Page 79 of Yolo

He came right in.

“He sat down on the couch.” She paused. “Now lying down.”

“Shit,” I said. “Do you think his wife is at home?” I was mentally slapping myself in the forehead for not getting Pepper’s number. “They have kids.”

“Call Garrett.”

I bit my lip. “Can you try? I don’t want to hang up with you.”

It just didn’t sound like the right thing to do at that moment in time, losing that connection. I didn’t want Atlas to go wandering off when I couldn’t find him.

“Sure.” She paused, and I heard ringing. Then a call failed sound. “Went to voicemail.”

“Is he not moving?” I asked.

“Doesn’t look like it,” she answered. “Looks like he’s nice and comfortable.”

“Then help me start knocking on some houses,” I begged. “Rufus, Rooster. Let’s go.”

“No cars in that driveway, either,” my mom said ten minutes later. “This house looks a little bit different than the others. More of a classy, timeless look. It’s nice, but doesn’t fit with the motif.”

I thought about Garrett and how he’d explained, in detail, everyone’s houses.

Thinking back, I realized he’d given me so much detail because he wanted me to be able to envision their houses.

The sweetness of the man came in handy now because I remembered another little tidbit about the houses that Garrett had mentioned. Atlas’s house had been designed differently because he liked the “cottage” style when he’d started to look into building his house.

“This has to be it,” I murmured.

“There’s a Ring doorbell,” Mom said. “If you reach to the left and press that button just to the left of the door.”

I did as she instructed, and the sound of the doorbell ringing clanged.

“Bindi, oh my gosh. Are you all right?” Pepper asked, sounding worried.

I imagined that she would be when a blind woman was at her door at night.

“Pepper,” I said, relieved. “Hey. I have an issue.”

“What is it? Oh my gosh. Atlas is there. Knock on the door. He’ll wake up. Maybe.” She groaned. “He had a really hard day at work the last couple of days. It might take him a while to orient himself.”

“That’s actually why I’m here,” I admitted. “I just let Atlas into my house—my mom is on FaceTime with me—and he went to lie down on Garrett’s couch.” I paused. “Are your kids home?”

She inhaled sharply. “The baby is.”

I bit my lip. “Is there anyone else at home? I tried knocking on a few doors before I got to this one, but no one is answering.”

“That’s because we’re all at the circus,” she groaned. “Fuck. He’d been doing so good.”

“My husband sleepwalks,” Mom piped in. “When he was overly, overly tired anyway. I imagine that’s much the same for you. But much to popular belief, you can wake a sleepwalker up. They just become disoriented for a bit because they’re not where they went to sleep originally.”

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to unlock my door. Could you go check on the baby?” she said. “I wasn’t supposed to be gone this long, but the circus is the circus, and the kids were having a blast playing with their cousins. I can call Germaine and Garnett, and they can come over.”

“I can watch him,” I suggested. “It’s their anniversary. I don’t want to interrupt their night. As long as you’re comfortable with me watching the baby.”

She was silent for a long second before she said, “I just met you today, and I got a great vibe off of you. I feel like if you’re in Garrett Parrot’s house, then you really are important to him. And let’s just say, the broody Garrett doesn’t usually let anyone inside his home or his heart. For you to be there, you’re special. So yes, I trust you with my son.”

The lock in front of me made a whirling sound and then, “Before you go in, can I have your number?”

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