Page 36 of Finding Jeremy
“Yeah, it is.”
Jeremy shivered at the feel of Gray running a hand up his back. Casual touches weren’t something he’d had a lot of in his life, but he was rapidly coming to enjoy them immensely. Gray seemed to need them too. Maybe they served as a reminder that he wasn’t alone anymore and that he didn’t have to worry about someone seeing him have contact with someone else and inferring something from it. Haven had told him that there were a lot of rules in prison and that they changed when you got moved from one facility to another. He just hoped neither of them ever had to learn them again.
They caught several more fish before Jeremy finally dared to ask the question that had been on his mind for days, the one he hoped wouldn’t torpedo the growing relationship between him and Gray.
“Did Haven talk to you about his plan to scale back to a five-day workweek?” Jeremy asked, slowly trying to ease the conversation to where he wanted it to go.
“Yeah, he talked about shortening the workday on Friday too, not only so we’d have more downtime and not get burnt out, but so we’d have time to get to the races the night before rather than having a long-ass day Saturday morning. He showed me the business model Maddox helped him work out as well as the price comparisons they made between Twisted Chassis and the businesses closest to us. I’m all for it. Will give us a chance to enjoy the weekend and even take off on a few of those road trips we’ve been talking about.”
Bingo, that was exactly what Jeremy had hoped he’d say when he brought up the reduction of hours.
“You, um, know that for that to happen, you can’t land back in lockup again.”
Silence, so Jeremy sucked in a deep breath, pulled his big boy pants on, and turned in the boat so he could face him. When their eyes met, Jeremy could see the solemnness in Gray’s.
“What brought that on?”
Okay. It was full-blown honesty time.
“I heard you and Pops at the hospital,” Jeremy admitted. “I didn’t mean to listen in. I just stopped to make sure I had enough money on me before I headed down to the cafeteria. You guys were talking about the stash compartments you used to use on your jobs.”
Gray’s eyes widened a fraction.
“How the hell do you know about those?”
“My grandpa had them,” Jeremy said. “He used to keep candy in them for me whenever he took me out on his bike.”
At first Gray just looked stunned, then he started snickering and shook his head, admiration in his voice when he finallydid respond to Jeremy’s revelation. “That’s a hell of a family tradition to pass down.”
“Yeah, it’s really cool. I’ve even put them in several of the bikes I’ve drawn in the comic panels I’ve created,” Jeremy replied. “But that so wasn’t the point that I was trying to make, and you know it.”
“I know,” Gray said. “But I need you to trust me when I tell you that we are not getting into fuck all. I have no intention of going back. Not for anything in the world. I don’t care if that means backing down from someone who pisses me off or steering clear of places if there are assholes inside who I know wanna try me. I’m not putting myself in a position to get yanked away from you.”
“Does that apply to Gerald too?” Jeremy asked. “I remember when Pops and the guys kicked him out of the MC. Pops said we were to have nothing to do with him after that. He told me that he didn’t care if Gerald was lying on the sidewalk bleeding and on fire; I wasn’t supposed to waste a piss on him to try to put him out. But he’s been lingering around a lot lately, standing across the street from the dispensary, staring through the glass as River and I are closing up. I caught him watching me in the grocery store last week when I was picking up groceries. I’d have asked what the fuck his issue was, but Pops said I was never supposed to talk to him, so I don’t. That’s why I’m asking you what the fuck is going on, ‘cause all Pops would do if I asked him was shut me down and remind me that it isn’t my place to question him when I’m not a member of the MC and never will be.”
Jeremy squirmed a bit at that and shrugged.
“That’s fine and all,” Jeremy explained. “I never wanted to earn a patch. I just liked riding along with him and Gramps whenever they could take me. But me and you are supposed to be a team, right? I’m supposed to be your boy, and that means you’re supposed to be around to growl in my ear and tell me tobehave whenever I’m giving you guys shit. I like that growl. It’s sexy. Makes me fuckin’ hot. You can’t growl like that or touch me behind bulletproof glass.”
Maneuvering in a boat took patience and talent. Lean too hard in any direction and you risked swimming back to shore, towing your supplies behind you. Not to mention the risk of accidentally freeing dinner if the cooler popped open instead of bobbing along on the surface, and yet somehow, Gray managed to scoot close enough that their knees brushed without barely rocking the rowboat at all.
“I swear to you that your dad and I weren’t planning anything,” Gray said. “Neither of us has any intention of ever doing something so goddamn irresponsible again. We never should have gotten involved in that mess in the first place. The discussion you overheard was about the job I wound up getting locked up for. While we were up at Lookout Point, your dad told me something he’d discovered after I’d already been locked away. Something about it was nagging me as we drove down the mountain. That’s what your old man and I were talking about. Just setting the record straight is all and making sure there were no loose ends.”
“Are there?”
When Gray sucked in a lungful of air, Jeremy knew he had his answer.
“There might be,” Gray admitted. “Not that there’s anything we could do about it if the wrong man got labeled a rat. The only other person involved is who knows where at the moment, and honestly, that’s probably the best thing for everyone involved.”
It took Jeremy a second to connect the dots, and with the dawning realization came yet another question.
“Does that mean Gerald isn’t to be avoided at all costs anymore?”
“No, I want you to keep on steering clear of him,” Gray said. “We’re still not sure if what he’s claiming is truth or bullshit. Even if it’s the truth, there’s no way of telling if he’s got a grudge against your old man or what he’ll do if he has a chance to get back at him. He used to be a guy I trusted, but things changed, and I don’t like the way he waited until I was out to try and come dredge up shit from the past.”
“Why do I feel like you’re still keeping something from me?” Jeremy asked.
“Because I am, but I need you to trust me when I say that it’s for your own good. If I tell you, it will make you an accessory after the fact, and I won’t do that to you. It’s time for that part of my life to die. I need it too. All the plans we’re making, the house I want to get so I don’t have to slap a hand over your mouth so you don’t wake your dad while I’m fucking you through the bed, that’s what I’m interested in right now.”
