Chapter 29
Ezra
Ezra cast out his line right after Willow. It had been a while since either of them had fished, and the equipment had seen better days. He let her take his old reel while he used Uncle Rick’s bright red one. A color chosen to be easily spotted.
“Patty! Where are my boots!”
Usually, they were somewhere outside. Aunt Patty had forced him to get more brightly colored things since she’d been sick of him losing everything. A reel the color of a fire engine would be easy to spot on the ground.
Ryker was fidgeting with his reel. It was one of the spares he’d found in the shed. This wasn’t his type of thing. He always needed to be moving, so he pulled out his silver lighter.
Willow eyed him. “You don’t have to fish if you’re bored.”
Ryker shifted on his feet, the wide dock creaking under the change of position. “Not much else to do.”
Her brows came together ever so slightly. “Are you secretly a smoker?”
A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. “Uh, I used to be, but I quit pretty recently. The lighter was a gift from my dad, and it’s kind of useful to keep around.”
“I see,” she said with a thoughtful expression. “Are you close? With your parents?”
“Yeah…” His thumb maneuvered the metallic lid as he thought about how to answer. “The debt belongs to my dad.”
Ezra took a deep breath, glad his friend was willing to be honest. He was still unsure of what was going on between the three of them, but hiding stuff wouldn’t be smart for anyone.
“You’re working off your dad’s debt?” she asked, wonder in her voice. “You must really care about him.”
“I do,” he replied. “He’s a good guy. He just has a problem. Like how addicts can’t let go of drugs or whatever. That’s him with bets and card games and shit. He can’t resist the high of winning.”
“How do you keep him from doing it anymore?” Her question was loaded, like she was prodding at the future.
Ryker was quick and understood her angle. “My mom keeps him under control. It’s a lot, but she’s been doing it for a while.”
A sour expression took over her pretty face. “That’s a lot of responsibility for her to take on like that. It doesn’t sound very fair.” Her icy eyes raked over him. “Same with taking on eight years of doing whatever that guy tells you to do.”
Ryker nodded. “Not gonna argue on that. Sometimes we do crazy shit for the people we love, though. Even if it hurts us.”
She let out a long, thoughtful sigh. “That’s true.” She turned to Ezra. “Will you tell me about your uncle now?”
Ryker let out a snort. “Fuck, pretty girl. You know how to work us, don’t you? You know about Rick?”
Willow nudged him playfully with her shoulder as she checked their lines, but her true focus was on Ezra.
“Cancer. That’s what got him. He was determined to make sure I didn’t turn out like my dad, in and out of jail. He looked after me a lot. He left the cabin to me, and my aunt had no complaints. Part of me wants to sell it. Just do what she did and never look again.”
She inched closer to him until their arms were flush. He leaned into the contact and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re pretty sweet for a thief, you know?”
That got an indignant scoff from her. “Thief? Look who’s talking.”
He snatched her into an embrace with one arm and gave her a squeeze. Her muscles went lax against him, catching him by surprise. There was something very interesting about her.
“Who were you talking to?” Ryker asked, interrupting the moment of peace.
Willow cleared her throat. “When we were down at the pull out?”
“Yeah.” He squared his shoulders so he was facing her, but kept a loose grip on the reel. “It wasn’t your job or your neighbor.”
“Aren’t you nosey?”
He answered with a casual shrug.
She shifted nervously on her feet. “I have a friend.”
“Oh?” Ezra asked.
“Yes. A friend.”
“What kind of friend?” Ryker drew closer, pinning her body to Ezra so she couldn’t wriggle away.
“Online. I’ve never met him in person.”
Ezra chimed in. “And some guy you’ve never met is the first person you talk to?”
A frustrated sound bubbled from her throat. “He’s my only friend, okay? The only person I’ve been able to confide in and who gives a crap about me.”
“Why?” Ryker asked, his wild hair falling into his eyes.
“I met him when I was still recovering and playing a game. I was miserable and lonely, and everything was crashing down on me at once.” The tears forming at the corners of her gorgeous eyes sent a pang of guilt to his chest. “He’s the one who got me into hacking and is the only reason I’m not bankrupt. ”
Ry’s frown deepened. “And what did you have to give him? Does he have a bunch of pictures of your tits?”
She shoved at him. “No. He’s never demanded a thing from me. I’m not stupid, and I know how men on the internet and real life are. If he’d ever acted like a creep, I would have blocked him.” She shrugged. “And he’s gay anyway.”
“What does he get out of it then?” Ezra asked carefully.
“I don’t know, maybe he likes being my friend,” she replied.
“So, what is it you do? You give people money?” Ryker asked to change the topic.
The tension in her shoulders eased. “Yeah. I find other people who are struggling to pay medical bills. It’s usually through donation sites.
Some people are full of shit and making it up, but I can usually find out who is a fraud.
Sometimes those things are set up by other people, though, so I will track down the care provider and pay directly.
The person I’m trying to help now is a coworker who busted her knee last year. ”
“Why spend all this money on them?” Ezra asked. “Don’t you want to stop working?”
“Because it’s the right thing to do. I have no need for millions, and the companies I take it from definitely don’t. Sometimes it’s their own employees they’re fucking over.”
Ryker scoffed and shook his head. “You’re a saint, pretty girl.”
That got a dry laugh out of her. “I don’t think a saint would have appreciated being fucked by two guys in the dirt.”
Ezra pulled her into another embrace. “We weren’t made for saints. You’re still better than us, though.”
A flicker of something passed in her eyes as he said that, something he didn’t want to face.