Wayward Son (3 page)

“Now,” Jimmy said, pushing back and planting his hands on his knees. “I’ll let you take care of calling Evan or Riley whoever and getting Evan’s dad’s info, and I’ll call a few people I know to see if we can get a copy of the lawsuit.”

Mikey glanced at Cory. “Actually I think I probably should go back to Riley’s,” he said. “He doesn’t know what’s going on yet, and all my stuff is over there, and….” He shrugged. “You guys are being awesome, but I need to be able to do some of this for myself, you know?”

“We get it,” Jimmy said, shooting Cory a look Mikey figured was probably meant to keep him from disagreeing. “Just remember, you don’t have to do it all by yourself. Okay?”

Mikey nodded. “Okay.”

Jimmy stood then and pulled him up into a hug and another light kiss before passing him over to Cory for more of the same, but longer and with some playful groping added on. It got him laughing, as he was sure Cory intended, and by the time he’d gathered up his book, backpack, hoodie, and keys and headed out to his car, his heart felt several tons lighter.

D
ANCE
MUSIC
greeted Mikey when he unlocked and pushed open the door to Riley’s place, which was just starting to feel like home after almost a month. It helped to know Riley wanted him there so much he’d spent two years convincing Mikey to relocate from Orlando and was not just housing him but also paying for his tuition at the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design. A “Yeats scholarship,” Riley’s now-boyfriend Evan had called it—appropriate considering Riley’s wealthy family had its name plastered on all sorts of places around the city.

The music came from the kitchen, so Mikey headed that direction, expecting to find Riley elbow deep in some fancy concoction. He’d learned quickly that his friend and roommate enjoyed nothing better than trying out or creating a new recipe—unless it was hot sex with his ex-porn-star boyfriend.

Sure enough, Riley stood at the counter, bopping his hips to the beat as he cut up a pile of mushrooms on a cutting board. A big glass bowl next to his elbow held a riot of colorful vegetables—onions and peppers and potatoes, at least—and as Mikey watched, Riley scooped up the mushrooms and dumped them into the bowl too. The movement turned his head enough that he caught sight of Mikey and jumped slightly before grinning widely.

“Hi there!” he exclaimed, setting down his knife and then wiping his hands on the towel tucked into the pocket of the black apron he wore. “I was wondering where you were. I know you don’t have class tonight.”

Everything came rushing back into Mikey’s mind, and he sagged into a chair at the kitchen table. “I didn’t,” he said. “I was at Cory’s. It’s… well, it’s kind of a long story.”

Riley studied his face for a long moment. “All right,” he finally said. “Let me get this finished up and in the oven, and we’ll have a little sit-down.”

Mikey slumped forward, folding his hands on the table and resting his chin on top. “Whatcha making?” he asked, though his appetite had deserted him.

“Roasted vegetables,” Riley answered, turning back to his cutting board. “Just have a few more mushrooms to cut up, and then it’s olive oil, seasoning, and into the oven for a bit.”

Mikey watched as Riley did just what he said, adding oil and spices and then tossing everything with his hands before pouring it all into a baking pan. He put the pan into the oven, which was already on, and then took enough time to wash and dry his hands before crossing to the fridge.

“Ginger ale?” he asked, and Mikey half shrugged, half nodded. Whatever would do.

A minute later Riley put a tall glass in front of Mikey and settled into the seat next to him with his own drink. “All right, so tell me what’s got you so upset.”

Mikey sat up long enough to take a sip of the ginger ale. He put the glass back down and watched a drop of condensation roll down the side. “Somebody in Florida sued me, and now my job thinks I’m gonna do something bad to a kid.”
Well, that’s to the point
, he thought.

Riley’s jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?” he finally
managed, and Mikey shot him an “as if” look in response. “No, of course you wouldn’t kid about something like that,” Riley said. “What the hell, Mikey?”

Mikey blew out a breath and went back to resting his chin on his hands. “They did a background check because some of my job would be working one on one with kids. And the people who did the check sent some kind of letter to my job, and they told me because I work with kids that I couldn’t work there until it got cleared up. Cory got Jimmy, and Jimmy got a little more info, but we can’t do much until I actually get served papers or whatever.”

“Mmm-hmmm.” Riley reached over and patted Mikey’s arm. “When Evan gets home, we’ll call his dad. If he can’t help, I bet he knows someone who can.”

Relief washed over Mikey that he hadn’t even needed to ask. Despite this mess, it sure seemed like he’d picked the right group of guys to hang around with.

He managed to give Riley a small smile. “Thanks,” he said. “I was going to ask, but….”

Riley laughed softly. “It’s easier when someone beats you to the offer, isn’t it?”

Mikey’s halfhearted smile widened into a small grin. “Always.”

Riley nodded toward Mikey’s glass. “Drink your ginger ale,” he ordered, reaching for his own glass. “I’ve got some chicken to cook. Evan’s due home in about half an hour, and we’ll talk over dinner.”

Mikey straightened up and reached for his drink. “Okay,” he agreed, settling in to watch as Riley jumped up and got back to work.

“I’
M
NOT
sure how much help Dad can be.” Evan cut another piece of chicken as he spoke. “He does mostly personal-injury stuff, so it’s not really his area of expertise.”

At Riley’s prompting, Mikey had laid out the story with a little more detail than he’d given Riley, though he still didn’t know the whole story himself. Mikey toyed with a piece of roasted potato. “Yeah, I know. I thought he might know someone who could help if he can’t.” He sighed. “It’s not like I have money to hire some high-powered cutthroat guy to nip this in the bud. I might not even have a job anymore.”

“Hey.”

Mikey jerked his head up at Riley’s sharp tone.

“Don’t worry about the money,” Riley said. “Even if we can’t find a lawyer who’ll take the case pro bono, you know I’m not about to leave you hanging.” He pointed his fork at Mikey, cutting off his automatic protest. “I’ve already got a lot invested in you.” A smile played around his lips. “I’m not going to lose out because some lowlife thinks they can take you down.”

Mikey sat up straighter. “Hang on,” he said. “Why would anyone think taking me down would do them any good? I’ve got nothing anyone would want, just a beat-up Chevy and some art supplies.”

Riley’s eyes widened. “Damn,” he drawled out. “We should’ve thought of that already.”

Evan looked back and forth between them. “I think I’m missing something here.”

Riley kept his gaze on Mikey as he spoke. “It’s not Mikey they’re after,” he said. “They want someone with way deeper pockets paying the bills.”

Mikey leaned back in his chair, air whooshing out of his lungs as Riley continued. “And the Reverend Robert J. O’Malley, pastor of a flock of thousands, has all the deep they could wish for.”

His father. He should’ve figured it out sooner.

That changed everything.

A
S
SOON
as they finished dinner, Riley sent Evan into the living room to call his dad while Mikey helped Riley clean up. “We do the ‘I cook, he cleans’ thing a lot,” Riley confided as they worked, “even though I keep telling him I’ve got more time for that kind of stuff. Plus—” He leaned back and listened for a second to catch Evan’s voice still on the phone. “—he tries, but he doesn’t always get things clean enough.”

Mikey rolled his eyes and swiped the towel over the baking sheet he was drying. “The fact that we’re standing here washing dishes by hand when you have a perfectly good dishwasher wouldn’t have anything to do with that at all.”

Riley pulled the plug from the sink and then flicked water at him. “I just don’t like dirty dishes sitting there for days until it’s full enough to run it.” He stopped short and then laughed. “Yeah, all right, you’ve got me there. I’ll admit to a perfectionist streak. At least I don’t yell if his socks end up beside the laundry hamper instead of in it.”

A knot formed in Mikey’s stomach. Evan had practically been living there for the past couple of weeks, first because he needed someone to keep an eye on him while he recovered from a concussion and then just because he wanted to be there. He’d gone home to get more clothes a few times, but he hadn’t spent a night anywhere but Riley’s bed.

“You know,” Mikey said carefully, “I can find someplace else if you want. I know you and Evan need some time alone to get used to all this—”

“Don’t be silly,” Riley cut in. He turned to face Mikey, who couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “This is your home now, Mikey. If you decide you want to move out, get your own place or move in with… with someone, then that’s great. You wouldn’t hurt my feelings at all. But whether Evan’s here or not makes no difference at all.” He grinned then. “As long as we’re not keeping you up at night or anything.”

They’d been pretty quiet, actually, though Mikey’d spent several nights sleeping at Cory’s anyway. He probably would’ve been over there even more, but between starting classes and work and Cory’s own schedule at his advertising agency, they hadn’t had all that much time.

Mikey shrugged. “I just don’t want you to feel crowded or anything. If you need some time alone, just say so, and I can make myself scarce.” He forced himself to look Riley in the eye. “You wouldn’t hurt my feelings. Really. I get it. And I won’t feel like I need to move out just because you want a little alone time. I promise.”

“Good.” Riley pulled him into a quick hug, which Mikey returned, lingering for a moment before pulling away. “Now. Let’s go see if Mr. Day has any ideas about what to do with this craziness. As if anyone would buy you hurting a fly, much less a child.”

Mikey followed Riley into the living room, warmth filling him. So many people had his back, something he was still getting used to after so many years of going it alone. His friend Kitty Chapman, his roommate back in Florida, had been great, but she’d had family issues of her own to deal with. Her parents were top members of his father’s congregation, and Kitty was a rebel like him. Not gay—far from it—but she loved rock music, dancing, and especially sex, and not just vanilla stuff either.

I should call her
, Mikey thought. He filed that away for later, though, when he saw Evan sliding his phone into his pocket.

“So what’s the good word?” Riley grabbed Evan’s hand and pulled him down onto the sofa, curling against his side. Mikey curled up on his own in the overstuffed chair he loved because it felt like sitting on a cloud.

“He’ll take the case.” Evan smiled at Mikey as he said it, and Mikey sat up straight, stunned.

“But I thought—”

Evan’s smile widened. “He’s branching out,” he said, wrapping an arm around Riley and pulling him in even tighter. “He doesn’t want to stay in personal injury. Said he’s tired of being called an ‘ambulance chaser’ and all that. He already cancelled his ads and stuff.”

“Wow.” Riley leaned over to press a kiss against Evan’s jaw. “I guess he really has changed.”

Mikey’s heart dropped at that. He was happy for Evan, sure. He’d been estranged from his parents for five years until they’d reconciled just a few weeks earlier, and Evan’s father in particular seemed to be going out of his way to make up for the time they’d lost. But somehow Mikey didn’t think his relationship with his parents was going to go that way. Not when it meant they’d probably have to give up the prestige they enjoyed from his father’s job.

Mikey realized Evan was talking again. “Anyway. He and Mom have company this weekend, or he’d see you sooner, but he said you can come in first thing Monday and see where to go next. Are you okay with going to his office? I can get him to come here if you want.”

Mikey shook his head at that. “No. No, I need to handle this head-on. I’ll go to his office.” Before either of them could protest that, he held up a hand. “Thank you so much for the help,” he said, measuring his words carefully. He’d gotten what Jimmy said about accepting help from friends, but…. “But I need to do this stuff myself.”

Neither Evan nor Riley looked convinced—which was fine because Mikey wasn’t so sure about it either. He didn’t know why he felt so strongly about handling things on his own. He just did.

Evan nodded anyway. “I’ll write down the info for you and leave it on the kitchen counter if you aren’t around. He’s got an opening at eleven on Monday.”

Mikey forced a smile. “Great.” He pushed himself up. “I need to get some reading done. I have homework and stuff.”