Fearless In Love(40)

Without Susan and Bob’s solid presence, without the Mavericks going to bat for him, he would have remained the kid his father hated. The Mavericks and the Spencers had helped him to value his love of learning.

Who had helped Ari?

“Rosie and Chi sound like your Mavericks. They kept me sane in an insane world. We all need people to help us through.”

He allowed himself one gentle touch, taking her hand in his. He couldn’t be with her again, but there was something else he could do. Something that would mean the world to her.

“I can help you find your brother.”





Chapter Fourteen





Ari wasn’t a speechless kind of girl, but Matt stole the words from her lips.

I can help you find your brother.

Matt Tremont was a man who made the impossible possible. Look where he’d come from—a childhood where there wasn’t enough to eat and his feet had nearly frozen through the holes in his shoes. That had to be why he was so good to the people who worked for him, respectful with Doreen, and sweet with Cookie. Now this, an offer to help return her brother to her.

She simply nodded, with all her gratitude shining in her gaze.

“What have you learned so far?” He squeezed her hand, and his comfort touched her deep inside.

Finally, she found her voice. “I started looking for him about three years ago.” With her college tuition, books, and day-to-day living, even with Daniel’s fabulous scholarships, it had taken a long time to put a little money in a savings account.

After her mom died, she’d been shuffled between so many foster homes she couldn’t count the parents or the kids. She was like a transient, losing everything again after a few weeks or months. Between her mom and foster care, she’d learned to live and pack light. She’d run out of places to hide her meager stash from the other kids. Another lesson in traveling light: They couldn’t steal what you didn’t have. One of the fathers had tried to molest her, but she’d been able to get out of there fast, mostly because she’d had so little to take with her.

She’d not only survived, but she’d been lucky to find Rosie and Chi, her best friends in all the world. After high school, when Daniel had given her the job at Top-Notch, she’d lived paycheck to paycheck, and she’d clung to the little studio like she did to Rosie and Chi. In a world where she’d never had anything, the small room was hers, a hideaway, a place to run to. And it was the only place where Gideon could find her, if he ever got one of her letters.

“I didn’t know whether he’d gone into the Army, Navy, or Air Force, so I called them all. I even went to recruiting offices for help. Finally, someone was able to tell me that he was in the Army, but he’d gotten out nine years ago.” She’d spent hours on library computers until she’d saved enough from Daniel’s scholarships for a laptop she’d waited for six hours in a Black Friday line to buy. “I’ve used free people searches and a few cheap subscriptions. I sent emails and letters, or called if I could find a phone number.” She felt as helpless after three years of searching as she had in the beginning. “But nothing.”

The frustration of all those years welled up in her. But Matt’s hand was still on hers, warm, reassuring, the soft cadence of his voice soothing. “I’ve got a private investigator. Rafe Sullivan has access to special databases.” Before she could say she didn’t have the money for an investigator, he added, “He’s on retainer whether I use him or not.”

She still didn’t know how to thank him. “I tried everything. Gideon Jones. G. Jones. Gideon R. Jones. G.R. Jones. Gideon Randolph Jones.”

“Randolph?”

It was a relief to smile. She felt like she’d put too much emotion into the air, clouding everything. “My mom loved old Westerns, and Randolph Scott was her favorite cowboy.”

She’d watched with her mom, who usually wasn’t capable of doing more than lying on the couch. Ari loved books, and her mother loved movies. They couldn’t afford cable, so they’d watched TV on an ancient black and white that still had rabbit ears. That TV was the only thing they took with them when they left yet another apartment, and it had worked for years, even if it was a little snowy.

Oddly, those Saturday afternoon matinees had been some of their best times together. Her ribs squeezed tight around her heart. Gideon had watched too. He hadn’t been like regular brothers who found their little sisters totally annoying. Maybe it was because he was so much older. He was her big protector, watching over her. Always there. Until suddenly he wasn’t anymore. He’d been gone twice as long now as she’d even known him, but he would always be in her heart. And she would keep on looking for him, no matter what.