Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)(27)

Percy pressed his lips together. “Sort of.”

For a second he thought longingly of the fighting dogs that Larissa had left in his house. Because with them, he’d been able to escape to a hotel.

“You have any other luggage stashed somewhere?” he asked.

Percy shook his head. “I have everything with me. I like to travel light. You know, in case I have to take off or something.”

Of course he did. “Percy’s an unusual name. Any reason your mom picked that?”

“Yeah.” The teen gave a shadow of a smile. “It was the name of her favorite teacher in high school. The one who was helping her apply to college when she got pregnant. She said naming me Percy reminded her that there were possibilities. She wanted that for me. That’s why she made me promise about the gangs.”

Jack nodded. “Give me a second.” He pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts. Seconds later, he was connected with Taryn.

“Hey,” he said. “I need your help.”

Taryn swore. “I knew it! When I saw Larissa a few minutes ago, she practically ran in the other direction. What has she done now?”

Jack looked at Percy, who was watching him. “I have a guest for a few days. Maybe longer. His name is Percy. He’s eighteen and needs some new clothes. Is there a store in Fool’s Gold where we can go?”

Sacramento was an option but not today. He had to get Percy settled and in the afternoon he had his first committee meeting at Cal U Fool’s Gold to help with the coaching search.

Taryn laughed. “Really? Haven’t you ever seen that giant Target on Forest Highway, by the college?”

Jack probably had, but why would he remember? It wasn’t as if he shopped regularly. “Great. I’ll take him there and then bring him to work.”

She stopped laughing. “No way. You’re not dumping him on me.”

For the first time that morning, Jack smiled. “Would I do that?”

She was still calling him names when he hung up.

Jack looked at the kid. “All right. We’re going to Target and then to my office. We’ll put you to work until we can figure out the next step.” One of which was going to have to be assessing Percy’s reading ability. Because until that was up to speed, he couldn’t possibly get a GED.

Percy looked both hopeful and suspicious. “You’re gonna help me?”

“Apparently.”

“Because of Larissa?”

“Mostly.”

“Okay, but I’ll pay you back. My word is bond.” He took his bowl to the sink. “You’re not going to tell her I can’t read, are you?”

Jack sighed. “No.”

“Good. Because I don’t want her thinking bad about me.”

“Trust me,” Jack said as he led the way to the front door. “That could never happen.”

* * *

TWO HOURS AND a few hundred dollars later, Jack drove Percy to the Score offices. The teen now owned a couple of pairs of jeans, several shirts and sweaters, shoes, toiletries, a cell phone and basic school supplies. Jack figured that wherever they were starting on Percy’s education, he would need paper, a couple of notebooks and pens and pencils.

“So where do you work?” Percy asked, as he ran his hands up and down his new jeans.

“At a company called Score. It’s a PR and marketing firm.”

“What’s that?”

“We promote companies. Get them publicity and advertising. We design campaigns, help get them sponsorships at different kinds of events.”

“Do you like it?”

“Mostly. I work with my friend Kenny on getting new clients. There are four partners in the company. Sam, Taryn, Kenny and me.”

Percy seemed to be digesting that information. “What about Larissa?”

“She’s my assistant.”

They pulled into the parking lot. Jack drove into one of the free spaces, then shut off the engine and turned to Percy. “You can leave your stuff in the car,” he said. “We’ll take it home after work. You’ll fill out some paperwork to get on the books as an employee. The job will be part-time while we figure out how to get going on your GED.”

Percy studied him. “Why are you doing this, man? You don’t know me.”

“Maybe not now, but I will eventually. Look, Percy. You have to take a leap of faith on this one. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“Foster parents are usually nice. At first.”

Jack would guess that was true. “You’re saying you expect this to change?”

Percy nodded.

“Fair enough. If it gets bad, you don’t have to stay. Until then, let’s see where this all goes.”

The teen nodded and got out of the car.

They walked in the main entrance of the building. Jack started down the hall. Halfway to Taryn’s office, he realized he was alone and turned around.

Percy stood in the middle of the foyer, head back, staring up at the larger-than-life pictures of Jack, Kenny and Sam in uniform during various games. Each of them had an action shot, along with several posed pictures. There was also a photo of the four partners together, with Taryn looking totally in charge.

Percy slowly lowered his head. “That’s you,” he said, his voice disbelieving.