"Not even here," I reminded him. "David doesn't care. Bev doesn't care."
"Fuck," Luke breathed, lifting his head but his eyes were down on the gate. "Mike. He's going to hear about this."
"Just assume that everyone has already heard about what happened in court," Cessily told us. "Meredith was there, and she'll tell her friends. Rumors spread fast in a small town. Right now, Violet's the only one that's safe to leave the property alone. And Luke? This time, if someone jumps any of you, fight hard. I swear I will get the charges dropped."
"C'mon," I told them, herding the group up towards the door. "It's a good day, remember? Faith is a permanent part of the family, and I'll be damned if I let these assholes ruin that. You boys need to change clothes. Tonight, we're going to have burgers for dinner, talk to her, and make this a lot less terrifying for our girl."
"Ours," Luke said softly as he climbed the stairs, Cy's hand driving him forward.
But he said that like it was a good thing. Like it was the lifeline he was clinging to right now. The pressure from Cy's fingers dimpled his shirt, though, making it clear the man was actually pushing. When the pair stepped inside, both Cessily and I paused to look at the hateful words on Gran's precious door.
"I think your boyfriend just realized these aren't empty words," Cessily said softly.
I reached up to scratch away a little more of the paint over the glass. "There are good people here, Cess. I know there are. There has to be, right?"
"Statistically speaking," she agreed.
"Because if this doesn't work, I don't know what I'm going to do," I admitted. "We just put everything into bringing our home back to life. If we try to move, to start from the ground up, then how long will that take? How far away can Luke move while Faith is under eighteen? What restrictions do we have?"
"How do you feel about modeling a little more?" Cessily asked.
"Huh?" I turned, unsure of where that had come from.
"Because I have a feeling that you don't care if you piss off this town. I also know that rehabilitating that many kids is expensive. If the city refuses to allow this place to operate, there's not a damned thing saying that you can't invite guests, like foster kids. I'll need to look into that, but there's one big difference between you and Gran, Vi."
"I'm rich," I realized.
She nodded. "Yeah, and so is half the rainbow. You know we'll all pitch in."
"But even so," I countered, "we couldn't take in criminals, Cess. We'd be a foster home, but we couldn't wipe records. It would be an entirely different set of kids, and while they need help, you and I both know that for the ones sitting in jail, this is their only chance to start all over."
"So, are you ready for this fight?" she asked.
I managed to break off an entire flake of paint. "Ready enough that I'll even play nice," I promised.
Chapter Four
Ash and Darnell were out back, looking over the mostly finished dog yard. Ok, Darnell was gesturing, making me think he had plans. Ash was just standing beside him, although the pair appeared to be talking about something serious. Cy headed towards them, but I aimed for the stairs. With everything that had happened, I wanted to get out of my suit so I could finally relax.
As I passed Faith's room, I heard her still talking. Most likely to Zeke. Checking the clock, I saw the boy should be out of school, so he was probably walking home, and it wasn't exactly a short trip. If she'd said something, I would've gone and picked him up. No, that was stupid. Of course she wouldn't say anything. There was a threat on our door.
A threat about fags. One that I was pretty sure included me. Cessily was right and the rumors in this town spread fast. I kept saying I didn't care - and I really didn't - but that wasn't the same as not being nervous as fuck about it. One person sprang to mind, so once I was in my room, I kicked off my shoes, pulled off my shirt, and dropped my ass onto the bed, dialing in the process.
It rang twice. "How'd it go?" Mike answered.
I laughed once. "Waiting to hear from me, huh?"
"Yup," he admitted. "Figured you might need a beer if it went bad, and maybe two if it went real good. So? Gonna tell me?"
"You haven't heard anything yet?" I asked.
Mike's attitude immediately changed. "Luke? Did something happen?"
"Fuck, yeah it did," I admitted. "Mike, you're gonna hear a lot of shit about me soon. And, um, it's probably all true. I mean, you've always been a good friend, and you've had my back when no one else in town did, so no matter what happens, I just want you to know I appreciate that."
"Shit, is it bad?" Mike asked.
"Um..." My guts clenched into a knot. Why was this easier to do with someone I didn't already know? "Maybe? See, Meredith was willing to do anything to get Faith back, and some stuff came out. Stuff I was planning to put out there, but not like this. Not with Faith in the courtroom."
