“Homer?” True asked, her voice radiating her shock. “That’s so far from home.”
“Students board there, so he would be living in Homer,” Priscilla explained. “Eagle River Academy teaches the best and brightest students from all over Alaska.”
All True could do was sputter. She jumped to her feet.
“Absolutely not!” She grabbed her purse. “I’m not farming Jaylen out to some school hundreds of miles away from home.”
“Even if it’s what’s best for him?” Priscilla asked.
All True could see was a red haze. Ever since the death of her parents, people had been trying to tell her that she couldn’t raise her brother on her own as a twenty-something. Members of her extended family had even tried to adoptJaylen out from under her. And now, after seven years of raising Jaylen, she was supposed to hand him over to a school in Homer? Nope, it wasn’t happening. She may not have given birth to Jaylen, but she was still a fierce mama bear.
“Please don’t ever suggest that you know what’s best for him. I know the type of life my parents wanted for their child. And it involved him having me present in his life.” She let out a ragged sigh. “This meeting is over. Thank you for the information.”
“True, please don’t leave like this.”
True turned toward the door and wrenched it open, ignoring Priscilla’s calls for her to come back and talk to her. Through a mist of tears, True made her way outside to where her truck was parked. Once she was inside, she burst into sobs. If someone had asked her why she was crying, True wouldn’t have been able to explain it. She was experiencing so many emotions all at once. Anger. Sadness. Pride. Fear. Guilt. It was all mixed together like a bouillabaisse. Trying to analyze the situation felt impossible. She had always done her best by Jaylen, but now, in this moment, she wasn’t sure about next steps. Where did he go from here?
Education had always been important to her parents, and in True’s dreams she envisioned Jaylen graduating from college and pursuing graduate studies. She wanted him to go beyond her wildest dreams and soar.
So what now? First, she would sit down with her brother and have a serious conversation about his schoolwork. He needed to know that he should never dim his own light. Jaylen was her entire world. Everything revolved around him. True would continue to make him her number one priority, which meant finding a way to tap into his intellect without sending him away from Moose Falls.
CHAPTER TEN
“So, I saw you talking earlier to True. What’s up with you two?” Caleb was in Xavier’s office perched on the edge of his desk, chowing down on a snack and eyeing him with curiosity. Hattie had divided one large office into three units so each brother could have their own private work space.
“None of your business. What were you doing? Lurking in the hallway?” Xavier asked. For someone who had been the victim of the celebrity gossip world, Caleb sure enjoyed digging into other people’s business.
“I never lurk. That’s creepy. I was heading toward the break room for a snack,” he said through a mouthful of food. “Did you guys know that there’s a snack table there completely free of charge?” He held up a stick of beef jerky. “Remember this from when we were kids? Jack’s Jerky?”
“Wow. I remember those,” Xavier said. “Give me a bite.” Jack’s Jerky had been their choice of snack back in the day, with all three Stone brothers loving the product.
Caleb pulled it behind his back. “Get your own.”
Landon came up behind him and snatched the jerkybefore quickly tossing it to Xavier, who held it over his head out of Caleb’s reach.
“Hey! Give it back!” he protested, trying to grab it from Xavier, who stood two inches taller than him.
“Take it from me,” Xavier said, using the same line as when they were kids and Caleb was trying to get the football out of his possession. Old habits died hard. It never took them very long to revert to their childhood selves.
All of a sudden, the door opened, and Red was standing in the doorway. “Hey, I knocked, but I don’t think you guys heard me. Seems not a lot has changed between you boys since the old days,” Red said, chuckling.
“Except we’re not boys anymore,” Xavier said. The words slipped past his lips before he could rein them in. Landon looked at him with big eyes. Caleb’s expression didn’t change.
Red let out a sigh. “No, you’re not, which is why I’m here. I want to get reacquainted with the three of you. I know that I can’t get a do-over, but I sincerely want to spend time with you, maybe get a chance to know you.”
“Why now?” Caleb asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Red quirked his mouth. “I like to think I’m wiser now and more in tune with my deficits. I’m also back in Moose Falls after years of rolling around the world. We’re in the same place at the same time for the first time in decades. I’m taking advantage of our proximity and the fact that Hattie has us all working together.” He looked around at them. “What do you say?”
Xavier wanted to say no and let his father know it wasn’t happening. At the same time, he sensed Red wasn’t going to give up. They might as well deal with him head-on and get it over with. As usual, Caleb and Landon looked in his direction to determine which way he was leaning. “Okay, what did you have in mind?”
“Why don’t we start with dinner at my place?” Red suggested. “Tonight?”
“We like dinner,” Landon said, causing all of them to laugh. Red slapped him lightly on the back. Xavier noticed how Landon lit up at the contact from Red. More than Caleb and Xavier, Landon had always voiced his desire to reconnect with their father. He had never been able to shake off the need for a father figure, and he hadn’t been shy about saying so.
“Sounds good,” Xavier said, reminding himself that this was simply checking off something on his to-do list. This didn’t matter to him, not like the prospect of going out with True. The pint-size version of himself would have been excited, but after dozens of no-shows and disappointments, he’d stopped wishing for miracles. Daisy Stone had been a kick-ass single mother, the best the world had to offer. For a long time, Xavier had learned to lean on her as his sole parent. No dinner with Red could ever fix what their father had torn down.
The rest of the day passed swiftly, and before Xavier knew it, they were headed to Red’s house with Caleb in the driver’s seat. As soon as they pulled up, Xavier drew in a sharp breath.
