Hometown Hero's Redemption

by Jill Kemerer

  “Don’t count on me, Drew. I might not be there next time.”

  He ignored her words, catching the fear clouding her gray eyes. He’d asked a lot of her ever since moving back to Lake Endwell, and he hadn’t given much back in return.

  What did he have to give? He’d admired his memories of her, but the adult Lauren next to him was more—so much more—than he’d imagined.

  He didn’t have anything she needed, but he could give her his friendship. With no strings attached. Good for life. No matter what, he would be there for her if she needed him.

  “Lauren, I will never forget what you’ve done—what you’re doing—for Wyatt.” And for me. “I care about you, and I never want you to feel like that little girl with the duffel bag again. I’m here for you. Whatever you need, I’ll be here.”

  Her throat moved as she swallowed.

  “I don’t need—”

  “I know what you’re doing.” He glanced over at her. “You can push me away all you want, but I’m here for you. Always. That’s a promise, and I’m not budging.”

  He was falling for her. He knew it. He wasn’t stupid enough to think he had a chance with her, but her friendship meant a lot to him. And he would do everything in his power to make sure she never felt unwanted again.

  Chapter Eight

  “I never expected Drew Gannon to be so...” Lauren searched for the right word and set a plate in front of Megan before sitting across from her the next evening. The windows in her apartment were open to let the breeze inside. Zingo looked up at her and meowed. The cat thought he wanted people food, but every time she offered, he turned up his nose and stalked away, tail high. Picky thing.

  “Sooo...what?” Megan rubbed her hands together and eyed the chicken Caesar salad Lauren had thrown together.

  “So understanding. And patient.” Lauren fluffed the salad with tongs. She kept seeing his kind eyes. The way he’d tried so hard to make Wyatt feel better playing games at the restaurant. Then there was his profile—handsome, strong—in the truck last night. And his words... Her heartbeat sped up. “He really surprises me.”

  “Ben said he’s great to work with. Humble but not afraid to take charge. A lot of the guys look up to him, not that they’ll stop ribbing him anytime soon.”

  “I could see why they would think that.” She chewed a bite of the salad.

  “Am I sensing a romance?” Megan waggled her eyebrows.

  “No. I’m helping Wyatt. Just for the summer.” But Drew’s promise had replayed in her mind roughly a thousand times since he’d said it last night. Could someone make a promise like that? No matter how much she pushed him away, he’d always be there for her? As much as the thought filled her with hope, she was realistic. She pushed people away for their own good. Including Drew.

  “Mmm-hmm.” Megan bit into a crouton. “Yum. This is so good.”

  “Thanks. I made the croutons myself.” Lauren enjoyed playing around with recipes. She hadn’t had the time or energy to cook much in Chicago. “How is it going with Ben?”

  “We went to a movie yesterday. He invited me to dinner next week.”

  “Sounds promising.”

  “Yeah, I like him.” Megan grinned. “We should double date sometime. You and Drew and me and Ben.”

  Lauren lifted her gaze to the ceiling. “I’m not dating Drew.”

  “Why not? He’s supercute, seems to like you and he’s available.”

  And he’d unwittingly gotten her to tell him things she’d never told anyone before. Things he could use against her. Scary things. He might say she couldn’t push him away, but he was wrong. At some point he’d add up everything she’d revealed, and she wouldn’t have to push him away. He’d leave on his own, and then where would she be?

  Not heartbroken—not if she could help it.

  She needed to get Megan off this topic, pronto. “What do you think about me as the varsity cheerleading coach?”

  Megan dropped her fork. “I think it would be fabulous! Did you apply for the job or something?”

  “No, not yet. Joanna told me I’d have a better shot at it if I worked for the school. And I chatted with Principal Gilbert at the pancake breakfast while you were making googly-eyes at Ben. She’s interested in interviewing me for a guidance counselor position.”

  “Well, there you go.” Megan threw her hands up as if the solution was obvious. “You’d be an amazing counselor, and you’d be an awesome cheer coach. Isn’t it great how this worked out?”

  “Whoa there, lady.” Lauren stabbed a forkful of lettuce. “I haven’t applied for either job, and who knows if I would get them?”

  “I know. This is ideal. Please tell me you’re considering. After dinner, we should go through the application.”

  Lauren had to admit both jobs appealed to her. Lake Endwell was safe and tame compared with Chicago. The teenagers she’d be working with wouldn’t be recruited to gangs or shot dead on the sidewalk two blocks from their homes.

  “I guess it couldn’t hurt to apply. It’s not as if I have to take the job. And she might hire someone else.”

  “Right.” Megan’s knowing smile made her chuckle.

  “I know you think it’s a done deal, but my life usually doesn’t work that way.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Lauren had discussed the position with her mom earlier in the afternoon. Mom and Dad thought she’d be smart to apply and that the job would suit her. But she hadn’t confided all her fears to them. They knew she’d left Chicago because of the boys, but she hadn’t told them everything. How guilty she felt about it.

  Megan pointed her fork at Lauren. “You have all these credentials, and you’re great at knowing what to do or say when anyone is going through a rough time. I’d love to see you using your talents—all of them—right here in Lake Endwell.”

  The backs of Lauren’s eyes prickled. Megan thought all that? “I have no plans to leave Lake Endwell. When I moved back it felt like I was taking the easy way out, trying to escape my mistakes, but I knew being close to Mom and Dad would help me recover, and I was right. Now I can’t imagine not living near them. And I have to admit while I’m enjoying my time off when I’m not with Wyatt, it’s getting boring. I definitely need a new career.”

  “Good.” Megan reached over and squeezed her hand. “Let’s get a résumé together and fill out the application.”

  How many years had she longed for good friends like Megan and Drew? And now she had them.

  If Drew meant what he said...

  He might have good intentions, but he could turn out to be a seasonal friend.

  She hoped not. She’d have to wait and see.

  * * *

  “Gannon. You’re riding with Ludlow on the LSV today.” Chief Reynolds barked out everyone’s duties Tuesday morning, and they dispersed.

  Drew wished his probation period was over so he could drive the ambulance again. He and Tony usually didn’t talk much, but he could sense a grudging acceptance from him. As for the other firefighters, Drew still heard a lot of stupid comments about failing at college football or someone droning on about the good old days playing for Lake Endwell High. He’d conditioned himself not to respond.

  Sometimes he felt as though the only people who really knew him were Chase and Lauren.

  “I’ll be in the supply room if you need me.” Tony hitched his chin toward the door at the end of the hall.

  “Sounds good. I’m going to knock out a few things on my list.” Drew went upstairs to the weight room.

  He’d talked to Chase last night. Wyatt had refused to come out of his room for the phone call. Drew had to break it to Chase that Wyatt was upset after the visit. The silence on the other line had stabbed at him, but eventually Chase had begun talking. He’d told Drew he’d been thi
nking about his life a lot and all the mistakes he’d made. He was studying the Bible, and he’d broken his silence with the press to talk to a reporter from People magazine. He wanted other people to learn from his mistakes.

  That was good and all, but it didn’t exactly help Wyatt out now. The kid had barely talked or eaten the past two days. It was as if Wyatt had reverted back to the withdrawn boy Drew had driven into town.

  Drew stretched his neck from side to side to loosen the building tension. He’d better call Lauren and find out if she was faring any better with Wyatt.

  He could still see her big smile in his truck the other day. She’d revealed so much—more than he ever expected—and he meant what he’d told her. He owed her and not in a let’s-get-this-over-with-and-let-me-pay-you way. He owed her for trusting him when she had no reason to. For giving Wyatt the comfort Drew hadn’t realized he needed. For being generous with her time and emotions even though it cost her.

  He now knew how much caring about other people cost her.

  And he was falling for her because of it.

  Alarms beeped through the speakers. Listening to the call, he ran down the stairs to the ambulance. Pulled on his gear as Tony joined him. They both listened to the directions and prepared to leave. Chest pains, possible heart attack. Didn’t sound good.

  “I know that address.” Tony’s voice hardened. “My uncle lives there.”

  “Then we’d better get there quickly.” Drew mentally prepared as Tony drove the fastest route available. “Can you handle this?”

  “I’m on this call for a reason.”

  “We’ll take care of him. Is he married?”

  “Yeah, Aunt Luann is probably a wreck.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay? I know this is your uncle, and you’re probably tempted to take the lead.”

  “It’s my uncle. I should take the lead.” His face reddened.

  “No. We stick to the plan. You’re going to have to trust me. If anything goes wrong, you can blame me forever, but I’ve been doing this for almost ten years. I’m just saying I’m detached.” Drew raised his eyebrows. The address was a few miles away.

  “Okay. Gannon, so help me—”

  “You can kill me. I get it.” Drew nodded grimly. This was about more than being accepted in Fire Station 4, although Tony’s feelings toward him teetered on the edge of a cliff. The next hour would determine the fate of Tony’s uncle’s life. God, I need Your help. Help us save this man.

  * * *

  “What interests you?” Lauren dragged her finger along the spines of the middle-grade books at Lake Endwell Library. The scent of magazine pages and old books filled the air. She hadn’t seen Wyatt since the prison visit. So far the day had been full of monosyllables, shrugs and mopey looks. Everything in her yelled to ask him how he was feeling now that it had been a few days since visiting Chase, but she knew better than to push. At least not yet.

  “Nothing here.” Wyatt scuffed his toe on the carpet, his face as sullen as his voice.

  “Nothing interests you? Not one thing?” She straightened, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot. “That is just sad.”

  Nothing really interested her here, either. She wasn’t much of a reader, but she wasn’t about to tell Wyatt that.

  Her thoughts kept returning to her future. She and Megan had spent a few hours last night working on the online application for the high school counselor position. But she hadn’t pressed Send. Couldn’t. Not yet.

  Maybe not ever.

  She didn’t know if working with teens and all their complexities would be wise. Every time she told herself Lake Endwell was different, the reality of teen problems—bullying and suicide and broken families—filled her mind.

  “What about an adventure novel?” She selected a book about pirates. “This seems interesting.”

  He refused to look at it.

  “Oh, I’ve got it. Perfect for you.” She held up a pink book with a princess on the cover. Wyatt’s glare could have frozen a fiery comet. “Okay. Maybe not. Do you like comics? They have graphic novels. Or magazines?”

  “I’m not reading. Just because he wants me to doesn’t mean I have to.”

  Ahh... That he was as loaded as the baked potato she’d piled high with toppings for lunch. Chase.

  “You don’t want to read because your dad wants you to?”

  “I don’t have to listen to him. He’s not here.”

  Lauren weighed her options. Wyatt wasn’t in the right mental state to get books, and he clearly needed to discuss his feelings about his dad. “Come on—let’s get out of here and get ice cream.”

  “Finally.” He zoomed straight to the entrance.

  Out in the warm sun, robins flew back and forth between the lawn and trees along the sidewalk. She strolled in the direction of JJ’s Ice Cream three blocks away. Green grass lined the sidewalks. It felt good to be wearing shorts and walking outside on a beautiful summer Michigan day. If only the conflicted boy next to her could catch some of that feeling, too...but that would be doubtful considering the conversation she needed to have with him.

  “Why don’t you think you should have to listen to your dad?” She kept her tone even and her gaze straight ahead.

  “He’s not here.” His legs marched next to hers, and she inwardly sighed at the pent-up anger punctuating each step.

  “No, he’s not. He still loves you, though. He’s your dad.”

  “Some dad,” he said under his breath. It went straight to her heart. She knew. She’d been on the merry-go-round of emotions about her biological parents countless times growing up. They reached a small public area with a shaded lawn, benches and a fountain surrounded by pink-and-purple flowers.

  “Let’s sit here a minute.” She took a seat on the bench facing the fountain.

  “I thought we were getting ice cream.”

  “We will.” Lauren patted the spot next to her. The water gurgled, and tall oaks towered over the area. Wyatt dropped onto the bench. She tipped her head and smiled at him. “You’re mad at him, huh?”

  “No, I don’t care.” He made it sound as if his dad being incarcerated made no difference to him.

  “I think you do. It’s okay to be mad. He let you down.”

  “He did not!” Wyatt glared up at her with a glint of vulnerability in his eyes. “He had to do it.”

  “What did he have to do?” She knew what he was alluding to, but she wanted him to verbalize it.

  He reached down and picked a blade of grass, smashing it in his fingers.

  “Wyatt, I want to hear you say it.”

  The grass dropped from his hand. “He had to get even with that guy.”

  Lauren weighed her options. Wyatt’s one-track mind made sense to her, but his actions conflicted with what he said. If she pointed it out to him, he’d get defensive. Maybe she could guide him to the truth without stating it.

  “What if he hadn’t gone after him?” She watched his reaction. His legs were bent so the toes of his athletic shoes just touched the sidewalk under the bench.

  “He had to.”

  “What if he hadn’t?” Should she keep pushing?

  His skinny knees bounced under his basketball shorts. “Len would have gotten away with it.”

  “What if Chase had contacted the police with Len’s whereabouts instead of going after him?”

  His little jaw shifted. “Then we’d still be in Detroit, and we’d live together, and I wouldn’t have to visit him in prison. I’d see him every day. I’d be playing with my friends and going to my old school.”

  “You miss all that. I don’t blame you,” she said. “Your dad made a choice, and you got hurt by it.”

  “He did it for my mom.”

  “And what about you?” she asked quietly
.

  “I would have gone after him, too.” Wyatt turned away from her. For a minute she thought she’d gotten through to him, but he wasn’t ready. Maybe it gave him comfort to cling to the idea his dad had to take the law into his own hands.

  Lord, please open Wyatt’s heart to the truth. Let him see and accept his dad made a mistake.

  “Well, we all make choices. Sometimes we make the right ones, and sometimes we make the wrong ones.”

  “He made the right one.”

  “Did he? Making the right choice isn’t always easy.”

  “How do we know what’s right and what isn’t?”

  Lauren hesitated. “Does Drew take you to church?”

  “Yes.” His stomach gurgled.

  “Let’s talk while we walk.” She stood again, and they strolled in the direction of the ice-cream shop. “Tell me what you know from going to church.”

  “Dad and Uncle Drew always say your heart knows the right thing to do. Your conscience tells you when you’re doing the wrong thing.”

  “That’s true. Your conscience guides you.”

  “And Dad and Uncle Drew told me being loyal is important.”

  “Yes, it is. But being loyal and blindly agreeing with someone’s actions aren’t the same things. You know it’s normal to be mad at your dad, right? I was mad a lot before my parents adopted me.”

  “I’m not mad.”

  “Are you sure about that?” She stepped over a raised crack in the sidewalk. “I’d be mad if I couldn’t see my dad every day. Or if I had to go to a correctional facility to see him.”

  “I thought you didn’t get to see your dad every day. He was in prison. Did you visit him, too?”

  “I was talking about my adoptive dad. My real dad—no, I never met him.” They stopped at a crosswalk until the traffic light changed. “Your dad loves you, Wyatt. My real dad never wanted me. Your dad does. He loves you.”

  Wyatt stared across the street, and the color drained from his face.

  “What’s wrong?” She kneeled and put her hands on his shoulders. “Wyatt, are you okay?”