Sworn to Protect

by Jo Davis

  The boy returned to his table and said something, making the others laugh. Drew folded in even more, if possible. Daisy slid onto the bench opposite him and rested her arms on the table.

  “Rough day?”

  “How’d you guess?” At least he raised his head, giving her his attention. “Shane send you here to make sure I’m being a good little scout?”

  “No, he didn’t send me. Doesn’t even know I’m here.” At his expression of disbelief, her lips curved up. “It’s true. Not every adult was put on the earth for the sole purpose of giving Drew a hard time.”

  “There’s a news flash.” He eyed her warily. “So, why are you here?”

  “I just wanted to see how you’re doing. Why aren’t you eating lunch?”

  “Not hungry.”

  “You should eat something.”

  “Why? Are you the health police, too?”

  “I just care about you, that’s all.”

  Drew sneered at her. “You have the hots for Shane and you think getting close to me will help you snag him—that’s what I think.”

  Her brows shot up. “That’s pretty cynical. You don’t believe anyone can like you simply for who you are?”

  “Nobody ever has before,” he snapped. “Why should anyone start now?”

  “Maybe if you open your eyes and look around, you’ll find plenty of people who’d like to get to know the real you, if only you’d give them a chance.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Like who?”

  “That boy who invited you to sit with him and his friends, for one. Why not give new friends a try?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Drew replied sarcastically. “Maybe because that same guy gave me all kinds of shit my very first day here, called me a faggot. And he hasn’t left me alone since.”

  “You know what I think?”

  “I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

  “I think he wants to get to know you. I think he and his friends were just feeling you out, trying to get your attention. Why not say yes the next time they ask? Or better yet, just go over and sit with them.”

  He was silent for a long moment, mulling that over.

  “I don’t want people looking at me like I’m a freak, or worse, pitying me because of what happened to my dad.”

  “So don’t accept their pity. If they try that, give it right back to them.” He sat up, interested. “Everyone has a story, Drew. Many of your peers are going through a rough time because of all sorts of issues. You’re Drew Cooper, your own person, and you don’t have to answer to them or justify anyone’s choices but yours. Hold your head up when people speak to you, and be confident. Be honest. You’ll be surprised by the positive responses you get.”

  “That’s a nice speech.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  The bell rang just then, and the teen got up from the table. “That’s my cue. Don’t want to be even a second late, considering.”

  She stood, too. “Very true.”

  He eyed her, posture tense. “See you around, I guess.”

  Before he could leave, she put a hand on his arm. “I care about you,” she reiterated. “If you ever need to talk, I’m a phone call away.”

  “Sure,” he said awkwardly, glancing toward the doors. He appeared ready to make a break for it. “I’ve got to go.”

  The boy left, and she stared after him, worried. Drew was a great kid, but he was struggling. Even if she and Shane were done, she wouldn’t desert him.

  How to avoid his sexy guardian, however, was going to be almost impossible.

  • • •

  Drew rode in the truck between Shane and Ty, casting furtive glances at his friend. There were bruises on his left arm and a matching one on his jaw. Shane had noticed, too.

  “What happened to your arm and your face, Ty?”

  “Fell down the stairs.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  That earned the cop a startled look. “How would you know?”

  “I was at your house yesterday. I dropped by there to speak to your dad about picking you guys up for the repair job.” He paused. “Your house is one story. It does not have any stairs inside.”

  “Doesn’t have much of a dad, either.”

  After that, the ride was silent and tense. Drew knew how Shane hated to give up on someone he didn’t know how to help. Didn’t matter if he actually liked that person or not—that was how Shane was wired. He caught criminals and rescued people for a living. It was kind of cool, the guy being a real-life hero. Drew loved his dad, but . . .

  Nobody ever died of not watching football.

  He hated comparing the two men, even in the privacy of his mind. But Shane was a stand-up guy, and he didn’t get a lot of recognition for what he did. What you saw was what you got. Shane was kind of awesome.

  Most of the time. Not that Drew was about to admit it.

  All too soon, the truck pulled into Frank Johnson’s driveway. The man ambled outside to meet them, a smirk on his face. God, this was going to suck.

  “You got your cell phone?” Shane asked.

  Drew patted his pocket. “Got it.”

  “Call me if you boys need anything.” The way he eyed Johnson as he said it told Drew he didn’t trust the man one bit.

  “We will.”

  “I’ll pick you both up around seven.”

  “Can’t come fast enough,” Drew muttered.

  Shane let them off, waved at Johnson, and drove away. It might be childish, but he wished Shane had stayed. He didn’t want him and Ty to be alone with Johnson.

  In the end, he needn’t have worried. The man took them to the back side of the barn, where he’d set out the supplies they’d need to paint.

  “Here you go. Need anything, holler.”

  Then he was gone. Drew doubted they’d see him again—unless it was on the porch with a beer in his hand.

  “How the hell do we start?” Ty asked, eyeing the materials as though they were an ancient mystery waiting to be deciphered.

  “Beats me, but it can’t be that hard.” He pointed. “Rollers, paint. Dip and repeat. How tough can that be?”

  An hour later, he regretted those words. His shoulders and neck were killing him from holding the roller on the rod high above his head to spread the paint. His arms were about to fall off. And still two hours to go!

  “Damn, this blows,” Ty said.

  “Tagging was your idea, remember?” He cut his friend a filthy look.

  “Never again.”

  “What, is that regret I hear?” he teased. “Ty Eastlake is actually sorry he did something bad?”

  “Nope, just sorry I got caught.”

  They laughed. Drew lowered his arms and rolled his shoulders. “Let’s take a break. I’ve got sodas in my backpack.”

  “Dude, you rock!”

  Setting their rollers aside, they found a grassy spot and sat. Drew fished in his pack and brought out two Cokes. “Brought something else, too.” Pulling out two ham sandwiches and two bags of sour cream and onion potato chips, he tossed one of each to Ty.

  The boy tore into his bag and dove in, crunching. “Thanks, man. I’m starving.”

  “No prob. Shane bought them for us.”

  The boys ate and sipped their sodas for a few minutes.

  “Your cop seems okay.”

  “Yeah. He’s cool.”

  “Wish my dad was more like him.”

  That was the most honest statement he’d ever heard Ty make. He eyed his friend. “Why weren’t you at school today? Because he hit you?”

  The other boy shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

  Something else occurred to him. “You must be sore after getting knocked around like that. I can take over the painting for today if you want.”

  “Nah, it’s not so bad. Besides, one of these days I’ll be big enough to hit back. Then it won’t be a problem anymore.”

  Drew wasn’t so sure that was the answer, but he said nothing. He didn’t have to endure Ty’
s life. Who’s to say what he’d do?

  As they ate, Drew could’ve sworn he caught a whiff of something. Frowning, he sniffed his sandwich, but it was fine. The odor tugged at his memory, and he realized it was the same one he’d smelled the night they’d tagged the barn.

  “You smell that?”

  “What?”

  “A weird smell. Kind of like weed, but not.”

  His friend sniffed a few times. “Yeah. Wonder what it is?”

  “I dunno. But I was thinking it sure doesn’t smell like animals. Why would a guy who’s not keeping animals have such a nice barn?”

  “Come to think of it, you’re right. There’s not a single cow or horse to be seen.” He studied the barn. “Wanna look?”

  “No. That’s how we got in trouble before.”

  “Then why’d you bother to bring it up?” Polishing off the rest of his meal, Ty stood. “Come on, let’s take a quick look. This time we’re supposed to be here, remember?”

  “Outside the barn, not inside.”

  “He didn’t say we couldn’t stretch our legs, right?”

  The guy was relentless. Ty wandered casually toward the barn. With a sigh, Drew stuffed the remains of their food into his backpack and tagged along. One day, the spaz was going to get them into a bigger mess than they could get out of.

  Ty walked to the end of the barn where the two large double doors were located. Of course, they were clearly visible from the house, and Drew had no doubt Johnson was watching them even now. Probably waiting to drop on them like a snake from a tree branch the second they screwed up again.

  Pushing hard, Ty slid the door open just enough to let them in. Once they were inside, Drew saw why the owner wasn’t too concerned about their presence. The place was pretty much empty, though not quite.

  “Bummer,” he said to the other boy. “Nothing but a few tools and some junk.”

  “It does stink like ass, though.” Ty wrinkled his nose. “What the hell has he been doing in here? Burning a combination of weed, rubber, and turds?”

  “Seriously.”

  They drifted apart, examining what little junk there was. Drew was about to leave when something caught his eye. There was a large bare spot at the far end of the barn where some items had been sitting. There were impressions in the dirt, then scrape marks, as though whatever had been there was dragged out through the far doors. Nothing interesting.

  “This was a bust,” Drew told his friend. “Let’s get out of here before we choke.”

  They went back to their job, and managed to get almost the entire back wall painted before Shane came to get them. Drew started to mention the odd stink, but they got to talking about Shane’s day and he eventually blew it off.

  Wasn’t like it was all that important, anyway.

  • • •

  It turned out that the boys got the painting done during the week. Unfortunately, Shane knew it was time to face an even worse task.

  He needed to take Drew to pack his stuff from the mansion.

  It was going to be a horrible, emotional task for both of them, but it had to be done. There wasn’t any sense in putting it off any longer. Shane let Drew sleep until nine, then knocked on his door. When there was no answer, he opened the door and saw the boy sound asleep, curled on his side.

  “Drew?” A muffled response was his only answer. He went over and touched the boy’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy, rise and shine.”

  “Ugh.”

  He smiled a little. “Get up, we’ve got some things to do today.”

  “Go away, Shane.”

  “I will, soon as you get up.”

  With that, the teen sat up, peering at him blearily and scowling. “I’m up already. Jeez.” He yawned. “What the heck’s so important, man? It’s Saturday!”

  “Come eat breakfast, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Breakfast?” A glimmer of interest became a smile. “I smell bacon.”

  “The universal lure for sleepy teens everywhere. I’ve got pancakes, too. Up you go.”

  “Oh. Well, in that case . . .”

  Chuckling, he left the room to set breakfast on the table. In less than two minutes, Drew came padding out in his bare feet, wearing sleep pants and a T-shirt. For one second, Shane remembered the tiny little sprout he’d been so long ago, coming into Shane’s parents’ kitchen just this way, smile on his face, ready for the pancakes Shane’s mom used to make for them. It was a tradition Shane had kept up when his folks were gone.

  “Looks great!” The boy plopped down and began to fork his breakfast onto his plate.

  “Your favorite.”

  They tucked into the meal, slathering on butter and using plenty of syrup. As they started eating, Drew gave him a sad smile.

  “Dad always loved coming over when you cooked. He craved homemade stuff, but he wasn’t a very good cook.”

  “I remember.” He was glad the boy could mention his dad without falling apart. “I’ll never forget when he set my kitchen on fire. I never let him near it again.”

  “I know! Even I knew not to throw water on a grease fire.” His smile was wistful, his eyes shiny. “I wish he were here.”

  “Me too, kiddo.” Might as well yank off the bandage. “That sort of brings me to what we need to do today. I think it’s time to go get the rest of your belongings.”

  He wished he could erase the pain from Drew’s face. The boy sucked in a sharp breath and nodded. “No sense in putting it off,” he said. His voice quavered and he was obviously struggling to be brave.

  God, give them the strength to get through this.

  “I’ve got plenty of boxes and I rented a small enclosed trailer, so I think we’ll have room for whatever you want to bring back. The rest, the stuff you don’t want, I’ll have someone take care of donating it.”

  “Okay,” he said quietly. “I don’t need much except my laptop, CDs, and clothes. Oh, my stereo for my room. It’s not very big.”

  That reminded Shane that he’d borrowed the boy’s laptop the night Brad died. He’d looked through it and found nothing but the usual social teenage stuff. “I already have your laptop. I brought it the night you came to stay here.”

  “Translation, the cop in you couldn’t help but snoop.” The teen looked annoyed.

  “Guilty. But the better word is investigated. I’ll give it back to you when we’re done this afternoon.”

  Drew pushed his plate away. “Sure. It’s not like I’ve missed it, anyway. I’m going to take a shower.”

  “All right.”

  After finishing the last of his breakfast, Shane rose and began to clear the dishes. Dare he hope things were improving with him and Drew? Now, if he could fix his relationship with Daisy as easily. It seemed her bullshit meter was fine-tuned these days, and he’d played a big role in that. He could hardly blame her, but damn. How did he convince her he was sincere when he was the reason she was gun-shy?

  He loaded the dishwasher, then washed up the skillets and utensils. Once he was finished, he went and parked on his easy chair and dialed Daisy—for about the fifth time that week. He was fast reaching stalker status. Wouldn’t that be a fun write-up if she complained to the captain?

  The message signal beeped and he actually left one this time, injecting as much sincerity into his tone as he could. “Hey, it’s Shane. I know you don’t want to speak to me, and, hell, I don’t blame you. Please give me a chance to prove I’m not the same jerk who hurt you before.” He paused.

  “I wasn’t going out with Leslie, and that’s the truth. She asked me to be on the policeman’s ball committee, but I turned her down without meeting her for lunch. Just FYI. Anyhow, please call me.” Punching the OFF button, he slumped. “Shit.”

  “Trouble with Daisy?” Drew asked, walking into the room. He’d showered and dressed in his jeans and a flannel shirt.

  “You could say that. She thought I was going out with another woman, and now she won’t speak to me.”

  Drew winced. “Ouch. It’s
not true. Right?”

  “No. I’m not the least bit interested in anyone else. I haven’t even dated anyone since Daisy and I were, um, together before.”

  The teen grinned. “Since you had wild monkey sex, you mean.”

  “None of your business, kid. Haven’t we been through this?”

  “Yeah, okay. Don’t get bent. So, what? She doesn’t believe you about the other chick?”

  “I don’t know if it’s that so much as she was already having second thoughts, and the stunt the other woman pulled, making her think I was taking her out, just gave her the shove she needed to pull away.”

  “She got scared,” he said wisely. “That blows.”

  Shane laughed in spite of himself. Teenagers had such a way of simplifying things. “Yes, it does.”

  “If it helps, I think she has the hots for you.”

  Shane’s eyes widened. “What makes you say that?”

  “She’s been checking on me during my lunch this week, and she sort of asks about you a lot. Like, I don’t think she realizes how often she mentions you. Keep after her, and she’ll cave. If you want my opinion, she’s making you suffer, but she wants to get caught.”

  “How did you get to be so smart?”

  “I just am. So, we ready?”

  “Yeah.” Shane grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter. On their way out he locked up. “So, she’s been visiting you?”

  The boy nodded. “Every day. Yesterday she brought pizza for me and Ty.”

  “That’s really great of her to do. You like her?”

  Drew’s expression clouded some. “Sure.”

  “The way you say that, you don’t sound sure.”

  “I think she’s making nice with me because she likes you—that’s all.”

  He shook his head. “Daisy isn’t that kind of person, son. She has a soft spot for kids, which is why she’s good at her job.”

  “So, I’m just another job to her,” the boy said bitterly.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he said, frowning. “You’re more than that to her. In fact, she’s told me how much she cares about you. She truly likes you.”

  Following him to the truck, Drew fell silent on the subject. Shane bit back a sigh and let it go for now. He couldn’t force the boy to accept Daisy. Did Drew fear that she would replace Drew in his affections? That wasn’t going to happen. Hopefully, the boy would come around.