Time to wrap it up.
Plenty of napkins were passed around, and it took some prodding on his part for all the kids to get settled in his and Liam’s rides. The boy he’d been talking with, plus one more, rode with Liam, and the rest all piled into Kam’s SUV. He checked and double-checked that they all wore their seat belts. By specific design, the angry girl sat in the front passenger seat. They weren’t far from the halfway house where he’d return them, but he let her choose some music to play, then put up with everyone’s heckling him over what they called his “old man jams.” Ha! He was only twenty-six, not exactly a grandpa.
It wasn’t until later, after he’d gotten them all returned, inquired about the boy Ted had mentioned, and found out what he could about the girl, that Liam approached him. He was outside, only a few yards from his ride, and Kam noted that the other boy was nearby, too, looking both fearful and sullen.
“I know you want to get home to Glory, but could I have a few minutes?”
Kam put a hand to his shoulder. He had massive respect for Liam, for all he’d accomplished despite the challenges, and would do his best to never let him down. “You can have as much time as you want.” Glory would understand.
“Thanks.” Liam glanced back at the boy, who appeared resistant to the point of bolting.
To keep it casual, Kam leaned back on the outside wall, his stance relaxed. “Nell staying here tonight?”
That diverted Liam for a moment. “Most nights, actually. She can’t go home when her uncle’s there.”
Since Kam already knew about the abusive uncle, he asked, “Need some help with that?”
“No. She’ll stay here until she’s eighteen, then she’s moving in with me.”
Though he didn’t know if that was a great idea, Kam just nodded. “Could be Callie’s house will be ready by then.” She and Tanner were turning it into another community home for at-risk kids. They’d learn skills like tree farming, working with chickens, goats and horses, as well as more basic things like budgeting their money, cooking, and managing a household.
“Maybe,” Liam said. “That’s not what I wanted to talk about, though.”
“Okay.”
It wasn’t like Liam to hesitate so much. Lower, in a near whisper, he said, “I need your promise that you won’t lose your shit.”
Kam stared into his earnest eyes and suddenly, somehow, he knew. He looked again at the boy, and damned if the kid didn’t look panicked. Drawing a bracing breath and tamping down on a surge of suspicion, Kam nodded.
“It’s not his fault, okay? You have to hear it all.”
Yeah, he’d hear it, and then he’d decide what to do. “Let’sdo this.” When they started toward the other boy, he straightened, his fight-or-flight posture obvious.
Kam held up his hands. “Everything is cool. We’ll just talk, all right?”
His eyes went glassy, his jaw locked, but he nodded and braced himself.
Liam cleared his throat. “Kam, this is Kirby. He has a little sis and he’s been doing everything he could to make extra money. The plan was to make enough to fly his sister to a friend’s place in Indiana, then pay for her upkeep while she’s there.”
“I take it that hasn’t been going well?”
Kirby worked his jaw. “He hurts her. I have to get her away.”
So much pain-filled desperation filled his words that Kam’s heart broke clean in two—and he thanked God that he’d never had a sister during the worst times of his life. That would have made everything so much harder.
Much softer now, truly comprehending, he said, “We can help with that, okay?” Whatever it took. “Is she in danger right now?”
Kirby shook his head. “She’s here.” He nodded at the halfway house. “When he finds out, though, he’ll get her back—”
“We won’t let that happen.” Somehow, he’d figure it out. He never wanted another kid to be hurt the way he was.
Running both hands over his head, Kirby said, “I’m sorry, man. So fucking sorry. I didn’t mean for her to wreck.”
Shock ran through him, making his heartbeat stagger. But the sincerity was there on the kid’s face, too. He looked miserable and broken, like he expected to get destroyed, and that got through to Kam. “We’re talking about Glory?”
“The woman in the red car, yeah.”
Desperate kids did desperate things. He knew that, becausehe’d once been desperate, too. Kam clasped his shoulder, as much to ensure he didn’t take off as to offer comfort. He needed two big breaths before he could say, “I believe you.” With that said, he asked, “Did Mike tell you to tail her?”
