Angel of Redemption (84 page)

“He’s a runner,” Aiden says.

“Great.”

“You didn’t think we’d get to stay this
comfortable, did you?” he chuckles. He’s right. We’ve had it surprisingly easy
the last few months. “But we’re going to need to hire someone. Maybe two
someones.”

“Yeah. I know.” I frown.

He lifts his head. “So you didn’t come here last
night. Can I assume things with Kayla are okay?”

I shrug. “I told her everything. She says we’re
okay.”

“That was really stupid, man.”

“I know,” I sigh. “I don’t know what I was
thinking.”

“You weren’t,” he points out. I nod once. “Are
you done with Steph? I mean, for real?”

“Uh, yeah.” I nod. “I told her I couldn’t help
her anymore.
”

He stares at me for a minute as if he
’s
trying to determine whether or not I’m telling the truth. “That’s good to hear.
So what time are you planning to start moving?”

I’m relieved by the change of topic. “Tracey’s
coming at ten o’clock, so sometime after that.”

“Give me a shout when you’re done packing
everything up. You guys can meet me at the unit, and we’ll load up the
furniture.”

“You sure you don’t want me to just take your
truck?”

“Nah. I rented a big-ass U-Haul. The kids are at
Emily’s parents
’ for the weekend, so I’ve got plenty of time to sleep.
Besides, Emily wants to organize.” I give my brother a sideways glance. “I
know. I tried to tell her they’re teenage boys and it’s pointless, but
whatever. I’ll see you in a few.”

I work until I hear the boys start to stumble
down the stairs. Logan and Brayden are up first, excited and ready to get into
their new place.

“You gonna make us breakfast?” Brayden asks,
opening up the fridge and drinking orange juice straight from the carton. I
grab it from him and open the cabinet for glasses, pulling one out and setting
it on the counter firmly before putting the carton next to it to make my point.

“No, you guys are gonna make me breakfast. I need
to make sure you can take care of yourselves.”

“Says the man who eats Pop-Tarts when he’s on his
own,” Logan snorts.

“Shut it. Those Pop-Tarts have significance,” I
laugh.

Brayden narrows his eyes. “I’m trying to figure
out how Pop-Tarts could be used sexually. Is it like one of those food
fetishes? That’s kind of kinky, dude.” He dodges, laughing, as I try to smack
him. Little shit.

The new kid, Trey, is a scrawny little thing with
a shaved head and a crooked nose. It’s definitely been broken, probably more
than once, and not properly reset. He’s twitchy, too, startling easily. His
report says he’s not violent, though. As usual, Edgar and Eric don’t know
boundaries and start asking questions right away. Trey’s answers are short when
he answers at all. Matty and Curtis don’t ask any questions, but I can see them
analyzing him.

I do the standard introductions. First myself and
then the boys, one by one. Trey looks at each of us like we’re a threat. This
doesn’t bode well for his adjustment, but I’m going to give him the benefit of
the doubt. Brayden was the same way and look how he turned out.

While Logan and Brayden make waffles, eggs, and
bacon, I take Trey on a tour of the house and explain the rules, including
letting us know where he’s going if he walks out the door. I stare down at him.

“That means no running. Got it?”

His mouth pouts, and he nods, albeit reluctantly.
I’m not going to fool myself into believing he won’t run, though. We have a
three-strikes policy when it comes to runners. I understand once or twice, but
eventually, the stress of it gets to the rest of the boys. I can’t do that to
them. And in all honesty, it’s a liability we can’t risk.

“As long as you follow the rules, we won’t have a
problem.”

We make it back down to the kitchen just in time
for breakfast to be served. Logan and Brayden made a shitload of food.

“You cookin’ for everyone?” I ask, surprised.

“Yeah, why not?” Brayden shrugs with a grin. “It’s
our farewell present.”

“Are your rooms clean?” I ask expectantly. “That
would be the best farewell present.”

They look at each other, guilty expressions on
their faces. I sigh. Figures.

“Do we got one of those waffle things?” Logan
asks, stuffing a massive bite into his mouth.

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“I want one. I’m like a master fucking chef with
that thing. These are awesome.”

Trey’s head shoots up, his eyes wide, looking
between Logan and me
—like he’s scared.

“Watch your mouth,” I scold. Even though I don’t
really care, I don’t want Trey to get the impression that this is a
free-for-all. “Ask Emily. If you don’t, you can go buy one.”

“I will.” Logan nods. The rest of breakfast is
spent in silence. Well, pretty much. The amount of slurping and munching is
ridiculous
—and kind of disgusting.

Tracey shows up not too much later. She instantly
spots Trey and welcomes him. I chuckle when I notice him trying not to stare at
her boobs. She shoots me a dirty look and swats me on the back of the head when
she passes by.

I have to admit, the boys did a pretty good job
with breakfast. The bacon was a little burnt, but I can’t complain. When I
finish, I get up and put my dishes in the sink.

“You guys ready?”

“Yes!” they both say excitedly.

“All right. Get your stuff, say your good-byes,
and let’s go.”

The good-byes mostly consist of shoves, fist
bumps, and noogies. I wouldn’t expect anything less. These kids are used to
departures, either their own or someone else’s. No sense in making it a big
thing. This is a good departure, though. These two boys are moving on; they’re living
proof that life beyond care doesn’t have to end in homelessness and drugs. This
kind of success doesn’t always happen, so I’m extremely happy.

I’ve just finished loading the last of the boxes
and am heading in to grab the apartment keys from my office when I stop dead in
my tracks. Logan and Matty are standing in the hallway just outside the den.

“I’ll be back,” Logan says in a low voice. “I
promise.”

Matty shrugs but keeps his mouth shut. I can see
his jaw tense up and his lower lip tremble. I feel for the kid. I remember when
Aiden left for college. I felt like he was abandoning me. It hurt, and I was
sure he’d never come back, but of course he did. And Logan will, too.

“Dude, just think about how easy it’ll be without
me fucking things up for you.” He has a smile on his face, but it’s strained.

“Yeah,” Matty mumbles. I’m really not trying to
eavesdrop. …Actually, yeah, I am.

“Maybe
…maybe in a couple years you can
come live with me and Claire. It’s probably not a good idea right now. I mean I’m
still trying to figure it all out and I…I kinda messed up. With the baby and
all. Me and Claire, we gotta take care of stuff, but maybe after, ya know? This
is a good place, Matty. I wouldn’t leave you here if I didn’t think they’d take
care of you.”

Matty nods. “I know.”

Logan takes a deep breath, his chest rising high,
and straightens himself up. “
‘Kay. Good. I’ll call you. Love you, man.”

“Love you, too.” Their hug is awkward at first,
but quickly turns into something I would expect from two brothers as close as
they are. I turn away and lean up against the wall. When Logan passes by me, I
try to pretend I wasn’t listening in, but he knows I was.

“What?”

I shake my head, feeling my lips turn upward.
“Nothing.”

“Whatever. He’s my little brother.”

“I didn’t say anything.” I’m full on grinning at
this point. He rolls his eyes at me and walks out the door. I run back to my
office and grab the keys. When I get back outside, Logan and Brayden are
climbing into the suburban.

“Ready?” I ask, turning it on.

“Giddyup,” Brayden shouts from the back. I look
over at Logan as we pull away. His eyes are trained on the house, his
expression solemn.

“He’ll be okay, Logan. We’ll take care of him.
You know that.”

“It’s cool,” he mumbles. But his gaze doesn’t
shift.

Dean

Six hours later, Aiden,
the boys, and I are still unloading the furniture into the apartment. We
underestimated how long it would take to load up that fucking U-Haul. We’re all
exhausted. Emily has been busy unpacking kitchen things, bed sheets, and all
that other stuff I would have forgotten about. We set down one of the couches
just as I hear footsteps.

“Knock, knock.” I look up and smile as I see
Kayla in the doorway with a carrier tray of drinks. Claire and Caitlynn are
behind her. “We came to see if you guys needed help. We brought caffeine.”

“And food,” Claire adds, holding up a large bag
from Outback. Caitlynn has two more in her hands.

You’d think Brayden and Logan hadn’t eaten in
days, the way they descend on their girlfriends.

“How’s it going?” Kayla asks after handing the
tray to Logan and watching the horde of teenagers move to the kitchen.

“It’s going. I thought we’d be done by now.” I
kiss her, sucking her lower lip into my mouth for just a second.

“That happens.”

“Yeah, but I gotta work tonight. We should be
spending more time together, not less.”

“It’s okay. Warren invited Sara and me over for
dinner, drinks, and movies tonight. We’ll probably just drink copious amounts
of alcohol and pass out on the floor.” She smiles. I chuckle and kiss her
again, this time a little more intensely.

“Ewwww,” Logan moans dramatically. “Two old
people kissing is not something I want to see in my living room.” I growl and
turn my head, ready to give him the what-for, but he’s got a huge grin on his
face. “I’m just teasin’,” he laughs. “But really
… That’s gross.”

“I’ll remember that next time you’re in my living
room,” Kayla deadpans, pulling away from me.

We eat, finish moving the rest of the furniture,
and by six o’clock, we’re done. The place looks really good. It’s not fancy and
the furniture doesn’t all match, but considering it was all free, no one can
complain. The boys went in together and bought a four hundred dollar flat
screen and a Blu-ray player from Costco.

“All right, guys. We’re outta here,” Aiden says,
throwing his arm over Emily’s shoulder. “Remember what I said. No parties, no
drinking. You get kicked out of this place, and you’re out of luck!”

Both boys nod. I notice the girls aren’t moving.
They’ve planted themselves on the couch comfortably. Claire looks up.

“Can we stay for awhile?” she asks, her hand
rubbing over her stomach.

“Uh
…” Kayla looks at me. “Caitlynn drove.
Can you give me a ride home?”

“Yeah. Of course.” I slide my arm around her
waist. “Let’s go.”

We say good-bye to Emily and Aiden who have to
take the U-Haul truck back and are then going out to dinner. By the time we get
to my car, Kayla looks a little anxious.

“What’s the matter?” I ask, reaching for a strand
of hair that’s escaped from her ponytail.

She looks up at me. “I can’t just pretend I don’t
know what they’re doing. So, does that mean I’m condoning it?”

“Well, what do you want to do? Lock her in her
room?”

“No, but
…”

“She’s seventeen, she’s pregnant, and her
boyfriend has his own place. At this point, Kayla, you don’t try to keep her
from doing shit. You try to make sure she’s safe, happy, and healthy.”

“You’re right, but
…”

“Do you ask your foster parents to make sure the
teenagers you place in their homes aren’t having sex?”

Kayla snorts. “No.”

“Because you can’t. I’d rather the boys weren’t
messing around, either, but even if we never let them out, they’d find a way.
We’re not prison guards. Neither are you. You’re her sister.”

Kayla purses her lips in thought. I open the car
door for her and close it once she’s in.

“What’s going on with her school? You hear
anything?” I ask after I slide behind the wheel.

“Yeah. They’re giving her a scholarship. Three-quarters
tuition for summer school and correspondence in the fall. She’ll graduate right
before the baby’s due.”

“Can you afford the rest?
”

She shrugs.
“Yeah, I’ll make do. She
starts on Monday. She’s been really bored, so this will be good. Logan and
Caitlynn both work all day, and she doesn’t have anything to do. She feels
lazy. She mentioned a job, but I think school’s much better. She seems happy
about it. I think she was worried she wouldn’t graduate.”

“Was there ever a doubt?”

“Maybe, but I would have worked as a night
janitor at the school to pay for it. I want her to fucking show Richard she
doesn’t need him. I want her to be successful in life without him.”

I seriously want to jump her right now. She’s so
fucking sexy when she’s worked up. I settle for grabbing her hand and hold onto
it for the rest of the drive. When we get there, Andy’s car is in the driveway.

“What’s Andy doing tonight with you ladies going
out?”

“Being a guy,” she laughs. “I don’t know. I think
he’s going to play poker or something. Are you going to fill Simon’s position?”

“Eventually. We have a meeting with my dad this
week to talk about it. But I’ll probably have to pick up a few extra shifts.” I
remember a time when I wanted nothing more than to pick up as many shifts as
possible. A time when Wyatt House was my refuge. Now it blows. I’d much rather
be home with Kayla. I lean over and kiss her. “Have fun. Be careful.”

“I will.”

I watch her go until she disappears through the
front door.

* * *

On Sunday, we get another
call for placement. This one’s an eleven-year-old with a penchant for fighting.
He’s only been in care for a year, but has worked his way through six regular
foster homes. This is gonna be a challenge. I hate taking on two new kids at
once, but I don’t really have a choice. Brayden and Logan leaving took us down
to four. Trey brought us to five, but since we’re approved for seven, it’s hard
to turn away a worker desperate for placement.

Trey really hasn’t been a problem yet, but he
hasn
’t tried to get to know the other kids, which makes me think it’s
not going to be long before his first attempt to bolt. He knows we’re keeping
an eye on him, though, so I’m hoping he’ll think twice.

The new kid, Zander, takes a swing at Eric before
dinner is even ready. Luckily, Curtis is standing right behind him and puts the
kibosh on it before anyone gets hurt. I suddenly realize that Curtis is now the
oldest in the house. This can either be a very good thing or a very bad thing.
I’m hoping it means he’ll take a leadership role with the other boys, but he
can be unpredictable at times, so who knows?

I alarm the house before I head to bed at eleven.
It’s something I haven’t been forced to do in awhile, but with Trey being a
little twitchy and Zander just arriving, I don’t want to take any chances.

Sure enough, the alarm goes off at two o’clock. I’m
out of bed and in the hallway within fifteen seconds—just quick enough to
hear the tail end of footsteps going up the stairs. Now they know. I reset the
alarm and go back to bed. It’s silent the rest of the night, but I’m up. I
stare at the ceiling wondering what Kayla’s doing, hoping the boys are settling
in, thinking about all the things I need to do, and thinking about Kayla some
more. I fidget for a good hour before giving in and getting up. I go over the
group of applications we
’d collected again and again, trying to remember
why we didn’t choose this one to interview and what was the reason we didn’t
like that one. By five o’clock, they’ve all blended together and I have no idea
who is who anymore.

Tracey appears at eight. “Oh, honey,” she coos,
seeing me sitting at Emily’s desk
, probably with my eyes glazed over.
“Didn’t you sleep last night?”

“Main alarm went off at two.”

She narrows her eyes. “The house alarm?
” I
nod sleepily. “Oh, for God’s sake. Which one?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t see. We got another new
one yesterday. Could’ve been either one.” I tell her what I know about Zander.
I don’t worry about Tracey’s ability to handle herself. She’s been pushed, hit,
and bitten in the past, but she’s a second-degree black belt in karate. If she
had to, she could probably subdue
me
.

“Well, go lie down. I’ll take care of breakfast.”

I shake my head. “Nah. I’m up. I’ll be fine. I’ve
got a worker coming at ten for a visit.”

Tracey purses her lips together in disapproval,
but doesn’t push me. “Fine. At least let me make you a cup of really strong
coffee,” she concedes.

“Sure. Thanks, T.”

My dad calls a little later asking for a lunch
meeting. He wants to figure out this coverage situation sooner rather than
later. Aiden, Emily, and I meet him at his favorite steakhouse at noon. After
ordering, my dad gets down to business.

“All right. I’m going to lay it all out there,”
he starts. “I’m exceptionally disappointed with what happened with Simon. I’m
angry that none of you saw what he was doing. I understand you all have your
own lives, but this is your job. You cannot let your work performance suffer.
Especially not when you have young lives at stake. Those kids have been through
enough without having anyone else take advantage of them.” We all nod our heads
in agreement. “Good. Now, we obviously need to hire another person.”

“What about Kayla?” Emily chimes in.

“What about her?” I ask.

“Do you think she’d want the job?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” my dad says,
shaking his head.

“Why not?
” Emily asks.

“It doesn’t matter,” I scoff. “She loves the job
she has.”

“It’s not that I think she wouldn’t do a great
job, but that can cause all sorts of problems.” He looks at me. “Especially if
it doesn’t work out.”

“Oh, please,” Emily snorts. “You said the same
thing when Aiden and I started dating.”

“She. Loves. Her. Job,” I repeat.

“And I meant it,” my dad says, ignoring me and
staring at Emily.

“It’s a family business. We all know it’s only a
matter of time before Kayla is family.”

I slam my fist on the table. “Hello! It’s not an
option. Let’s move on.” It takes me a minute to realize what Emily just said.
My dad is watching me carefully. Emily frowns at me.

“I still think you should at least ask her,” she
grumbles.

I notice that Aiden is staying out of this
completely. He usually has something to say, but not this time. He’s tracing
the design on his coaster instead.

“Are you done?”

“I guess. I just think it would be nice to have
another woman in the house. The guys you hire ogle me and try to be all smooth.
It’s not comfortable.
”

“You have Tracey.”

“And I love her, but I want Kayla.
” She grins
at me.

“They ogle?” Aiden asks.
Now
he speaks.

“Look,” Dad says. “I’m going to widen the net and
do a national posting. That’ll allow for a larger pool of applicants. Everyone’s
going to have to chip in a little extra until we find someone. No settling this
time.” We all nod like little kids getting scolded. “I’ll even pick up some
shifts,” he adds quietly.

“You will?” I gape.

“Sure. Why not? Your mother just joined some
women’s group that hosts charity events and social gatherings. There’s no point
in me moping around the house while she’s gone.” Aiden and I look at each other
in shock. Dad hasn’t been part of the hands-on team since before I took over as
COO. “Is that okay with you guys?” he asks, leaning back as the waitress
appears with our food.

“Sure,” we all answer at once.

“Good. All right!” he slaps his hands together.
“Let’s eat.”

We get about halfway through lunch when Emily
sets her fork down.

“What are we going to do for your birthday?” she
asks, turning to me.

I groan. “Nothing.”

“Come on, Dean. You’re only going to turn thirty
once.” My dad’s grinning at me from across the table, beer in hand. “Let’s do
something fun, please?”

“No.”

Emily sighs. “I’m not saying some huge, stupid
party. I’m thinking a nice dinner, a few drinks, maybe some clubbing.”

I roll my eyes. I’ve been trying not to think
about the fact that I’m turning thirty.

“Whatever, party-pooper,” she laughs.

* * *

“Are you coming home
tonight?” Kayla asks on the phone a little later in the day.

I rub my hand over my face, scratching my jaw.
“Yes. Emily just went home so she could spend time with Aiden and the kids
before he’s on. Maybe about ten?” I hate that it’s going to be so late, but I
have to remember that Aiden and Emily are married with kids. They need to spend
time as a family, too.