Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)(26)

Jack smiled. “Yeah. Just like that.”

CHAPTER SIX

JACK STEPPED OUT of his shower and reached for a towel. He’d slept well the previous night. No doubt the aftereffects of his good deed. His wallet and cell phone were where he’d left them, also a good sign that he hadn’t been completely idiotic to let some teenager he didn’t know spend the night in his house.

He dressed and made his way downstairs. Percy was already in the kitchen, eating cereal from a bowl. The two males stared at each other. Jack had a feeling that if they were elks or gazelles or something and in the wild, they’d be butting antlers. And if one of them got hurt, Larissa would show up and take him home.

He walked over to the Keurig and turned it on, then dropped in a pod, shoved a mug into place and waited for the magic to happen.

“You sleep okay?” he asked, knowing he was the grown-up in the room and therefore the most likely one to start the conversation.

“Mostly. It’s real quiet here.”

Jack wasn’t sure if Percy meant in the town or the house, then decided it didn’t matter.

The Keurig poured out the elixir of life. When the mug was full, Jack carried it over to the table and sat across from Percy.

The kid was wearing the same clothes he had the previous night, although he’d obviously showered and shaved. There was a small cut on his chin. He thought about the backpack Percy had been carrying and held in yet another sigh.

“All right, let’s start at the beginning,” he said. “Where are you from?”

“Los Angeles. South Central.”

Jack had lived in L.A. for years, and parts of South Central L.A. were not to be messed with. “Tell me about your mom.”

Percy looked startled by the question. “Why?”

“Humor me.”

“Okay. She got pregnant in high school. Her boyfriend ran off and her family kicked her out. I don’t remember much about when I was little. We lived in a shelter mostly, but we got by.” Percy’s mouth tightened, as if he were holding in emotion. “She was real good to me. Always looking out for me and telling me not to get into trouble. When I was seven, we moved in with my grandma and things got better. Mom got a steady job and we stopped moving around so much. When my grandma died, we couldn’t afford her nice apartment anymore. That’s when we moved again and it was harder. My mom worked a lot and that meant I was on my own.”

Percy stared at his empty cereal bowl. “I got jobs in the neighborhood, to help out, you know? But she made me promise to stay away from the gangs and if you’re not tight with them, it’s hard to find work. Then she was killed and I got into the system. I was bounced around every couple of months. Then I ended up here.”

Percy looked at Jack. “She was a good person and she tried real hard. I didn’t want to let her down.”

“Sounds like you didn’t,” Jack said, thinking that the difference between making it and not was so narrow. How many other kids had suffered Percy’s fate and made the easy choice to join a gang? He knew from a few of his former teammates that not only did they provide a sense of security, there was also belonging. A social structure. Of course, it came with a heavy price.

“You have ID? A social security card, stuff like that?”

“I have a social security card and a copy of my birth certificate,” Percy said slowly. “Why?”

“You’re going to need them in life. So tell me what you want, Percy. A good job? A college education?”

Percy frowned. “I don’t understand, man. What are you asking?”

“That lady you met last night? Larissa? Well, think of that meeting as winning the lottery. Larissa is going to take care of you. So what do you want? Any dreams? Becoming a navy SEAL? Learning how to work on cars? Going to college and studying to be a doctor?”

Percy scowled. “If you want me to leave, just say so.”

“Why would I want you to leave?”

“You’re messing with me.”

“I’m not. I’m saying you have an opportunity. You’ve spent your whole life making your mother proud of you. You resisted the easy road. Because joining a gang would have been easy, right?”

Percy nodded, even as he crossed his arms over his chest. “So?”

“So there aren’t any gangs in Fool’s Gold. Hell, I don’t think there’s any crime. You made a good choice coming here. Larissa likes to help people in need. Right now that’s you. Let’s start easy. How about a few classes at community college and a part-time job?”

Percy stared at him. “For real?”

“Yeah, for real.”

The teen seemed to shrink in his seat. For one horrifying second, Jack thought he might cry. Then Percy swallowed and shook his head.

“I can’t.”

“Go to college?”

The teen stared at him. “I’m not a charity case. Anyway, I never graduated from high school.” He darted a glance at Jack. “I’m not good with studying and stuff.”

The last couple of words were barely audible and spoken in a tone that implied both humiliation and shame.

Jack finished his coffee and wished it were later in the day because getting drunk seemed like a fine idea right about now.

He drew in a deep breath. “Can you read?” he asked flatly.