Always for You: Jack (Sergeant Joe's Boys #1)

by Alexis Morgan

  “Not in so many words. We’ve both made a point of telling him that he has a home with us as long as he wants one.” He headed around to the backyard carrying the portable workbench and his toolbox. “I guess that’s not the same as asking if he’s satisfied with how things are going.”

  Tino patted him on the shoulder. “I’d ask him and see where it gets you.”

  “I will.”

  And just in case, he’d be telling Gabe that he’d have to find someone else to take that job.

  —

  Ricky sat in the park hoping the sun would make up its mind to come out. The day might clear up and be warm later; right now it was cloudy, damp, and chilly. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up closer to his face and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

  Other than him, the park was empty. It was disappointing that Shelley and the others weren’t anywhere around. He sipped his coffee and finished off the blueberry muffin he’d bought at the corner coffee shop, an extravagance he might not be able to enjoy again for a while. If the morning turned out the way he expected it to, he would have to be more careful with his money to make sure it would last as long as possible. He’d considered raiding Marlene’s refrigerator and pantry before sneaking out of the house, but he already felt bad enough about leaving without a word.

  Besides, he wasn’t a thief. Yet. Well, maybe, because he still had the phone Jack had bought for him to use, although he’d turned it off when he’d slipped out the front door before sunrise. The last thing he wanted to do was get a call from Jack or Marlene.

  During the long hours of the mostly sleepless night, he thought about writing a note to leave behind. Something that would let Marlene and Jack know that he did appreciate everything they’d done for him. He’d stared up at the ceiling as he tried to string together the right words. But everything he felt about them, not to mention Caitlyn and even Tino, got all jumbled up inside him. Besides, there was nothing he could say that would change things.

  It was time to get moving, so he tossed the cup and paper bag in the trash. He still had a long walk ahead of him to reach his mom’s house. He’d already stashed his backpack and the bag of stuff he’d brought to share with his friends behind some bushes next to the bus station. When he went inside to check the schedule, it had been tempting while he was there to buy a ticket on the first bus heading south. In the end, he hadn’t been quite ready to take that step.

  Still no sign of his friends, so he gave up and started walking. When he spotted Toby heading straight toward him, he didn’t bother to duck out of sight. Instead, he stopped walking and let Toby come to him. The other teenager wasn’t as jittery as he was the last time the two of them had talked, which meant Toby must have scraped together enough money for an early-morning fix.

  “Hey, Ricky, you got your cast off.”

  “Yeah, a few days ago.”

  “That’s good.” He raked his eyes over Ricky, top to bottom, before once again scanning their surroundings. “More new clothes, too. Man, I don’t know where you’ve been hanging out since you fell and broke your arm, but it can’t be all bad. You should tell that guy who’s been looking for you. He’s worried about you.”

  Ricky backed up a step. “I didn’t fall and break my arm, Toby. Like I told you before, that guy kicked the shit out of me.”

  Toby sneered at Ricky, his smile nasty. “Yeah, he told me you were spreading lies about him. I believed you at first, but Lawrence isn’t a bad guy. He’s treated me decent enough.”

  What a load of crap. “So, I’m guessing he’s the one who paid for your morning fix.”

  The teenager didn’t bother to deny it. After wiping his nose on his sleeve, he nodded. “Yeah, he’s helped me out a few times. It’s no big deal.”

  “But what do you have to do in return, Toby? Now that you’ve seen me, are you going to go running to Lawrence?”

  Toby started rocking from side to side, his usual jitters already coming back. “Won’t have to. He comes to me.”

  Fear shot right up Ricky’s spine. “When?”

  “Around lunchtime most days. Sometimes earlier.”

  Was that why Toby’s head seemed to be mounted on a swivel right now? Was he really expecting Lawrence to come driving up at any second? Rather than ask any more questions, Ricky took off running, heading back toward the park where he stood a better chance of losing Toby on one of the several paths that wound through the trees.

  A glance over his shoulder before he reached the first bend in the trail showed that Toby was following, but at a slower pace. Ricky kicked it into a higher gear and then cut across the grass to a path that led back toward the street. He needed to lose the other teenager as soon as possible and then hightail it for his mom’s place before Toby succeeded in alerting Lawrence that Ricky was in the area.

  Although Toby was taller, between his drug habit and living on the streets, he didn’t have much stamina. He was already lagging farther behind. Meanwhile, Ricky sprinted for several blocks and then slowed to catch his breath. There was no way Toby could catch up with him now, and he would draw less attention to himself by walking.

  It didn’t take him long to reach his mom’s house. He walked by without stopping while still scoping the place out. No sign of Lawrence or his truck. That was the good news. The bad news was the front door was closed and there were no lights on inside that he could see. He circled the block as he considered what to do next. He couldn’t keep hanging around without increasing the risk of running into Lawrence.

  On the next pass, he’d have to man up and knock on the door. What happened after that would all depend on who answered. When he reached the driveway, he almost gave up and kept walking, but he had to know once and for all if his mother regretted her decision to shove him out of her life.

  It took everything he had to take that first step up the driveway toward the house. Even though he couldn’t see anyone, he had the strangest feeling that he was being watched. He slowed his steps and studied the windows. There, the curtain at the far end of the house just twitched a little.

  He waited a few seconds to see if anyone opened the front door. Like maybe it had been his mother watching and she couldn’t wait for him to knock, needing to see him. Yeah, right. The door remained closed and no lights came on.

  So he had his answer. Nothing had changed. That didn’t mean he was going to slink away like he had no right to be there. He marched up onto the porch and pounded on the door with his fist.

  “Mom, open up.”

  Still no answer, which only served to rev his temper even higher. “I’m not leaving until you do.”

  Finally, he heard footsteps on the other side of the door. “Ricky, I told you not to come here.”

  “Fuck that, Mom. We both know it isn’t you who doesn’t want me here. It’s that asshole you married.” He had to believe that was true or he’d go crazy. “Now, let me in. I promise I won’t stay long.”

  For a long moment, he thought her fear of Lawrence might prevent her from opening the door. Damn it, all he wanted to do was say goodbye. It would kill him to walk away for good, but he wasn’t going to leave without looking her in the eye one last time. He deserved that much.

  Finally, he heard the click of the lock and the door opened a few inches to reveal his mother’s face. “What do you want, Ricky?”

  There was no warmth, no welcome. He closed his eyes against the burn of tears, hating himself for showing even that much weakness in front of her. As he struggled for control, he concentrated on better things, better people: Jack, Marlene, Caitlyn, Tino. None of them had known him for more than a few weeks, and yet they’d shown Ricky more love in that time than his own flesh and blood had in years.

  What the hell was he doing there hoping for some crumbs of affection from this woman who had become a total stranger to him?

  “You know, Mom, I have some good news for you. I don’t want a fucking thing from you. I wish you the kind of life you deserve with Lawrence. God help any kids
you two might have.”

  Feeling better, lighter somehow, he turned his back on her and started to walk away. To his surprise, his mother yanked the door open all the way and stepped out onto the porch. “Ricky, don’t you talk to me that way. I’m your mother, and you will treat me with respect.”

  He knew better than to get into a no-win argument, but he couldn’t stop himself from snarling right back at her. “Seriously? What kind of mother lets her only son sleep on the streets?”

  She frowned and glanced toward the next house. “Keep your voice down. The neighbors are nosy enough without you blabbing our family’s private business at the top of your lungs.”

  He cranked the volume up another few notches. “Why should I care what they think? I’m not the one who chose a jackass like Lawrence for a husband. You know, the bastard who broke my arm so bad that I had to have surgery to piece it back together.”

  By now her hands were in fists and her eyes wild. “He did no such thing, Ricky. My husband is a good man.”

  Ricky sneered. “He’s good with those steel-toed boots, you mean. I had the broken bones and bruises to prove it.”

  Her eyes turned colder. “If Lawrence punished you, you must have done something to deserve it.”

  God, she was still defending the man. “Nobody deserves what he did to me. It took weeks for all the bruises to fade away. I might have died out there on the street when he got done with me if some stranger hadn’t called the police.”

  “Quit telling lies, Ricky. I won’t stand for it.”

  Ricky started to say more, to pour out all the pain and frustration and anger that had been festering inside his chest for so long, but he stopped. No matter what she was saying, the wild look in her eyes made it clear that she knew full well what Lawrence had done and didn’t care.

  “Never mind. And if it makes it easier for you to sleep at night thinking I’m a liar, fine. But that’s not true, and neither is your mistaken belief that you’re still my mother. We’re done.”

  This time he walked away and kept going. He could still hear her shrieking at him for at least another block. Oddly enough, it made him smile. So much for keeping the neighbors out of the loop. Lawrence probably wouldn’t be happy about that, but it wasn’t Ricky’s problem. Not anymore.

  He hustled his ass down a few blocks and then turned off the street his mother lived on. With luck he’d made a clean getaway, but it wouldn’t hurt to use a little extra caution just in case. Originally, he’d planned on stopping by the park again to see if Shelley and Justin had put in an appearance. There was no way he’d risk doing that now. He’d go straight back to the bus station to retrieve his pack and other stuff.

  Then he’d…what? That bus ride south no longer made much sense to him. Not when he had people who would worry, ones who actually cared what happened to him. Marlene and Jack had probably noticed he was gone by now. He’d have to do some serious groveling when he got back home, mow the lawn, and probably wash Jack’s enormous SUV every day for a month to make amends.

  That was okay by him. Heck, he’d even volunteer to shovel out the annex again if that would help. Grinning at the thought, he kept walking. Once he retrieved his stuff back at the bus station, which was only a couple of blocks away now, he’d call Jack and ask him to come pick him up. That would ensure he wouldn’t cross paths with either Toby or, worse yet, Lawrence himself.

  Once they got back to the house, he’d level with Jack about what had happened with his mother and how he’d come to be living on the streets. He should have done that long before now, but it was embarrassing to admit that the one person who should love him above all others had chosen a loser like Lawrence instead.

  Jack might be angry Ricky hadn’t trusted him with the truth before now, but he suspected the man would understand, too.

  With that in mind, he pulled out his cell and turned it on. One glance at the screen showed he’d missed a shitload of calls from Marlene and Jack. Which one should he call? In the end, there was no contest. Marlene might be more sympathetic, but it was Jack who Ricky needed to come clean with first.

  He punched in Jack’s number and held his breath as he waited for him to answer.

  Chapter 19

  “Hey, Tino, where are those boards I asked for?”

  No answer. Jack turned off the saw and walked to the front of the shed they’d been building. When he didn’t see Tino anywhere around, he headed out to the truck to see what was keeping the jerk. With both of them working, they’d made far more progress than he’d expected to in one day. If they worked an hour or two longer than normal, they might actually finish the damn thing.

  Out front, Tino stood by the truck talking on his cell. Jack was about to rip into him for goofing off when he noticed the worried expression on his brother’s face. What the hell had happened now?

  He parked himself in front of Tino and gave him a questioning look. His brother held up a finger to tell him to wait. “Okay, hold on, Mom.”

  Jack’s entire body shuddered as a sense of dread washed through him. “What’s Ricky done now?”

  “Mom said that she had to run a couple quick errands this morning. She left him a note to call her when he got up. She wasn’t gone more than half an hour.”

  Would the man never get to the point? “Tino, just tell me where he is.”

  “That’s the problem. When Mom got home¸ the note was right where she’d left it. She grabbed the spare key to his door and let herself in. He wasn’t there. His bed was made, and there’s a bunch of his clothes missing. He must have snuck out before dawn.”

  “Give me the phone.”

  Tino hesitated. “It’s not her fault, Jack. We should’ve checked on him before we left.”

  “Damn it, I know it’s not her fault. I’m the one who didn’t pound on the fucking door until he opened it. If he didn’t answer, I should have gone in myself. The only reason I didn’t was that I promised him when he came home with us that I would never enter the room without his permission.”

  He finally got his hands on the phone. “Mom, are you okay? I know you’re upset about him taking off, but don’t be. I should have seen this coming, especially when I suspected something was wrong.”

  Jack listened to what she had to say. “I know what we have to do, but let’s not call CPS quite yet. Let me do a drive-by in the area where he used to hang out. I’ll phone if I learn anything.”

  He disconnected the call. “Let’s get packed up. I’ll drop you at home so Mom isn’t alone.”

  Tino was already shaking his head. “We’ll pack up and then go home and get your SUV. We can cover twice as much territory that way.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  His brother was now sporting his military-cop demeanor. “I’m sure. The kid’s practically my nephew.”

  Which meant the kid was practically Jack’s son. He liked that idea even if he wanted to wring Ricky’s neck for worrying all of them like this. “I’ll call Caitlyn. If she’s free, maybe she can come stay with Mom.”

  Their plans made, they took off running for the backyard. Tomorrow would be soon enough to put the finishing touches on the shed. The homeowner wasn’t expecting it to be done today, anyway. Regardless, right now they had more important things to take care of. Family things, even if Ricky was having a hard time understanding that’s what he was to them.

  Twenty minutes later, they were back at the house. Jack had let Tino drive so that he could make phone calls. He started off with the most obvious call and dialed the kid’s number. No answer. Not available. Son of a bitch, he was going to wring Ricky’s neck when he got ahold of him. Hadn’t Jack made the rules clear the last time the kid took off on them?

  Next up, he tried Caitlyn, but it went to voicemail. Then he remembered last night at her place that she’d mentioned something about having a meeting at her school that she had to attend today. That must be why she didn’t answer. He left a message and asked her to call him or stop by the house when she got a c
hance. Maybe he should’ve told her what was going on, but he didn’t want to worry her if they managed to track the kid down before she had a chance to check her messages. If they found him, Jack would call back with an update.

  After disconnecting, he called home to let Marlene know they were on their way. In truth, he needed that contact with her, hoping against hope that she’d heard from Ricky in the few minutes since Jack last talked to her. No luck. He fought to sound far more calm than he really was, but she knew.

  “Jack, we’ll find him and bring him home. One way or another, that boy is going to learn that his place is with you. With us.”

  He closed his eyes and prayed she was right. “We’re almost back, Mom.”

  Tino left the truck running while Jack got out and headed toward the house. Marlene came out on the porch. She’d always been the one who kept her head in the worst storms they’d faced as a family. He walked right into her arms and let the familiar warmth of her hug and the scent of her favorite perfume calm his fear for the boy.

  “Tino is going to help me patrol the area where I know Ricky had been hanging out before he came here. It probably won’t do any good, but I’ve got to do something.”

  Marlene kissed him on the cheek and gave him one last squeeze. “I know, son. Go and look for him. I’ll be fine. Besides, someone should be here if he comes home on his own.”

  Jack ran back to make sure Tino knew what part of town they’d be patrolling and then got in the SUV and headed in that direction himself. Tino was going to crisscross the north- and southbound roads while Jack drove up and down the east/west streets as well as any alleys he came across.

  He covered at least two square miles with no sign of Ricky anywhere. He called Tino to see if he’d had any better luck, even knowing his brother would have let him know if he’d spotted the kid. Rather than give up, Jack circled back and drove through the area again. When he ended up where he’d started, he stopped to slam his fist down on the steering wheel. Where the hell could Ricky be?