Chapter Seven
Nate was still thinking about Ellie singing and dancing to Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” when he pulled into the diner’s parking lot. Ellie couldn’t sing worth a damn but the woman had some sweet moves. Except sweet wasn’t how they made him feel—sweet or friendly.
No, his feelings for Ellie were clearly going in the wrong direction. A dangerous direction for a guy like him. Yesterday’s kiss he could dismiss as a one-off—sort of—but his reactions to her beating the poker buddies at cards, his late-night dinner with her on the balcony, and her musical performance this morning weren’t so easily explained away. It was a good thing he’d left today. She got to him, and that wasn’t the kind of complication he needed in his life.
He shut down the engine, took off his helmet, and kicked the stand into place. Turning at the sound of rap music blasting from the black truck to his right, he narrowed his eyes at the long-haired kid with his feet up on the dash. Clouds of smoke puffed out of the open windows. Nate walked over to the driver’s-side door and leaned in, turning off the music and snagging the keys.
Ryder’s gaze shot to him. “What the hell?”
“Back atcha, kid. Your mother know you’re out here smoking weed?”
His eyes were barely visible underneath all that hair, but Nate was pretty sure the question earned him an eye roll.
“Toss the joint, and let’s get something to eat.”
Ryder blew smoke in Nate’s face and gave him the finger.
“Nice. Suit yourself.” He forced himself to walk away. If he didn’t, he’d be tempted to drag Ryder out of the truck and frog-march him into the diner. No wonder Gina had sounded desperate. The kid was obviously out of control.
He spotted Gina the moment he walked into the diner. She sat at the red vinyl booth with her chin propped in her hand, staring out the window.
“Hey.” He leaned in to give her a hug. She wore a brown leather jacket over a white T-shirt paired with jeans and a truckload of vibrant jewelry around her neck and wrist. She looked exhausted. Beautiful, but exhausted.
“Hey, Nate.” She returned his hug and then nodded at the window. “Did you have a nice chat with my delinquent son?”
“Saw that, did you?” He slid into the bench seat across from her. “So you know he’s smoking a joint in your truck?”
“Oh yeah. He doesn’t even bother hiding it anymore.” She held up her phone. “I’m tempted to call the cops. Maybe that will scare him straight.”
“How long has this been going on, Gina?” He glanced over his shoulder at the truck.
He’d spent time with Ryder after Brodie’s funeral. The kid had been angry and grieving but nothing like the surly teenager Nate had just encountered.
The last time Nate had spoken to Brodie, he’d been bragging about how well Ryder was doing in school and on the basketball court. The kid had been a straight-A student and a natural athlete.
“He started acting out not long after the funeral.”
“You should have told me.”
She absently stirred the black coffee in her mug, turning her head to look out the window. “I was angry at you. I blamed you for Brodie dying. He wanted to be a teacher. He’d still be here if he’d followed his dream.”
Nate leaned back in the booth, feeling like he’d been sucker punched. “I didn’t talk him into joining the sheriff’s department, Gina. You know that.”
“You didn’t talk him out of it either.” She moved the spoon in slow circles. “He looked up to you, Nate. You were his hero. He would have done anything to make you proud.”
And that’s what got him killed. Gina didn’t have to say it.
“I warned him he was in over his head.” He had, only his warning had come too late.
“It doesn’t matter. Nothing can bring him back.” She lifted her gaze to his. “Don’t think I don’t know I have my own blame to shoulder. I shouldn’t have left him. Shouldn’t have taken Ryder. He blames me too, you know. Ryder. I met someone six months ago. He went from surly to outright defiant and combative.”
“You have nothing to feel guilty about, Gina. Brodie would want you to be happy.”
“Try telling that to my kid.”
“I will if you want me to.”
“I want you to take him, Nate. That’s what I really want. I’m scared he’s going to get himself killed or hurt someone else. You’re the only one I can turn to. The only one who stands a chance of getting through to him.”
He stared at her, stunned. “I can’t. I can’t do it, Gina. I have a job. I—” He caught himself before he shared what he was doing. When he’d told her they’d put away the people directly responsible for Brodie’s murder, she’d been relieved. He couldn’t tell her it wasn’t over. “Look, even if I could take a few days, there’s no way Ryder would agree to stay with me.”
“That’s why he’s here, Nate. I told him what I was going to ask you, and he came. Sure, he put up a fuss, yelled and ranted, but he still came. As much as you were Brodie’s hero, you were Ryder’s too.”
“That’s not fair.” He waved off the waitress approaching with a pot of coffee.
Gina shrugged. “I don’t care. I’ll do whatever I have to to save my son. Even if it means guilting you into taking him. You’re his godfather, Nate.”
He swore under his breath. “I don’t even have a damn place to stay. I didn’t renew the lease on my place.”
He’d thought it was a good idea at the time. In the past year, he’d spent a grand total of three weeks at his apartment in Asheville. The town was an hour and forty minutes from Highland Falls. He’d grown up there. His family still lived there. So did Gina. “What about school?” he asked, desperate for an out.
“He got expelled last week.” She smiled.
He was trapped, and she knew it. “All right. I’ll take him. For a week at most, Gina.”
“Two weeks. That’s how long his suspension is, and I have to work. I can’t leave him on his own.”
It sounded like a lifetime. “What about your mom or Brodie’s?”
“They’ve washed their hands of him. I wasn’t kidding, Nate. You’re my last hope, and his.”
“Now would you look who’s here,” said a familiar voice behind Nate.
He bowed his head and groaned. How the hell had Mrs. M known where to find him? She slid into the booth beside him, and Colin took a seat beside Gina, casting Nate an apologetic glance. That answered the question of how she’d found him. Leave it to Mrs. M to hook up with a former CIA agent.
“I’m Agnes, but everyone calls me Granny MacLeod.” Mrs. M offered her hand to Gina. Nate grabbed Agnes’s hand and put it on the table, covering it with his own.
At Gina’s raised eyebrow, he said, “Don’t ask.”
“I have the second sight. It makes Nate nervous.” Agnes shifted on the bench to look at him. “You never did tell me what I saw when I did your reading.”
“Yeah, and I never will.”