I stand and extend my hand. “Thank you so much for your time, Patrice. And I appreciate you reaching out to me. Trevor works a lot, so sometimes it’s hard for him to follow up with these things.”
Patrice smiles again, and then she nods while accepting my hand. “Of course. It’s no problem at all.”
When I get in my car, I call Trevor.
“Hey, Vi,” he answers on the first ring. “How’d the meeting go? I’m sorry I couldn’t get out of my lunch appointment.”
I relax back into my seat and sigh. “Fine. She was very complimentary but mentioned her concern with the zoning out in class. His counselor wants to get him evaluated for an accommodation plan and—”
“What the fuck is an accommodation plan?”
A cringe seizes my body. “It’s just a plan to ensure he’s getting the extra attention he needs in class. She thinks it can help.” Trevor mutters something under his breath that I can’t understand, so I continue before he can speak up. “She thinks extracurricular activities would be good for him too.”
“Jesus Christ. The kid’s five.”
Trevor’s defensive nature never helps matters. “Well, his counselor believes it will provide a healthy distraction. It’s worth a try. I’m going to look into some things, and I’ll let you know.”
“Fine. Keep me updated.”
I’m thankful that his agitation seems to be dwindling already.
“Oh, hey,” he says. “You’ll never believe what I just heard at lunch.”
I frown, wondering if this is a subject I’ll even care about. “What’s that?”
“The Bexleys are back and roaming around that old camp of theirs. I thought for sure those boys would sell after their pops bailed on the place.”
The silence between us is so long I worry Trevor will figure that not only have I been to that camp but I work there now. “H-how did you find that out?”
“My lunch date, a potential buyer. Said he went to some grand reopening event and the Bexley brothers were there. But get this. I guess Cayson got banged up pretty bad in the Air Force and is doing in-home care at the camp. Hope the dude’s okay. But I guess that explains why Benny and Jami came back. After what happened with Ty, I bet they were all scared shitless they were going to lose another brother.”
A chill snakes through me. The way Trevor tells the story so casually makes me ill. He hung out at that camp almost as much as I did growing up. The Bexleys gave him jobs during weekends and summers, no questions asked. Yet I’ve secretly wondered if he’s always hoped that their business would cave one day. Hell, maybe he was hoping to sell the property.
“That’s really sad news. I hope he’s going to be okay.” Not willing to say more on the subject, another beat of silence stretches between us, this one feeling colder.
“Yeah, well,” he starts up again, “they won’t stick around. Benny hates that place, and I hear Jami’s a big playboy in Seattle now. Living it up.” Trevor chuckles. “I guess that’s no different from when we were all friends. That guy couldn’t stay single for more than a minute, could he?”
I hate the way my insides are cramping. How is it that Jami’s name is all I’ve been hearing today? I shouldn’t care. I certainly shouldn’t feel the need to defend Jami to Trevor. The fact that Trevor used to claim Jami as his best friend doesn’t evade me either. He never even seemed to care that Jami moved away. And there were times when I suspected he was relieved that he did.
“I really wouldn’t remember, Trevor. It’s been a long time.” I know I sound as exhausted as I feel. “Look, I need to get back to the studio. I’ll see you Thursday when I drop Bray off.”
“Unless you want to grab lunch sometime this week to talk about all this school stuff. And us.”
My head is spinning. How can he still think there’s a chance between us a year after our divorce? “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t want to give Bray the wrong idea.”
“And what would that be?” he snaps. “That his parents still love each other and are working on their relationship?”
“We’re not…” I stop myself before I can finish what feels like a snappy reply. I don’t know if it’s my exhaustion or everything that’s happened since seeing Jami again, but I need to put a stop to this conversation. Knowing Trevor, I need to do it carefully. “What we need to work on,” I start, my tone even-tempered, “is how to co-parent Bray without hurting him or giving him false hope. If this year has taught me anything, it’s that while we were meant to have Brayden together, we weren’t meant to stay together.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do. And I’m sorry, because I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s time to move forward and put Brayden first. I need to go.”
“Wait, Vi—”
“Goodbye, Trevor.”
Chapter Fourteen
JAMISON
The staff room in the main office is slammed Thursday evening when I get to camp. It seems everyone and their brother is there, mainly in the staff room. Given the mostly eaten cake, the colorful streamers, and cold beers being consumed, I guess I missed an epic birthday party.
Sidling up to Anderson, I give him a nudge with my elbow. “Who’s big day is it?”
He gives me a strange look. “Hope’s. Don’t you check your email? I tried to give you a heads-up this morning.”
My head falls back with my cringe. I can’t believe I almost missed his girlfriend’s birthday celebration. Hope is practically part of the family at this point. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I was in face-to-face meetings all day. I didn’t even open my email.”
He nudges me back with his elbow. “Don’t sweat it. You can make it up to her tonight.”
Confused, I swivel to face him. “Tonight? I’m training three new hires at the saloon.”
He grins. “Exactly. Hope’s party will be there. Your trainees will have plenty of opportunities to show you what they’re made of.”
I cock a brow. “You sure about that?”
Anderson chuckles. “Relax. You know most of the party guests anyway. They’re all staffers, with the exception of Silver and Kingston.”
Raising my palms, I shake my head. “I’m relaxed. Just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Staffers get half off everything at the saloon. And they tip like shit.”
Anderson claps me on the back and squeezes. “Let me ease your fears, money boy. Tonight it’s full price and it’s open bar. I’m picking up the tab.” He winks. “And I don’t tip like shit. How does that sound?”
I grin because not only has my brother livened up since he took over running the camp, but he’s so ridiculously head over heels in love with Hope that I barely recognize the man he’s become. In fact, he might even remind me of the brother I remember from our childhood—always showing me the way, passionate in all his pursuits, a born leader in every sense of the word. It’s nice to have that guy back.