She raised her chin and gave him an icy stare that surprised him with its ferocity. “Do not ever think I’ve forgotten a thing, Gavin Hale Perez. You know very well I haven’t forgotten every bruise and cruel word your father has inflicted on us.”
“Then why? Did he—?” Horror turned him inside out. “Mama, did he force you?”
“No, mijo.” She reached for his hand then drew back. “No, it was my choice. You’re still so young, my love. You don’t know what it feels like to be truly lonely, and I hope you never do. I hope you never crave the touch of a man so badly that you will take attention from anyone, even someone who has done you so much wrong. He is still my husband.”
Gavin’s anger fizzled out under the weight of his mother’s sadness. He never considered her situation—a good Catholic woman, married to a man who’d run out on them, unable to find comfort with another due to her beliefs in the sanctity of her vows, no matter what Kai was doing out in the wide world. He wouldn’t divorce her. She’d be stuck with the bastard until he died.
“I’m sorry,” Gavin said.
“Me too.” She pulled him into a hug. “Me too, my love.”
Kai Hale’s arrest was the topic of conversation at the Dollar Mart when Gavin went in for his nine-to-four shift. The cashiers didn’t bother whispering or even ending their chatter when he came by, and they gossiped endlessly with customers who desperately needed to do some cheap shopping for their last-minute New Year’s bash. He didn’t particularly like his family being the latest hot topic, but it wouldn’t last. Not in a town like Stratton.
Not unless that flash drive really did have something important on it, although he couldn’t imagine what. His sperm donor wasn’t a master criminal. He was a petty thug and a professional drunk. Kai started in construction work after he failed to meet the requirements to be a firefighter, and when Gavin was five a back injury sent him straight to the bottle and unemployment. After that, Kai got mean. He struggled to keep the most basic minimum wage job, until he finally left his wife and son to fend for themselves.
Gavin kept his head down and stocked shelves until he turned a corner into the office supplies aisle and nearly ran right into Jace.
“Hey,” Gavin said, genuinely happy to see him. He couldn’t seem to get the big, goofy grin off his face.
Jace had shadows under his eyes, but he looked more relaxed than he had all month. “Hey yourself.”
“Last minute shopping?”
He glanced at the display of cheap pens and correction fluid. “Not today. I was hoping you hadn’t taken your break yet.”
“As a matter of fact, I haven’t.”
“Think you can take it now?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem. Let me ask.”
A few minutes later, they were settling into a booth at Mineo’s with lunch. Gavin got his usual Italian sub, while Jace ordered a bowl of Matzo ball soup. Gavin filled him in on the police search while he tried to not be so obvious about watching Jace eat. Thinking back on their time together, he couldn’t understand how he hadn’t noticed that Jace never ate anything in front of him.
Because Gavin wasn’t paying attention. He saw Jace without ever really seeing him.
“Can I ask you something?” Jace said when he’d finished most of the soup.
“Sure,” Gavin replied around a mouthful of cold cuts and sweet peppers.
“Do you like your job?”
He pondered the unexpected question while he chewed and swallowed. “As much as any other job I’ve had, I guess.”
“Is that yes or no?”
Irritation made him drop his sandwich. “It’s a yes, I guess. The store’s clean. I like the people I work with and it comes with benefits.”
“Do you still want to be stocking the Dollar Mart in five years?”
“Dunno. I can barely imagine five months from now, much less five years.” Looking that far into the future was beyond Gavin. He took his life one day, maybe one week, at a time. Maybe his lack of foresight was why he’d been at the Dollar Mart for four years, but he wasn’t unhappy so he saw no reason to change jobs. “What's wrong with working there? Someone has to.”
“Well, yeah, but I’m asking about you, Gavin, not just anybody.”
“Dollar Mart’s as good a place as any around here.” He didn’t understand why Jace cared so much about his job now, when it never mattered before. “It’s honest work.”
“I know that.”
“So what’s wrong with my job?”
“Nothing. That’s not what I meant when I asked if you liked working there.”