2. Wolf
2
WOLF
W olf Cassidy strode up the steps to the lawyer’s office, a little irritated at the timing of the meeting, but mostly just sad to be reminded of the reason for it in the first place. It was bad enough to learn that his best friend from high school had passed away. He didn’t see any reason the lawyers were so eager to talk to him of all people about Barry’s estate.
Sure, Wolf had been super close with Barry Robinson all throughout high school, but that was a long time ago, and they hadn’t really stayed in touch afterward. It wasn’t for any real reason—their lives had just gone in different directions. Barry had moved to the west coast for an internship, and Wolf had gone to college and then the Army. They’d texted a bit in the beginning, but even that slowed to an eventual stop. Other than a pretty brief and unexpected phone call a few weeks ago, Wolf hadn’t spoken to Barry in years.
And it was only by chance that Wolf was even in town for this meeting. He was just here in Trinity Falls to spend a couple of weeks with family during the holidays. He had been planning to do a little volunteer work while he was around, but now he’d been forced to push back an afternoon meeting about that to come see Otto Weber instead.
After the holidays, he was going to return to the city, where his longtime girlfriend Angela was already working, and they would finally start the life they had planned together since high school.
When he got the news that Barry had been killed in a car crash, he’d called Angela, feeling guilty that he’d let them fall out of touch for all these years.
Of course, Angela had offered to come down and support him. But he knew she didn’t really want to. Angela was in the middle of handling a big deal for her firm, and he was sure it would stress her out to leave the city.
Besides, though she would never say it, he’d always had the sense that she didn’t like Barry much. Barry was pretty laid-back, and always had a smile on his face and the time to stop and ask sincerely how you were. And Angela was kind of the opposite, always so driven, even back in school. She had tolerated Wolf’s best friend back then, but her own group was much more like she was—fast-paced and focused.
“Mr. Cassidy,” Otto Weber said from the doorway, as if he’d been waiting by the window for Wolf’s arrival. He gestured Wolf inside with the wave of an arm. “Thanks for coming in on such short notice.”
“Mr. Weber,” Wolf replied, following the old man in.
He was surprised the attorney had come to the door himself, surprised he was still working, honestly. Otto Weber had to be in his eighties by now, and he surely didn’t have to keep helping the people of Trinity Falls write their wills and settle their estates.
“Have a seat, son,” Otto said.
Wolf waited for Otto to make it back to the far side of his desk and then sat when he did.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Otto said quietly, his pale blue eyes a little watery behind his glasses. “I know you boys were inseparable.”
“Back in high school, yes,” Wolf said, still feeling guilty about the whole thing. “But we hadn’t really talked in a few years, except for when he called me about a month ago.”
“What did you talk about then?” Otto asked, leaning forward slightly.
“He let me know that he and his wife had a three-month-old baby,” Wolf said. “And that they were moving back to Trinity Falls. It was a big deal for them to raise the boy here, where Barry grew up. He actually told me he wanted to take me to dinner while I was down here—so I could meet Lynne, and so they could talk to me about something important.”
A little warning bell rang in the back of his mind, but Otto was nodding and placing his hand on a stack of papers.
“Did they tell you what that something was?” Otto asked.
“Nope,” Wolf said. “He said it was better to talk in person.”
“And here we are,” Otto said sadly.
“Well, like I said, we haven’t really talked since high school,” Wolf said. “I’m not sure what he would have wanted to leave me. But if you’re worried whatever it is would cause a rift in his family, I don’t need it.”
“That’s just it, Mr. Cassidy,” Otto said. “He had no close family, and neither did Lynne.”
Wolf shook his head. That couldn’t be right.
“Barry’s mother passed a few years ago,” Otto said. “And Lynne was raised in the foster care system. That’s why bringing their son up in this town was so important to them. They knew the community would be like an extended family—same as it was for Barry and his mother.”
Wolf nodded slowly, feeling another burst of guilt that Barry had lost his mom and he hadn’t even known or reached out.
Serving active duty was like being an astronaut sometimes. His old life in Trinity Falls always seemed a million miles away, like it wasn’t even real. And now here he was again, a different man on these same leafy streets, trying to learn what he had missed.
“They intended to talk to you about their estate plans,” Otto went on. “But they never had the chance. And it turns out that they left you something quite important after all.”
Before Wolf could ask what he meant by that, the sound of a baby crying took his attention. He glanced up to see Otto’s secretary, Mrs. Arnold, heading in from the next room with something in her arms.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, a stricken look on her face as she cradled the wailing bundle to her bosom.
Wolf looked back to Otto. Surely, this couldn’t be…
But Otto only nodded, his expression sad and maybe just a little curious, like he was wondering how Wolf was going to react.
“I can say no?” Wolf asked.
But he was already out of his seat, his feet carrying him to the doorway where Mrs. Arnold held the crying child in a soft blue blanket.
“Yes,” Otto said, following him. “Of course you can refuse…”
But the old man’s words trailed off as Wolf took the baby from his secretary.
The little bundle was heavier than Wolf expected. The baby wiggled until he was snuggled tightly against Wolf’s chest, then stopped crying instantly and blinked up at him with crystal blue eyes, tears still clinging to his inky lashes.
“Hey there,” Wolf whispered.
“His name is Ezra,” Otto told him quietly.
And just like that, Wolf Cassidy was in love.