Page 41 of Reaching Roland

He screamed so loud I jerked the phone from my ear to preserve my hearing.

“Kenny, did you really just answer the phone?” Knight asked.

“It’s Will,” I whined. “He knows Roland, too, and he’s excited for me. He even screamed.” I held the phone out like that would let them see Will’s excitement.

Ace chuckled. “Why don’t you put him in our call.” Knight grinned. He had a soft spot for Will. Really, he had a soft spot for anyone younger than him or in need. Joshua frowned, glancing down at whatever he’d been working on, and with a resigned sigh, he pulled his laptop closer and got comfortable.

Now that I knew all three were onboard, I put the phone back to my ear. “Will, can you?—”

“Yes. Yes. I heard Ace. Put me in.”

“Okay, bye.”

As I added him on the computer, I sent him one last text.

Me:Can you tell them how amazing Roland is, please? I think they’re worried.

Will:You bet your ass I will.

And then he connected on screen with another shrill scream of happiness, and I smiled, settling in for a long chat with my boys.

An hour later, Knight’s shoulders finally came down from around his ears, and he grinned. “Hot damn, Kenny. It sounds like you really did find a good one this time.”

“I told you.”

“Yeah, but I trust Will’s opinion more. Your perspective can be a little flawed when it comes to men,” he teased.

I stuck out my tongue at him.

Will giggled, then turned and looked out into what I knew was the hallway off of John’s office. He turned back. “Sorry, guys. I have to go. Daddy says it’s bedtime.”

Relief washed over Joshua’s face as his gaze skirted back to where his contract was. Did he plan on going back to work after we hung up? I worried about my friend. Even more when he fake yawned, stretching his arms over his head, and said, “I should probably get off of here, too. It was a long day.” Based on Knight’s irritated growl and Ace’s pursed lips, he wasn’t fooling them any better than he was fooling me.

“Alright, bye. It was nice seeing you three. If you’re ever up our way, let me know. I’d love to have you over for dinner. It’s been forever,” Will said.

Ace smiled. “We definitely will. It’s been too long.”

Looking pained, Knight said, “I know you don’t have the best memories from here, but you and John are always welcome to stay with me if you ever want to come down for a weekend at the beach.”

There was a time that Will would’ve completely disregarded an invitation like that, maybe even got offended, but those days were long gone. With John’s love and support, he’d come so far. “Thanks, Knight. I’ll talk to Daddy. We might take you up on that sometime.”

We all beamed at him, and Will choked up. “Stop.” He fluttered both hands in front of his face like he was fighting off tears.

“You’ll have to hop on with us more often, Will,” Joshua said.

Will’s head reared back in shock, but the rest of us nodded encouragingly. Joshua wasn’t a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, but he cared deeply about people. He just usually hid that from everyone but Knight, Ace, and me. Will cleared his throat. “Thanks, Joshua. I’d like that,” Will said softly.

I was proud of my friends. They didn’t know Will as well as me since we’d gotten so much closer both living in Takoda. And as many friends as Will had made here, including his best friend, Timothy, sometimes it was nice to know that the people who’d witnessed your family drama supported you and didn’t hold any of that against you. Joshua had just given Will a huge gift, and probably relieved some guilt that he never should’ve been caring, and I was so thankful for that.

“Okay, bye,” Will said quickly, and I saw his eyes were leaking before he disconnected.

“Well,” Ace said.

Knight nodded. There wasn’t a lot more to say. The guys had been thrilled when Will and I had reconnected, and they found out he was living his best life.

“Have fun on your date, Kenny. Shoot us a text and let us know how it went,” Joshua said. Then he disconnected, too.

A yawn escaped Ace, but this one wasn’t fake. “I should get going, too. I’m headed into the shop early tomorrow. I love how busy it is in the summer, but I swear, I get so many tourists who need their cars fixed in five minutes because they’re supposed tobe heading home. Why don’t their cars ever break down at the beginning of their trip?”

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