“And I’m happy for him.” Johnny smiled. “He’s a good kid.”
“Please don’t do this. Yes, he went out and got drunk, but don’t you remember being eighteen? I do. I got hammered all the time. Now he’s finally made a friend, finally on the right track… this could set him all the way back to square one. All the hard work he’s done would be for nothing. Please don’t kill his dream of being a psychologist. I’ll owe you a favor.”
Johnny furrowed his bold eyebrows and sighed. He rubbed his palm over the AC/DC logo on his shirt. “Fuck, do you know what you’re asking me, West? I could lose my job.”
“I know, but I love this kid.” I paused when I said the words and looked at Shane. It was the truth. I did love Shane, and not just as Carter’s little brother. I loved him because he was my Boy, my partner. The thought made me smile. “I’d do anything for him. Tell me what you want.”
Johnny took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. I didn’t know if his slumped shoulders were from exhaustion or because I was asking him to do something that could get him fired—maybe both. “You’ll owe me a big fucking favor if I make this disappear.”
“Yes, definitely.”
“I got a kid on my caseload. He’s a good kid, nineteen, came from an abusive home. He did some bad shit, peddling ice that ended up killing a couple of rich kids. He doesn’t have the money to get himself a good lawyer. The one the court appointed him is a shitbag.” Johnny gave me a stare-down, jaw twitching like he didn’t know if he wanted to clench it or not. “You agree to defend him, free of charge, I’ll make this test go away.”
“Deal,” I said without hesitation. Not only did I want Shane clear of this, but I also had a weak spot for people who needed help. Everyone deserved a chance.
Johnny shook his head. “You’re an asshole, West.” His amusement was obvious, though, by his light tone.
I laughed, slapping him on the shoulder. “What are friends for?”
He pointed at me. “He doesn’t do it again. He needs to stay off the drink until he no longer sees me, got it? I’m not gonna let him off the hook a second time. There should be one more test around October.”
“Got it. I’ll pull him into line.”
Johnny’s eyes narrowed, like he didn’t quite believe me, but he nodded anyway. We walked back to Shane, who peered up at us with teary eyes. “Am I going to prison?”
Johnny cleared his throat. “No. Your test results came back clean.”
Shane frowned. “But you said—”
“They came back clean, Shane.” Johnny stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I don’t want to see a result with alcohol in your system, got it?” The word again was in there, just unsaid.
Shane nodded sharply and wiped at his tears. “I promise.”
Johnny patted him on the shoulder. “I’m glad you’re getting your life together, kid. I think you’d be an amazing psychologist. Just don’t ruin it for yourself. You’re free to leave.”
Johnny gave me a final smile before he left the office, grumbling about getting coffee. I waited until the door closed behind him before I gathered Shane in my arms, kissing his forehead gently. “It’s okay. It’s over.”
“What did you do?” he whispered into my shoulder, his arms hooked under my armpits and holding me tightly.
“I fixed it, but you only get one chance. While I’m glad you made a friend in David, you can’t risk this happening again. No more drinking, not until you’re in the clear from the court, okay? If David doesn’t understand that, he doesn’t deserve to be your friend.”
“I promise.” He nuzzled his face against my jaw and then laid gentle kisses in a line down my throat on the sensitive skin, pausing where my neck met my shirt collar. “I’m sorry, Daddy.”
“Don’t be.” I breathed him in, the scent of my soap on him making my belly twist with need. “You’re allowed to relax every so often. You’re going back to school soon.”
“I know, but I’m underage. I should have known better.” He tilted his chin back and stared at me. “I won’t disappoint you again.”
I smiled down at him, stroking my hand over his jaw and along his throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed under my caress. “You’ve never disappointed me, Boy. You mean the world to me.”
“Yeah?” He sucked on his bottom lip. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“Always.” I dropped a kiss on his lips and savored the taste of his minty toothpaste. “Now let’s go home.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Chapter 17
Shane
The therapist’s office had a Southwestern theme, with indigenous prints labeled by region and tribe hanging nicely next to oversized dream catchers tacked onto the walls. The gems on the woven threads caught the light in the room and refracted rainbows across us. West was strangely beautiful as the sparkles danced over his face, but he squinted and shifted his chair so the light hit the wall behind us instead of him. The way I was feeling right now, though, the overdone decorations were enough to put me off Tex-Mex and the idea of visiting the desert for the rest of my life. My stomach did a roll and dropped to my toes.
“You had no right to do this without asking me first.” The uncomfortable old chair I sat on vibrated when I gripped the arms, but when I glanced around in confusion, I caught sight of my knee jiggling up and down like a jackhammer. There was no way to stop it. “Bullshit, that’s what this is.” I cast a quick look at West, but for once he didn’t seem to care about my language. His jaw was so tight he could probably crush a walnut with his teeth.
“I am curious as well about what you hoped to accomplish with your maneuvering,” West said. Daddy’s words were soft, but he had that dangerous tone, the one that promised I’d sit for hours with a raging hard-on, getting no relief. I shivered. Okay, maybe we’d been playing a lot, if him sounding mad as fuck could get my dick to punch awake. Closing my eyes, I tried to convince my body to behave, but I was already so furious, and weirdly upset, that my fingertips and toes were tingling.
West sat hunched in his seat next to me with his head propped up on one hand. He wasn’t frowning, but I knew that slightly pissed-off, irritated gleam in his eyes. I sighed at Dr. Edwards. He sat across his desk with an old-school notepad and pen out to jot down interesting tidbits about me. Sweet-faced and gray-haired, he reminded me of Mr. Rogers with the red cardigan he wore. Dr. Edwards leaned forward and steepled his fingers over the lined yellow paper. He hadn’t bothered with any notes yet today.
“I didn’t seek them out. They called because their insurance was billed by my office and they wanted to know why. I had to tell them you were coming here.” He took a deep breath like he was dealing with someone being annoying and smiled at me. “You don’t think they have a right to a relationship with you? Where is this resentment coming from? They’re your parents. Parents love their children. You’ve presented me no reason to doubt that. You weren’t abused. They raised you.”
He couldn’t have done anything more likely to make my temper pop if he’d reached over and slapped Daddy. Who was he to judge me? I was close to ditching this asshole.