Ash frowned, staring off into the distance. “To pick up my sunglasses, of course.”
On inspiration, Drew blurted out, “Do you want to come with me to my grandmother’s today? I have to bring her the cookies I baked…” His voice trailed off as Ash cast him a look of disbelief. “Oh, sorry. That was stupid of me. I’m sure you have better things to do than hang around with my family all day long.”
But to his utter shock and surprise, a wide smile brightened Ash’s face. It was as if a switch had been flicked on from inside of him. “I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Sunday than to see Esther again.” His smile faded for a moment. “Are you sure she wouldn’t mind me butting in?”
“Mind? You remember what she said. She’ll be thrilled. Someone new to flirt with.” He punched Ash on the shoulder. “Help me wrap them up, and we can take off. I usually get there by one o’clock. First I have to stop at the deli and pick her up a corned beef sandwich.”
Ash’s eyes lit up. “Nothing like a good corned beef sandwich. Mr. Frank used to bring them in whenever we worked late on a case.” And as quickly as his face had flushed with happiness, it drained of joy.
“You miss him, don’t you?” The bleak expression on Ash’s face hurt Drew’s heart. It was obvious the man had meant the world to Ash.
”Every fucking day.” The pain in Ash’s voice was pitiful to hear.
Drew gave Ash’s arm a sympathetic squeeze. “Then spending a day with my grandmother will help.” He patted Ash on his back, noting the flex and play of muscle under the fine cotton of his shirt. Why, all of a sudden did he notice these little, intimate details about Ash’s body?
Ash stilled under his touch, and Drew found he couldn’t pull away. Their gazes locked. Drew stepped back quickly, withdrawing his hand. Disconcerted, he frowned to himself. What the hell was happening here? “Uh. Let’s get going.” They wrapped up the cooled-down cookies and left the apartment. Ash had his car so he drove, and the silence between them spoke louder than any words could.
Chapter Seven
One month later, after getting out of a cab, Ash stood on the sidewalk outside the clinic, surveying the activity. Teenagers entered and left the building. It was good to see those who left, more often than not, had a relaxed, hopeful look about them, as if they’d found the secret answer to the problem troubling them. With any luck, the clinic had done its job.
He sipped his coffee, and as they had done so very often in the past month, his thoughts wandered to the founder of the clinic, Drew Klein. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what the attraction was. The man was good-looking, with his dark curls, light green eyes, and sweet smile, but Ash had never lacked for good-looking men in his bed. Drew had the slender, slightly smaller physique Ash favored in a lover. The sight of the man’s tight ass, encased in those faded jeans, his lean runner’s legs showcasing the muscles of his thighs under the thin fabric of the jeans was enough to give Ash a hard-on every single time.
It was more than that, though. Ash was the first to admit he was shallow in his choice of bedmates, often only caring that the man had visual appeal. But when it came to Drew, it was something more than his outward appearance. Drew’s innate goodness and the dedication he showed to these kids only added to his attractiveness. Ash had never known anyone quite so damn nice before. The man’s heart was as wide open as the sky.
Ash pushed open the glass front door, absently greeting Marly—the teenager with so many facial piercings it hurt to look at her. He slipped a small bakery bag on her desk. “Good morning.”
“Hi, Mr. Davis.” Her gaze landed on the bag. “What did you bring me today?” A gleam in her pale blue eyes indicated she already knew it would be something she would like.
Ash leaned over the top of the counter and ruffled her hair. “I know you’re going to want to taste it.” His eyes held hers, willing her to agree. Sixteen-year-old Marly had been with them from the beginning, coming to them half-starved and sexually abused. Without saying a word, Ash had taken it upon himself to make sure he did everything legally possible to put her father behind bars for a long time. The case was still wending its way through the system. Thank God they had gotten her out of her abusive household and in with a wonderful foster care family.
Still somewhat mistrustful of strangers, she’d taken, oddly enough, to him. No one in the clinic could understand the unusual friendship between him and the frightened, bedraggled teenager, but it wasn’t any of their goddamn business. He had his reasons, and one of them was the way her lips now curved in a smile and her pale eyes shone with laughter, not fear, as she peered inside the bag to see her double fudge cupcake.
Fear was a companion he’d grown up with, lived with each night of his life until he’d turned eighteen and left his foster home. He’d made sure he got away. He could only hope his foster brothers—the boys he’d left behind who were too young and scared to leave with him—had made it out as well. He’d never stopped trying to find them, but the private investigator he had on their trail for years kept running up against dead ends.
“Oooh, Mr. Davis, you shouldn’t have.” But her finger sank into the two-inch topping of fudge and came away with a big glob to stick in her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head with undisguised ecstasy. “Yumm. It’s so good. Thank you.”
“Make sure you finish it, and don’t let anyone sneak a bite.” He jerked his head at Javier, the other teenager manning the reception desk. The teenage boy snorted, shaking his head.
“Man, I’m not gonna steal her food. Especially when her nasty finger’s already touched it.”
Outraged, Marly took a huge bite, leaving a glob of frosting on her nose. “My hands are clean, buddy boy. As opposed to yours, which were probably down some guy’s pants this morning.”
Javier’s face flamed. “Not true. Marquez and I broke up.”
Instantly, Marly turned from teaser to comforter, and Ash enjoyed seeing how the two formerly wary, friendless teens had bonded as she consoled him. “Bastard. You’ll find someone better than him; don’t worry, baby.”
“Okay, kids, do I have anyone scheduled this morning?” Ash reached for the printed schedule Marly glanced at.
“Um, yeah, but not until later. It’s the kid who came in last week, pretty bad off.”
Stevie North. Ash’s gut tightened. “Thanks.” With what he hoped was a casual tone, he asked, “Boss man here?”
Fortunately Marly was busy cutting off a slice of her cupcake to give to Javier, so she didn’t pay much attention to him. “Uh yeah, Dr. Drew came in about an hour ago and Dr. Rachel’s here too.”
Inwardly Ash groaned. While he thought Drew’s sister cute and funny, she loved to psychoanalyze the shit out of him, coming uncomfortably close to the truth too many times. More often than not, he avoided her and her good-natured, nosy questioning.
“Thanks. See you two later.”
