if you need more hands, but he's with the construction crew."
She nodded at him. "Thanks." Then as soon as he was gone, she looked over at me. "Do I want to ask?"
"No, not really. Evidently, Gabby found out about tryouts for a play today, all last minute. It's a big deal to her, and..." I waved at my backlog of email inquiries.
"I'm just glad you're letting him help." Then she turned back to the people waiting. "Nancy Coleman? I'm so sorry about the wait. If you'd like to come with me, I'll show you the lot you asked about."
That kept up until five o'clock, when Ian locked the door and said the front gate knew to turn everyone else away until the morning. Then he flopped onto one of those chairs in the corner, which were the best in the room. I tossed a smile at him but was still working while waiting for my phone to vibrate on the desk beside me.
"Heard you let Trent pick up Gabby," he said.
"Yep." I clicked a few buttons, attaching the standard documents, then hit send before opening the next email. "He said he was in drama?"
"Oh yeah," Ian laughed. "He was good at it. Always got the lead roles, even in college. Did a little community theater for a while, too."
"He, um..." I glanced back to make sure we really were alone in the office. "He asked about Gabby's dad when we were out getting lunch."
"Mm."
That was all I got, so I decided to push a little harder. "What are people saying about him?"
Ian sighed and leaned forward, almost like he didn't really want to answer. "People? Nothing. My roommates? That the man's an idiot. You've been here how long now? Three weeks?"
"Just over two, actually, but three weekends."
He lifted his hands and leaned back. "Then our bad. How often does he have visitation?"
"Every other weekend, but we were moving for the first one." I kept my eyes on my monitor, hoping it would work as a shield. "I just figured Ashley said something."
"Actually," he admitted, "it was Roman. He said Gabby's a little upset with her dad over his new girlfriend, using her like a prop, and a few other things that I promised him I wouldn't spill unless I had to."
That had my complete attention. "Really?"
"Really," he told me. "I asked him to let me know if she's having problems and swore I wouldn't betray him unless it was for her best interest. This way, we'll know if she's being picked on at school, getting involved with the wrong crowd, or anything like that."
"But why?" I asked. "Ian, why do you care about my daughter this much?"
He sighed. "Same reason I care about Roman, or Olivia, Xander, and any of the other kids around here. The only difference is that those kids know they can talk to me when they can't talk to their parents. Gabby hasn't figured that out yet. There's nothing nefarious about it, Elena."
"It's just that people don't do this crap where I'm from," I told him.
"Didn't and were," he corrected. "They didn't do this crap where you were from. Now, you're from Wolf's Run, and we do this crap. It's why this office was slammed all day today, because we're actually making a community, not just a group of houses inside a couple of walls. Communities need someone to lead the way, and that's what I'm trying to do."
"Just out of the kindness of your heart?" I asked.
He made a noise as if he was thinking about that. "Partly. Think of it this way. I want to change the world, and it's easiest to start with one small corner. That's all this is."
"Sounds almost noble like that," I teased. "And here I just thought I was helping to make your family rich."
"Not as much as you'd think. C'mon, you're done for the day. The rest of those can wait."
"I only have three left," I promised. "And if I get them out, then that's less to do in the morning."
So he leaned back one more time, clearly intending to wait. "Ashley's got the last few finishing up, but she told me to kick you out as soon as I could. Means I can't leave until you do, and yes, I'm playing the guilt card here."
I stuck my tongue out at him and kept typing.
"Do that again, and I will bite it," he warned.
I quickly sucked my tongue back between my teeth, but my hands had stopped. "Oh,