Angel of Redemption (17 page)

“
I thought Dean was the asshole of the
two,
”
I say, only partially joking.

She
shrugs and takes a sip of her coffee.
“
Dean
’
s all right. He
’
s
had a rough life.
”

“
But Aiden hasn
’
t?
”
It
’
s
a genuine question. I don
’
t know much about the Wyatts, so I
have no idea what their background is.

“
No. He hasn
’
t. The Wyatts
—Jim and
Grace—theyand
good people. They
’
ve dedicated their lives to helping
others, but at the expense of their own kids. Jim was always so hard on them,
and Grace overcompensated by babying them. Dean was her little angel. There
’
s was nothing that kid could do wrong. Aiden was the
opposite. He was a playboy as a teenager. He had a different girl every week,
got into some trouble with alcohol and pot. But it wasn
’
t until Dean
—”
she stops. I can see the hesitation on
her face.

“
I know about his arrest,
”
I tell her.
“
His drug conviction.
”

“
Uh, yeah.
”
She half smiles and then continues.
“
Anyway. When Dean was arrested, Aiden straightened up. It
was kind of a wake-up call for him.
”
There
’
s a sadness in her eyes that I don
’
t understand, but she blinks and it
’
s gone.
“
But he can still be a total douchebag
sometimes.
”
She grins at me. I can tell she
’
s trying to take the tension out of the conversation.
“
What about you? How long have you been a social worker?
”

“
Six years,
”
I say, thinking about how quickly the time has passed.

“
Do you like it?
”

I
down the rest of my coffee.
“
Yeah. There are times I wonder why I
do it and feel like it
’
s all for nothing
”—memories
of some of my most difficult cases flash through my head. There are definitely some
I wish I could forget—“but
I love my kids, and I love my coworkers.
”

Emily
finishes her coffee, too.
“
Do you want to walk?
”

For
the next two hours, we stroll through the mall, shopping and talking about our
families.

“
So you don
’
t have a boyfriend?
”
she asks, tapping her chin.

“
No,
”
I answer suspiciously. She looks like she
’
s up to something.

“
Hmm. I might know a few guys.
”

“
Absolutely not,
”
I choke.

“
Oh, come on. Don
’
t you trust me?
”

“
I
’
m
not sure yet,
”
I laugh.

She
grins.
“
Well, if you ever want me to set you
up, just let me know.
”

“
Thanks.
”

It
’
s not that I don
’
t
trust Emily. In the short time we
’
ve
spent together, she
’
s made me feel like I
’
ve known her for years. But it would be weird to have her
set me up. Especially since I can
’
t stop thinking about her brother-in-law.

“
I
’
m
pretty good at making matches. Although, I thought my best friend Delia would
make a great match for Dean.
”
She makes a face.
“
I was really wrong on that one.
”

“
I thought Dean was married,
”
I blurt out. I meant to say it in my
head, but it came out of my mouth regardless. Emily looks surprised.
“
A lot of rumors go around. I heard he was.
”
I know it
’
s not exactly the truth, but there
’
s no way I
’
m telling her I Googled him.

“
Don
’
t listen to rumors, Kayla. Please,
”
she begs.
“
Dean gets a bad rap, but that
’
s all it is. People don
’
t
understand him. They don
’
t even try. It doesn
’
t help that he
’
s
a defensive asshole, either,
”
she laughs lightly. I smile at Emily
’
s protectiveness for her
brother-in-law. And then I frown when I remember it wasn
’
t rumors that gave me that tidbit of information. The news
article clearly reported that he was married.

Emily seems to read my confusion perfectly. “Okay,
so, Dean was technically married—a long time ago. He was practically a
baby. It was a big mistake, and he filed for divorce. That was over seven years
ago.”

“
Sorry,
”
I whisper, embarrassed.

“
Don
’
t be.
”
She smiles at me.
“
I
know how rumors go. People tend to get out of control when they don
’
t know the facts. I don
’
t even want to know everything you
’
ve heard, but just take it with a
grain of salt. I
’
m starving. Do you want to grab an
early dinner?
”

I
like Emily. A lot. She doesn
’
t get offended by my stupid, invasive
questions. She answers them the way she wants to and moves on.

“
Sure. Where do you want to go?
”

Dean

Daniel Rawlings, 29. BA in Psychology.

Robert Dobbins, 40. Masters in Sociology.

Axel Reed, 24. BA in Social Work.

This is the tenth time I
’
ve been through these goddamn
applications. We
’
re
supposed to start interviews next week. We
’
d like to have someone hired and trained in the next six
weeks, before the gala. Aiden and I are always required to attend. As CFO and
PR agent, Emily is, too. The last several years, that
’
s meant Tracey
’
s had to look after the boys
overnight. This year, I know she
’
d really like to go to the gala.

“
Hey, Dean?
”
I look up to see Brayden standing in my doorway.
“
Can I take the car tonight?
”

“
Where you going?
”

“
Date. With Caitlynn.
”
Brayden has a smirk on his face.

“
And where are you taking Caitlynn on
this date?
”
I ask. Brayden looks away, scanning
the room.

“
I don
’
t know,
”
he shrugs.
“
Dinner. Movie. Ya know, date stuff.
”

“
Backseat of the car?
”
I
’
m not teasing him. I want to make sure he
’
s being safe. He looks both sheepish
and somehow still a little smug.

“
Nah,
”
he sniffs.
“
She
’
s a nice girl.
”

I
don
’
t
believe him for a second, but he
’
s eighteen and sexually active. There
’
s nothing I can say or do to change
that. I have to pick my battles, and that is one I will lose. Aiden and I have
an open-door policy when it comes to sex. We answer their questions and try to
teach them about the responsibility that comes with it. As long as they
’
re not having sex on our property, we
don
’
t
scold or punish.

I
reach into the top drawer of my desk, grabbing the keys to the car and tossing
them to Brayden.

“
No drinking, no drugs, no road head.
”

“
Yeah, yeah.
”
He rolls his eyes.
“
I
know the rules.
”

“
You know the consequences?
”

“
How are you gonna know if she sucks me
off while I
’
m
driving?
”
he scoffs.

“
If nothing happens, I won
’
t. But I might also get a phone call
that the car is wrapped around a tree, and you and your girl are either dead or
in critical condition.
”
The thought puts me on edge. I grit my
teeth together, agitated.

“
All right, all right. I get it,
”
Brayden mutters.

“
Good.
”
He turns to leave.
“
Hey,
Bray?
”

“
Yeah?
”

I
stand up, open another drawer, and pull out something he may need. Walking over
to him, I grab his hand and put the condom in it.

Brayden
looks down and starts laughing.
“
Why you got rubbers in your office?
You don
’
t
ever get none.
”

“
Shut up and take them.
”

“
I told you, she
’
s a nice girl.
”
He smiles broadly.

“
Yeah, well, better safe than sorry.
Get out of here.
”
I shove his shoulder, chuckling.
“
And be careful.
”

* * *

A few hours later, I
’
m staring at my brother across the dining room table,
sorting through more applicants. I couldn
’
t stand being cooped up in my office anymore. Brayden left
and took Logan with him. He said that his girl had a friend who needed a date last
minute. Logan, of course, volunteered. It wasn
’
t
until after they
’
d gone that I realized I hadn
’
t had the sex talk with him yet.

“
Don
’
t
worry about it, Dean,
”
my brother says.
“
If Logan needs protection, I
’
m
positive that Brayden is fully stocked.
”

“
Great,
”
I mumble.
“
Why can
’
t Emily do this?
”
I ask as I drop another clearly padded resume in the
no-way
pile.

“
Because it
’
s not her job,
”
Aiden answers.
“
Besides,
she
’
s
busy.
”

“
What
’
s she doing?
”
I ask, only half listening.

Aiden
sets the application he
’
s been reviewing in the
no
pile
and picks up a new one.

“
She had coffee with Kayla this morning,
and I believe she
’
s
now shopping for Ashley
’
s birthday.
”

And
suddenly I am interested. I
’
d completely forgotten about their
plans.

“
Lemme ask you a question,
”
I demand rather than ask. Aiden waves his hand for me to
continue.
“
Why is Emily so interested in being
friends with Kayla?
”

He
chuckles, but doesn
’
t look up from the resume he
’
s scanning.
“
I don
’
t know
…
she likes her? Em doesn
’
t have a lot of girlfriends, Dean.
According to her, all the chicks she went to school with are vapid and
soulless. Don
’
t
fuck this up for her, please. She was really excited. And I like my wife
excited.
”
He waggles his eyebrows.
“
When she gets worked up
…”

“
Ugh, you nasty bastard,
”
I laugh.
“
I don
’
t want to hear about your wife
’
s proclivities.
”

“
That
’
s a big word, little brother,
”
Aiden grins.
“
Here.
I like this one.
”
He thrusts an application at me.

We
spend another hour picking out a total of fifteen applicants to interview, but
it
’
s
hard to concentrate. I can
’
t stop thinking about Kayla and the kinds of things she and
Emily might have talked about. My mind paints really ugly pictures.

I
know I should leave it alone. Kayla made a point of saying that her little
sister was staying with
“
us,
”
meaning she lives with someone. She doesn
’
t wear a ring, but that doesn
’
t
mean much. I never wore a ring. Steph always said they didn
’
t prove anything.

Maybe
that should have been my first clue that my marriage wasn
’
t exactly what I thought it was.

For
some reason, the whole thing pisses me off. Kayla was flirting
—
at least, I think she was, anyway. But maybe that
’
s just her personality. I
’
m having a hard time figuring her out.
I had every intention of keeping her at arm
’
s lengt
h—of doing
what we need to do for Logan and Matty and keeping everything professional—but
when her thumb slid
over my knuckles, tracing the reminders of my time in Faribault, something
changed
…

Aiden
’
s phone rings, tearing me from my
thoughts.

“
Hey, sugar, what up?
”

I
roll my eyes. My brother gets this expression on his face that makes me want to
puke every time he talks to, looks at, or even thinks about his wife.

“
Yeah, why?
”
He flashes his eyes at me.
“
Really?
Hmmm. I
’
ll
ask him.
”

“
What
?
”
I mouth. He holds up his finger.

“
Okay. I
’
ll text you. Love you, too. Bye.
”
I make gagging noises, sticking out my tongue. He hangs up
and sets his phone back down on the table.
“
You
spend too much time with teenagers,
”
he laughs.
“
You want to meet Em for dinner? The
kids are at her parents
’
house, probably for the night, and Tracey
’
s on dinner duty. We
’
re free and clear.
”

“
Yeah, sure. Whatever.
”

“
Cool. Grab your coat. I
’
ll go tell T and we can head out.
”

* * *

Walking into the restaurant, I know immediately that
something
’
s
going on. It doesn
’
t take me long to figure out what.

“
Aiden, you dick,
”
I growl. My brother looks guilty. My sister-in-law does
not. She smiles widely. I want to know what in God
’
s name made her think this was a good
idea
—
because it
’
s not.

“
Hello, boys,
”
Emily coos, wrinkling up her nose as she jumps up and
kisses Aiden.

I
clear my throat.
“
Kayla.
”

“
Dean.
”
She appears as stunned as I feel. Something flashes in her
eyes, but it
’
s
gone in a matter of seconds. Aiden slides into the booth next to Emily. There
’
s only one place for me to go. Kayla
scoots over, making room for me.

“
So.
”
Emily grins happily. It appears that she
’
s the only one who
’
s
not uncomfortable at the moment.

“
So,
”
Aiden repeats.
“
What
did you ladies get up to today?
”

“
Well, we had coffee this afternoon and
just couldn
’
t
get enough of each other, so we spent the day wandering aimlessly and chatting
incessantly.
”

“
Did you actually get anything done?
”
Aiden asks.

“
Of course we did,
”
Emily scoffs.
“
On
top of finishing almost all the shopping for Ash
’
s party, I got to know Kayla
’
s innermost desires.
”