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He chuckled. “Too right.”
Our gazes locked, and I had to force myself to pay attention to the road as traffic finally smoothed out to the speed limit.
“I missed you,” he whispered. “So much.”
Elation and grief twisted together inside me. “You don’t have to miss me anymore. I’m here.”
He didn’t say anything else, just held my hand like he was worried he would lose me if he let go. The Lakeview Trailer Park was only a few miles from my house outside of New Gothenburg. I wasn’t a fan of city living, but I also didn’t like being stuck way out in the middle of nowhere. I’d found a nice compromise with a place that let me get to the office within a half hour, even in the winter, and wasn’t far from my parents. All that meant a minor detour took me to the trailer park. Fuck, it looked even worse than I remembered in the bright sunshine. The L was missing so that the only thing on the arched sign above the open gate was akeview Trailer Park.
I didn’t want to make the turn, but in the end I did. What else could I do?
Some of the trailers were much nicer than others, and I was busy gazing around, wishing we didn’t have to stop here, when I was forced to slam on the brakes because a little girl wandered directly in front of my car with a massive dog on a leash. She was wearing roller skates that went over her shoes and a swimsuit with a tutu over the top.
“Damn it, hold on,” Tav said, then hopped out. He took the little girl by the hand and went with her and the dog over to a trailer. He beat the door, and a woman with a sleep mask on opened it. She looked exhausted with dark circles under her eyes, and she smiled and said something I assumed was “Thanks” to Tav, before ushering the little girl and dog into the trailer and closing the door.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
He sighed and settled into his seat again. “Oh, Virginia’s mother works nights. Her brother must be out trying to find a job again. Usually Moose watches her.”
I mouthed Moose but didn’t say anything, simply drove down the small street to his trailer at the very back of the park. I hoped for his sake that was a nickname. I’d used my map app to find Tav the other night, but now I had the directions burned into my brain, as if a part of me was worried I would lose him again. I parked the Honda in front of the trailer, and Tav ran a hand over his face.
“We’ll have to drive Ellis to school.” His lips pursed.
“It’s fine. We’ll work it out. He can Uber if he needs to.”
Tav grunted and glanced at me.
“I swear on my life I’ll make this work. If it’s important to you, we’ll figure it out.” My chest tightened until Tav flashed me a small smile and nodded. “He’s eighteen, right? I’ll just get him a car.”
Tav’s mouth fell open. “Why?”
“Because you want to help him.” My stomach roiled with a bit of guilt. Also, it made Ellis leaving for college much easier. He needed to get far the fuck away from Tav and find a little boyfriend his own age. Anyone who wasn’t Tav.
We got out together, and I winced as someone nearby called “Hey!”
Tav pivoted from the direction of the trailer and walked over to the boy where he’d parked himself in a lawn chair with a book spread across his lap. I’d never been this jealous in the past, but it ate at me to watch the way Tav’s entire attitude seemed to flow into something charming and caring as he approached Ellis. He plopped into a chair beside the boy.
Tav murmured to Ellis, I assumed telling him the plan for the evening. The kid spun on his seat to stare at me with wide distrustful eyes that made me want to say something rude—which would only prove him right. I forced a smile and walked over to stand near Tav with my hands in my pockets.
“Where have you been?” the kid asked Tav.
Tav clapped his hands and leaned forward. “Work. What would you say to spending the night at Judah’s?”
Oh, great, he hadn’t told him what we were doing yet.
The kid smoothed his hand down the pages of his open book. “Why would we do that?” he asked stiffly, glaring at me out of the corner of his eye. “Didn’t you just meet him?”
Shuffling closer to Tav, I rested a hand on the back of his neck. “We’ve known each other for years. Decades. We have a lot of catching up to do.”
The kid’s bottom lip popped out and a furrow settled on his forehead. “You mean you want to... you know.” He scowled and blushed. “Fuck.”
Tav’s head whipped around and his mouth fell open. “Hey, now, really? Ellis?” He chuckled and knocked the back of his hand against the kid’s knee. My skin crawled with irritation at the contact, even though it was innocent and friendly.
“This guy is around for two days and we’re staying at his place? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?” Ellis stood up and tossed down his book on his chair. “That’s way too much.”
Tav sighed and stood, stretching, and he caught my hand, giving it another small kiss before I let it fall back to my side. “We’re going to go in the trailer and get bags together. Give us a couple of minutes?” He widened his eyes at me, and I hoped he would use those minutes to tell the little shit to mind his own business. Tav picked up the kid’s book. As I watched them go inside, I sighed. It was probably for the best that Tav had a friend who was worried about him, but why did it have to be a cute kid half his age who clearly hated my guts?
“I’ll be waiting in the car,” I said to myself, sliding my hand into my pocket again. I grasped my phone, and the pure blinding rage from earlier reignited as I realized I had time to do what I’d wanted to do then. I got into the Honda and tapped Dad’s number on the screen.
