I shake myself out of it. “I actually came to get out of the house and see you and Luca.”
The smile that overtakes his face makes my own lips tilt up. He’s come so far since the first time I met him. “Did you ever find out what caused the fire?”
“Oh shit, have I not told you?” He shakes his head. “Faulty fucking stove.” I roll my eyes. “I wasn’t even cooking anything.”
“Jesus,” he says, folding his hands on the table.
Jasper was right. This is exactly what I needed.
Chapter 21
Jasper
Arloispracticallybouncingin his seat as we eat up the miles between Silverpine and his hometown.
“You okay, baby boy?”
“Huh?” Arlo whips his head toward me. “Yeah, I’m alright. Excited. Nervous.”
His eyes shoot back to the windshield. He’s staring out of it like if he just looks hard enough, maybe he’ll be able to see his old home and Salem and Nora by default.
When we passed the home visit, he wanted to leave right then. As soon as Maryanne pulled out of the driveway, he started bouncing on his toes, his recovery be damned, ready to follow her right back to Tennessee.
I understand how he feels. The closer we get, the more excited I become. Not only to meet the kids, but to see Arlo interact with them. There’s still so much I need to learn about him without all the secrets, and I’m thrilled to be able to watch him be Big Brother Arlo.
“Are you tired?” I ask, glancing at him. He didn’t sleep worth a shit last night, tossing and turning and tossing some more.
I truly wonder if it was a bit of a trauma response. I wouldn’t even blame him if it was. The last time he was set to do this, his entire life collapsed around him.
“No, not really.” He pauses. “Well, maybe a little.”
We’re getting close, and when the GPS tells us to turn ahead, Arlo inhales sharply.
Leaving the main highway, we turn onto a country road filled with potholes. The houses are run-down, with porches hanging on by threads, tarps stretched across roofs, and junk cars and just plain junk piled up around the outsides.
I take it in, eyes scanning my surroundings as we make our way further into town. Well, if you can even call it that.
“This is how you grew up?” I ask softly, my heart cracking. It’s a miracle he turned out the way he did.
“Worse,” he mumbles. “If you can imagine.”
I’m not sure I can, and I’m not sure I want to.
“It’s not all like this,” Arlo says, continuing like it’s nothing. “Not long before I left, they started remodeling some of the houses, trying to fix stuff up. Nora’s foster home is nice. Nothing like your house, of course. But nicer than the one I grew up in.”
I grip the steering wheel until my knuckles go bloodless. “Do you want to see your parents while we’re here?”
Arlo barks out a laugh. “Fuck no. I have nothing for them. And besides, it’s just Mom. Melvin isn’t a parent to me. He made that perfectly clear. Not that I’d want him as a dad anyway.”
“And your bio dad?” I ask, desperate for any information about Arlo I can learn.
He shrugs. “Piece of shit, I think. He was never around, probably for the best. One shitty parent fucked me up enough. I didn’t need two of them doing it.”
I shake my head, though Arlo isn’t looking at me. “You’re not fucked up, baby boy.”
“I’m notnotfucked up, though.”
“You’ve been through a lot, sure, and you’ve had to overcome a lot, but you’re not fucked up. Not really.” I reach across the truck, picking his hand up in mine, and bring his knuckles to my lips for a kiss.
