“I’ve looked into schooling, and I’d like to help you. Be aware, I do work, so there will be times when you’ll have to sit and wait for me to finish a call or an email or a spreadsheet. There’ll be times when I’m in the city to attend court.”
“I want to learn. I don’t like relying on others. Bad things happen then.”
Santino’s eyes flickered over his face, then he nodded. “I agree. I’ll need to have you do some tests so I know your level, then we can go from there. I think English and math first, then we can add any subjects that interest you at a later date.”
“How much do you want?” Orsen knew there was always something involved. Time, money, sex.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? Are you luring me in?”
Santino burst out laughing. “No. I have no need to lure you in, as you put it. Maybe I want to help a friend.”
“Are we friends?”
“I’d like us to become friends.”
“I’d like that too.” Orsen closed his eyes and sighed. “I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants to sell it all and then it’ll be over.”
“Or you could rebuild on the ashes of your old home and make something better. I think that would be a good ‘fuck you’ to Ambrose Catlow.”
Orsen smiled. It sounded like a good idea. He would wake up every morning and flip Ambrose the bird from his perfect bed in a room that had heating and furniture and was filled with warmth and love. Could he dream like that? Could he have those things?
“Fifty acres,” he murmured. “Why did we live like that when he had all that land? He knew he had the land, so why didn’t he sell it?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“I know. It’s one of those rhet questions that doesn’t have an answer. I heard about them once.”
“Rhetorical.”
“You’re really smart. I must seem so young and stupid to you.”
“You are younger than me, but you’ve experienced a life I haven’t. Like Cody is younger, but in some ways far more mature than I am. You have that same air around you.”
“I want a life where I’m not hiding. I want to go out and eat a nice cake and go to a party. Go shopping and not have to steal what I need. Clean clothes and a bed, not some dirty mattress on the floor. Carpets, too. Furniture to hang my clothes inside. That isn’t too much to ask for, is it?”
“You want to go to the city? Maybe move there?”
Orsen furrowed his brow. The city life had never appealed to him. The bright lights and late nights, then endless parties. He preferred a quiet life. A life where he went home to a happy place filled with sunshine. He didn’t need expensive cars, or designer clothes, or the latest accessory. He only wanted to be happy, to be safe. “No.”
“I left there. I don’t think you’d do well in a city. You appear to prefer this kind of life. I prefer it here too. I grew tired of the hustle and bustle. Robinson has enough for me.”
“I don’t know Robinson, even though I lived here my whole life.”
“Would you like to? I could take you one day.”
Orsen looked at Santino and studied him. He knew when Ambrose lied to get what he wanted, the way his face tightened with anticipation, but Santino seemed open. “I would. Thank you.”
“It’s a date, then.”
“A date?” Orsen’s eyes widened, a flush covering his skin. “I’ve never had one.”
“A platonic one between friends. I can show you around and help you buy some things for yourself. You can afford it, so why not treat yourself to new jeans or a new jacket?”
“I don’t know how to do those things. I always stole what I needed, and then Ambrose would take it from me and ruin them or wear them himself.”
“He isn’t here now, so you can do whatever you want with your money.”
