Page 132 of Last Chance Love

“Gotta get their trust, remember? How many of my lessons do I point that out to all the mentors? Even the experienced ones?”

“Every time,” he said in the weary voice of a man who’s heard that phrase one too many times.

“Then that’s where you need to start. Like I’ve said, you get these guys to trust you, andthenwork on getting them to like you.”

“You ever feel like you’re not the right man for the job? I mean, I know you used to do this shit all the time, and everyone said you were the best.”

I sighed, resisting the urge to push away the compliment before it got too close. “Well, actually, yeah, all the time. I still do. I’m going to sit here after you leave and worry that you struggling is a sign that I’m fucking up on my end and not helping you. I’m going to think about all the shit we said and wonder if there might have been a better way to get it across. That and so much more.”

“Shit,” he muttered, rubbing his mouth. “You sound like me. Don’t tell anyone I said that, though.”

“Your very human secret is safe with me,” I said with a smile.

“How do you get through it?”

“Easy? Find your people and stick with them. They’re the ones who are going to help you make sense of shit, and hopefully, they’ll also be the ones to shake you when you start to get ridiculous. Let people get close and keep you grounded.”

Shane mulled that in his head for a while and then nodded. “Alright. I guess I’ll think about it. Maybe try talking to him or something. I don’t know, dude’s just so pissed off all the time, ya know? I get it, butdamn, you can’t be starting shit with people, not here.”

“One last piece of advice before you leave?”

“Sure.”

“Find Reno and talk to him about this. He might be able to give you some insight. And just in case you need repeated insight from him, I’d start soon. He’s looking to graduate within the next half a year or so.”

“Oh yeah,” Shane said as he pushed up, frowning momentarily down at the chair as if realizing it was colored and vaguely shaped like a frog.Thathad been Reed’s idea of a joke, but the joke was on him because it delighted the hell out of me to make people sit in it to talk to me. “I heard he used to have a temper on him.”

“I’d bet he still does, but now he mostly lets Elliot chew people out,” I said with a chuckle, remembering a few years ago when it had come out that Dom had been one of the ones buying Alice’s stolen pills. If I’d thought he was going to lose it when he’d gone after Reno that day, that wasnothing. If Reno hadn’t been there, Elliot probably would have swung at Dom, and Dom would have let it happen.

“And before you go, try not to come down on yourself too hard,” I said with a smirk. “It can be easy to beat yourself up and get frustrated. You wouldn’t have been accepted into the Mentor Program if we didn’t think you were capable of it. And we definitely wouldn’t have kept you in the program if you proved incapable. This new and improved system is my baby, and I’m not going to let someone screw it up by screwing my guys over. So keep that in mind the next time you’re wondering if you’re fit for the program.”

“You should just tell me to suck it up and stop whining. It wouldn’t feel nearly as shitty,” he said with a shake of his head.

“I’m not angry, I’m just disappointed,” I told him.

He groaned. “That’s it, I’m outta here.”

“Come see me anytime,” I said, glancing at my computer. “Well, during office hours. Otherwise, it had better be important.”

He opened my office door, and I wasn’t surprised to find Reed outside. He knew the only reason I’d have my door closed was because I was dealing with one of my mentors or having an important meeting with Mona.

Ha,mymentors. That was still taking some getting used to.

“Doing alright there, Shane?” Reed asked, looking him over.

“My allergies are fine,” Shane muttered as he slipped past, a little faster than before he’d spotted Reed.

I watched him go, motioning for Reed to come in. “What is his weirdness with you? I know some guys get weird because you’re Doc and all, but?—”

Pretty muchtheDoc these days. He’d barely finished his honorary celebratory drink from Mr. Isaiah after graduation before Mona jumped him with an offer to join the medical team. She’d offered to cover the costs of getting his license renewed and all the other things he’d have to do and, thankfully, had let him have a few weeks to ‘think on it.’

Not that he’d needed to think about it. I’d known from the moment she’d asked what his answer would be. After everything with Alice, who was rotting in prison for the next few years without any hope of getting into a program like the ranch, he realized what he wanted to do with his life. He’d accepted her offer when we returned from our vacation in Mexico.

“He may or may not have hit on me while he was high on painkillers after we had to reset his shoulder,” Reed said with a chuckle, closing the door behind him. “He swore up and down he didn’t remember anything, but it’s funny how he never wants to look me in the eyes.”

I briefly thought about that and nodded. “Well, that explains it. Do you think this is a closet case thing, or doesn’t he want me to find out?”

“A little bit of both, I think,” Reed said as he sat close to me on the edge of my desk. “I try to be nice and let someone else see him when he comes in. But that doesn’t always work.”

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