Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109903 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
"They're not after Erik this time," Neil said. "They're bartering for you. Nicky can't go unless he brings you and Aaron with him."
"Problem solved." Andrew's smile was bright. "Denied. Maybe Abby will cook us a turkey instead. She did last year. She's a decent cook but can't bake to save her life. We'll have to bring a frozen pie again."
Neil refused to be distracted. "Why won't you go?"
"Why would I? Luther and I aren't friends."
"Last I checked, we're not your friends either," Neil said. "You still put up with us, so why won't you tolerate Luther? Nicky assumes it has to do with the way you met, but Luther's the one who got you out of juvie and back home with your mother, isn't he?"
"She was not my mother." Andrew waited a beat to make sure Neil understood and made a cutting gesture with his hand. "Cass, though, Cass? Cass would have been. She really wanted to be. Oh, you don't know. Here's a story for you, Neil. Listening? Cass wanted to keep me. She wanted to adopt me. Andrew Joseph Spear, she said. She collected all the paperwork but she wouldn't file without my consent. She thought I was old enough to choose."
"Spear," Neil echoed, startled. "Like—"
"Richard Spear," Andrew finished for him. "I told you all about him, yes? My last foster father."
"You mentioned him," Neil said slowly, stalling as he tried to process that bombshell. Richard Spear was the father Phil Higgins tried investigating in August. All Andrew said about him was that he was uninteresting and harmless. "What happened to make the adoption fall through, your arrest?"
"No, you have it backwards. I went to juvie because she wanted to adopt me. But she didn't give up on me. She thought a stable home could straighten me out, she said. Her biological son wanted to join the Marines after high school, so she even offered to reallocate part of his college fund to me. She wanted me to have a future. My own Stephanie Walker, of a sort."
Neil only recognized that name because he'd just talked to Renee. He nodded to show he was following. Andrew rocked onto the balls of his feet and reached for Neil. It was all Neil could do to not tense up when Andrew's hands wrapped around his neck. Andrew didn't hold tight enough to cut off his air but tapped his thumbs against Neil's throat in time to Neil's pulse.
"Luther would have let her have me if it was what I wanted. He knew Aaron's mother wanted nothing to do with me, but he wanted to make things right with me somehow. If Cass was 'right', he would fight on her behalf to get the adoption approved. Couldn't have that, could we?"
"Why not?" Neil asked, searching Andrew's expression. "What did Cass do to you?"
Andrew looked surprised. "Cass would never do anything to me."
"Then what went wrong?"
"That's a different story. This story is about Cass and Luther, isn't it? Luther said he could send me back to Cass. I gave him a secret to make sure he wouldn't."
"And he told someone," Neil guessed.
"No." Andrew tapped his fingers a little faster, an agitated rhythm completely at odds with the mocking smile on his lips. "That's too easy. These kinds of secrets are not given out lightly. You know that. We calculate collateral damage and escape routes. We plan and brace for the reaction and fallout. But Luther did not tell. He chose to not believe me at all. And that's a thousand times worse, you see."
"That depends on the secret," Neil said.
"True." Andrew let go of Neil and wheeled away. "Maybe it comes as a surprise to you, Neil, but I am not a very trusting person. If I tell a man the sky is blue and he tells me I am wrong, I am not inclined to give him a second chance. I see no reason to."
"So did Luther not believe you or did he say you were wrong?" Neil asked. "There's a significant difference between the two."
"Oh." Andrew half-turned to face him again. "Sometimes I forget you are sharper than you look."
Neil struggled with his memory, knowing the answer was right out of reach. He thought about Higgins' visit and Nicky's parents, and then Neil remembered sitting across from Andrew on a bench in the locker room to ask about Higgins' first phone call. He'd thought Andrew's parting words strange but he hadn't understood at the time. He wasn't sure he'd drawn the right conclusions now but it was worth a shot.
"He said it was a misunderstanding."
The way Andrew went so perfectly still, if only for a second, told Neil he was right.
"Shh," Andrew said, soft like he was reassuring a cornered animal. "Shh, don't say that. I hate the sound of that word. I warned you once so you'd know better than to use it again. Why would you risk it?"
"Andrew," Neil started.
"No."
Andrew didn't raise his voice, but he didn't have to for Neil to hear the warning in it. If Neil pushed the matter any further in the wrong direction Andrew would shut down and this conversation was over for good. Neil grasped at straws, looking for the right words to say to keep Andrew talking. Maybe Andrew was right and Nicky's parents would never accept him as he was, but Nicky needed to try.
"That was five years ago. Maybe he's sorry."
"You say that because you haven't met Luther," Andrew said.
"Can I?"
That was unexpected enough to get Andrew's undivided attention. "Oh? What? Neil, you wouldn't know what to do with a god-fearing minister. You can barely stand to be around Renee. There's no way you could last a sit-down with Luther. He'd end up exorcising you when you snapped."
"It could be entertaining," Neil said.
"It could be," Andrew allowed.
"Let's all go," Neil said. "Aaron will agree for Nicky's sake and Nicky can see if his parents have come around. There's no way you'll let Kevin that far out of your sights, so take him with you. I'll tag along so you can harass me instead of Luther. Imagine how uncomfortable Nicky's parents will be if they have to contend with the five of us."