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“So you didn’t know I was seeing Yvonne?” Leo asked. Now he was confused. If Vince didn’t know about their relationship, what was that violent outburst about?
“No.”
“Why were you upset after getting off the Ferris wheel, then?”
Vince picked at his bedspread, and Leo got a sense the boy didn’t want to tell him the real reason for his anger.
“Vince,” Leo prodded.
Vince lifted one shoulder. “There’s this girl I like at school, Delaney, and she said she liked me too. But I saw her when me and Clint were on the Ferris wheel. She was walking around with this other boy in our class, Valentino. They were holding hands.”
Ah. Things were starting to clear up. It wasn’t puberty making his son a bear. It was love’s cruel sting.
“I see. But that doesn’t really explain the other day when you got home from camping. Why were you so mad at me?”
The scowl returned, and it was obvious Vince was still angry. “Uncle Josh told me we’re moving to the farm.”
“He what?”
Vince’s tone became heated again. “You said me and Clint could stay together, that we could live here. I don’t wanna live on the farm! I’m not changing schools either. I’m gonna ask Ryder if I can stay here with him when you go.”
Leo felt his own temper spark. Not at his son, but at his brother. Jesus. Josh had been a pain in the ass for weeks, but to go behind Leo’s back and tell Vince…
No wonder the kid was freaking out.
“We’re not moving,” Leo said, once he’d taken a deep breath and calmed down. As soon as he left this room, he was calling his brother and setting the record straight once and for all, on a great many things.
“But Uncle Josh said—”
“I know what Uncle Josh said, and I know that’s what he wants, but I already told him—and now I’m telling you—we aren’t moving to the farm. I’m not taking you away from Clint or your school. I promised you that when I moved in here, and I stand by my word.”
Everything in Vince changed. His tense shoulders relaxed, his face cleared and, for the first time in days, the boy smiled.
God. Leo was like his mother, but damned if his son wasn’t even more like him. Leo was going to have to find a way to help his son deal with his stress better. Maybe Yvonne could share her secrets for a happy life with Vince too since—
Yvonne.
“So you really didn’t know about me and Vonnie?” Leo asked.
Vince shook his head.
“Well, now you do. So…how would you feel if—”
“I love Vonnie!” Vince exclaimed loudly. “Can she come here and live with us? She makes real food and cookies and helps me clean my room. And she likes Fortnite, even though she’s really bad at it.”
It was obvious Vonnie’s love of video games was what truly sealed the deal for his son. Leo laughed and laughed and laughed. He laughed so loudly, Ryder and Clint ventured from the kitchen to see what the ruckus was about.
Ryder smiled at him. “Everything good in here?”
Leo nodded, then considered Vince’s request. “Yeah. We’re getting there. Maybe you and Clint should come in for the rest of this discussion. There’s something I want to run by you all.”
Leo crossed over to sit next to Vince as Ryder and Clint took the spot he’d just vacated.
“What’s up?” Ryder asked.
“Apparently my brother told Vince we were moving to the farm.”
Ryder and Clint both looked shocked. And upset.
