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“How bad off is Thelma?” My little Sentra might not be much, but she was a sweet sixteen present from my parents.
“Thelma?” Coach Marsh blinks several times and rubs the back of his neck. “Who in the hell is Thelma?”
“My car.” I cross my arms over my chest, ready to defend myself if he makes fun of me for naming my car.
“Oh, Cherry, you’re about the most adorable thing I’ve ever met.”
I don’t know what to do with that statement, so I ignore it and turn back to the important matter at hand. “I didn’t drive to work tonight because the brakes were making funny noises.” My breathing accelerates as all the implications of this situation crash through my thoughts. My insurance is going to drop me, and my brother will end up in foster care. “And Todd doesn’t have a license.”
I’m unable to stop the tears as they fall down my cheeks. “Stop crying, Cherry,” he mutters and runs his fingers over my cheeks, catching the wetness. “I have everything under control.” Letting Coach Marsh handle my problems sounds like heaven. I haven’t had someone to lean on for so long that I’ve forgotten how it feels to have support, but I have to stand on my own two feet.
“I can’t let you fix this.” I take a deep breath and swallow the stupid tears. “It was my brother who screwed up, so he and I will find a way out of this.”
“Come with me.” He takes my hand in his, and I almost melt on the spot. “We can discuss this situation and how we’re going to fix it at my house. I already have it all worked out.”
I want to believe him, but I can’t figure out why he’s going to all this trouble for me and Todd. It sounds like heaven to let someone else take the reins for a little bit, yet I don’t have that luxury. I shake my head. “I can’t lose my job.” I have no doubt dealing with my brother’s screw-up isn’t going to be cheap. All my options run through my mind and none of them are great. I finally decide to go with the least painful. Taking a deep breath, I pull myself together and swallow my pride. “I only have four more hours left of work. Can you possibly keep Todd with you until I get off at midnight?” It’s asking a lot, but I don’t have a choice. “My friend, Carlie, will drop me off at your house and we can talk then, okay?” Holy shiitake, I’m asking the coach to go above and beyond, but I don’t really have a choice.
“Are you going to be able to work with all this on your mind?” He continues rubbing my arm, which is turning my mind to mush. My life might be falling apart all around me, but some little part of me has faith that Garrett Marsh will help me figure it all out.
“As long as I know Todd is with you.”
THREE
GARRETT
I'm waitingfor Ciara on the porch when her friend pulls into the driveway ten minutes after one in the morning. She looks exhausted as she climbs from the car, calling her thanks to her coworker, who makes a point to narrow her eyes at me through the windshield as if to say she's watching me.
I lift my hand in a wave of acknowledgment. Ciara is safe with me. She'll always be safe with me.
"I'm so sorry I'm so late," she says, hurrying up the driveway toward me as her friend backs out and drives off. "Leone made me stay late to make up for the time I was outside talking to you, and then a big group of bikers came in and he wouldn't let me go."
"Prick," I mutter. Leone Bellotti is a fucking asshole. I'm still pissed that he's taking their tips every night. I've already been on the phone with Dillon about that bullshit. He's dropping a dime with the labor board. Unless Leone can cough up a whole helluva lot of cash to pay back everything he's taken over the years, his bar will crash and burn soon.
I'm not sorry about it. I'll do whatever it takes to get Ciara out of there.
"Thank you so much for watching Todd for me." She tips her face back to look up at me when she reaches the top step. Her pink cheeks and shimmery eyeshadow give her an ethereal, otherworldly glow under the porch lights.
Even after working in that hellhole all night, she still smells like tart cherries. I bite back a groan, fighting the urge to take a step toward her to bury my face in her hair. My dick reacts to her nearness, though, turning to steel in my pants.
"He wasn't any trouble," I rasp, wrapping my hand around the porch rail as if that'll keep me from dragging her into my arms. I've been fantasizing about this girl for the last year, obsessing over her, driving myself crazy with thoughts of her. Now she's on my doorstep, so close I can touch her… and her little brother is passed out on my couch.
"He stole my car and wrecked it. I'd say he was plenty trouble," she snorts, and then her eyes well with tears.
Shit.
"Hey." I pull her into my arms to comfort her. "It's okay, sweet Cherry. He's okay."
"I'm failing him," she mumbles through a choked sob.
"You aren't failing him," I growl, rubbing her back. What the fuck? She's doing an amazing job with him. Every one of his teachers is impressed with how well she's held it together for him. "You're doing fucking phenomenal, Ciara. He made a stupid decision, that's all."
"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be crying on your shoulder. You've done more than enough already." She sniffles and pulls back, dabbing at her eyes. "The last thing you need is me crying all over you."
"Hey." I tilt her head up until her eyes meet mine. "Holding you isn't a hardship on my part, Ciara. Don't ever think it is."
"I…" She trails off, her pretty eyes flickering across my face. Her lips part, confusion overtaking her expression.
Yeah, baby. You see it now, don't you? How fucking gone I am over you? I've tried to hide it. I've tried to fight it. I don't know what the hell I'm fighting for anymore.
