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“Five,” Ray mutters, slumping his shoulders. Our questions about the father, who I don’t know if is dead or living elsewhere, have certainly disturbed him. Seeing his friend upset, Mr. Stanley starts rolling on Ray’s feet. When Ray pulls the pup up, he immediately starts licking the kid’s face, eliciting a laugh out of his friend.
Zane ruffles his hair. “Is-s your ma home?”
“No, she’s at work. She’ll be back in the afternoon,” Ray replies, trying to settle Mr. Stanley better in his arms.
I don’t like the grim twist on Ray’s mouth. He looks better smiling. I’m about to ask Zane to stop the questions, when he says, “Th-thank you, buddy.Your Highnessand I also have t-to be at work. But I th-think we’ll s-see you again soon.” Giving Ray a final smile, he walks toward my car.
“Is he your friend?” Ray asks, and I realize I never introduced them properly.
“He’s my brother.” I motion toward Zane before opening my wallet. “I want to give you something.” On the back of my business card, I write down my personal mobile number in clear, big letters and then hand the card to Ray. “This is my phone number. Call me if those boys trouble you again, okay?”
He nods, but my legs still don’t move. This doesn’t feel like enough.
“Also call me if you run into any other problem, okay?”
Ray nods again, looking down carefully at the white card I just gave him. His creased forehead relaxes before he looks up to me and grins. “Your name is so cool. I have never met anyone whose name starts with Z.”
I smile. This fucking kid.
“Keep it safe, and call me anytime you like, okay?”
He nods and does another one of his bows, bringing a wide smile to my lips.
I finally joinZane and we both get inside the car.
“We should tell Zand-der,” Zane says as I turn on the ignition.
I nod and start the drive toward Cherrywood. Zander would hate to be kept in the dark, and I’ve upset him enough already. But I don’t know what we’re going to tell him. We not only just found some kid who looks like me, but he’s in no better situation than us. The only thing that’s stopping my heart from being ripped out of my chest is that his mother is not a sick fuck like ours.
“What do you think?”
Instead of replying, Zane asks, “You know who th-the mom is?”
“No. I only met Ray.” I put on my aviators as the bright sun hits my face, distracting my already conflicted mind.
“But cons-sidering his age, it would be ar-round six years—”
“What the fuck?” The car swerves as I lose control for a second. “You think that’s my kid?”
Zane’s eyes widen at my remark. “I th-thought you d-did too.”
“Fuck no! He’s definitely not my kid.”
“Are you s-sure?” He tilts his head to the side and gives me a curious look.
“Damn fucking sure! I had a vasectomy done six years ago and I haveneverbeen without protection with a woman. Double protection for fuck’s sake. I don’t have a kid and I’ll never have one.” My teeth grind as all the muscles in my body bunch in frustration.
“Okay,” Zane says, and the rest of the drive thankfully passes in silence.
* * *
“What’s good here?”I ask, perusing the menu at the cozy Italian restaurantTuscan Sun.
We called Zander from the road and asked him to meet us for lunch and, per his instructions, ended up in this family-owned place serving homemade food.
“Everything. According to Rose this is closest to the best Italian she’s ever had,” Zander replies, taking a sip of his beer.
Rose is crazy for Italian food. And I’m sure finding the finest restaurant was one of the first tasks my brother undertook after moving to Cherrywood.
