“We’ve discussed the details over the phone, but I’ll need to go into the office. There are documents he can’t email, and I have to see them in person. Why do you need the car? Not to go to the beach for surfing…”
“I want to go see Sam.”
“Sam, the boy who talked to the press?” Trevor looked enquiringly at Connor.
“Yeah. I’ll go do that while you have your meetings. I’ll bring Laurence, and you can text him for updates.”
“At this point, I’m certain Laurence is only going to report whatever you tell him to… but I understand why you may want to talk to him. Shower first and eat some breakfast. And afterwards, you can see Sam if you’re not too tired. However, you also have to bring Nick with you.”
“Ugh.”
“He’ll be honest with me, at least.”
Connor could have made a remark about sneaking out, but he held his tongue. Trevor’s face had a grey cast to it, and though his expression was light, he was obviously sleep-deprived. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out that Connor’s issues were the reason. “Fine, he can come along, too.”
It was well into midday before Trevor finally gave his approval for them to leave the house. Nick didn’t cast so much as a dirty look when Trevor asked could he drive them into town, and Connor worried more about that than he did his case for a solid five minutes, convinced that he was planning something.
“Where in town are we going?” Nick asked as they all got into the car.
“The docks,” Connor answered.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Laurence sat in the front with Nick, and Connor got into the back. He waited until they pulled out of the drive to lie down with a tired grunt. Laurence was quick to look back at him. “Are you not feeling good again?”
“All of Trevor’s fussing exhausted me.”
“You mean where he brought you breakfast in bed? Rubbed your shoulders? Made you tea?” Nick asked, voice bland.
Laurence gave Nick a smack on Connor’s behalf.
“It was that swim that took it out of you,” Nick said, shrugging off Laurence’s attack. “You could do with staying in bed another week to recover.”
“I swear Trevor was in the kitchen when we left, so why can I hear his voice?” Connor wondered.
Laurence grinned. Nick just grunted; nothing about the sound aggravated. Connor scowled at the back of Nick’s head, wondering what was wrong with him. His concerns didn’t last for long, tiredness bogging down his mind. The drive to town wasn’t long, but Connor fell asleep and woke up dazed with Laurence announcing they’d arrived. Connor was surprised when he sat up and saw that the fairground was still set up and rides were running.
“I thought this was a weekend thing?”
“The sponsors extended it for the week,” Laurence explained.
Huh. Connor had thought to just go to the dock to find Sam, but he wouldn’t be parked where he usually was with all this going on. All the locals moved their boats to sea or remote docks for events. Safer for their equipment.
They all got out of the car.
“Is he meeting us here?” Laurence asked.
Connor didn’t want to admit that his plan for finding Sam had just been to—
“You busy?” a voice asked.
Connor turned to find Sam standing next to him, and a few steps behind him was Sam’s sharp-eyed sister, Mary. Sam wore long shorts and a hoodie, his red hair unruly and messy. His expression was relaxed as he regarded Connor.
“Not particularly,” Connor answered. The customary defensiveness he felt when confronting Sam didn’t spike up; and the usual self-loathing, when confronted by his past, stayed quiet. “Want to go on the Ferris wheel?” Connor asked.
Sam’s eyebrows rose in surprise.
Mary’s eyes narrowed, and she glared at Connor like she was about to stab him.
