Page 158 of Tides That Bind

“You skipped one.” I lift the shirt, fixing the buttons.

“I’m nervous.”

“Are you?” I ask, tucking his shirt back in, trying to hide a smile because one of his socks—Avengers themed—is inside out. I move to his neck, pulling up the collar. “Why?”

He lifts his small shoulders in a shrug. “I want the judge to like me.”

“I told you, the judge probably is just going to talk to the lawyers. We actually don’t even need to be there. We’re just going to support Riley.” I loop the tie.

“Dad always said look your best on important days.”

I nod. “That’s true.”

“It’s an important day.”

Lucas doesn’t know that even though today is about Tides, it’s also about Riley. And while I want nothing more in the world than to bring Tides home today so that our family doesn’t feel all that incomplete, so that Lucas has his best friend back and part of his father’s legacy at his side, what I want more is more complex.

What I want for Riley—forallof us—is to really believe it’s not about how crazy or unimaginable the idea is. What matters is how much you believe in it and yourself.

I straighten Lucas's tie. “Not too tight?”

“Does it look okay?” Lucas asks me.

“Hey. Who’s the lawyer here?”

We both turn our heads as Riley crosses the living room, carrying a stack of files in his hand topped with a legal pad. He sticks a pen behind his ear. I’d argue that it's very clear who the lawyer is.

“You look sharp, kid.” Riley tussles Lucas's hair.

Lucas grins. “So do you.”

I wouldn’t argue with that, because I’m wondering why Riley wastes what is a perfect body for a well-tailored suit bynever wearing one. The jacket skims over his broad shoulders, the narrowing of the pants the perfect shape for his long legs.

But his collar is still open.

“Go upstairs and grab your shoes, Lucas. And why don’t you grab a book we can read? We might have to wait a little bit.”

I wait before he’s back upstairs before stepping closer to Riley, taking the grey tie I had brought down. “You should keep this now.”

Riley sighs. I can still sense his anxiety as I drape the tie around his neck.

“Everyone needs my help, huh?”

“Have you met me?” Riley jokes, lifting his chin up as I work on his tie. When he slipped out of my bedroom early this morning, I had a panic that after he asked me to shave his head he might try to do the same with his beard. But the hair has been trimmed to soft stubble.

I loop the knot and slide it up carefully. “You happen to look very sharp. I think I’m going to cash in on that rain check to the fancy restaurant soon.”

“Yeah?” Riley ask, twisting his neck slightly after I secure the knot up top. “Do I look the part?”

“Riley, youarethe part.”

His thick lashes shade the skin below his eye when he looks down. “I’m having second thoughts about Lucas coming.”

“Why?”

“Because. If we lose—”

“We take it one thing at a time.” I want more than anything in this world to spare Lucas from more heartbreak, and I know Riley does too. But if there’s a chance for closure if we don’t bring Tides home, I want him to have it.

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