Page 29 of Reaching Roland

“I pray for that. Every time I think of her, Daddy. I’m sad that Scott never really got to live and see life outside of the LBB.Whenever I feel too sorry for myself, I think of him, and I’m so damn grateful. I have so much that he didn't even know was possible. And I had my three best friends, my brothers. And we supported each other that day and every day since.”

One more little fear niggled at me. “You were a freshman, though, right? They all graduated before your last year?”

“Yeah, but by then, it didn't matter. We were old news. So many of the parents were outraged that we’d been suspended, and the tone in our school began to change. Plus, don't forget Knight was their superstar. The first player to give our school a shot at a real name for athletics. So things changed, slowly but surely.”

Overwhelmed by all Kenny and his friends had been through, I pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “Thank you for sharing that with me, shortcake.”

“Thank you for listening, Daddy.”

Chapter Ten

KENNY

“It had been almost two weeks since I poured my heart out to Roland regarding Scott's death and the formation of my friendships with Knight, Ace, and Joshua. Since then, he'd managed to not only talk me into joining him at The Tap for a meal each Thursday after work, but somehow, I found myself at his dinner table on Sunday night, as well. However, I drew the line at doing my laundry at his house. I was working hard on putting Roland in the friend-zone and leaving him there. Washing my dirty boxers at his house seemed too intimate.

“Hello, Kenny.”

I jerked my head up from the customer in my chair and turned to find Roland striding toward me with a bag from the deli down the street in one hand and a 32oz water bottle in the other.

“It's not Thursday, is it?” Austin asked from where he was working at the chair next to me.

Roland shook his head. “No, no. It's Saturday, but I know for a fact that Kenny didn't have time to pack a lunch this morning.I can't usually do anything about that, but since I'm off today…” He trailed off.

“You brought me lunch?” I asked, surprised.

Michaela came around her side of the wall between our stations. “Hello, Roland. It's so good to see you.”

His smile widened as he dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Hello there, Michaela. I'm not going to stay and interrupt since I know you guys have a busy day.” He wasn’t wrong about that. Saturdays from prom into wedding season were brutal. “I just wanted to drop this off for Kenny.”

“Where do I sign up for lunch delivery?” Michaela teased.

Roland frowned. “Next time, I'll make sure and call up here and see if anyone else needs anything.” Ugh. He was killing me. Could he get any more considerate?

Austin chuckled. “Dear God, don't do that. If Michaela’s or my husband did that every time they brought us something, we'd go broke.”

Michaela snorted, then slapped her hand over her mouth in embarrassment. “That's very true. Okay, back to work for me.” And she disappeared back to her side.

Roland stepped in closer and held up the bag, whispering, “Where should I leave this, shortcake?”

The teenage girl in my chair turned and looked up at me expectantly. “Yeah, shortcake? Where should he leave your lunch?”

“Hush,” I hissed.

She giggled. I'd been cutting Sylvia's hair since she was two. No one else had ever touched her glorious mane of brunette ringlets but me, and she’d become one of my favorite customers over the years. She also happened to be sassy as can be.

She smirked. “If you need to show him to the break room, I can wait.” I could see her young teenage mind conjuring up all kinds of crazy ideas. She knew I was gay, and you’d have to be dead not to see Roland was an attractive man.

I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I'll be right back.” Grabbing Roland's arm, I dragged him into our break room and closed the door.

“Maybe I should have just dropped this off at the receptionist desk,” he said, frowning. “I didn't mean to cause a commotion.”

“You didn't,” I promised. I took the outstretched bag and water bottle and set them on the table. “Thank you so much, Daddy. I appreciate this.”

His gaze dropped to my feet. “I'd appreciate it if you invested in better shoes.”

I snickered. “We’re not having this argument again.”

Roland held up his arms in surrender. “I'm not arguing, just stating a fact. You’ll learn the hard way since you’re not willing to listen to your elders.”

---