Jayne, partially concealed by the blankets, had looked up at Everett as Caleb thrust into him from behind, sinking his knot as deep as it could go.
“Bastian knows you work at The Shepherd,” Jayne said between panting breaths. “In the unlikely event that he’s released from police custody and comes looking for you, I need you to be careful. I have reason to believe that he was the one driving the Honda that almost ran us off the road. I think, after that first night, he followed you to the parking lot and saw you take the Jag home. If he’s anywhere near as crazy as I think he is, it means that he’s been staking out the club, and he might know where we live. He knows your routine. I need you to be careful, okay?”
“Fucking creep.” With a final thrust, Caleb bottomed out in Jayne and fell still. “Everett, you have my full permission to bust his face in if he comes anywhere close to you.”
“Don’t encourage him,” Jayne grumbled. He tried to swat Caleb, but the angle they were at wasn’t conducive to it. “There’s security at The Shepherd for a reason. Everett, if anything happens, call for help, and then call us, okay?”
Watching the two of them together was a joy. Everett smiled. “Of course.”
There’d been a few more words exchanged—a snarky comment, a joke, and three heartfelt goodbyes—and then Everett had been out the door, already on the phone with the pizza place so he could stop in to collect his apology on the way.
Pizza in hand, Everett was about to gather the rest of his belongings when a melodic female voice from somewhere behind his shoulder startled him. “Why, hello hello, you beautiful stranger, you. Where have you been all my life? Please tell me you’re my type.”
“Cheese?”
“Oh, you know your way to a girl’s heart.” Clarissa, Everett’s sort-of aunt, leaned against the Jag and batted her eyelashes at the pizza box in Everett’s hands. “I had a feeling in my heart that you might be bringing someone round, flat, and cheesy to work tonight. I’m so glad you did. Can you believe I almost brought a salad for dinner? What was I thinking?”
Everett grinned and snagged his tie from over the passenger seat headrest, where he’d draped it before leaving for work. “Probably something to do with your arteries.”
“Hush, you wicked boy!” Clarissa rescued the box of pizza from him and stroked the lid lovingly. “Don’t listen to him, pizza. He doesn’t mean it. I know you’d never hurt me.”
“Part of it is deluxe.” Everett closed the car door with his hip while he popped his collar and affixed his tie.
“Another betrayal. I should have known better.” With a lofty sigh, Clarissa shook her head. “You two pepper-eaters better not go eating all my pure, virtuous cheese pizza. You stay on your side of the line.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Everett’s grin widened. “Dad, though? If I were you, I’d watch out for him.” Everett took stock of the rest of the cars in the lot. “Do you know if he’s here yet, by the way? I don’t see his car.”
“Nope. He’s late. Even later than you. Which is why I’ve been chilling back here. I thought you two might be carpooling.”
It was unusual for his father to be late. Everett patted down the breast of his suit jacket to locate his phone, found it, and checked for messages. His father hadn’t sent an update.
“Anything?” Clarissa asked.
“Nothing.”
“Well, that’s weird. I wouldn’t let it get to you, though. I know that lately he’s been looking a little tired—he probably had a late start today, and he’s playing catch-up. He’ll be here soon.” Clarissa nodded at the metal staircase leading to the top floor of The Shepherd. Once upon a time, it had been where Everett’s uncles, Sterling and Adrian, had lived. These days it was used as an office and stayed empty more often than not. “You wanna sit with me while we wait? We should probably hold off on eating, but we can still catch up. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever, even though it’s only been a few days. Did your friend whose place burned down finally find somewhere to live? How’s Caleb doing?” While she spoke, she headed for the stairs, leaving Everett to follow. “Alex misses you and Caleb, you know. You kids should plan a reunion—see what works with everyone’s schedule. I know Logan and Carter have been overseas on and off for the last few years, but I’m pretty sure they’re back in the States now.”
When Clarissa started talking, it was hard to get her to stop. Everett waited until she reached the stairs and paused to settle before he replied. “Caleb is doing great.”
“I still can’t believe that he reached out and is patching things up with Marshall.” Clarissa picked at one of the staples holding the pizza box closed and smiled in a dreamy, distant kind of way. A lock of blonde hair spilled down her shoulder, and for a moment, her age melted away. “Both boys have Oli’s stubbornness, but between the two of them, Caleb is the most stubborn. I never in a thousand years would have thought that he’d reach out like he did. I kept telling Marshall that if he wanted anything to change, he was going to have to take a risk and really put himself out there, but he insisted he couldn’t—that he respected Caleb too much to push him too hard. An apology is a two-way street, you know?” She glanced up at Everett, grinning. “I mean, you can definitely influence someone’s willingness to forgive with pizza, but when it comes down to it, both the person apologizing and the person receiving the apology have to be open to it. It’s not going to work unless both of you want it to, and I was sure that after what had happened, all the pizza in the world wouldn’t have changed Caleb’s mind.” She hummed thoughtfully. “I wonder what did it. Cheesecake, maybe? By the way, if you’re ever late again, feel free to use that idea as your own.”
While Clarissa kept talking, Everett made himself comfortable against the wall. Despite the heat of the day, the masonry was still cool. He closed his eyes and did his best to focus on the way it chilled his shirt and the skin beneath it, and not on the way his lips twitched to answer Clarissa’s question. At last, the temptation became too great to handle, and Everett cracked. “He’s been looking happier lately. A different kind of happy, if that makes sense.”
In an attempt to keep himself from spilling all of their secrets, Everett kept his eyes closed, but he felt Clarissa staring him down. She wanted more details than he was willing to offer.
“I think I know what you mean,” she said. “Not default happy, right?”
“Default happy.” Everett chuckled. He opened his eyes and turned his gaze upward, studying the way the reds of the setting sun bled into purples, which darkened into deepest blue. “Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. Kind of like the difference between a weekend and a holiday, but for the soul.”
“I’m glad for him.” Clarissa looked up from the pizza lid. From the corner of Everett’s eye, he thought he saw her smile. “I’m happy for them both, really. Him and Marshall, I mean. Oli, too. I know that it was killing him. But sometimes, when kids grow up, that’s what happens—they branch off and make decisions on their own, and sometimes, those decisions are in conflict with your own.” For a while, there was only the metallic click as Clarissa picked at the staple, but soon enough, she spoke again. “I can’t tell you what it’s like to see all you kids growing up. I thought I was old back when Sterling retired and put your dad in charge of The Shepherd, but looking back, I was just a baby. I think it only hits you when things like this happen—when your kids get old enough to start falling in love, pursuing careers, and having babies. When they get old enough to stand against you.” Theclick, click, clickof the staple filled the space between her words. “I mean, I remember the day your dad introduced me to baby-you for the first time, and I fawned over your itty-bitty baby toes and that cute little button nose of yours.”
Everett wrinkled his well-shaped adult nose at the thought.
“And I think, even though you’ve grown up into a very handsome young man, I’ll always think of you as the sweet little boy glued to your dad’s side who was too shy to even say hello. It’s the same for Alex.” Clarissa stopped picking, as if doing so would enforce her point. “I’m not playing favorites, by the way. My little boy is all grown up and married with a child of his own, but I still sometimes struggle to think of him as an adult. It’s the curse of being a parent. Or maybe it’s just the curse of being old—I haven’t decided yet. All I know is that it’s crazy to think how things have changed… and how much more they’re going to keep changing as you kids keep finding your place in the world.”
Heavy silence fell between them. Everett let it invade him, feeling something lift his spirits and fill the hollows of his bones. It wasn’t fear, but it had the same chilling effect. Inspiration? Everett lifted his chin and watched the first twinkling stars appear far overhead. Maybe, but even that explanation fell short of the truth.
What he felt went deeper than that.
