Page 32 of Love in Mission City

“The thing is…my youngest sister, Tansy, has cerebral palsy. My mom quit her job to stay home full-time with her, but that’s a tough thing to do. I helped out where I could. Like giving her a break once in a while, if only for a few hours. Pops has worked two jobs just to cover the bills.”

“But we have universal healthcare.” I’d never had a medical problem beyond minor ailments in all my life, so I wasn’t certain how catastrophic things got handled.

“And Pops has private insurance. But it’s never enough. So I was on my own for everything. And feeling guilty for pursuing my own dreams while only contributing rent to the household. Only when I was out of school.”

“Ah.” Things were making a little bit more sense. If his books were successful enough to be made into movies, surely they made him enough to buy more than a studio condo.

He bit his lip. “I paid off all their debt, bought them a new house, established a trust for Tansy, and paid for both my sisters to go to university. One’s going to be a doctor, and one’s studying genetics. Planning to do a PhD. Both are way, way, way smarter than me. And I’m glad for it.”

I blinked. “How old are you?”

He flashed brilliantly white and perfectly straight white teeth. “Twenty-seven. And I own this baby outright. So yeah, I’ve been incredibly successful.”

I squinted. “Your name is Carter.”

“Yep.”

“The name on the book cover is Grayson Greer.”

“Yep.”

I arched an eyebrow.

He winced. “I’m going to be honest. Some readers…” He cleared his throat. “Authors of color don’t always get the same reception and acceptance as…”

“White authors?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s wrong.”

“Tell me about it. But getting better. Once I sign the contract for the streaming deal, I’m going to have a photography sessionwhere they’ll take a photo that my agent will circulate. Then if people don’t buy my books, it won’t matter.”

“That’s wrong.”

He nodded. “The situation’s been getting better. Like way better than in the past. But I wasn’t willing to take the chance.”

“Don’t you, like, do book signings and things?”

“Nope. Part of the Grayson Greer mystique. Not that I haven’t been invited. Trust me, I plan to go anywhere they’ll take me from now on.” He gazed longingly at Sheffield who continued to gnaw on his favorite cheese bone.

Likely Gallia had shared that tip

And Carter continued to stroke Rosebud. “I want a dog of my own so badly. I think that’s why I stayed longer at my parents’ place than was strictly necessary. Bowser is such a great buddy.”

“Your parents have a dog named Bowser?” I tried to keep the disdain from my voice. Sheffield, of course I’d named. Rosebud had come with her name. Seeing as she was ten years old, I wasn’t going to confuse her by changing it. But the Orson Wells movie often played over in my head. I’d always disliked that movie.

“Tansy named her. No idea why. Sometimes you just go along to get along. He’s a great dog and brings her so much joy.”

“So the name doesn’t matter.”

“Nope. Not a whit.”

He gazed over my dogs. “But Sheffield’s a super-cool name, and Rosebud…” He cocked his head.

“Orson Wells.”

He laughed. “Uh, yeah.”