I held up my hand. “You’re between a rock and a hard place and you’re doin’ the best you can.” I looked up at Jaxon. “And I’m serious. If that guy asks you to do something shady, get away from him. And if he follows, hit him. Hard. Then call me.”
Jaxon cracked his knuckles, then grimaced at Sadie. “Sorry, Mom. I know you don’t like that.”
“Adults who go after kids are always the exception to the no hitting rule, Jax.”
I clenched my jaw, not wanting to leave. Against my better judgment, though, I turned to go.
“All right, I’m out. But I’ll keep checking in on y’all this week,” I promised.
As I left, I heard Sadie exclaim, “Real Oreos? I haven’t had real Oreos in forever.”
Something about her joy over some goddamned cookies hit me square in the chest.
I still didn’t know what I could do, but I damn well was going to do something.
“Look at this late ass ho,”Skylar said as he tossed his bag in the rear cab.
He was wearing stylish wide-leg slacks and a blouse with a pussy bow, along with a full face of makeup. I sent him a half smile as he slid in the passenger side, shut the door, and put on his seat belt. He took one look at me and pursed his lips.
“What the fuck is this face, Rowd? Tell your girl what happened.”
I rubbed the wrinkle between my brows. “I did a pop-in visit with Jaxon and his mom.”
“Really? How’d that go?”
“Not...great. I mean, I gave him a few more pairs of shoes and restocked their fridge, but it wasn’t nearly enough,” I said as I pulled into traffic.
My chest tightened with anxiety, and Skylar rubbed my shoulder.
“What do you mean, that’s not enough? You’re not some rich asshole who can make all their problems go away with a check. You’ve been very generous to them.”
I gripped the leather steering wheel, surprised by how close to tears I was. “You should’ve seen where they’re living.”
“Tell me.”
“It’s this shitty, meth lab–infested RV park off of 290.”
“Down the street from that alternative school, right?”
I turned and caught his eye. “Yeah. What do you know about that?”
Skylar adjusted his bow, lifting a shoulder. “My old stomping grounds.”
Huh. All this time I’d known Skylar, I didn’t think we’d ever talked about where he came from. Or where I did, for that matter.
“So then you know how bad it is.”
“I do.”
“Well.” I sighed, so fucking gutted by what they were dealing with. “Not only do they live in the shittiest little trailer from I’m guessing the 1970s, but Jaxon’s mom works two jobs and is an assistant manager at her diner job. So when somebody doesn’t show up for work?—”
“She has to take the shift because she’s more of a manager than the actual manager.” Skylar nods. “I know all about that.”
The thought of Skylar being raised in a similar situation fucking broke my heart.
Swallowing several inconvenient emotions, I nodded. “Even if it’s the night shift.”
“She leaves that kid at home?”
