Page 75 of Last Chance Love

Admittedly, I could have turned right then and walked off. It was mid-afternoon, and the staff that kept the Big House clean was thin. I could have easily walked away and been out of sight before anyone knew it was me. The thought only lasted a moment before I pushed the door open and stepped in to find Mr. Isaiah at his desk, Mona standing beside it with her back to me.

“All I’m saying, Garrett,” Mona was saying as I walked in, “is it’s odd.”

“It is pretty odd, I’ll give ya that,” he said genially. “But mistakes happen, and I don’t wanna go throwin’ around accusations all willy nilly. You do your thing, but you come to me before you’re ready to draw blood, alright?”

“As you wish,” she said, not sounding enthused, before glancing at me. Surprise rippled over her face before she frowned and looked at Mr. Isaiah. “I thought that was your lunch.”

“So did I,” he said with a big grin thrown my way. “Maybe Rip’s a little late today, it happens.”

“Rip delivers your food?” I asked and then immediately realized it was a stupid question.

“Sometimes, but usually, he sends one of the guys to bring me somethin’,” Mr. Isaiah said, patting his bulging stomach. “Not that I really need all that much, but a man’s gotta eat, and you’d be searchin’ long and hard to find someone who can make a meal meaner than his.”

“He’s a great cook,” I admitted. “And he runs that kitchen well.”

“You’re telling me,” Mona said with a snort, and I watched as whatever was on her tablet disappeared with a few quick taps of her nails. “Not often I find that I don’t have to keep a watch on some part of this place. Rip keeps those boys in line and doesn’t take any shit, but all I’ve seen is people who would follow him to the ends of the earth to listen to his orders.”

“The difference between a leader and a manager,” I said with a shrug. “He’d say yes, by the way.”

“Would he now?” Mona asked, sounding amused. “You have that in good confidence?”

“I have confidence,” I said with a shrug. “But I haven’t talked to him about it.”

Mr. Isaiah glanced between us before grunting, “I’m missin’ some of this conversation.”

“Mr. Hardy here seems to think that if I approached Rip with a job offer after his upcoming graduation, he would accept,” Mona explained, looking over me carefully. “Free advice without needing to squeeze it out of you? My, my, color me impressed and surprised.”

“Well, I guess it’s good to know you can still be surprised occasionally,” I said. “But Rip loves it here. He’s one of those guys who doesn’t talk about what he did before he came here or what landed him here in the first place.”

“Well, my great-grandfather put that rule into place because he wanted the men to feel like they could start over properly,” Mr. Isaiah said and then looked thoughtfully toward the ceiling. “Or was it my great-great-grandfather? Ah hell, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”

“No, I get that, and a lot of us here really take to the idea and hold as tightly as we can to it,” I admitted. “It’s not often the guys here get the chance to be treated…neutrally, I guess. Or, at the very least, they’re allowed to talk about it on their terms. It was and is a good idea. It gives us privacy and a sense of control back in our lives, which, uh, I probably don’t have to say it, but we don’t get a lot of either of those behind bars.”

“My family has been asked about that a lot,” Mr. Isaiah said thoughtfully. “Why we choose to do so much for the folk we bring here. Why we treat them so well. Even with the success of this place, I still get asked that question, as if the answer isn’t sittin’ right there, lookin’ them in the eye if they just cared to glance at it once.”

“I’m sure you guys probably have a lot more on your end to back up why it’s a good idea to do what you do,” I said with a shrug. “But my original point is that while some guys talk about their past and go into why they’re here, it’s usually only to a few people. I get the feeling Rip has probably never talked about it to anyone.”

“Why’s that?” Mona asked.

I shrugged. “I can’t say for sure without asking him, and I won’t ask him. If I were to guess, which I’m sure you were going to ask me to do, it’s because he doesn’t want to deal with his past. He wants to start over as completely as he can, meaning no one can know about his past. They just need to know him now, which is far more important.”

“And what does that have to do with him accepting a job offer?”

“Because he loves it here. I don’t know if he ever enjoyed having a job like he does here, but he sure does enjoy this one. Plus, this might be the first place he was ever given a real chance to make something of himself. Most guys use this place to start over or get back on their feet before going out and trying again, but I mean, look at Max. He could have left, and now he’s here and perfectly happy.”

“I’m not so sure happy is in his vocabulary,” Mr. Isaiah said with a chuckle. “But I get your meaning and think I’m beginning to understand.”

“Understand what?” I asked.

Mona looked me over again. “And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Where do you fall on that line?”

“I…which one?”

“Will you want to stay? Do you talk about what brought you here?”

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