Breck wrapped his arm around Danny’s shoulders. “It’s more than that, ma’am. my friend Danny here, his mom kicked him out of the house when he was seventeen because he’s gay and he and I met when we were both homeless in DC and we were both”—he glanced at Sammy and modified what he was going to say—“doing what we had to for money. We don’t do that anymore though. So he’s kind of like my little brother and I like to take care of him.”
“And where are your parents?” she asked Breck and Ridge.
“Our mom’s in rehab,” Breck said. “And she wrote us.”
“Are you going to see her soon?” she asked.
For some reason, the idiots looked at me. I kept my expression set to vaguely annoyed. It wasn’t difficult.
“As soon as we can,” Ridge answered.
“And your father?”
Okay, this was enough. “Mom,” I said. “Enough with the inquisition.”
Despite my complaint, Ridge answered again. Interesting that he was the one answering questions about the family dynamic. “He left when she was pregnant. We don’t know him.”
To my surprise, I scoffed. “Well, that’s one thing we have in common.”
Danny’s and the twins’ eyes widened. Damn it. I hated people knowing my private life. I hated everything about this.
Eric squeezed my shoulder in a silent show of support. Well, maybe I didn’t hate everything. Eric knew exactly how I felt about my deadbeat father. I would never forgive him for leaving Sammy. He’d left the day after Sammy turned one, saying he couldn’t handle it anymore. It’s one of my first memories. If anyone tells you that a three-year-old can’t hate someone, don’t believe them.
My mother turned her disappointed-mom face on me. It took everything I had not to cover my face with both hands and groan. She looked back at Eric. “Eric, did you know about this?”
Eric threw up his hands. “No, of course not, how could I! I only met Danny yesterday when he caddied for me. He told me he was here for college. And I don’t even know those two,” he said, pointing at the twins. “Maddie hired them.”
“I didn’t know either!” Maddie said quickly. Her hand was across her mouth, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
“I am going to college, really,” Danny said quickly, the stress of lying to my mother obvious in his expression.
“In their defense, ma’am,” Breck said, “it’s not like we put it on our resumes. And we appreciate the jobs.”
“Did you know about these boys, Jake?” she asked me.
“How would I know? I’ve known them as long as you have. That one, in particular, looks shifty to me,” I said, pointing to Breck. “I don’t think we should invite any of them.”
Mom pierced me with a look. “Jake Karlsson, that is not how I raised you.” She turned a much kinder look onto Danny and the twins. “Of course. You all come. You need to eat.” She fixed me with a glance. “And this conversation is far from over.”
I was sure it wasn’t. “Yes, ma’am.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, then sighed, put her hand on my cheek, and shook her head. “I’m glad you’re home, Jakey. I missed you.”
I covered her hand with mine. “I missed you, too, Mom.”
She tilted my head down and kissed me on the cheek. Then she patted it. “Six o’clock. Sharp. Bring dessert.”
She gathered Sammy with a look. “Sammy, say goodbye to your friends, you’ll see them tomorrow.”
Sam grinned broadly. “Awesome! Bye, friends!”
There was a chorus of goodbyes.
There was an awkward silence as we all stood looking at each other. Get the fuck out of here, I subvocalized. The boys startled.
“So, about the job?” Danny said.
Eric looked over at Maddie. I’d forgotten she was even there. “New assistant?” she asked Eric.
“We’d discussed it briefly, but we haven’t even talked details yet,” Eric said. “Responsibilities, salary. I don’t even know if he wants the job.”
“I want the job,” Danny said quickly.
“He wants the job,” she said to Eric. “Great.” She stood up. “Come with me, kid. I’ll get you set up.” She pointed at Ridge and Breck. “You two, scram. Check the schedule. I’ll see you on your first shifts.”
The boys scrammed. I waited for the door to close behind them. “So, that went better than I expected.”
Maddie scoffed. “Better than you deserved.”
“Probably. Speaking of things I don’t deserve. Eric, I believe you owe me a date,” I said.