Page 71 of SEAL Mates

“I’d always loved cars. My dad used to show me an engine and go wild over it. I decided that I wanted to be like him. I wanted to have that passion in something.”

He sighed, as if I’d touched a nerve. No more was he smiling, or walking by my side as we entered the garage and got nearer to the car.

“My dad abandoned me when I was young, and mom’s ex, well he was okay but he never really lived with us.”

It was crazy, because whereas most boys who live with a single mom like Alec, didn’t want another man in the house, but it seems as if Ray wanted the complete opposite.

“This made you man of the house.”

He shrugged, “I guess. But I could have done with having a real man in the house, or even better my dad.”

I put a reassuring pat on his back. “I’m sure your mom did everything she could do for you. Isn’t that more important.”

I decided one day I would tell him about Alec, or maybe Alec would do it himself. He would find out that having a mom doing a lot for you, was better than being ignored by one in your face. Life was crazy, we always felt that our lives could be better, and never appreciated whatever we had now, maybe if we did then we wouldn’t be constantly looking for happiness.

Paula said that Ray failed all his exams and just wasn’t academically minded, but wasn’t interested in anything else. As we approached the Ferrari, I decided I would show him the passion that my dad had shown me. Maybe that was all he needed to help him figure out his way in life.

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