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Shane wasn’t sure what twist of fate had convinced Cary to give him and Laney his blessing, but to everyone’s shock, he did.

It wasn’t a glowing endorsement, exactly. Cary still watched Shane like he was a bug to be squashed. But it had been made clear that he and Laney were dating, what with Shane being unable to keep himself more than two inches away from her at any given time, and Cary seemed to be tolerating it.

Shane was careful. He never kissed her in front of Cary, was never overly affectionate, never whispered in her ear and really, barely touched her at all in front of the guy. But anyone who looked at them would have known that they were a couple, with Shane constantly hovering possessively like she might fall down and die, asking her a hundred times a day if she was feeling okay, and while he didn’t sleep over, he did spend time in her room with her.

To her annoyance, he wouldn’t fool around.

It wasn’t even just about Cary. It was that he was scared shitless. He kept picturing her hooked up to that IV, the sound of her vitals on the hospital monitor like a siren blaring in his head round the clock. It was still school break, so Shane was at the house with her from sunup till well after sundown, watching and worrying and trying to keep the lid on his fraying nerves.

Cary kept him in a constant methadone supply, which helped, although a week into the new year Shane did find himself struggling quite a bit, fighting the daily urge to call Cody.

The Sunday before school went back, they were laying in bed, Shane propped against the headboard and Laney tucked between his legs. Her head was on his chest, elbows propped on his knees as she read a fantasy novel called A Song of Ice and Fire out loud, when Cary appeared in the doorway of her room.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked.

“Sure,” Laney said, closing the book and sitting up.

“Not you, Laney. Shane.”

Laney bit her lip but Shane untangled himself and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Cary’s nostrils flared but he didn’t say anything, and Shane followed him down the hall and out into the garage. He lit a blunt, took a hit, and passed it to Shane who accepted, taking a few drags, and passing it back.

They stood in silence for a few minutes.

“I hear you’re good with cars,” Cary said slowly.

“I’m alright,” Shane said.

“Jerry says you’re better than alright, but that you’d be modest about it.”

Shane shrugged.

Cary sighed and took another drag but didn't exhale, the smoke seeping out from his lips, a mushroom cloud rising around his face instead of exiting his mouth in a stream.

“I need some help at my shop,” he said.

Shane rubbed the back of his head. “Um… I don’t really have any experience with the big rig diesel shit. But I can try and help you, if you need help with something…”

“I want you to come and work for me,” he clarified.

“Oh,” Shane said, frowning. “Um… Look, I appreciate that, but I work for Jerry.”

“Jerry is coming to work for me for a while, too,” Cary said, a strange look in his eye. “We’ve come to an… arrangement. Holidays are over now and I’d prefer to keep you where I can see you.”

“I don’t know, Cary… I’ve got some custom work on the go, right now. I don’t want to leave Jerry’s clients high and dry…”

“You can bring the custom jobs to the shop, and I won’t take a cut off them. Jerry will still get his fair share.”

Shane rubbed his head again. “Look… I really don’t know if it’s a good idea, you and me working together.”

“Who said we’d be working together?” Cary scoffed. “You’ll be working for me. Not with me. Let’s be clear about that.”

“I’m not really seeing the upside…” Shane said drily.

“The upside is that if you come and work for me, I’ll let you keep fucking my sister.”

Shane’s fists clenched. He closed his eyes and took a steadying breath to keep himself from doing or saying something stupid.

“I’m not fucking her,” he said, “and with respect, Cary, I’ll see her whether you want me to or not.”

Cary smiled, something unnerving in his eye, and he picked up a stack of papers off the work bench covered in ash trays and cartons of cigarettes.

“No, you won’t,” he said, tossing them at Shane.

SUPREME COURT OF ONTARIO

PURSUANT TO THE DECISION MAKING, SUPPORT AND PROTECTION TO ADULTS ACT, S.Y. 1991, C.21 (“THE ACT”); SPECIFICALLY, SCHEDULE A, THE ADULT PROTECTION AND DECISION MAKING ACT, PART 3, COURT APPOINTED GUARDIANS

In the matter of application for temporary guardianship of

Laney Margaret Hawton

and

Dustin Jeremiah Hawton

AFFADAVIT OF SERVICE

I, Cary Roman Hawton , of the Province of Ontario, make oath and swear as follows:

I personally served Linette Elizabeth Hawton on Wednesday, 6 th of January, 1999 the following documents

● Temporary Guardianship Application

● Applicant’s Affidavit for Temporary Guardianship

● Statement of Proposed Temporary Guardian

● Attached and marked as exhibits A, B, and C

SWORN at the City of Toronto

in Ontario on this 7 th day of January 1999

Shane fought to keep his temper under control. You motherfucker…

“My lawyer agrees that Linette is… unfit,” Cary drawled. “And since I own this house, have steady employment, and have basically been taking care of them since they were born, it wasn’t a hard sell.”

“Did Linette agree to this?” Shane asked. Crazy as the bitch was, he couldn’t see her signing away her kids. Not to Cary.

“She didn’t have to,” Cary said.

Shane stared at the papers, wishing he understood them better. He got the gist, but Laney would have been able to make better sense of it…

“Now,” Cary said with a twinkle in his eye, “about the job. Jerry will drive you in tomorrow, I’m guessing, since he’s coming anyway. He’ll show you the ropes. He… knows his way around.”

Shane felt like his world had just been blown to bits.

“And Shane?” Cary said, stubbing out his blunt. “They’re long days.”

As Shane went back inside, he realized this was the price they had to pay. Him, Jerry, even Linette… This was the cost of the months of time together at Jerry’s, and the week of unlimited hours he’d just spent with his arms wrapped around Laney.

Cary was done playing nice.