Page 70 of Tracking Wolfe

In addition to being too early in the season, it was also early in the morning. Ours was the only car at the trailhead. As we walked into the trees, I appreciated the privacy. I didn’t feel the need to rush it, so I let the silence drag out as we walked.

After a few moments, Trace took the lead. “How much do you know about my situation before I met Derek?”

I glanced over in surprise. “I know you were working in the bar he was at with his friends, the night you saved him. That you’d had a shitty upbringing in a small town.” I glanced from the uneven trail floor back up to his face. “I overheard my dads talking about it once. Saying your parents kicked you out. I never wanted to pry, so I didn’t ask.”

He nodded. “They kicked me out before I finished high school. I made my way to San Francisco, mostly because I figured there’d be shelters and programs there that could help, but it was still hard. Really fucking hard. Even when I found work, I still couldn’t afford to rent a room.”

I glanced at him, my heart rate increasing more from the stress of his experience than the increasing incline of the trail. “But Marian House could have⁠—”

“I didn’t know it existed,” Trace said, cutting me off. “Your family does amazing work, but it’s hard to get the word out about their programs to people without phones or internet. And anyway… I went through a phase where I didn’t want anything to do with my queer identity. I blamed it for all my problems. If I’d learned about a program for queer kids, I’d probably have stayed away.”

“I’m sorry,” I finally said when I couldn’t hold back any longer. “That must have been so fucking hard.”

“It was.” He squeezed my hand. “But it led me to you. To Derek and Jude. To SERA.”

The mention of SERA reminded me that Trace was living his dream. He hadn’t only left San Francisco because of me. He’d been building the future he’d always wanted.

“I’m proud of you. SERA is amazing.” I took in a breath. “I read the recent article in Outdoor magazine.”

I didn’t add that I’d listened to the older NPR interview with him approximately ten thousand times, just so I could fall asleep to the sound of his voice.

He flashed a grin at me. “Read the article or pinned up the photo spread?”

Heat rushed to my face. So what if one of the photos had ended up taped to the inside of my journal?

“They called it the ‘elite Montana wilderness rescue school that could save your life one day.’ I think that’s amazing.”

Trace tilted his chin down. “Yeah. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

It was a humble understatement. After a few more silent moments walking the trail, he returned to the original topic.

“I was in a bad place when Derek met me. Pretty much living on the street. A few of the other kids were selling their bodies for cash. I hadn’t done it yet, but I’d thought long and hard about it. Thought about using, too. I was dead on my feet, working at the bar that night. Don’t even remember half of what happened. But when your dad realized the situation I was in and offered to help, it was like…”

He blew out a breath. “It was like a wish being granted by a genie. Made me even wonder if my mom had been right about god, you know? Suddenly, I had this big, rich guy bound and determined to take care of me.”

I felt a little tremor of unease. “You must have really liked him.”

He huffed out a laugh, recognizing the direction of my thoughts. “Not like that. Of course he’s hot. Jude’s also hot. But seeing how much they loved each other put both of them off-limits in my mind immediately, which was good. Made it easier to accept their help, honestly. I knew they genuinely wanted to show their gratitude by helping me, and didn’t have any… other motives.”

It took me a second to realize what kind of “motives” he meant.

“I hate that you were in a place where you had to question that.” I sidestepped a jagged rock embedded in the trail floor and quickly reached for Trace’s hand again when I fell back in line. “For what it’s worth, my parents would have helped you even without the whole life-saving thing in the bar.”

“I know that now. At the time, the only reason I was able to accept their help was because Derek seemed so hell-bent on repaying me.”

“You let him get you a job at On Your Six,” I prompted.

“Not at first. First, he moved me into a studio apartment, spouting some bullshit about how he and Jude needed someone to stay there to keep squatters out while they looked for new tenants.” Trace shook his head, amused. “Took me a while to realize it was a place they kept downtown for late nights in the city. Then I found a framed family picture shoved in a drawer. Ollie confirmed it when she showed up one night to sleep there and screamed her head off when she discovered the bed already had a body in it.”

I barked out a laugh, thinking of my favorite aunt—and former nanny—coming into an apartment, expecting it to be empty and finding a stranger instead.

“Did she hit you? You know her entire family is law enforcement, right? She’s taught me as much self-defense as my dad has. Only she fights dirty.”

“No. She actually burst into tears and thought one of your dads was keeping me on the side.”

“What?” I gasped and yanked his hand until he stopped to face me. “You’re kidding?”

Trace’s grin was warm in the morning sun. “She was shitfaced. Had gone out with a friend to a club to celebrate something. I don’t remember now, and maybe she never even said. But it was kind of funny. Had to call Derek to get Jude to talk her down. By the time the call ended, she was asleep in my bed. The next morning, we were halfway to being friends.”