Page 24 of His Reluctant Savior

“Savannah tells me you’re in some sort of trouble? Is there something I can do beyond watching over Owen?”

I shook my head. “I’m not dragging you into this any more than leaving Owen with you.”

“Actually,” Sid spoke up. “What’s your security like here on the farm? I know you specialize in cybersecurity, but do you have a good security system here? My job is to protect Dalton as he tries to sort through this mess. But I’d like to set up a couple of my own cameras if you don’t mind.”

Savannah planted her eyes on me with raised brows. “I thought you said we’d be safe, Dalton.”

“You are. There’s no way anyone knows about us.”

Sid gave her a reassuring smile, like the good salesman he was. Hell, he mastered getting me to trust him. “This is merely a precaution. I’ll just sleep better knowing I can keep an extra eye on things.”

Mason nodded. “I have everything secured around here. This area is very safe, but still, doing what I do for a living, I’m overly cautious, too. The land is monitored, and I have motion detectors, as well as a security room. We get a lot of wildlife around here, but my system can distinguish between animals and humans. But by all means, install some extra cameras, if it will give you peace of mind. I also have a couple of firearms on the property.”

“Excellent.” Sid stood and gripped my shoulder. “I’m going to go out and install the cameras while you two catch up.”

“Okay.”

Mason also stood. “I’ll go with you.”

Savannah watched the two men leave before turning her attention to me, frowning. “Are you sure we’re safe, Dalt?”

“Yes. These are all just precautions. And most of our personal connections have been scrubbed. It’s going to be very hard for anyone to find a link between us. Please know I wouldn’t leave you in danger. But honestly… nothing is one hundred percent. It’s okay if you want to back out of this. I’ll understand.” But I really needed her and didn’t know who else to leave Owen with.

She took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. I’ll do this for little Owen.”

“Thank you, Savvy. This means so much. What’s in danger is my life. Owen is only in danger while he’s in my presence. My leaving takes that danger away from all of you.”

I didn’t bother to tell her about the made-for-TV car chase and shootout, for obvious reasons. I felt like a damn fraud. Still, with her husband working in security, Sid’s extra help and security, and wiping away most of my connection to her, I was confident nothing would happen to her and her family. I also wouldn’t have left Owen here.

I chugged back half of my sweetened lemonade. “God, I need to do better as a friend. I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you more. Once this is over, I’ll try harder.”

She smiled softly and reached for my hand resting on the table. “You grieved for a long time. I always understood. How are you doing, by the way, beyond this?”

“This past year has been good… until the shit hit the fan. I’ve even been trying to date again. ‘Try’ being the operative word.”

“Good for you! Have you been on any dates yet?”

“Ugh, a couple, but they struggled with the single dad thing. Or everyone just wants to bone. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that, but that’sallthey wanted and that’s just not me.”

Savannah covered her mouth and laughed. “Blowing off steam could be good for you. Your right person will come along and love you and Owen equally. Just you wait. In the meantime, it’s okay to simply have some fun.”

I finished off my lemonade. “I don’t need to marry again or anything, but it has been kind of lonely lately. Regardless, it all needs to be put on the back burner for now.”

She looked out the window to where Mason and Sid were talking and laughing while pointing at the roof in the backyard. “Your old high school friend is cute. Is he gay, too?”

Sid was very attractive, more so now than when we were kids, since he’d been damn surly. “Maybe, but we’re not right for each other. There’s a long history between us from when we were teens, and most of it was bad, but…”

“But what?”

“Sid’s changed a lot. He’s so different… less broody.” Not to mention his fucking tragic backstory, but I didn’t tell her that.

“It has been over twenty-five years. You’ve changed a lot, too, since college.”

“True.”

Back in high school, even though he hated me, Sid had kissed me passionately and deeply, like he’d put his entire angry soul into it. I’d honestly forgotten it, since it’d been so long, but with him telling me his story, those memories were slowly being restored. Not only that, but I’d started to recall those times with Sid watching me, scowling. Now, I understood it had been more than that.Hell, he’d known I was gay before I had even told anyone, and I’d been extremely careful about showing my cards. But after dating Savannah, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I adored her too much to keep pretending to be someone I wasn’t.

While I grieved for Sid’s youth, I still struggled to understand what compelled him to help me. Apparently, he was risking everything.

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