Golden Trail (The 'Burg #3)(81)

Tripp nodded.

“Good,” Layne told him and then he gave Rocky another squeeze, dipped his head and said close to her ear, “Who’d you pick for Tripp, baby?”

She nodded too and Layne lifted his head as she said, “You have three choices, Tripp. Giselle Speakmon, Sabrina Tilley or Darcy Cassini.”

“Giselle Speakmon,” Jasper said immediately.

“Why?” Devin entered the conversation on a bark that made Jasper, Tripp and Rocky jump.

“’Cause she’s hot,” Jasper replied.

“She’s out,” Devin shot back. “Next.”

“She’s hot and she’s shy. Freakin’ shy, like, it’s painful. She’s a freshman too, like Tripp,” Jasper continued, his eyes steady on Devin. “Sabrina is nice and she’s okay lookin’, at a push, but she’s a junior and Tripp would be outta her league if she wasn’t just okay lookin’ and, like I said, that’s at a push, so, actually, she’s outta his league. Darcy’s nice too but she’s a sophomore and she’s big as a boat. It’d look funny, he got friendly with either of them. He wouldn’t have any reason to do that. This guy’s a predator like you think he is then he’ll cotton onto Tripp’s game, he gets close to one of those chicks. Everyone knows who Tripp is and everyone knows what Dad does.” Jasper’s eyes went to his old man. “No one would question Tripp gettin’ friendly with Giselle. She’s hot and girls like Tripp, think he’s cute. Tripp would have to work it ‘cause she’s so shy but, if anyone could get Giselle talkin’, it’d be Tripp and Tripp could play it like he’s there just to get Giselle to talk to him. That’s the way I’d play it. And he’ll be cool. He’ll work it, no one will know why he’s there and he’ll get what you need.”

In that moment, there was a lot happening at that island for Tanner Layne, so much it was too much for Layne to process. The first part of it being the fact that he’d gone beyond vastly underestimating Jasper. The second part was that Devin was staring at his oldest son with blatant respect, something Devin very rarely did. The third part of it being the fact that Raquel Merrick was standing, unresisting, in his arms with her fingers curled tight, holding onto him. The last part of it was Tripp looking at his brother with unashamed love shining from his eyes and Layne had seen a lot of things in his life, the woman he held in his arms being the most beautiful, or she was until Layne saw Tripp look at his brother like that.

“Then it’s Giselle,” Layne declared, heard his voice was gruff and he knew Rocky heard it too because her fingers gave his arm a squeeze. Layne cleared his throat and went on. “Youth Group meets tomorrow night, Tripp, seven thirty. You start then.”

Tripp nodded at Layne again.

“I’ll take him and go with him the first night,” Jasper offered.

“That works but no Keira,” Layne replied.

“No Keira,” Jasper agreed.

“How do you know he likes girls?” Rocky put in and Jasper looked at her when she continued. “Have you seen this man?”

“Yeah, he’s everywhere, at the games, at Reggie’s after games, at the Senior Follies last year around about the time he first got to town. He’s a good-lookin’ guy and there’s always a bunch of girls around him. He acts all holy and sometimes even carries a Bible but I think that’s so parents won’t freak. There’s boys in that Youth Group but there’s only about ten of them. They go to be around the girls but they stay because they say this guy is the shit. They say he’s funny as all get out, makes religion cool.”

“You got friends who go there?” Layne asked.

“Not friends but I know some of the kids,” Jasper answered.

“Then that’s your job, you get them talkin’ in school. Learn what you can and let me know,” Layne ordered and Jasper nodded.

“Does Keira know this guy?” Rocky suddenly asked and Layne’s arms tightened around her.

“Don’t know but I reckon,” Jasper answered. “Everyone does.”

“Do you think you could get Keira to point him out to me at Friday’s game?”

“It’s away, he won’t be there,” Jasper answered.

“Any game then, without her knowing why she’s pointing him out,” Rocky pushed.

“Roc, what the f**k?” Layne asked.

She let him go, turned in his arms and looked up at him. “I want to talk to him.”

“Why?”

“And I want to get his picture and give it to Merry.”

“That I can see, and that I’ll do, sweetcheeks, but you aren’t talkin’ to this guy.”

“I want to feel him out,” she returned.

“Rocky –”

“I work around kids every day and around adults who work around kids. I’ll know just by seeing him around the kids if he’s right or not,” she explained.

“You can use your gut for a lotta things, baby, but, far’s I know, havin’ a bad feelin’ about someone isn’t cause for police to instigate a full blown investigation, even if one of ‘em is your brother. They gotta justify their use of limited resources, Rocky, and if Drew could pull that off, he’d be doin’ this job himself,” Layne told her.