“Hi, Mom,” Leo said, using his Bluetooth as he drove away from Felicity’s house. If he hadn’t felt such urgency to call his mom back, he might be sipping hot chocolate right now with Felicity. Well, he probably would have turned the drink down, since it didn’t exactly sound like an after-pizza chaser.
“Are you still on shift?”
“No, I’m on my way home.”
“Oh, great,” she said, relief evident in her voice. “Angelo’s missing.”
Leo slowed the car down but kept driving. He wasn’t going to hit the panic button, not yet. His mother tended to blow things out of proportion. “What do you mean, missing?”
“He didn’t come home for dinner, which he knows we always eat at 5:00 because Dad likes to go to bed early.” His mom’s voice sounded plenty worried. “I decided that maybe he lost track of time, or even ate fast food somewhere. Still, I worried because of that charge he got earlier in the day, and I thought he might still be upset and do something dumb. A few minutes ago, I went into his room—Victor’s old room. There was a note on the bed.”
Leo blew out a breath. A note meant that he really had left. He wasn’t just late. “What does the note say?”
His mother started to cry.
“Mom?”
“Sorry, it’s just that . . .” She took a shaky breath and said, “He says he’s a failure and that it would be better for everyone if he no longer existed.”
Leo felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. He pulled over to the side of the street and stopped the car. His police training didn’t need to tell him that this was definitely a cry for help, and he hoped it wasn’t too late. “Okay, Mom, this is what you’re going to do. Look through his room to see if there are any clues he left—”
“Clues? What kind of clues?” she asked, her voice rising in panic.
“A receipt or a note,” he said. “I’m going to hang up and call the police department and put them on alert. I’ll also drive around to see if I can find him. Does he have a car?”
“No . . . Only my car is around, and he didn’t take it,” she said.
“Okay, I’m going to the bus station, and then I’ll drive through town and ask if anyone has seen him.” He paused. “If you find anything, call me back.”
“I will,” she said, her voice steadier now.
When Leo hung up, he was both worried and angry. Worried that Angelo was going to do something really stupid, and angry that his mom had to deal with this. She had enough to deal with in life, since his dad needed so much care after his stroke. His sister Maria went to his mom’s several times a week with her two little kids and helped out around the house. But Maria couldn’t deal with Angelo’s issues too.
Leo called the police station and talked to the police chief about the situation. Chief Waring promised to put several officers on the alert. Leo pulled out onto the street and drove straight to the bus station. Hopefully, he’d be lucky tonight. His mom needed good news.
When Leo pulled up to the bus station, he parked at one end, then climbed out of his car. He scanned the waiting passengers as he approached. None of them were his cousin.
He’d have to ask if any of them had seen Angelo. But just before he approached the first person waiting, movement caught his eye. A young man came out of the restroom facilities.
“Angelo,” Leo said, although his cousin was too far away to hear him.
Yet, at that moment, Angelo looked over and saw Leo. He froze.
Then, Angelo turned and started to walk quickly in the opposite direction.
“No, you don’t,” Leo muttered under his breath. He broke into a jog, not wanting to alarm the others at the station or create any sort of spectacle.
Angelo was past the station now, heading down the road, away from town. He increased his pace, and so did Leo.
“Angelo, wait!” Leo called out, but his cousin kept moving.
Moments later, both men had broken into an all-out run. As Leo closed the distance on the younger man, he was grateful for the police chief’s insistence that all his officers do a cardio regimen four to five times a week.
“Stop, Angelo,” Leo said as he neared. “We need to talk.”
Angelo veered off the road, and Leo followed. The underbrush slowed them both down, especially with the limited visibility of the moon overhead. When Angelo stumbled, Leo took the advantage and grasped his jacket.
“Let go!” Angelo shouted.
But Leo got ahold of his cousin’s arm and wrenched him to a stop. Angelo turned and tried to fight back, but Leo was quicker. He shoved Angelo to the ground and knelt on top of him, keeping Angelo’s chest pinned with his knee.
“Where are you going?” Leo ground out. “You know you have a court date coming up. Running will only make things worse.”
Angelo tried to push Leo off him, but Leo wasn’t about to let him go.
“What’s it to you?” Angelo spat out. “You have a perfect family. You with your job as a cop. I’m not going to be your charity case. I can take care of myself.”
“Is shoplifting and getting arrested how you take care of yourself?” Leo asked, trying to calm his breathing.
Angelo jerked beneath him, but Leo held fast.
“Why’d you do it?” Leo asked.
Angelo closed his eyes and exhaled. Then he opened his eyes and said, “I was casing the store, checking out the security system.”
“Seeing what you could get away with?” Leo said. “So you could move onto the cash register next?”
Angelo didn’t need to answer; Leo could see it in his eyes that he’d guessed right. Leo felt sick at the thought of Angelo forcing Felicity to empty the cash register. “You piece of—”
“You don’t know anything,” Angelo spat. “Your parents gave you everything. You never spent a day on the streets. Everything in life is handed to you.”
Heat crept up Leo’s neck as his anger simmered. “My mother let you live with her in good faith, and you repay her by breaking the law?”
Angelo’s face contorted into something that looked like pain. “I don’t want to hurt her, so it’s better I go.”
“It’s better that you apologize to her,” Leo said. “And it’s better that you face the consequences of your actions and get an honest job.”
Angelo flexed his jaw. “Pine Valley hates me now. Small towns hold grudges.”
Leo stared at Angelo. “No one hates you. I’ll help you, man. But you’ve got to go to your court date in two weeks and show the judge that you’re willing to change. Get a job, pay the fines, and become independent.”
“No one will hire me now,” Angelo said with something like regret in his tone.
It was a start. Leo eased his grip. “I have connections, friends . . . Grant Shelton and his brother run a construction business. They have more work than they can handle. I remember you were always a whiz at fixing stuff.”
For the first time since Leo had taken Angelo down, Angelo’s expression softened. “Remember that rocket launcher I built? We nearly gave your sisters heart attacks.”
Leo smiled. “Yeah. That was some rocket launcher.” He moved off Angelo, rose to his feet, and extended his hand.
Angelo hesitated, then let Leo help him to his feet.
“I’ll call Grant on the way back to Mom’s,” Leo said. “Couldn’t hurt to ask. If he doesn’t have anything, then I can put in a good word for you at one of the restaurants. Everyone needs a good dishwasher.”
Angelo groaned, and Leo chuckled.
“Whatever, man,” Angelo said. “I’d even wash dishes at this point.”
Leo exhaled, relief rushing through him. “Good to hear.”
“You know I still hate you.”
Leo smirked. “Life’s always greener on the other side, huh? I can promise that everyone’s going through something. So don’t think you’re alone.”
“I guess you’d know, being a cop and all.” Angelo met Leo’s gaze. “You probably see the worst in people all the time.”
“I see them at their worst moments,” Leo said. “There’s a difference. Now, can I call Mom to tell her you’re fine?”
Angelo rubbed at his face. “Yeah.”
So, Leo made the call as he and Angelo trudged in the direction of the bus station. After calming his mother down, he informed the police chief to call off the search. Once Leo and Angelo were in the car, Leo made one more call to Grant Shelton.
“Is this about that favor you owe me?” Grant said when he answered the call.
“Not exactly . . . I need a favor from you,” Leo said. “Another one. And then I’ll really owe you.”
Grant chuckled. “I guess there could be worse things than a cop owing me a favor. What is it?”
Leo explained that his cousin was in Pine Valley looking for some work. He glanced over at Angelo, hoping that this was the right decision. “He has some construction experience, and, really, he’s willing to do anything to get going.”
“We are busy,” Grant said. “I don’t really have time to train someone, but I’m willing to see what he can do. Tell him to show up Monday morning at my brother’s house. We’ll get him working on something.”
“Thanks, man,” Leo said. “You don’t know what this means to me.”
“Just don’t forget Sunday night,” Grant said. “And hey, it will be a win-win if it all works out.”
“Great.” When Leo hung up, he looked over at his cousin. “You’ve got a job, starting Monday morning. Don’t screw it up.”
Angelo nodded. “I won’t.” His tone was more humble than Leo had ever heard it before. “Thanks—I’ll make good on it.”
“He doesn’t know about your record yet,” Leo continued. “But I’m going to tell him, and he’ll be employing you on my reputation. So you need to make yourself indispensable.”
“Yes, sir.”
Leo hoped he hadn’t made a mistake.
When they reached his mom’s home, she was out on the porch waiting, and so was his sister Maria and her husband. Everyone welcomed Angelo with a hug, and this relieved Leo more than anything. If Angelo could believe he was loved, he’d be more likely to make better decisions.
It was all Leo could hope for.
On his way to his apartment that night, he called Grant back and told him about Angelo’s record. “I don’t want you to be surprised if you find out some other way.”
“Answer me this,” Grant said. “Would you give him a second chance?”
“He’s living at my mom’s house, if that tells you anything.”
“That’s all I need to know,” Grant said. “But don’t think you’re getting off the hook for the double date. Even if you don’t want to bring Felicity Miner, find someone else.”
Leo exhaled. “I haven’t been dating since Janna. It’s not like I’ve been secretly collecting a bunch of women’s numbers. Besides, I did ask Felicity after you left, but she didn’t give me a straight answer. We only met this morning, you know.”
“Wow,” Grant said. “That is quick. Yet, she did order pizza, so I’m thinking she didn’t mind having you around.”
“She didn’t order it until after you showed up.”
Grant laughed. “Nice try. She had eyes all for you.”
Leo laughed too, as if he was brushing off his friend’s comment. But truthfully, he felt pleased with the thought. What if Felicity was interested in him? What if she agreed to go out with him on Sunday? He hadn’t been planning on breaking his no-dating streak, so that’s why meeting Felicity had been such a surprise. Who would have thought he’d find someone so interesting practically in his backyard?
“Are you even listening?” Grant’s voice cut into Leo’s thoughts.
“What?”
Grant laughed. “See you later.”
Leo hung up, trying not to let Grant’s words go to his head. Felicity was interesting, unique, and he could picture her green eyes studying him. He wouldn’t mind spending more time with her. Well, he had blatantly told her he wanted to take her out. It seemed his mind was working a lot faster than his jilted heart. Although, ironically, he’d never really grieved over his breakup with Janna. He’d been more angry at himself for allowing her expectations of getting married. Yet, since their breakup, he had felt relieved, happy, and like he’d crossed the finish line of a marathon—exhausted and elated. He hadn’t realized how exhausting it had been trying to keep Janna happy. And that’s what their relationship boiled down to, Leo realized.
Felicity was . . . happy with simple things like hot chocolate and a good book. Suddenly he was curious about what her favorite book was. She had so many, and she worked in a bookshop. Did she have a go-to genre? Leo groaned. What was he thinking?
He had a feeling that thoughts of Felicity weren’t going away any time soon.