by Ward, Tamryn
Logan gave Cojack a pat on the head. “He was hiding under our deck. In our backyard. We found him last night and he slept with me.” Logan gave the little dog a final stroke. “He’s a good dog. You’re lucky.”
“Yes, I am. I’m lucky to have him back. Thank you again.” Aeron tucked the dog into the crook of his arm and smiled at Jenn. She smiled back. “Can I pay you a reward?”
She shook her head. “No. We don’t need--”
“I don’t mind,” Aeron interrupted. “I mean, I advertised on the flier that I would pay.”
“That’s okay. We don’t need the money.” That was a lie. Jenn could think of a million reasons why a little extra cash would come in handy. But it was way too embarrassing, taking money from Aeron.
“Okay.” Aeron flopped an arm over Logan’s shoulder. “How about if I take Logan out for some lunch tomorrow? It’s Saturday. Maybe we can go play some laser tag too.”
“Laser tag?” Logan shot Jenn one of his pleading sad-eye looks. He knew the answer before she said a word. Logan sighed. “No, thanks.”
“No?” Aeron turned his questioning glance Jenn’s way. “Are you sure?”
Jenn nodded. “I’m sure. Nothing personal, you know.”
“Sure. Okay.” Aeron let his arm slide off Logan’s shoulder.
Jenn motioned to Logan. “Ready to head to school?”
“Yeah. I’m coming.”
Jenn started walking, expecting Logan to follow. When she didn’t hear his footsteps trailing behind her, she turned.
He was huddled with Aeron.
She waved him over. “Come on, Logan.”
Logan straightened up. “Bye, Aeron.” Back, more or less, to his bouncy self, Logan shuffled up to Jenn and together they walked to school.
On the way he only asked her three times why she wouldn’t buy him a dog. However later, after school, he asked her at least another hundred times. By dinnertime Jenn was ready to scream if she heard the word dog in any context, even on TV. And after three days of badgering, she threatened to punish Logan if he so much as whispered the word. Being the manipulative little monster that he was, he resorted to drawing pictures of himself with a dog and plastering them all over the house for the next few days.
On Friday, exactly one week after they’d returned Cojack, while she was scrubbing the toilet (a job that every girl lived for), someone knocked on the door. It was just after noon. She wasn’t expecting any packages. Logan was in school. There was no reason for Aeron to come by. She hadn’t seen or heard from him since they’d returned his dog.
Peeking out the bedroom window, she caught sight of a car parked outside the house.
A dark sedan.
Oh crap. Not the dark sedan.
Another knock echoed through the house.
She stiffened.
For months she’d been anticipating a visit from Mrs. Tate. She was still technically underage, caring for Logan since shortly after their parents’ death. An aunt they’d never met before had arrived the day after their parents’ death, stayed in the house with them for roughly two weeks, and then disappeared.
She was pretty sure that wasn’t okay.
She’d done her best to hide their situation from Logan’s school and their case worker. She was petrified he would be taken away and put in a foster home and she’d never see him again. She was hoping she could make it to her eighteenth birthday before someone found out and reported her. She only had twelve more days until she would be legal.
Had her worst fears come true?
A third knock set her heart rate to the stratosphere.
She quietly made her way to the front door and peered through the peephole. A woman stood on the front porch. It was the woman who’d come to their house that awful day, when they’d learned about their parents.
Mrs. Tate.
What should she do?
If she answered the door she could lie, say her aunt was at work, and hope the woman didn’t know the truth.
If she didn’t answer, she had to hope the woman would go away, become bogged down with her other cases, and forget about them for another couple of weeks.
What to do?
The woman knocked again. Clearly, she wasn’t giving up.
Jenn opened the door. She made sure she had a friendly smile in place. “Hi.”
“Hello, I’m Mrs. Tate with the Department of Human Services,” the woman said, peering over Jenn’s shoulder. “Do you remember me?”
“Sure,” Jenn said.
“You’re not in school.”
“I…I stayed home sick,” another lie. But she’d already told so many over the last year, what would one more hurt?
“Is there an adult at home?” Mrs. Tate asked, her expression turning cold.
“No, not right now.”
Mrs. Tate pulled a card out of her bag and handed it to Jenn. “Can you tell me when someone will be home? I need to speak with an adult immediately.”
“Um, I’m not sure.” Jenn fingered the card. How would she get out of this situation? She needed an adult, someone who would be willing to lie to DHS. She had no idea where she’d find anyone to do that. Who could she trust? This wasn’t going to be just a little white lie, it would be a big, honking huge one.
What about Aeron?
Mrs. Tate’s eyes narrowed but her smile remained in place. “Could you please give her...?”
“Him,” Jenn said, making a snap decision. “My aunt’s oldest son has been staying with us. He’s nineteen.”
“O-okay.” Mrs. Tate didn’t look pleased. “Could you please give him my card and ask him to call me as soon as possible?”
“Sure.” Jenn stepped back, prepared to shut the door.
“Thank you.” Mrs. Tate shifted her bag on her shoulder, turned and cautiously walked down the slick steps.
Jenn instantly vowed to buy some salt and get those stairs cleared at once.
She shut the door then slumped against it.
She’d dodged a bullet. But she was far from being out of danger. Despite Mrs. Tate’s syrupy smile and soft voice, Jenn knew that woman was nobody to mess with.
She had to find an adult willing to pose as either her runaway aunt or her aunt’s fictional son. And the sooner, the better. Or Logan could be taken away. That would devastate both of them. But especially Logan.
Where would she find someone to help her? Who would be willing?
She thought about some of the guys she’d known from school. Only one was old enough, and there was no way she could ask him.
That left only one person.
Aeron?
She hadn’t seen him in days, and she had no idea how to find him. Would he be willing to lie to the authorities? Was she crazy for even thinking about this?
Crazy? Maybe. But she was desperate. Desperate enough to at least try.
At three-thirty, she dressed and set off for Logan’s school to pick him up. She didn’t run into Aeron on the way there. That was disappointing.
When Logan spied her waiting outside his classroom at the end of the day, he came bouncing up to her, his eyes all happy and sparkly. “Jenny, what’re you doing here?”
“I thought I’d walk with you today. Is that okay?”
“Sure.” They headed down the sidewalk, following the pack of children trudging ahead of them.
Jenn waited until they were within a block of home before asking, “Logan, have you spoken with Aeron recently?”
“Um...” He slid her a guilty look.
“Do you know where he lives?”
Logan shook his head. “Noooo.” His gaze dropped to the ground.
He was lying. Her brother was lying. To her.
Of course he was lying. He’d watched her lie over and over. What a great example I am. Feeling almost physically ill, she stopped walking, grabbed Logan’s arm and bent to look him straight in the eye. “Logan. It makes me so sad that you’re lying to me.”
“I’m not lying!”
�
�Tell me where he lives.”
“No.”
“This is important, Logan. I need to talk to him.”
“You’re going to tell him I can’t walk Cojack anymore.”
She released his arm and tried not to sound so angry. “I swear, this has nothing to do with Cojack. I need to talk to him about something else.”
Logan stared down at the ground. He kicked a stone and chewed on his lower lip. “Do you promise you’re not going to yell at him?”
“I promise.”
“Okay.” Logan motioned back toward the school. “His house is this way.” He led her back the way they’d come, stopping in front of a white vinyl-sided bungalow that looked very similar to theirs. “This is it.”
“Come on.” Jenn led him up the front steps then knocked on the door.
A minute or so later, Aeron was opening the door for them and ushering them inside. “Hey there, Logan. Are you here to walk Cojack again?”
Again?
Again. Before today, Jenn hadn’t been aware of Logan coming to walk Cojack at all. She slid her brother a questioning look.
Logan’s face paled. “My sister needs to talk to you.” Logan searched the tiny living room. “Where’s Cojack?”
“In the backyard,” Aeron said.
“Can I go play with him?” Logan asked Jenn.
“Sure,” Jenn said. “Just don’t leave the yard, okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” Logan dashed through the house like he lived there. Within seconds a distant thump signaled his exit out a back door somewhere.
Aeron motioned to the overstuffed couch that was way too big for the miniscule room. “What’s up?”
Jenn motioned to her wet boots.
He shrugged. “You saw Logan. These old floors aren’t going to get any uglier.”
She sat, crossed her arms over her chest, and bit her tongue. She wanted to say something about Logan’s visits, but she didn’t. She needed this guy’s help. It wasn’t going to be easy convincing him to help her as it was. If she angered or insulted him, it would be that much harder. “I’m here to ask a favor. A big one.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
Jenn fiddled with her coat as she glanced nervously around the room. “I wish I didn’t have to ask this. It’s a big deal. But I don’t know what else to do...”
“What?” Aeron sat on the couch’s arm, too close. “You know I like your little brother. He’s a good kid. Reminds me of someone I knew once.”
Jenn sighed. “I guess I might as well tell you the whole story. Our parents died. You knew that part, I think. What you didn’t know is that I’m not old enough to be Logan’s legal guardian. After our parents’ death the state tracked down an aunt we’d never met before. She showed up, stayed for a little while and then disappeared. It was actually a good thing, her leaving. She was weird. And I didn’t like her.”
“Wow.” Aeron grimaced.
“Anyway, a worker from Human Services just showed up at our house today, asking to speak to my aunt’s fictitious son. I made him up. You know. To buy some time?”
His lips twitched. It wasn’t a smile. It wasn’t a frown. “Yeah?”
Jenn couldn’t read Aeron’s expression. She had no idea what he was thinking. She blurted, “What do you think about pretending to be my older cousin?”
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her.
Four
He couldn’t have planned this better. Here he had been struggling to gain Logan’s trust because of Logan’s sister, and now the opportunity of a lifetime had just fallen into his lap.
It was perfect.
But…
Logan’s sister hadn’t stopped talking since she’d asked him to pose as her cousin.
“You’ll have to lie and say you’re living with us. But it won’t be for long, only a couple of weeks until I’m eighteen. Then I can petition the court to become Logan’s legal guardian. I have a steady source of income. So there won’t be a problem.”
Her eyes were so wide, so pleading.
So beautiful.
Her gorgeous face was creased with tiny lines of worry and fear, dark shadows staining the fine skin under her eyes.
He’d done well up to this point, finding a way to gain his clients’ trust while avoiding getting too close to other family members. Up till now.
There was something about Jennifer, something special. She wasn’t like the other girls, the ones he screwed for fun. Party girls. Easy girls. Fun girls. It wasn’t just how she looked; she was the most beautiful girl he’d ever met. She gave off this strange combination of strength and vulnerability. He didn’t just want to hook up with her for sex. He wanted to…know her. What would happen if he were forced to spend time with her? Alone?
No, he couldn’t do it. He was only human. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked to someone his age, had a real conversation with a girl. Sure, he’d had sex. Plenty of it. He could always find girls willing to sleep with him. But sex was sex. It took care of some needs. But not all of them. He liked Jennifer. What if she liked him too?
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t.”
Her lip started quivering, and his gut twisted.
Oh damn. Oh damn. His gaze locked on her mouth. She didn’t know what she was asking. But there was no use trying to explain it. Soon he would be leaving again, his next case taking him to God-only-knew where. Personal relationships weren’t possible. Not for him. Only physical ones. Brief. No-strings.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel lonely. That didn’t mean he didn’t long to spend hours and hours talking to someone who truly knew him.
Never before had that aching been so powerful. So overwhelming.
She did it to him. Jennifer. It was those eyes of hers. They pulled him in like a strong tide dragging a boat toward the reef. In the end, if he surrendered, they would both be destroyed. And then what?
“Please,” she said. “I realize you don’t know us very well. But if they take Logan away from me, I won’t have anything, anyone. They’ll all be gone. Everyone who mattered.”
He knew that pain. He had been there before.
“And Logan, she continued. “God only knows where they’ll take him. They could send him far away, to another state.”
That possibility hadn’t entered his mind. Until now. If Logan was moved suddenly, and he couldn’t find out where he was in time, that could put his whole case at risk.
But…
She added, “For some reason, Logan trusts you. I’m too scared to trust you, or anyone for that matter. But I’m desperate enough to put aside my fears and ask you for his sake. For Logan.”
She was trembling all over now. Aeron’s arms burned. He wanted to hold her until she wasn’t afraid anymore.
Where the hell was this coming from? He’d been lonely for years. Never before had he felt such an overwhelming urge to get close to someone. As luck would have it, that someone now needed his help. If he agreed to help her, he would have to keep his distance. Somehow.
How?
She crossed her arms over her body, basically enveloping herself in an embrace. It should be him holding her, his instincts told him. It should be him comforting her, telling her everything would be okay. And then, somehow, he should make it so.
If only that were possible.
“Aeron!” Logan shouted as he trotted through the house like a little wild colt. Cradling Cojack in his arms, he stopped in the center of the living room. His wide-eyed gaze jumped from him to Jennifer and back again. “What’s wrong? Why is Jenny crying?”
“It’s okay, Logan.” Jenn dragged her hand under her red, watery eyes and sniffled. “I was just…I’m allergic to something in the house. It’s making my eyes water.”
Logan wasn’t buying his sister’s explanation; Aeron could see that plainly on the boy’s face. “Hmmm.” His gaze found Aeron’s again. “Cojack is tired. He wants to rest.”
“That’s fine,” Aeron told him. “You
know where his bed is.”
Jenn stood. “We should get going. Thank you for talking to me about…the situation. I hope you’ll…” She paused, tracked Logan’s movement as he scampered back down the hall toward the spare bedroom where Cojack’s dog bed was kept. Quietly she said, “I hope you’ll keep this discussion to yourself.”
“Of course I will. Logan is a great kid. I don’t want to see him unhappy. I wish…” I wasn’t such a sissy ass. “I wish there was something I could do to help.”
“That’s okay. We’ll find another way. It’s just for a couple of weeks.”
Logan came back empty handed. “Cojack’s sleeping like a baby.”
“Thanks, buddy.”
“Jenny, now that you know I walk Cojack, can I come back tomorrow?” Logan asked as he slid his little hand into his sister’s. Together they walked toward the front door.
Her gaze flicked to Aeron’s, and something inside him snapped.
God help me.
“No,” Aeron said. “You can’t come back, Logan.”
Logan whirled around, his eyes full of confusion. “Why, Aeron? Why can’t I come over and walk Cojack? Jenny? Is this your fault?”
“Because we’re coming to stay with you for a couple of weeks,” Aeron blurted. “Me and Cojack.”
Logan’s face beamed. “You are?”
Jennifer. Her face. No angel shined brighter than she did.
His heart twisted. God help him, he was going to need all the strength he could get.
He cleared his throat. “We are. We’re coming to stay with you and your sister for a while. I’m going to pack up some things, and we’ll be there in a few.”
At the door, Jenn mouthed, with those perfect lips he could only dream of tasting, “Thank you.”
Jenn was fighting tears all the way back to the house. She had never been so relieved.
Aeron was going to help her. He was really going to do it!
She’d been absolutely terrified asking him. And when he had told her no, she’d been even more petrified, thinking he might report her to the authorities. Aeron had been so firm, so resolved in his refusal. Something had changed his mind. What had it been?
