Page 96 of Summer Holiday Lifeline

Myles shrugged. “Pretty much what I already said. A homeless kid getting beat up by two grown men. I couldn’t do nothing.”

Another sigh deflated Ozzy’s entire frame. “No, I suppose you couldn’t.”

“The fight was nothing.”

“That’s why you’re limping worse than ever, are bruised and will probably have a black eye.”

“It wasn’t much. It was the endless statements to the cops. They were great but thorough, and I didn’t want to—you know.” He frowned. “I did ignore my phone, because cops… You know how they turn on you.”

“We aren’t those guys anymore, Myles,” Ozzy reminded him.

Myles let out a breath. “Easy enough to say when you aren’t in the moment, standing in front of them.”

Ozzy clapped a hand on his shoulder, a fleeting reminder they used to be closer than brothers.

“Anyway, I told the kid about Lucky’s shelter. One of the cops, Clairemont, said he’d drive him over after his shift.”

Ozzy nodded. “He’s a good one. He helped Marcus last summer.”

So that was how Lucky knew him. Myles had heard Marcus’s story, though he hadn’t yet met the diner owner.

Ozzy turned to face Myles. “But the Cabin is still being renovated. The kitchen isn’t done, and the living spaces are only half painted.”

“But you have a room? A bed?”

Ozzy held up both hands. “Not me, I’m just the contractor. You have to talk to Lucky about that.”

“I did. Called him.”

“Good, because he was genuinely turning into a basket case, thinking you might have relapsed.”

“Sorry. That why you’re here?”

Ozzy nodded.

“In case I was drunk and being a dick.”

Ozzy pulled in a long, steadying sigh.

“I’m sorry I worried everyone.”

“You scared Jet, mostly. And that may have rubbed off on us some. I’m sorry we didn’t trust you.”

“Understandable.”

Ozzy grimaced, glared past Myles, then clapped a hand on his shoulder again. He pulled Myles into the fastest, tightest bear hug, then all but pushed him away. “Go talk to Jet.”

They both looked over to the table where Jet was laughing as he tried to keep Shelly from blowing so many bubbles in her juice she overflowed it all over the table.

As if sensing the scrutiny, he glanced up. His scowl was epic, and he turned back to Shelly immediately.

“Go easy on him. Part of being sixteen is thinking you don’t need parental reassurance but also really, really wanting to know someone’s there to back you up. He may have overreacted to a missed phone call, but that doesn’t make his panic any less real.”

“I know.”

“I’ll talk to Lucky about getting a room ready. You talk to Jet.”

“You don’t have to⁠—”