AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She blinked. Then smiled.
“My brother is really good at finding people to work where people need them,” she offered. “How do you feel about felons working in your place of business, though?”
I thought about her question for a second then said, “I guess it depends on what type of felon.”
There were types, though, right?
I mean, there were some that were in there for doing really bad things to good people. Then there were the people like Wake. And now me.
“You used to have a bodyguard here for Dory. Kyle Davis. He was a felon,” Danyetta said.
“He was bodyguarding another doctor that used to work here.” Then I narrowed my eyes. “Why?”
KD—what Dory called him anyway—was nice. He was also very watchful when I was around.
Did Wake and KD know each other?
I mean, they were both really fresh out of prison.
They could’ve met each other on the inside… right?
Had I been so focused inwardly on getting rid of Senator Haskins that I hadn’t noticed I had someone watching me all this time?
From what I knew, and had heard around town, Wake Westfield had been out of prison for months. Six of them at least. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, talked about him as if he was one of two things.
A fallen angel sent to earth to protect our children, or a total miscreant that deserved to be burned in a boiling vat of lava for his sins.
There was no in-between.
“You know why he was bodyguarding her.” Danyetta shrugged. “I think that Wake has a really big heart, and he can’t stand to see one that he’s taken in as his own hurt.”
Wow. Was I that much detached from Dory’s goings-on that I hadn’t realized she was close to Wake?
I shivered at the thought of being that clueless.
What else had he seen? Figured out?
What if he knew?
A cold feeling went down my spine.
Luckily, or unluckily depending on how you looked at it, I had another patient walk through the door.
“I need to go.” I smiled fakely at Danyetta.
We could both tell it wasn’t a real smile.
“He can help,” she promised.
“Who can help?” the young boy asked.
Pedro was a thirteen-year-old drop-out whose grandmother was now trying to tame after his mother and father passed away.
I looked at Danyetta, smiled, then turned to Pedro.
“Pedro.” I smiled as I looked at him. “You’re all by yourself today?”
He shrugged as if he didn’t care that he was by himself when we both knew he did.
“Grammy had to go back to work. She wasn’t finished and her boss said he would fire her if she left for more than five minutes,” Pedro explained. “Grammy’s been gone ten. She had to pick me up from school. Last time, he docked her pay by thirty dollars, that’s three hours. We had to eat ramen all week because of the asshole.”
I fisted my hands.
When I looked over, it was to find Danyetta looking at the two of us.
“Where does your grandmother work?” Danyetta asked carefully.
Pedro clammed up tighter than a pickle jar that’d never been opened.
“His grandmother works at the diner at the corner of Main and Fourth,” I answered. “Danyetta, meet Pedro. Pedro, meet our temporary help for the day. You know how I’ve been looking for help, right? This is just a friend.”
Pedro instantly calmed down.
He did not like being questioned by anyone he couldn’t vet.
And, as I was vetted by a few hard-won sessions with him, he could trust her via me. The real reason I’d ‘vetted’ her was because I didn’t want to lose any speed. I wanted him to open up to me this session. And to do that, he had to be comfortable with his surroundings.
Even though I didn’t ‘trust her,’ trust her, I could see the determination in her eyes. As if she was about to go read the guy the riot act.
Well, good for her.
“Pedro.” I smiled. “Let’s go get that session started since your grandmother had to try to get here and sacrifice so much.”
Pedro looked at me skeptically, then shrugged.
With a look toward Danyetta, I went into my RV’s gutted living room that I had revamped as an office and sat down.
I didn’t shut the door.
Shutting the door added an intimacy that I wasn’t sure Pedro could deal with.
Usually, with his grandmother here, that would be okay.
But Pedro didn’t do well without another adult that he trusted. And though I would like him to trust me, he didn’t trust me that well yet.
Danyetta left, leaving the door wide open like it’d been when she got there.
And I relaxed.
Well, I shouldn’t have.
Because Pedro finally allowed me in.
“Were you scared of your office worker?” Pedro asked. “You looked scared of her.”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t, no. I was more worried about something else that she said, rather than her. My mind went somewhere completely different. That happens sometimes, though.”
