"He's a good kid," I told her, stepping back to lean against the kitchen counter. "I hate to admit it, but when Faith told me she'd made a friend and then told me who it was? I thought he was trouble. It's what everyone in town said about him."
"Oh, he's trouble," Emily assured me. "He thinks that the best way to deal with a problem is with his fists."
I pointed at my own chest. "No room to talk here. You know, when I first met Ash, I punched him. Shoved at Cy."
She gasped. "Why?!"
"Because that's how I was taught to deal with another guy paying attention to a girl I liked," I admitted. "I have a feeling that it's the only way Zeke can deal with the guys at school without outing himself."
She murmured at that. "Well, I think it's because I was never around. He's had to deal with so much on his own, and I've tried, but I know it's hard for him. Zeke has never had a man in his life to look up to. Hell, his father told me I was a gold-digging whore when I told him I was pregnant, and that was the last time I ever talked to the man. I think I was like eight weeks along. Zeke has never seen him."
"Now he has us," I assured her.
"Which helps more than you know." Emily moved to my side and relaxed with me. "You know, when I was in town this morning, they told me that working here is a mistake."
I chuckled at that. "They told me the same thing. The problem was that I believed them." I looked over. "I actually broke up with that crew. They said they were worried about Faith. There was something off about Brody. I said I'd know if something was happening, and I thought they were trying to separate me from my daughter." I reached up to rub at my eyes with my thumb and middle finger. "Sounds stupid when I say it out loud now, but that's what everyone said. This place is a cult, they'd lure me in and corrupt me - and there I was thinking I liked guys and working out this mess we have."
She rubbed my arm. "And all the confusion and old habits kicked in. Never mind that feeling of needing to protect our kids. Now, they're up there talking about how easy it would be to kill a man!" She paused to lick her lips. "Luke, they wouldn't, would they?"
"Blaze would," I assured her. "Em, he's not like other people. I know he seems nice, and yes, he can act professional, but there's something off about that man."
"Cessily said he has a mental illness," Emily admitted. "She also said that he's not a threat to Southwind or anyone involved with it."
"He's not," I assured her. "He also seems to honestly like the kids. Cy told me that Blaze sees them as his second chance. A way to re-write his own past by giving them the chances he had stolen from him." I pulled in a deep breath. "But he does do bad things. I get the feeling that he also does good ones. Berto told me that if the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, then the path to Heaven is made with blood, sweat, and tears. Billy is a bad man for good reasons, but I think I trust him."
"Zeke does," she told me. "He's not so sure about Berto, though."
I couldn't help but laugh. "That's because your son noticed Berto checking you out. He's being protective. That's all."
Emily just blew that off. "Men like Roberto Caruzo don't date single moms on welfare. Well, who were on welfare. Shit, I need to cancel that too!"
As she said that, my pocket began to vibrate. I pulled it out to find an alert for the front gate, but it had been cancelled. Then, as I watched, it happened again. I tried to activate the camera, but got an error. I checked again, but something about the app wasn't working right.
"I need to check the gate," I told her, excusing myself. "We also need to get you a copy of the app, since you're the closest."
"Later," she told me as I hurried out the door.
I didn't even make it to the edge of the cottage before the music was turned back up, and I had a feeling that Emily was back to work unpacking and cleaning her new home. But when I got far enough to see the gate, there was nothing there. I kept going a little more, and then I saw the call box - and the guy crouched behind it.
For a split second, I was braced for the worst, but then I recognized Billy. "What are you doing?" I called out.
He looked back, smiled devilishly, then completely ignored me. That meant I had to walk all the way from the cottage to the entrance to Southwind, and then wait for him to open the gate to let me out. Naturally, Billy took his time about it.
"What are you doing?" I asked again once I was beside him. "The app is going off on my phone and not working right."
"I'm installing a second camera," he explained. "One on cell service, so that even if the power is cut, or the phone lines, we will still have a recording of who comes in and out. It also makes it easier for both my team and Teal's friends to monitor things here in the event of a problem."
"So you're expecting a problem?" I asked.
He looked up and his eyes were oddly devoid of anything. "I'm always expecting a problem, Luke. Think of me as the pit bull who guards this place. I don't make friends, I don't like strangers, and I'm not going to waste my time growling about it when biting works better." He turned back to the box and kept working. "But I do like belly scratches from my own people."
Unable to help myself, I reached down and rubbed the man's belly, leaning over his back to do it. Under his baggy t-shirt was nothing but ripcords of muscles and the ridges of his abs. I barely had the time to process how stupid my lame joke was before Billy shoved one leg out and began kicking it in a bad parody of a dog.
"See?" he asked, refusing to stop what he was doing. "Told ya."
I huffed out a sound that was part laugh and part acceptance that I was a complete idiot. "Yeah, and I half expected you to punch me for feeling you up."
He finished what he was messing with, then stood in one smooth motion, putting himself chest to chest with me. "You want to feel?" Then he spread his arms. "Feel away."
