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“Stay with me tonight?” he asked, a hint of vulnerability threading through the question.
“Just try and get rid of me,” I teased, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him close.
Chapter 20
Spencer
All week long, I’d been thinking about what Nash said about me being part of the solution for the youth in River Gorge. I’d mentioned it to a few people at work and then again this morning to Tammy when I was at knitting class, and basically, I got the same answer from everyone. They all knew there was nothing for the kids to do here, but no one knew what to do about it. I was sure there had to be an answer, though.
This was Nash’s weekend to work, and I had no plans, so I stopped by Cap’s to grab a cup of coffee after my knitting class. Ripley, Frankie, and Miller Monroe were all there, sitting at their normal table.
I went up to the counter and placed my order, then went over to where they sat.
“Hey, guys.”
“Hey, Spencer,” Frankie said. “I haven’t seen you all week.”
“I know. It’s been a busy week. Monica’s on vacation, so everyone’s schedule is off.”
Miller slid over and motioned beside him for me to have a seat.
“So, how was your grandparents’ anniversary party?” Frankie asked.
“It was great. They loved the cake.” I bit into my muffin and sighed. “Of course I knew they would. You’re like a magician with your baked goods.”
He shook his head and laughed. “I’m glad they liked it. Forty years is no joke.”
“I know, and especially not with couples like my grandparents who’re still so much in love, it’s almost nauseating,” I said with a chuckle. “Those two are relationship goals, that’s for sure.”
“Speaking of relationships.” Ripley grinned. “I hear you and Nash are pretty much attached at the hip these days.”
“I don’t know about attached at the hip. But yeah, things are going pretty good. He has to work this weekend, and I feel kind of at loose ends, which is so weird to me since I lived here by myself for months before we started seeing each other.”
“Well, you’ll just have to stay here and hang with us then,” Ripley said.
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I have something I was hoping to run by you.”
“I have nowhere to be,” Ripley said. “How about you, Frankie?”
“Nope, I’m done with my work for the day. So what’s up?”
“I wanted to ask you guys about teenagers here in River Gorge. We had an incident at the clinic with a kid who was injured because he was hanging out someplace he shouldn’t have been.” I told them about Noah and how he got injured.
“Yeah, we’ve had more than one issue with vacant properties over the last few months, and Landon and I went out to eat with Eli and Cody a few weeks ago, and Eli was called away for something similar.” Miller looked thoughtful for a minute. “I don’t think that was the one you’re talking about from what he said.”
“It probably wasn’t. Trent was the one who brought him in, but he did say it’s a pretty common problem. Then Noah said there weren’t really any options or good places to go.”
“Especially not if you’re queer. Pretty much the only places here that have any gatherings for teens are the local churches, and those aren’t exactly always safe spaces,” Ripley said, and something about the way he said it told me he was way too familiar with how unsafe some places could be.
“I just wondered if you all had any idea what could be done about it. Seeing as how y’all are from here and everything.”
“Well, I’m not from here,” Frankie said. “But we’ve had a couple of teens who work here at the shop, and that’s pretty much the story I hear from them.”
“It’s always been that way,” Miller said with a thoughtful expression on his face.
“But just because it’s always been that way doesn’t mean it should stay that way,” Ripley pointed out.
“When I was a teen, I spent a lot of time at the local LGBTQIA+ youth center, and it was a lifesaver for me, but I know the resources and number of kids for a place like that in Austin isn’t the same as in a place the size of River Gorge.”
