Chapter 7
Oz hadn’t been nervous to bring Riley over to Grover’s house.
He’d told his friends he’d be bringing her before he’d even asked if she wanted to go.
He’d been pretty sure he could convince her.
He also knew without a doubt the other women would like her, just as she’d enjoy their company.
It was hard for him to understand why she couldn’t see how amazing she was, but he supposed her upbringing had a lot to do with her nervousness.
It seemed to him that the people she’d let into her life had abused her trust. Her parents.
The men she’d dated. And because of her experiences, she hadn’t been complimented that often. He vowed to change that.
Well, he’d do whatever he could to help her blossom. Riley didn’t have to help him with Logan. Didn’t have to help him with meals. Didn’t have to be so welcoming and open to both him and his nephew. But she’d done more to help him than she’d ever know.
When Logan had first been dropped off, Oz had floundered badly.
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to be the kind of role model his nephew needed, despite his determination to try.
But with Riley’s help, and the help of his teammates and their women, he was beginning to get into the groove of being a parent.
He knew he’d screw things up in the future, but for now, he didn’t think he was doing too badly.
Looking over at Logan, Oz smiled. He was working side by side with Trigger at the moment, raking old, moldy hay toward the big bay door that had been carefully dismantled earlier.
Grover had plans to use the doors in a project in the house.
Both Logan and Trigger were chatting behind the masks they wore to protect their lungs, and the structural integrity of the building had been triple checked before anyone had gone inside.
Doc had promised Logan that later, he could sit inside the bulldozer and help actually knock down the building, and the boy had been ecstatic about the prospect. Every day, Oz saw his nephew open up, and even in the short time he’d been around him, the kid seemed so much more relaxed.
But every now and then, like yesterday when Riley had been hurt, Oz saw what the effects of past abuse had done.
Made him extremely wary and watchful. And while Logan had begun to open up to Oz…
it still seemed as if he was holding something back.
He didn’t talk about living at his mom’s house very often, and when asked direct questions about what his life had been like, he clammed up.
His nephew was keeping something from him—and Oz hated it.
He understood that Logan was cautious about sharing anything about his mom that might seem derogatory, but Oz knew he couldn’t fully deal with everything he’d been through if he didn’t talk to him.
Next week, he was going to see his commander about the possibility of getting Logan in to talk to a child psychologist. If Logan wouldn’t talk to Oz, maybe he’d open up to someone more qualified to help him.
Oz also hadn’t had any luck in figuring out where all Logan’s stuff had gone.
He’d shown up with only a fucking plastic bag of clothes; he had to have more stuff than that.
But he was getting the runaround from CPS.
It was bullshit and frustrating, but Oz hadn’t wanted to rock any boats and risk them taking Logan away from him.
So he’d let it drop, but the many questions he had about his sister’s situation and what had really happened remained. All he knew was that there had been a home invasion, and she’d been killed. The perpetrator hadn’t been found and the detectives were still investigating.
He needed to know that whoever had murdered his sister would pay for what they’d done, but so far, all he’d gotten were reassurances that they were looking into the case and would let him know if they found out anything.
But today was a day for fun, and yes, working hard out in the sun to take down Grover’s barn.
They were actually having a good time and it was refreshing to be outside, even if it was hot.
Oz glanced over at the house and saw the women were still sitting on the large covered porch.
Grover had bought some of those awesome wooden rocking chairs that were outside all Cracker Barrel restaurants.
Riley had been quiet and nervous when they’d arrived, but he could see her laughing at something one of the others said, and he smiled
“She’s good for you,” Grover said from next to him.
Turning to face his friend, Oz nodded. “You know, I’d been aware of her for quite a while.
I mean, I could hear her in her apartment puttering around, and I’d seen her in the hallways of our apartment complex, but I never really gave her much thought, beyond anger on her behalf when her douche ex yelled at her.
I regret not trying to get to know her earlier, but now I realize that she probably wouldn’t have given me the time of day if it hadn’t been for Logan. ”
“You think she’s with you because of him?” Grover asked with a frown.
“No! I mean, I don’t think so. I just think after things with her ex ended so badly, she was ready to be done with men. She’s said as much. I’m not sure she would’ve been open to starting a new relationship. But I honestly have no idea what I would’ve done without her.”
“You know the other women would’ve stepped up,” Grover admonished.
“I know,” Oz said, “but Logan may’ve felt more like a burden. It’s easy for Riley to come over from next door. And she’s…she’s been where he is. I think they’ve bonded because of that.”
“Because she spent time as a foster kid?”
“Yeah.” Oz had told his friends all about Riley and what she’d been through.
“Kinley was too,” Grover reminded him.
“I know. But I can’t exactly go to Logan and be like, ‘Here, you’ll like Kinley because she had a shit childhood just like you,’ Oz said with a frown. “Riley and Logan just naturally clicked, and I’m grateful for it.”
“It’s hard to believe this sometimes, but I think everything happens for a reason. It can be difficult to understand what that reason is when you’re in the midst of whatever shit life has thrown at you, but later, after some introspection, it all makes sense,” Grover said.
Oz thought about that for a moment. He wasn’t happy that Becky had died before he’d been able to reconcile with her, but he now had Logan in his life. He had no idea what would happen in the future, but for now, he hoped that Grover was right.
“How’s Devyn doing?” Oz asked.
Grover sighed and shook his head. “Not good. She’s keeping something from me, and it’s killing me.
We used to be really close, but now she won’t talk to me, and I don’t know why.
I talked to my mom, and she’s worried too, but Devyn also refuses to talk to Mom.
So I’m just trying to keep my eye on her. ”
“You know she’s not that fragile kid with leukemia anymore, right?” Oz asked gently.
“Yeah, although a part of me will always want to protect her. She’ll always be my little sister.”
“And Lucky? Were you honest when you told him you were okay with him dating her?”
“Absolutely,” Grover said without hesitation. “I love you guys. And if Lucky or Doc ended up with her, I’d be over the moon. But she’s being standoffish. It’s driving him crazy.”
Oz couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s probably good for him. The man’s been lucky with just about everything else in his life, it’s about time he has to work for something.”
Grover grinned. “True. It’ll be interesting to see who has more patience.”
“For what it’s worth…I think he’s getting under her skin,” Oz observed.
“Yeah. Maybe he can find out what’s wrong. I’d be forever in his debt if he did,” Grover said.
“Ever hear anything back from that woman over in Afghanistan?” Oz asked.
Grover frowned and shrugged. “Sierra? No. And just between us…it’s not sitting well with me.”
“She was a firecracker. Not too much over five feet and going toe to toe with you,” Oz recalled.
“Yeah, which makes it even more suspicious that she just blew me off,” Grover said. “If she didn’t want me to email her, I would’ve thought she’d just tell me after the first time I tried to get in contact with her when we got home.”’
“Have you looked into what’s up with that?”
Grover shook his head. “Not yet. I mean, it’s kind of an ego killer that she seemed friendly while we were there, and then the second I left, she blew me off. I’ve put it off because I’m not sure I really want to find out she’s all good and just wasn’t that into me.”
“What if something did happen to her, and she literally can’t return your emails?”
“I know. That’s why I’m gonna talk to the commander and see if he can make some inquiries. If she’s ghosting me, she’ll never know I checked up on her and I can move on. But if not…” Grover’s voice trailed off.
Oz wasn’t sure what his friend could do if anything was wrong, but it was something to worry about another day. Today, the sun was out and they had a barn to raze.
“Hey, Oz, look what we found!” Logan called out as he held something up.
The kid was holding up the carcass of the biggest rat Oz had ever seen. “Gross,” Oz muttered to his friend before giving his nephew a big smile and thumbs-up.
Grover chuckled. “Yeah, I’d found a few of those, which is why I gladly let Trigger and Logan take over the raking job.”
“Smart man,” Oz told him.
Grover clapped Oz on the back and headed over to help Doc with something on the other side of the barn. Lefty wandered up minutes later and stood beside him. “So, Riley was a foster kid?”
“Yeah. I mean, kind of.”
“Kind of?” Lefty asked, one eyebrow raising.
“Her parents lost custody of her several times, and while they worked to take care of whatever CPS told them they had to fix, she lived with other families.”