Page 10 of Ozzie

“I get it. Do you want to tell me about your family?”

“I’m an only child, but I have a lot of cousins, so it never felt that way growing up. Everything was fine until I got into high school. My parents always pushed me to do as well as possible so I could get into their alma mater.”

I lean up and stare into his eyes. “Where was that?”

“Yale.”

I blink a few times. “Your parents went to Yale?”

He nods. “Like your family, they came from money. My dad expected me to go to Yale and take a role in the family business. The problem was I had no interest. I tried to tell him, but he’d wave it off.”

He swallows. “My grades weren’t good enough to get into Yale. My parents hired tutors and kept pushing me. I found out my senior year that they had applied for mebecause I’d refused. Somehow, despite my grades, I was accepted.”

“That’s amazing,” I say.

He shrugs. “I’m pretty sure it had more to do with my parents’ contribution to the school than anything in my application.” He frowns. “When I told my parents I didn’t want to go, they didn’t talk to me for a week. They said I was being stupid, throwing away an opportunity like that.”

“You enlisted instead?”

He nods. “It was something I had wanted to do since I was fourteen. I tried to tell my parents, but they wouldn’t listen. When they found out, they were furious. My mom finally came around and called me, apologizing for her harsh reaction. But to this day, my dad is still angry about it.”

“But you were a SEAL. He must be proud of that.”

Ozzie shakes his head. “He’s not. He did end up recruiting a few of my cousins to help with the business. And I don’t know what he told them, but they’ve all grown distant. I still go home for Christmas to see my mom, but my dad and cousins avoid me as much as possible. It’s a real good time.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight. “I’m so sorry.”

“That’s why Durango’s friendship is so important to me. He and Coff and Axel are like brothers. They have been for years. They are really my family now, and I can’t lose them.”

I nod into his shoulder. “I get that. And you won’t lose him. We’ll find a way to make him come around and see weare adults making an informed decision that he can’t argue with.

Ozzie laughs. “Have you met your cousin?

He’s right. Durango will be a hard sell. But this has to work out. Everything tells me Ozzie’s my one.

CHAPTER 4

Ozzie

After Piper toldme all about her parents, I was so angry it was hard to sit still. Then she asked me about mine, and while it’s not something I like talking about, it was easy with her. As we continued to talk, she yawned. She’s been asleep on the couch for a couple of hours while I’ve been watching old television shows, trying to take my mind off of everything. It’s not working.

“Hey,” she says from the couch. “What time is it?”

“Almost dinner time. I can call for delivery.”

She pushes herself up and yawns. “Okay.”

“What do you want?”

She shrugs. “Surprise me.”

I chuckle. She’s hung out with me at my place on a few occasions, and if I grab dinner or have it delivered, shealways says surprise me. So far, she’s liked everything I’ve picked. “Okay, I will.”

I step into the kitchen and call in the order. Then I fill a cup of water and grab a couple of ibuprofen tablets. She hasn’t asked for them yet, but she’s overdue, and I’m sure she’s in pain.

As I walk back to the living room, she’s wincing.

“Hey, could you get me some—”

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