Page 44 of Loving Trent (Love in the Bootheel #5)

Sighing, I pick up my phone to call Uncle Joey because I’m not going to find any answers without him. Plus, if Betty is on her way down here, he should be with us.

“Hey, Son. I was just about to call you. I think we found out who is behind everything going on with Shawn. Ryan is running down the final lead, but I’m almost certain?—”

“Shawn and Sonny went to Cape to talk to Josiah and Eve,” I say, interrupting him.

A choking sound comes from his end, and then, in a harsh voice, Uncle Joey says, “Why would they do that?”

“To find out how parents contact the owners of the camp. It’s actually a good idea, but…”

“But you don’t want Shawn anywhere near them,” Uncle Joey finishes my sentence for me.

“No, I don’t. That’s not all.”

“What else is there?” Panic drips from Uncle Joey’s usually calm voice. Even when everything at a job site was going to shit, Uncle Joey would be calm, cool, and collected. So hearing him panic puts me on a knife's edge.

“They talked to Betty, and she is coming down here. Shawn says she has been looking for me for five years, but it doesn’t make sense. All she had to do was look you up on the internet.”

“Trent, there is something you need to know. I paid good money to make sure that no one would be able to find us after you came to live with me. I was worried that whoever hurt you would come looking for you.” There’s a hint of remorse in his voice that he stopped Betty from being able to find me, but it’s not needed.

“You were protecting me.” The rumble of tires on the gravel road fills the silence around me. Looking up, I see the bright yellow color of the school bus through a gap in the trees.

I watch Harley stand up from the back seat, leaving behind another girl, wave at a couple of people, and finally walk through the open door.

She turns around and says something to the driver before heading up the drive.

A wide, bright smile that reaches her gray eyes greets me.

Eyes that look free of the heavy weight of everything she has been through lately.

Seeing her happy makes a genuine smile of my own grow.

“It doesn’t matter now. They should be pulling up at Leon’s in a few. I thought you might want to be here for this.”

“Yeah, we will be there soon.” The phone call drops without a goodbye, but I don’t take it personally.

“How was school?” I ask as Harley sits down beside me.

She turns toward me, her smile never fading. “Really good. Everyone is super welcoming. Like seriously, everyone gets along. There aren’t the usual cliques that were at my old school. Did you know that Aunt Emilee was going to be there today?”

My heart melts into a puddle at her question.

This family has welcomed us with open arms and treats us as their own.

Their love knows no boundaries, and it’s exactly what someone like me and Harley needed.

We need people to love us for who we are.

I’ve never been more grateful for a damn computer virus than I am right now.

Without it, I would not have been in Cape to save Shawn, nor would I have met Leon, who led me to this family of angels.

“Why was she there?”

Harley links her arm with mine and lays her head on my shoulder. “From what I was told, she comes to the school twice yearly to speak about bullying. Did you know she tried to kill herself because of being viciously bullied?”

“Actually, I did. Did her speech help you or anyone at school?” I lay my head on hers and pray that I’m not screwing this up.

“A few kids spoke up at the end,” Harley says and leans back, making me lift my head. I look toward her only to find her staring at me. “Would it be okay for me to talk to her about my story?”

“That would be something you have to ask her, Har. But if you’re asking my permission, I don’t mind. I told you I don’t care who you talk to as long as you feel safe enough with that person.” I squeeze her arm with mine as my heart squeezes once again at everything the Hills are giving us.

“But I don’t want you to get into trouble,” she says, as worry fills her eyes.

“For what?” I cock my head to the left, studying Harley’s face.

“The papers giving you and Shawn guardianship are?—”

Pushing a strand of her hair back from her face, I cup her cheek and take a deep breath.

“Those papers are very much real and valid. We were going to tell you this afternoon. We didn’t think you needed more on your shoulders today.

But your parents signed over their rights to us, and a judge signed off on it.

You are legally in mine and Shawn’s care,” I say intensely, focusing on Harley so I don’t miss anything she might feel from hearing that her parents didn’t want her.

I’ve been in her shoes, and even though we know that the people who should love us unconditionally don’t, it’s still a punch in the gut when they sign over their rights.

It takes the what-ifs and all our hope that they could change and throws it away.

Harley’s gray eyes turn watery, but that smile never falters. “You mean no one can take me away from you two?”

“No, Harley. No one has the legal right to take you away, but even if they did, I wouldn’t let them.

” My tone hardens, and I pray she hears how serious I am about this.

The only way anyone is taking her away from us is over my dead body.

Without a doubt, whoever tried to take her away would have to leave a trail of dead bodies in their wake thanks to the Hill family.

Tears start to fall down her face, and I quickly wipe them away. “Good, because I don’t want to live with anyone else.”

My heart fills with love while my eyes sting. To change the subject, I pick up the small box sitting beside me and place it on her lap. “I got you something.”

Harley wastes no time tearing the purple paper off. When she sees her new phone, she squeals and throws her arm around my neck. “Thank you, Trent.”

The front door flies open, pulling our attention away from each other. “Harley,” Sadie screams before she throws herself at Harley. Quick as lightning, Harley pulls back and catches her.

“I think someone missed you,” I say, ruffling Sadie’s hair. The sound of vehicles coming down the road again pulls my attention away. Uncle Joey’s car pulls in. Behind it is Sonny’s truck, and then the last is a car I’ve never seen before.

“Who’s that?” Harley says, standing up when I do. I follow her hand as she points to the last car out.

“That would be my little sister,” I say right as the door to the small gray BMW opens, and a very butch-looking woman steps out. “Holy shit.”

I don’t have time to get a good look at the woman who has my sister’s face, but definitely doesn’t look like it’s her when it comes to everything else, before she sprints across the yard and throws herself at me.

“Betty?” I ask as I catch her in my arms. What the hell is going on right now?