Chapter 22
Fucking lawyers. —Milo Warner
“Wearing the blue suit, huh? I like that one. Makes you look a lot less like a penguin than some of your others.”
“I’m a ten in all of my suits.” I finish straightening my tie and send my sister some of my best side-eye over our video call. “And you know it.”
She sighs. “I’ll admit you look passable for this prom thing of yours. Even though I still don’t get it. Why is my grown-ass brother checking that his suit still fits so he can go to prom?”
“Because not everyone got escorted to their prom in the perfect limo and was immediately crowned royalty at the entrance,” I tease her.
“Hey, I got crowned at the end of the night. And so did you, prom king,” she reminds me. I shrug, because she’s not wrong. Mia and I were both popular as hell at our high school, and no one was surprised when either of us won those crowns our senior years.
“Yeah, maybe that’s why I like the idea of this thing, you know?” I tell her. “I got to have that perfect prom. So did you. Lots of people didn’t. So Devon Falls gets to make it happen for them on a delayed schedule.”
“Okay, I guess.” Mia sits back, like she’s finally satisfied, like I haven’t already explained this event to her eight times.
She’s got that look like she’s ready to pounce, so her next question doesn’t surprise me all that much.
“Let’s talk about why you really called.
What are you going to do about that POS COS who’s attached himself to Stan Hardaway? ”
“POS COS, huh? Good one.”
“That line wrote itself. Seriously, Milo. I really think it’s time you and Noah talk to Ma.”
“I agree, sis.” I flip the video off on my camera.
She’ll think it’s because I’m changing back into my street clothes, but I know there’s a big part of me that just doesn’t want her reading all my emotions right now.
“But I saw Noah’s face after that phone call.
He’s spooked as fuck. He sees himself potentially losing the one family member he could always count on.
Bringing Ma into the scene at this exact moment doesn’t feel like the right play. ”
“Mmmmm,” she answers, which is the patented Mia response for “Yeah, right.”
I hang my suit back up before I pull on one of my favorite hoodies—thick, evergreen-colored fleece that’s soft as a damn cloud—and button up my jeans.
“You’re quiet,” Mia says.
“I’m getting dressed, sis.” I can’t keep the snap out of my voice, and Mia doesn’t miss hearing it.
“Sure. You’re not trying to ignore me because you know I’m right, and that keeping this thing you and Noah Hardaway have on the DL isn’t doing either of you any favors.”
Well, fuck. I flip my camera back on, since clearly there’s no point in keeping it off.
“What do you expect me to do, sis? Do I see all kinds of red flags up around Ezra Morehouse right now? Hell yes, I do. Do I want to call Ma right now so I can warn her—because I don’t trust that she’s not in his long-term line of sight too—and beg her for help?
You better damn well believe I do.” I sigh.
“But Mia, Noah’s already lost so much. What if I get involved and make this worse?
What if he really does end up losing the only family he has in all this mess because I overstepped, got too overprotective? ”
Mia frowns. “You really like him,” she finally whispers.
I drop my head into my hands so I don’t have to look directly at her right now.
Too dangerous to stare into the eyes of someone who always sees straight through my soul.
“I always thought it was kind of bullshit, you know? When Ma and Dad used to talk about how they knew they were a matched set the first time they saw each other. But I looked at him in the elevator that day, Mia… and it’s like there was some damn magnet inside me that started feeling a pull.
That pull has never stopped, I don’t think.
But holy fuck, Mia, that protector streak I’ve got in me?
It’s running wild right now. Even I’m a little afraid of how pissed I was when I was listening to that phone call.
I was ready to jump in my car, drive to Albany, and throw that little shit into a wall. ”
Mia snorts. “We both know he damn well would have deserved it. Okay.” Mia leans so close to the camera she may as well be inside my phone.
“How about if we hedge our bets a little here. First of all, I know neither of us is going to sit by if there’s any chance this POS COS might get nasty with Ma once Stan announces his primary candidacy. ”
“No fucking way,” I agree.
“And we both agree he’s up to something, right?”
“For sure. Right now his MO seems to be getting Stan onto that primary ballot. But who knows if he’s got more than that up his sleeve.”
“Yeah, heard. Okay. So how about if you let me sniff around him a little? I’ve got a PI who can dig into some of his background and try to figure some things out.
Maybe we can get some insight into what’s really going on here, and you and Noah can use that info to help Stan Hardaway get his head out of his ass. ”
I sit there for a long moment, just staring at her. Then I shake my head.
“Fucking lawyers,” I finally say. “You really have a PI just waiting in the wings to do your bidding?”
She arches an eyebrow. “Actually, I’ve got three.”
We both start laughing so hard that we’re in tears by the time we finally end the call. That’s when my phone dings with a text notification.
Gabe
Can you come over to the community center? I think Devon Falls just picked up its newest stray.
“I’m not sure I understand.” Gabe shakes his head. “You got fired because of our after-school grant application? So you came here looking for a job?”
Scout, whose last name I now know is Ludlow, fidgets on the chair where he’s sitting.
I don’t blame him. Poor dude probably feels like he’s in front of a firing squad with me, Tom, Gabe, and Noah all lined up on the couch across from him.
He looks mostly how I remember him from our introduction in Burlington: a little unkempt.
His jeans are getting worn at the knees and look like they could use a wash, and his sneakers have the beginnings of holes on the sides.
The collared shirt he’s wearing is clean but hasn’t been ironed, and the purple color has faded to something more like lavender. He swallows hard before he answers.
“Um, kind of? Not exactly. Basically, Belinda—”
“That’s Mrs. Perry?” I ask.
“Yeah, Belinda Perry. Anyway, she figured out pretty fast what I told him.” Scout points to Noah.
“The next day, budgets suddenly shifted and my position was terminated.” He rolls his eyes.
“Look, I never really wanted to work for her anyway. One of my old foster moms is a friend of hers, and she got me the job. It paid okay, so I stayed on after I aged out of the system.”
Noah’s eyebrows go up.
“But I don’t want to stay there. I just haven’t been able to get another job.
Then you guys came, and I went onto your website, and I read that one of the goals of your community center is to support kids in foster care and people aging out of the system.
” He pins us all with a look. “I figured that’s me, right?
So I drove up here, and I asked around for Noah Hardaway, and some woman in a bakery said he was shopping for prom clothes.
” He wrinkles his nose. “Why are a bunch of adults going to a prom, anyway?”
Tom laughs. “Because people don’t age out of fun, darling.
” He’s leaning back on the couch now, fully deferring to Gabe.
I appreciate that even though Gabe’s partners are a lot older than him and definitely have more life experience, they make sure he’s always the one in charge here at the center.
This place has always been and always will be his, and Tom and Colin keep that boundary line clear.
“That is you,” Gabe tells Scout kindly. “And that is one goal of our community center. I was in the system once too.”
Scout looks up, frowning. “Really? And now you’re running this place?”
Gabe smiles. “I’ve got good investors.” He pokes Tom gently as Tom preens.
“But yes, I am.” He sighs. “Unfortunately, Scout, we’re not ready to do much hiring yet.
The center doesn’t even open for a few more weeks, and until we get some more financial backing, I can’t afford to bring on more staff. ”
Scout’s face falls. “That sucks. Especially with how much rent is going for in Montpelier right now. Maybe I’ve got to try moving back to Burlington. I hate Burlington.”
Gabe starts to open his mouth, but I get there first. “Scout should take over my salary,” I say.
“What?” Noah whips his head around to look at me.
I hear the fear in his voice, and it grabs at every nerve in my body.
But as deeply as I care for Noah, and as much as I want to protect him, there’s an important element of this situation that has to be acknowledged right now.
For Scout, if no one else. “I told Gabe when he hired me that I didn’t need the money, but he insisted on paying me.
And the plan was always supposed to be that I’d leave the community center after it opened,” I add softly.
Gabe frowns. “That’s true. Maybe, Scout…
” He and Scout and Tom start talking about potential housing opportunities and Scout’s job experiences, but everything in my vision and hearing tunnels to Noah Hardaway.
He’s staring at me, white-faced and wide-eyed, as if he only just remembered the inevitable end date on my time here at the community center.
I stand up and walk across the room to him. “Chucks,” I tell him. “We really need to talk.”