“What about your grandfather…”
“I know he and your grandfather are buddies, but I don’t give two shits about their opinion of our life, and if they want to be part of the problem… Again, bring it.”
“You sound so certain,” I said, nausea roiling in my belly.
“It’s certainty based on a solid foundation, Walk. It’s not false bravado. Think about the Meeting House. When it caught fire, we all showed up. Hell, you got there barefoot and devastatingly hot in your pajama bottoms.”
I flushed at the memory. “I was just so mad and scared for Beckett and Holden.”
“And you didn’t stop, even to put on shoes, because your friends needed you. Well, guess what? That’s the way we feel about you. Even when we all thought you were straight, we had your back because you had ours. So let’s do the legal stuff, and then let’s do the queer stuff.”
I took a deep breath, my first in several minutes. The thought of going through this filled me with dread, but I tried to hang on to Ozzie’s words. I wasn’t going to lose everything just as I’d finally made my life my own.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER24
ozzie
As strong a game as I’d talked about having Walker’s back, I’d have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t nervous. While I trusted him implicitly, I also had a moral stand to consider.
Thankfully, a couple of calls with his union rep had cleared up a lot of my concerns before the day ended. He got the full report of the accusation, and it didn’t contain anything that the school could act on. It didn’t include the names of any students who had supposedly been affected, nor did it indicate which of Walker’s classrooms this could have occurred in.
I’d been relieved, but Walker’s mood had deteriorated with every minute the falsehood was out in the world.
“The thing is,” he’d said, fighting back tears, “I’ve always said to trust the victim. If someone is accused of assault or grooming, you believe the person accusing them unless proven otherwise. Period, end of sentence.”
I’d pulled him into my arms and admitted the hard truth I’d been keeping from him. “I agree. If anyone had put their name behind this accusation, or if the anonymous report had some substance to it, I would have had to step away from you. I’m not a court of law, but you’d have to prove your innocence to me for me to even consider continuing this thing between us. But that’s not the case here. This is nothing but an anonymous, detail-less accusation. And we both saw that the language sounds exactly like your mother.”
Despite my support and a pep talk from the union rep, by evening, Walker was a mess. I’d taken him to bed and held him until morning.
“I can call Joel,” I offered as I made coffee. “We’ll go grab your truck out of the mud, then stay home and stream videos together.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m meeting with my rep in person today, then we’re meeting with Dr. Gardner, and then I’m going to throw a pity party for myself.”
“Well, you’re welcome to home-base here if you want a bit more distance from your family.”
“Thank you,” he said, wrapping his arms around me tight.
“And you’re still okay with me telling Joel about us?” I asked. I’d been dying to tell him, but I didn’t want to push Walker with everything that was going on.
A tiny smile appeared on his face. “Yeah. He’s your best friend. Besides, you said that the guys all saw me at the club.”
I kissed the flush on his cheeks. “You know they’re not judging you, Walk.”
“I know.” He set his forehead on my shoulder. “I’m still gonna be embarrassed.”
I squeezed him, barely able to let him go long enough for us to get ready.
After I’d taken him to his truck—he was right, it was fairly easy to get it out once the mud had dried—I reluctantly drove to the bar to start the opening duties. Just as Joel walked in, I received good news.
Walker:The school district’s counsel started the investigation by following up with the anonymous reporter.
Me:If it was anonymous, how did they reach out?
Walker:The form requires an email, and a valid account—probably a throwaway—was provided.
Walker:According to my rep, when asked for verifiable details, the person replied but refused to provide any actual answers.
