Page 31 of Carver
“Prez? To what do I owe the honor?”
Carver chuckled at the accusation beneath the words. “I’m not calling for any reason other than to ask for a favor. I need to speak with Bobby Allen. Can you make it happen?”
There was a bit of silence before the other man said, “Bobby Allen, as in my Bobby Allen? The one here on the ranch?”
“Ashley, of course that’s what I mean. Who the fuck else do we both know named Bobby Allen?”
“Well, maybe you dialed the wrong number or something. Don’t be a dick about it.”
“Language!” a voice chastised from the background.
“Who's that?” Carver inquired.
“Don’t worry about that. You need to tell me why you want Bobby Allen’s number. Is he in some kind of trouble? I didn’t think I’d ever hear from you like this.”
Carver hummed. “I’ve got someone here who has had a hard go of things. While I’ve got all the tools to help him, I don’t really know how to handle it myself. Emotionally I mean. I know Bobby Allen is with someone who also hasn’t had an easy time. Is that a good enough reason?”
“Why didn’t you just start with all that? You got me thinking you’re about to come over here bikes blazing to take my friend away. Also, how the hell do I explain you to him?”
“However you want is fine. I’m not ashamed of what we do. Besides, he’ll get an idea once I explain the situation to him.”
“Yeah, but I meant more like how we met,” Ashley admitted.
“You’re a friend of a friend. We’ll leave it at that.”
The truth was that Ashley served with a former Angel. They’d kept in touch when Gill got out. Carver met Ashley once when he came to visit. Sadly, Gill passed in an altercation at a bar a fewyears back. Since then, Ashley had simply been a saved number in Carver’s phone. He never expected to have to call him.
“I’ll send you his contact information. Give me like ten minutes before you call though. I need to give him the short version of things.”
“Deal,” Carver agreed. “Thanks for the help. I’ll owe you one.”
Ashley laughed. “I don’t know if I’ll ever need to call you for a favor, but thanks for the offer. I’m pretty content with life these days.”
They exchanged goodbyes, then Carver was left with his own thoughts. Ashley had sounded really good. Much better than he remembered him from the last time they spoke. Then again, that had been during the funeral. Grief didn’t translate well for communication standards.
Carver waited the ten minutes Ashley requested as he stared at the sleeping boy beside him. There was so much he wanted to know. So much he wanted to change about the situation.
“Hey there,” Bobby Allen said by way of answering. “Ashley just gave me the rundown on things. How can I help?”
“Thanks for taking my call. I hate to intrude, but I’d heard through the grapevine that when you and Elton got together he might have been bit banged up. Is that the case?”
He immediately answered with, “Yes, it was. Can I ask what grapevine that was?”
Carver winced, not wanting to admit the truth. Still, if he expected the other man to be open with him, he had to do the same.
“After Gill passed, I decided to check up on Ashley a time or two. When the last check showed him landing at the Coleman Ranch, we ran checks on everyone there. It might seem invasive, but I knew Gill would have wanted me to make sure his buddy was good. He loved Ashley like a brother.”
Bobby Allen laughed. “No need to explain further. We’ve had our fair share of protective nosy friends. I needed to make sure your intentions were good. Thanks for clarifying. Now tell me a bit more about why you wanted to reach out.”
Carver ran through the details of the boy’s rescue, as well as the events since. By the time he was done, he felt wrung out. Bobby Allen made noises throughout, each sympathetic enough to let him know he understood the gravity of everything.
When Carver finished, Bobby Allen sighed. “I’ll be honest with you. There isn’t a lot you can do to fix this. At least in the way we think of fixing things. Whatever he’s been through has changed him. The best option right now is to help him adjust to a new life. He needs reassurance of his safety. I’d also look at counseling options, and maybe even some form of comfort like knitting or painting. Elton found his own artform that truly helped him process his grief in ways we didn’t expect.”
“I appreciate all of those suggestions,” Carver told him.
“It will get better. Time and understanding works wonders.”
They ended the call, which left Carver more thoughtful than ever. What could he get the young man in his care to help him cope? And how could he show him he was truly safe here?