Page 78 of Last Chance Love

Mr. Isaiah chuckled, waving toward Mona. “Look, if she trusts you, I have no reason to doubt her. If you think those two should be the next ones out?—”

“Not the next,” Mona said. “Not if we need to send someone out in the next few days. Those two still need to undergo the necessary survival and first aid training.”

“Well, a bit of caution never went wrong.”

“Caution? Garrett, it was only a few years ago that we almost lost three men because they didn’t know how to treat a simple infection and fever. If you recall, we had to call a search team to find them and nearly lost Callum.”

“Wait, Callum?” I asked in surprise. “That was more than a few years ago because he was my mentor.”

“Was he?” she asked, screwing up her face and clicking her tongue. “So he was. Now I remember.”

“I didn’t know he almost died,” I said, wrinkling my nose, uncomfortable with the idea. “Do you know how he’s doing, by the way?”

“Actually, I don’t.”

“That’s a shame. I liked him. He was the reason I decided to take on the mentorship when it was offered.”

She smiled. “Well, then you should know we do bi-annual checks for the first five years after someone graduates from the program.”

“Really?”

“It’s touted as a means to keep up on the program's success rate after they’re out of it, but there’s no small sentimentality on our part. We like to make sure our boys are doing well once they’re out on their own. The next check on Callum should be the last or second to last one. It won’t take a moment to look him up and see how his?—”

“He’s living up in Houston,” Mr. Isaiah said with a frown. “Was working out of an auto shop his brother owns. Recently had a daughter, but I can’t remember her name. Was doing well in terms of health, I believe, nothing that stood out.”

If I was surprised, it was nothing compared to Mona, who slowly spun around to stare at Mr. Isaiah in shock. It took him a moment to realize he was being stared at, turning in his chair to look blankly at her.

“Since when do you keep up to date on anything around here?” she asked slowly.

Mr. Isaiah frowned at her. “I like to make sure everything’s okay with those boys. I want to make sure they’re doing good and keeping on top of things.”

“I didn’t even know you knew their names.”

“Well, that’s what you get for assumin’, now, isn’t it?”

“Apparently,” she said, and I couldn’t tell if she was miffed or impressed because her face was giving away very little. “Well, I suppose you have your answer, Leon. I can give you an update on the next check-in.”

“That would be great,” I told her genuinely. “It’s nice to know he’s doing well, though. Is there a chance I could look him up after I get out?”

“Funnily enough, we have a system for the men of the program who can opt-in as a sort of social cushion when they get out. I’m not sure if Callum opted into it, but if he did, you can grab his contact information.”

“Good,” I said with a smile. “I’ll, uh, make sure Elliot and Reno get signed up for the right classes. I’m sure Elliot will have a million questions about the why of it, so I’ll spare you that.”

“Spare me?” she snorted. “This was your decision, so you were going to deal with it all the way through.”

“Of course,” I said with a shake of my head. “So glad we agree.”

“Was there anything else?” she asked me.

“No, I’ll let you guys return to what you were doing. Thanks for letting me interrupt.”

I considered that a dismissal and turned to leave, returning Mr. Isaiah’s wave as I left the room, closing the doors behind me. When the doors clicked shut, I leaned against them, taking a deep breath and thinking over everything that just happened.

I shouldn’t have been surprised that Mona had been trying to push me. It fit her personality. What her end goal was, I didn’t know. It felt more like losing my temper than standing up for what I believed in, but I supposed all that mattered was I had done it, and she had approved.

More importantly, I believed Elliot and Reno were ready to take the next step. If they could handle a few trips on their own outside the ranch’s territory, that would make them eligible for a tier upgrade. The two of them had made a lot of progress, not just between them but for them. The whole point of being a mentor was to help the guys under my care and advocate for them when they were ready to make the next step.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed away from the door and headed along the hallway, down the stairs, and out of the house. I winced against the sudden blast of light, but at least it wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been a month ago. Knowing I needed to get it done sooner rather than later, I walked past the clinic, waving toward the front windows in case Reed was at the desk, even though I couldn’t see him with the sun's glare on the windows.

---