filled the air, and I grinned in response to the happy sound
“Thanks for not letting me down,” he replied as he removed the lid and blew a gentle breath on his drink to cool it. “I was hoping I’d judged you right.” Then he chuckled. “And I’m glad I don’t have to kick your ass.”
“Afraid of losing?” I grinned to take the edge off my words.
“Nah. But I’d probably lose out on my promotion if I got arrested for brawling in public.”
I nodded my head. “Sound reasonable.” I nodded again. “Can I leave you with my camera? Take the pictures for me today?”
His eyes widened. “I’m not a photographer.”
I grinned as I nodded my head toward the bag. “I brought you my easy camera. Just point and press. Get as many pictures of Leo as you can, and I’ll clean them up in edits.”
I rubbed my hands together, trying to rub the nervousness right out of me. “He knows what time to be here, right?”
“Right.” Kairo nodded. “You think he might stand you up?”
I chuckled. “No.” But what if he did? I tried to swallow my doubts away. Even now, after four months, I felt like one day Leo might wake up and wonder why he was with me.
“No worries, Shayne.” Kairo nodded at the kids. “But he’ll definitely show up for Ricky.” Then he chuckled.
“Did you say my name?” Ricky bounded up.
“We sure did.” I grinned at him and ruffled his hair. “Are you ready?”
“Yep.” He danced from foot to foot. “Did you bring my sign?”
“Absolutely. It’s in that bag over here.” I nodded then watched as he sorted through the bag until he found it.
He clutched it behind his back. “I’m going to stand right here like this. He won’t know a thing.”
I chuckled at his enthusiasm. Ricky was like a different kid. He’d slimmed down from all the exercise he and Leo did together with the group—although Ricky never thought of it as exercise. He was just having fun with some friends. And those friends and Leo’s quiet support had made even more difference to Ricky than the physical changes.
He had more confidence now and Leo had told me the boys who tried to bully Ricky no longer bothered him. Sometimes they tried, but mostly they left him alone because Ricky didn’t care what they said. He believed Leo’s opinion of him, like I believed Leo’s opinion of me. Or I was getting there.
I glanced over Ricky’s shoulder and spotted Shayne jogging toward us down the path. “Okay, dude, find your place.” I beckoned the other kids over. “You still good to have the camera?” I asked Kairo.
He nodded, a smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
I had everyone arranged just how I wanted them as Leo stopped beside us.
“Am I late?” He drew his eyebrows down a fraction.
I didn’t answer him. Instead, I raised my arms and we all blasted him with our loudest voices. “Happy birthday!”
He pretended to stagger back and clutched his heart. “Whoa! I had no idea today was my birthday.”
Some of the kids giggled, but Ricky just rolled his eyes. “Not true. You’ve been reminding me for weeks,” he said.
Leo put his finger to his lips as he laughed. “Are we playing soccer today, or what?”
Kairo stepped forward. “A little bit of or what first, if that’s okay?” He raised my camera to his face and took a quick shot of Leo’s look of surprise.
“The kids all have something they want to tell you.” I pointed at the line of six. “Hit it, Joe.”
Joe brought out a handmade sign from behind his back, drawn in messy felt-tip pen scrawl. “I like your smile,” he announced, pride almost making his face glow.
“And Rachel.” I indicated the next kid along.
“Your hair looks very soft.” She blushed as she spoke, and Leo grinned.
Victor, next to her didn’t need any encouragement to step forward, his sign held high. “You throw good.”
Leo grinned and inclined his head. “Thank you for the validation.”
The next kid also shouted loud and proud. “Your muscles are really, really big.”
Every adult chuckled or muffled a laugh, but I just looked at Leo and pressed my teeth against my bottom lip. He did indeed have very big muscles.
“Angel, it’s go time.”
“I like Leo because he’s kind to Ricky.”
Ricky’s cheeks darkened and I grinned. Looked like someone had let a secret slip loose.
“And Ricky?” I told him it was his turn to help ease his discomfort. He’d come a long way, but he still