Page 17 of Subtracting the Heart

The rest of the boys who stayed at the house were between eighteen and twenty, but they were sporadic residents. Roberta Stubbe talked to the younger boys on a regular basis, but Cade couldn’t fool himself to think it counted if the cops showed up.

“Where do his folks live?” Jax was referring to Ashton.

“A fancy apartment downtown. He won’t go home willingly, I’m sure, and if they report him missing, I’m fucked. That’s why the cops don’t bother us here at the shelter because nobody reports the other kids missing. Their parents threw them out,Jackson. They’re not runaways. They’re castoffs.” Cade did his best to hold in the tears. The truth was awful, but it was unavoidable.

Jax pulled him into his arms and kissed him again. “I’d say I’ll take him home to his folks, but that might be more problematic.”

“Yeah, they’d arrest you for sure. He’s thirteen, Lucky, and you sure don’t need that hassle. Anyway, I have a question. Do you think you might be able to talk to Kenneth Shaw about maybe giving us a budget to make some repairs, paint, and maybe get a few pieces of workout equipment for the kids? Maybe we can find a used BowFlex on Craigslist or something? There’s nowhere around here for them to burn off energy and be teenagers.”

Jax raised his eyebrows. “What? Wait, babe? What about that basketball court at the end of the block?”

“That’s fine if you have a ball. Oh, and it’s snowing outside right now so what should I have them do? Build snowmen? They need something to look forward to, Lucky. They’ll work for anything they’re offered, but nobody’s offering. God knows I don’t have anything to give them. I spent my last twenty today on Christmas lights for the boys to decorate the common room. Oh, come see. They’re so proud of it.” He took Jax’s hands in his.

They walked down the hallway to see that even Ashton was involved in the decorating. Bev had popped a lot of popcorn, and the boys were stringing it. “What’s that for?” Cade asked.

“It’s going to snow tonight, so we thought we’d put some in the trees out front for the birds. That’s okay, right? We won’t get a fine or somethin’?” Benny and Jake were threading dental floss through large sewing needles.

“Sure, guys. That’s perfect.” Cade held himself in check because he could cry at seeing how much joy they derived from the idea of providing something less fortunate than them—the birds.

He excused himself to the large restroom everyone used and slipped into a stall to collect himself. Most times, he held it together being around those kids, but there were times when he lost it like anyone else with a feeling heart would do. It was currently one of those times.

Ten minutes later, Cade made his way back into the common room, not seeing Jax. “Anyone know where my friend went?”

Ash looked up and grinned. “He’ll pick us up at seven thirty. He had to go. You gonna help us or stand there like a jackass?” All the boys laughed, and Cade joined them. They needed to laugh about something or they’d all be crying like him.

The front bell rang at 6:45 while they were still in the common room, so Cade hurried down the hallway in his stocking feet. They’d found an oldTwistergame in the game closet, and they were all playing. Everyone was in good spirits, and they were having a lot of fun.

Cade looked at the CCTV as he passed to see it was Sam and Stan, so he let them in. “Hey, guys. Good to see you both. Stan, how’ve you been? I haven’t seen you in a while. You haven’t come by since I started working here.” Cade offered his hand to shake with the lawyer’s.

“I help out when Sammy tells me I should. He also tells me what to do, but that’s not really anything new. Anyway, Cade, I saw the Blue Beast outside waiting for you. I’ll go down the hall to acquaint myself with things while you two do your catch-up thing. Good to see you three worked things out, Cade. I was worried about him.” Jax’s agent hung up his heavy coat and scarf. Cade could see snowflakes in his hair.

“Will you guys… I can stay, you know. I’ll send my brother home with Jax.”

Sam smiled. “No. You go. We’ll be fine. Your brother can stay if he wants so you can have time with those two.” Sam offered a wink.

Cade smiled in thanks. “No. I need to call his folks to tell them where he is so I don’t get all of us in trouble. I’m hoping his mother will be sympathetic, but it’s a big mess. Anyway, call or text me if you need anything, okay?”

Sam nodded, so Cade went into the office to grab his things, calling down the hallway for Ashton. Ten minutes later, they were on the sidewalk moving toward the Hummer.

Jax opened the passenger side door and the back door from his place inside. After they were safely in the vehicle, he drove them down the street to a Target, pulling into a parking space before he turned to them. “I bought a tree today but we need decorations. I’d like to surprise Ford when he gets home. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but maybe some lights and shiny crap?”

Ashton glanced at Cade then Jax. “You got your black card? I love Christmas decorations.”

Before Cade could object, the three of them were heading into the store, each with a cart. Ninety minutes later, they wheeled out an assload of merchandise, and Kincade wondered where they’d go with all of it.

His brother was a strategic missile when it came to picking out decorations. Apparently, the kid had composed a theme in his head—Gay Pride Christmas—and he’d purchased several of everything in every color available at the store.

When they got home, Jax went to build a fire in the fireplace while Cade and Ashton carried in the bags. The tree was huge, but it was already stabilized in a stand, so they started liberating the decorations and lights from their packaging.

An hour later, the big man was on a ladder placing lights as Ashton directed while Cade hung lighted garland over the fireplace. It wasn’t fancy, but it looked perfect as the light reflected off the mirror hanging above the large stone structure.

Jax and Ashton were caught up in the tree, so Cade slipped off to the office upstairs to call Cheryl, Ashton’s mother. He wasn’t sure about Hudson, but in his experience, a mother’s love would prevail.

“Hello?” Amy answered.Damn the bad luck? Doesn’t that woman answer the fucking phone?

“May I please speak with Cheryl Hayes?”

“She’s with Daddy. Who is it?”

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