Page 15 of Love Takes Home

“You know I help them sometimes with music therapy for some of the kids, and any of their kids who want them, get free music lessons.”

“Sarge told me about that. I spend a lot of weekends and late nights out there. Sometimes all they need is validation that they exist.”

“And that they matter to someone. That’s all any of us really want, isn’t it?”

We continue talking about Sarge’s unofficial kids and how music can help. He asks about my schedule at school in the fall, and I try to ask him about his job, but he doesn’t tell me much. He does give me the details about how he knows my dad. And how Dad knows his full, real name.

“You sometimes work with my dad, who knows the lawyer you work with down the range, and that’s how you met?” I sum up what he told me.

“Pretty much.”

“That doesn’t explain how he knows your full name.”

“Oh, that’s because he helped me purchase this place.” He waves around the room. “We use it for work sometimes.”

“This is a tax write off?”

“Something like that.” He chuckles. Sigh, that sound is like angels singing. “Sometimes when we get the families out, we need a few days to get their paperwork and stuff taken care of.”

“So you use this place as like a safe house?”

“That’s exactly what it is. They feel safe, we can keep them protected, and it’s not cramming them all into a hotel room with no security.”

“And that’s all my dad does for you? Facilitate real estate?”

He squints his eyes at me. “What do you know?”

“Things. I know he does more than real estate and contracts.”

“It’s amazing the relationship you have with your dad versus the one Davis seems to have with him.”

“Well, yeah. Some of that is because they are so alike. They butted heads a lot when Davis was younger. But have you met Davis? Until he met you all, there was no middle ground for him—ever. Everything was black and white. Right and wrong. And Dad was doing dad things. So he started removing himself from parts of Davis’s life. I’ve tried to get them to talk to each other, but it’s so ingrained to avoid each other, that’s what they still do.”

“That’s kind of sad.”

“It is. But he would rather be the silent parent who is still aware of what’s going on than be completely removed from his life.”

“One of them has to budge at some point, right?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully, one day? And he’s always been a mama’s boy and I’ve always been daddy’s princess.”

“I can see that.” He grins at me.

“Hey!” I smack his arm, laughing. “Don’t be mean.”

“Sorry, sorry! What is the plan when you go back? I know your dad’s been calling you about it.”

“The plan is that I will be a twenty-seven-year-old woman living back at her parents’ house in her childhood bedroom. They’ve already moved me out of the townhouse.”

“They moved you? Like went in and packed your stuff?”

“Uh-huh.” I cringe, hoping they just picked up the bedside table whole. Fuck, I’ll need to place an order again to replace Bob, won’t I?

“That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

“Short term. I’ll find a new place as quickly as possible and move right back out.”

“Wasn’t the townhouse yours?”

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