Page 79 of Trust

He quickly looked around to see if anyone else needed his wise counsel and spotted Olivia. Perhaps it was time to make an opening shot and put himself in the eye of the storm. Striding in the direction of the Ferris wheel, he hoped they could somehow find a way to give each other some peace—a safe space to rest their battered hearts.

Before he reached his destination, the two kids from the fair skidded to a stop in front of him, with Zelda following close behind. “What’s up?”

“Ms. Olivia said you were in charge of the Ferris wheel,” Sammy announced loudly.

“We want to be the first to go on,” Kelsey added.

Sammy dug into his pocket and pulled out two quarters. “I got money and everything.”

“Is that all you have?” Kelsey sniffed as she delicately extracted a fresh dollar bill from the panda purse that swung on her arm. “I’ve got more and will probably go twice.”

“Liv is in charge of the high finance, so you two need to talk terms with her.”

“They’re not letting you out of their sights,” Zelda said flatly. “You might as well let them go on. Otherwise, they’ll shadow you for the rest of the day.”

“Are you in charge of these two hellions?” Zane asked with a laugh.

“For the next,” she checked her watch, “hour and forty minutes.”

“Hope you’re getting top dollar for your efforts.”

Zelda rolled her eyes as only a teenage girl could. “Would I be doing it if I wasn’t?”

“She’s saving for a car, so she and her friends can escape this tiny town and all the boring boys who hang out at the skate park,” Kelsey added helpfully.

Zelda groaned. “You are not supposed to listen when my friends and I talk.”

“You guys sound like screecher monkeys, so it’s kinda hard not to,” Sam said flatly.

“What have we got here?” Linc asked as he ambled up. “The great brain trust?”

“Are you the cousin all the moms are talking about at the playground?” Sammy asked as he stepped closer to Linc. “A bunch of them were talking about you being bad in a good way.” He swiped his hand over his nose. “What does that mean?”

Kelsey tugged on Linc’s hand. “Zelda likes details, so use a lot of words.” She leaned up on her toes. “Happy babysitter, happy life.”

“I feel ya, girl. But have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Zelda snorted loudly. “I doubt that.”

“Wow, Allen never mentioned that his delightful daughter had a side hustle in the intel game,” Linc replied with a laugh.

Zane noticed Sammy copying Linc’s stance. “Looks like you got an admirer, cousin.”

Linc looked down. “Whatcha doing there, little man?”

“Copying you. I want to be bad but good.”

“Might need a few more years before that’s possible.”

Sammy tipped his chin in the direction of Lucy and a group of women. “Which one you got an eye on?”

Linc ruffled the kid’s hair. “A man never gives away his target. Best to keep that kind of information to yourself.”

Kelsey glanced over at Zelda. “Who does he like? You know just about everything that happens in Haven.”

Zelda gave Linc an arched eyebrow. “You want to tell them, or should I?”

“Jeez, girl, I’ve seen boat guys who don’t have half your juice. And considering we like to fast-rope into a RIB hovering three-hundred and fifty feet above the ocean while the helo tries not to get weather vaned into kingdom come, that’s saying something.”

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