Page 73 of Romancing the Grump
SUMMER
A small deckopens off Eli and Bailey’s kitchen, so while everyone else gathers around the table to eat the lemon cream cake Gracie brought, Nathan and I step outside.
I answer Franklin’s call just in the nick of time. “Franklin, hey.”
“How are you? Sorry for calling so late.”
I put him on speaker phone and lean my hip against the wooden deck railing. “No, you’re fine. I’m with Nathan, actually. We’re hoping you have an update?”
“That’s right. I saw online that you two were together; I don’t know if I should congratulate you or be mad that you didn’t call to tell me yourself. You’d better call Andi soon. She’s beside herself wanting to know all the details.”
I look up and meet Nathan’s eye. “I will definitely do that when we’re not on speaker phone with Nathan listening.”
Nathan’s lip twitches in thatalmost smileway I’ve grown to love.
“Right. Good plan,” Franklin says. He clears his throat. “How are you, Nathan? It’s good to finally talk to you.”
“Yeah. Thanks. Do you have any news? My brother told me about your meeting this week.”
“I do. But first, I just want to say I’m a huge fan. You’re a beast on the ice, man.”
Nathan’s eyes lift to mine for the briefest second, then he looks away, hooking a hand over the back of his neck. The light is dim on Eli’s deck, but not so dim that I miss the blush brightening his cheeks.
“Thanks,” he says, and I wonder if it’s getting the compliment that makes him uncomfortable or just getting a compliment in front ofme.
“So, here’s the situation,” Franklin continues. “The four other boys who were arrested with Blake all have previous records. Two are brothers—twins—and they happen to be the sons of an important Massachusetts congressman with very deep pockets. The third is a kid with the last name Pike.Hisfather is one of the biggest defense attorneys in the city. This guy’s got a reputation for high profile cases and big settlements, and he’s got connections all over town. The fourth kid is one of the Boston Treemonts.”
“Like, the Treemont hotel chain?” I ask.
“The very one,” Franklin says.
“And likefreakingGregory Treemont from Sports News Daily,” I say.“At least now we know where he got his information.”
“Who?” Franklin asks, and Nathan gives him a brief rundown on the reporter who brought up Blake during the Chicago press conference.
“Not sure I can see one of the Boston Treemonts doing sports reporting, but I’ll look him up,” Franklin says. “See if we need to worry about him at all.”
“I don’t think we need to worry,” Nathan says, looking up to meet my eye. His gaze is appreciative as he says, “Summer was prettythoroughwhen she talked to him.”
Franklin chuckles. “I bet she was.”
“I just don’t understand how Blake even fell in with these guys,” Nathan says. “He’s the scholarship kid from Portland. This isn’t his crowd.”
“I asked him that exact question,” Franklin says. “He said it was because of your father. Your dad’s name carries a lot of weight, and these kids treated him like NHL royalty.”
“But not enough like royalty to extend their high-dollar representation tohim,”I say. “How nice. We’re basically looking at four kids with inexhaustible resources and top-dollar representation and one kid with a court-appointed public defender.”
“That’s precisely why they were trying to pin everything on Blake. Because they thought they could,” Franklin says.
Nathan drops into a patio chair, his head falling into his hands. His fingers press into his temples before he looks up, his expression anguished, his jaw tight. “Can you help him, Franklin?” he asks, his voice cracking.
“Hang with me,” Franklin says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “I’m just getting to the good part.”
Franklin goes on to explain that the district attorney prosecuting the case has it out for the older boys because this isnottheir first offense. He’s tired of them getting off because of who they are, so this time, he’s pushing to try them as adults so the consequences will really stick. But the attorney representing them is powerful, and they aren’t backing down. And they aren’t opposed to throwing Blake under the bus if it means getting their clients lighter sentences.
“So, I had my private investigator do a little bit of digging,” Franklin says. “Turns out, there’s security footagefrom the house across the street that shows Blake sitting in the car the entire time. And a homeowner who, when pressured, revealed that she’d been offered ten grand not to turn over the footage.”
“But that’s…” Nathan’s words trail off, and he looks at me.
