He paused, his eyes scanning my face as he weighed what I was asking. "Maybe."
"I'm not asking for everything," I assured him. "Everyone deserves their own secrets. I'm just talking about if it gets bad. If she needs help and you're worried she might cut again, or do something worse."
"Like... suicide?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yeah. We can't go to school with her to help - and no kid wants the adults hovering around them. I get that. Same way that I get that you checked out my best friend because he's hot."
A smile broke though, his cheeks immediately turned red, and the kid looked away. "Did not."
"Don't worry, he's used to it. I also don't blame you." I stretched out my legs. "Our secret, Zeke. I'm just saying that knowing Faith has a real friend at school makes me feel a lot better."
"Most parents don't like me," he admitted.
"Most parents don't run a rehabilitation center for troubled teens to give them a second chance. I'm well aware that a lot of times those 'problem kids' are just standing up for themselves, and that we should be proud of them. I will judge you on how you treat your friends, not your enemies. I'm not asking you to be good, Zeke. I'm asking you to be her friend, because that matters more than you know."
"Already am," he promised. "I try to make sure she doesn't get in trouble. Just a few more weeks she said, but..." He shifted awkwardly. "Maybe I can come over and play with the dog when she gets it?"
"I'm cool with you coming over as much as your mom and Luke will allow," I assured him. "And so you know, I'll also talk to him about sleepovers. Pretty sure he hasn't thought about that yet."
His eyes narrowed. "Like, spending the night with a girl?"
"To talk about boys and clothes and everything else? Sure," I said. "What, you might start making out with her or something?"
"Eww," he joked, but it was with a smile. Then it fell. "I dunno if Mom will let me. She was kinda embarrassed that Luke helped to fix the door, and now she's freaking out about what y'all think."
"Didn't hear about the door," I assured him. "I also know that Luke fixes just about everything, even if we don't need the help. He changed my tire when I first moved here. Just stopped, jumped in, and helped because he could and that's how he was raised. Neighborly, and all that."
"I'll tell her," he promised just as Faith skipped around the corner. "You promise I won't fall off this thing, Faith?"
"Promise," she said, making her way to a set of halters and grabbing them without stopping. "Stay there. I'll catch the horses."
He grinned at her back, waiting until she was through the door and out in the pasture. "She's showing off," Zeke told me.
"She's pretty proud of her friend. She's been bragging a bit."
"It's why I said I'd come ride," he admitted. "I mean, I'd prefer to ride that." And he pointed at Cy's bike parked on the other side of the barn.
"Not gonna happen," I assured him. "At least, not until you're sixteen. That's Cy's baby, and it's a toss-up who he loves more: that bike or Ash."
Zeke turned to check the drive side of the barn, then looked back. "Cy's cute too."
"Yes, he is," I agreed. "Just don't get Faith thinking that way about them, ok?"
"Deal," he promised. "You're pretty cool, Violet. I figured you'd be like some stuffy bitch or something."
"Shit," I breathed, pushing to my feet as Faith opened the barn door again. "I was best friends with the bad boys, Zeke. They liked shocking me, but I kinda liked to be shocked, so it worked out. Just keep that in mind."
"Keep what in mind?" Faith asked as she led the horses in.
"That I'm going to keep your dad out of your hair," I told her. "Just come back up before the sun goes down, ok?"
"Promise," Faith assured me. "Don't think Zeke can ride that long anyway."
"Then I'm going away," I said. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Faith."
The answer was a laugh, and surprisingly, it wasn't just from Faith.
Chapter Fifty-One
