reached the trailer, Davin motioned for Alexis to stand clear of the door. If she got mad at him, he’d deal with it. To his relief she nodded and stood aside as he reached for the handle. He expected it to be locked and it was. It was easy enough to force, and he did it quickly.

By the time he pulled the door open, Booker was on his feet, reaching for the handle on the window, as if he might be able to escape that way.

“Easy, Booker.”

The kid froze at the sound of his name. He turned around slowly; his eyes were huge, and he was trembling with fear.

“It’s me, Davin. Do you remember me? I’m not here to hurt you.”

Alexis stepped inside. “You’re not in trouble. We’re here to help.”

Booker stared at them for a long few moments, before he collapsed down onto his bed and dropped his head into his hands.

“I’m sorry. I’m not doing any harm. I leave everything like I find it.”

“It’s okay, sweetie. You’re not in trouble.”

Davin turned to look at Alexis; her tone was so soothing, so gentle it caught him off guard. He didn’t know about Booker, but it made him feel better.

“Honestly, Booker,” she continued, “You’ve got nothing to worry about. We’re here because we’re worried about you.”

“Why?” He didn’t even lift his head to ask the question.

“Do you mind if I sit beside you?” she asked.

He did look up at that. “Sure.”

Alexis sat on the bed next to him and patted his shoulder.

“We’re worried about you because you seem like our kind of person. We were both impressed by you that first night we met you.”

Booker turned his gaze on Davin, and he nodded. “You know it’s true, bud; you could tell, couldn’t you?”

“I guess. But I haven’t even seen you since then – how did you figure it out?”

Davin smiled at him. “Summer Lake’s a small town. Someone always finds out what your business is – even when they’re not trying. I work for Clay MacAdam, and I heard about a young guy who was fishing near Clay’s place last weekend.”

“And I have a couple of horses here at the barn,” said Alexis. “Lily had a feeling that someone was using the trailer and asked me to help figure out what was going on.”

“I haven’t taken anything,” said Booker. “I leave the place as I find it.”

“I’d say you leave it neater than you find it – that was partly what alerted Lily.”

“I won’t come in here anymore. I promise. I didn’t do any harm, though.”

“We know,” Davin reassured him. “Want to tell us what’s going on with you?”

Booker shrugged.

“You said that you just moved back to the lake – did you come by yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“How come?”

“Don’t have anyone.”

“How old are you?” Alexis asked.

“I just turned eighteen.”

She frowned. “Where were you living before you came to the lake?”

“In the city.”

“By yourself?”

“No.”

Silence hung in the air. Davin bit his tongue while he waited for Alexis to ask her next question – he had so many of his own, but he didn’t want to interrupt her line of questioning.

The silence stretched out until Booker eventually said, “I was in foster care – a group home.”

“I see, and how come you left there?” Alexis asked.

“I just told you.”

Davin and Alexis exchanged a look.

“You did?” she asked. “I missed it. Would you mind telling me again?”

“I just turned eighteen.”

Davin closed his eyes when it hit him. “You aged out.”

“That’s right.”

Alexis gave Davin a puzzled look. “The way the foster care system works, the minute you turn eighteen you become an adult in the eyes of the law – you’re on your own,” he explained to her. He’d learned a lot about the system when Clay used to visit friends in LA who ran a community center.

He squatted down in front of Booker, who was hanging his head again. “Did you know that more than half the kids who age out, end up on the streets within the first six months?”

Booker looked up into his eyes. “They do?”

“Yup. I don’t know you, but I’ve already seen that you’re prepared to do what it takes, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, you’re doing great. Don’t you go beating yourself up, you hear me?”

Booker let out a short bitter laugh. “Doing great? I can’t even keep myself clean enough to do my job. I haven’t had a shower in weeks and now I won’t even have a place to sleep.”

“Sure you will. You want a shower right now?”

Booker’s eyes grew huge. “Are you going to take me to the sheriff's office? Do they have a shower at the jail?”

“No! You’re not in trouble, we’ve told you that and we mean it.” He looked at Alexis, realizing that he’d just offered her home to the kid – he couldn’t take him back to the guest house, not before talking to Clay.

She smiled. “He means that, if you want to, you can come back to my house, and have a shower. I have a very comfortable guest room, too, and you are more than welcome to stay with me for as long as you like.”

Booker looked from her to Davin and back again. “Why?”

“Because you’re a good kid,” Alexis told him.

“And you deserve a chance,” Davin added.

~ ~ ~

When they got back to the house, Davin took charge, and Alexis was happy to let him. He rummaged in the duffle bag that he’d brought with him and handed Booker a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt.

The kid looked down at the clothes and back up at Davin. “Thanks.”

Davin smiled. “You’re welcome. Come on, I’ll show you where the guest bathroom is.”

He glanced at Alexis, and she nodded. “If you’d like, you can throw your clothes out the door and I’ll wash them for you.”

“Thanks.” Booker dropped his gaze, then shrugged his backpack off. “If you’re going to do that, would you mind doing my others with them?”

“Of course,” she told him with a smile before turning to Davin. “And if you have your toiletries with you, you might want to let Booker use those.”

He and Booker both gave her puzzled looks.

She chuckled. “Everything in the guest bathroom is too flowery and feminine for me. I imagine that you’d be more comfortable using whatever Davin has with him.”

She was relieved when Booker gave her a small smile. “Thanks. I know I smell kind of ugly right now, but I don’t want to smell too pretty, either.”

He opened his backpack and made a face. “These smell even worse. Do you want me to dump them straight into the washer?”

She didn’t want to embarrass him or make him feel worse, so she simply nodded and beckoned for him to follow her to the laundry room.

He put his clothes in quickly and closed the lid. “I don’t want to stink your house up.”

“You won’t. It’s not a problem, honestly. You go and take a shower, and by the morning you’ll have clean clothes and a fresh start.”

He nodded, but it was easy to see that he wasn’t convinced about the fresh start. She didn’t blame him, but she intended to do everything she could to make it true.

Davin showed him to the stairs and glanced back over his shoulder at her before following him up.

She nodded, grateful that he was here. She wanted to help Booker, but she had no experience with teenage boys.

When he came back downstairs a few minutes later, Davin made a face as he hurried to the laundry room with Booker’s clothes.

“I can see why Tino didn’t want him around his customers,” he said in a low voice.

Alexis held her breath as she added laundry detergent and closed the door of the washer.

“I know, but neither he nor Booker will need to worry about that anymore. I’m going to make sure that he and his clothes are clean and taken care of.”

Davin cocked an eyebrow at her. “What are you thinking?”

“That he can stay here with me until he finds his feet.” She was ready to defend herself. She didn’t need to hear that it wasn’t a wise decision, that she didn’t know the boy or …

Davin grinned. “You’re amazing.”

“I am?”

“Totally. I’ve been racking my brain thinking how I’m going to do it. I can’t have him stay with me at the guest house – it’s Clay’s place, not mine. I … What? What are you looking at me like that for.”

She grinned back at him. “Because I love that you’re … you. That we think the same way. I was prepared to argue if you told me that I shouldn’t invite him to stay here. And there you are thinking along the same lines.”

“I love that you’re you, too. If you weren’t you, I think I’d be concerned about you having a teenaged boy who you don’t know staying in the house with you but …”

“… but you know that I can take care of myself.”

“I do and …”

“And? What’s the problem?”

His lips quirked up in a small smile. “And I’m not above using the situation to my advantage.”

“How so? I don’t understand.”

“Well, just on the off chance that there might be a problem – and I don’t think that there will be – but … I could offer to stay here with you. Just to help out, you know?”

He came to her and rested his hands on her hips. “If you wanted me around.”

She put her hands on his shoulders and smiled up at him. “I think I would like to have you around. We didn’t need Booker as an excuse – and we’re both aware that part is only an excuse, aren’t we?”

“Yup.”

“Well then, in that case, I’d love it if you wanted to stick around and stay here, too. Although, what will that mean for you at work? I thought you had to be there.”

“I’ll talk to Adam and Alec – and to Clay of course, but I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Alec’s still there. It’s not as though there are any threats against Clay – there haven’t been for years. I’ll clear it with them, make sure that no one has a problem, and I may need to cover some nights but …”

She smiled. “I’m happy for you to stay here as many or as few nights as you can.” She rolled up onto her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “And not because I want you to help out with Booker. I mean, I do, of course, but …”

He grinned. “But more than that, you want me around?”

“Yes.”