He smirked. “I was one once. Does that count?”
Her lips twitched before a smile spread across her flawless face, showing off two adorably matched dimples. “Troubled or a kid?”
Interesting. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Both." He liked little Violet. Underneath that professional veneer, she had a sense of humor and it didn’t hurt that she was damn cute with her button nose, clear skin, and almost white hair that swayed across the middle of her back.
She tapped two fingers against her dark pink lips. “That’s a start. Anything else you want to add?”
Not really. He didn’t want to spill his secrets, but she obviously needed more than a warm body to volunteer. This wouldn’t be as easy as he thought when he came up with the plan last night. For some reason, he got it in his head that he needed to give back to the program that gave him so much. “The Foundation for a Better Future helped me get my shit together as a teenager. I’d like to return the favor.”
Her dark eyelashes lowered, hiding her eyes and her thoughts from him. His fingers itched to tip up her chin so he could see her face. Knowing she’d probably flee if he touched her, he tapped his fingers on his thigh, then he circled his thumbs around his belt loops to stop fidgeting.
Her eyes dropped to his waist. “Well, I have to do a background check and get some references before you start.”
“I can have someone contact you this afternoon.” His agent would have his work cut out for him putting the paperwork together before tomorrow, but he could do it. Rick was efficient and that was the only reason he still put up with his shit.
Her eyes flickered to the holes in his jeans. “And I need you to fill out an application.”
“I can get that out of the way now.” He waved his hand toward the front door of the building that had seen better days. He didn’t remember the building looking so run down when he spent his free time here in high school, but that was probably because this place was like a beacon of shining light, freeing him, if only for a moment, from the hell that awaited him when he went home, and anything was better than his home.
Without turning around to see if he followed, Violet strolled toward the front door. “What brings you to Missoula?”
“Family,” he answered untruthfully. He had no intention of visiting his mom during his stay. Maybe he’d make some discreet inquiries into her life these days, but he’d stay far away from the fucked up world she’d like nothing better than to drag him into. She was like a cancer consuming everything in her path and what she didn’t consume, she damaged irrevocably.
“Do they live in town?”
“Yep,” he said, his eyes glued to the slow sway of her hips as she walked across the parking lot. “But you wouldn’t know them. I don’t think they’re your kind of people.”
“Hm…” she murmured while she slid the key into the lock.
“Are you staying with them?”
He chuckled, but instead of sounding light, it sounded bitter and dark because no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t make anything about his mom sound carefree or light. Nope, Cecilia Reed was as dark and evil as they came. Maybe she didn’t start out that way, but once her bitterness settled into her heart, it wasn’t long before the darkness swallowed her whole. “No. I think I’d prefer a hotel.”
She turned around, her gray-blue eyes scrutinizing every detail of his face. Don’t look too closely; he wanted to warn her because she probably wouldn’t like what she saw. Darkness lived inside of him too, and if she saw it, she would shove him out the door—at least if she were smart. And little Violet looked smart. Too smart to be messing with guys like him.
“Um…okay. My office is down the hall.” She brushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Her hair was so light it looked like moonbeams fluttering around her face. He smothered the chuckle begging to be released as that sappy thought registered in his mind. Get a grip, Reed; he wasn’t here to wax poetic about the uptight director of the Foundation even if the girl was beautiful in a wholesome kind of way. Definitely not the type of chick he could ever take home and build a life with. There was no question about it, she was way out of his league and then some.
“You lead, I’ll follow,” he answered. She chewed or her lower lip and wrung her hands. Clearly, she didn’t know if she should be alone with him. Shoving his hands in his back pockets, he flashed his most nonthreatening grin. His sister Taylor always accused him of looking intimidating. He never gave much thought to it, but Violet obviously agreed with Taylor.