“Who cares, Everett? You need to tell your mom. We’re just kids.”
He took a deep breath as they finally turned back onto Main Street and headed for the library. “Okay. I’ll tell her. But I need proof first.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Just give me one day, okay?”
She shot him a dark look, but Everett set his jaw and kept walking. He needed to send a message to his dad, and the library was the perfect place to do it.
CHAPTER 25
“What are you saying?” Lily whispered. She couldn’t stop staring at a strand of blond hair that had fallen from Gretchen’s bangs and now lay draped across her nose.
Lily’s mind felt distracted and spinning and so confused. She’d convinced herself this was related to her son, and she couldn’t manage to shift her brain out of panic mode.
Gretchen grinned at her.
“I thought this was about the audit,” Lily murmured.
“Well, it is! In a way. The audit was the last step, after all. Just a quick double checking of our records. So tell me: What do you think?”
Lily blinked several times. She’d expected this meeting would cause the floor to fall from beneath her feet, but now it was rising fast, launching her through the air, everything moving in the wrong direction. “We live here,” she said weakly, her hand barely rising to indicate the door to the apartment behind her. “My son and I.”
“I understand that could be an issue,” Gretchen agreed. “In fact, we actually discussed it. You’ll need time to find a new place. And there’s always the chance that your replacement might not be open to on-site housing. If that happened, you could stay if you liked.”
Stay? Lily shook her head. Why would she want to stay?
“This is just an offer, of course. The regional manager position would mean local travel, and maybe that’s not appealing to you since you have a son. But I’ve personally found it’s easy to adjust the schedule so you’re never away overnight.”
Regional manager. She’d supervise eleven different locations in Kansas and Oklahoma. She could base her work from home, Gretchen had said. Which meant she’d have to find a home. Something with a yard, a deck, a tree to shade them on hot days.
Her head swam, dizzy with the whiplash between what she’d feared and what had been offered. “This is . . .” She shook her head again, but nothing cleared. “Wow. I really wasn’t expecting this. I’m in shock, I think.”
Gretchen looked like a proud mama, though Lily barely knew her. “I love surprising people,” she gushed. “I could tell you had no idea, but you’ve been our top performer for a couple of years now. So meticulous! And now that this position has opened up . . . Well, we’re really excited about this opportunity.”
It finally began to sink in. There were no suspicions. There was no investigation. Instead she’d been offered a raise. A rather big raise, though she’d have to pay rent or a mortgage.
But she and Everett could move, just as she’d dreamed. Live in a real neighborhood with real neighbors. Move to whatever nearby place would make her son happy.
“This is amazing,” she finally said, and the smile that had begun to slip a little from Gretchen’s face blazed back to life. “I do need to think it over, though. Talk to my son. It would be a big change.”
“Of course!” She slid a piece of paper closer to Lily. “Here are the details. You talk to your son and give me a call in a couple of days, if that works for you. And call with any questions at all, of course. We’ll be working together a lot if you say yes!”
Lily nodded, biting back the urge to immediately shout that she’d take the promotion. It was a good offer, more than she’d make with an entry-level accounting position, and the job would still involve a lot of the accounting work she loved. But she’d also have to deal with human resources issues, managing personnel, and then there was the travel.
After she shook Gretchen’s hand, Lily walked her outside into a day filled with sunbeams filtering through angry gray clouds. Once Gretchen was in her car and safely away, Lily balled up her hands, closed her eyes, and let out a scream. She bounced as high as she could, then jumped again. “Yes, yes, yes!”
She’d done it. She’d put her head down, worked her ass off, and she’d pulled her future out of the deep muck that could have sucked her under for the rest of her life. This was good. It was really good. And Everett wasn’t in danger. Maybe if she got him away from here, away from the isolation and boredom and the temptation of unattended goods . . .
“What’s going on?” a voice called, making Lily yelp. She opened her eyes to find Sharon already across the street and walking up to the gate, a big smile on her face.
“Hi, Sharon. I got some good news, that’s all. Sorry about the screaming.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of good news?”
“A raise,” she fudged, since the decision wasn’t made yet.
“That is good news! I know how hard you work. You deserve it.”
“Thank you.”
“I have a little wine in the fridge! Why don’t you come over? We should celebrate. It’s been way too long.”
“Oh, I . . . I can’t today. I’m sorry. Everett will be home soon.”
Sharon’s face fell for a moment but quickly brightened again. “Nour saw Everett with that cute friend of his again.”
“Josephine?”
“Yeah, they were tearing out across the meadow on their bikes. Doing some exploring. Nice to see kids their age playing outside instead of permanently hooked up to video games.”
It was nice, but Lily couldn’t help but think of Everett’s lies, and that footage of them disappearing into Alex’s unit. But biking was good. Biking was positive.
Everything was positive today. The dizziness returned, and she had to blink back a threat of exhausted tears.
Sharon moved a little closer. “Anything more from that detective?”
“No. Nothing. Why?”
“Well, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled, and there have definitely been a lot of lurkers around.”
Sharon could spot a threat anywhere, so Lily wanted to be clear. “Just the cops? Or other people?”
“I told Mendelson he could use our lot anytime, of course. But I’ve definitely noticed more cars in general. Haven’t you? You keep an eye on that boy of yours.”
Keep an eye on her boy. She hadn’t been doing a very good job of that, clearly. “I’m trying. He’s more independent now, and I’m trying not to hover. Have you . . . ?” She couldn’t ask, but she had to, didn’t she? For all her nosiness, Sharon cared about Everett. She’d once whispered to Lily that Everett could come talk to them anytime, about anything, and he needed people like that in his life. Other gay people navigating a small town in the Midwest. Sharon and Nour could be there for Everett in ways that his own mother couldn’t.
“He’s twelve,” she finally said weakly. “He’s not a baby, but . . . adolescent boys can find trouble. You’ll tell me if you see anything I should know about, won’t you?”
Of course it was too late for that question if they were moving out. She should have asked it a year ago. But now she could tell herself she’d asked.
She hadn’t anticipated the guilty side-eye Sharon threw in her direction.
“What?” she snapped. “What is it?” Had he stolen from Sharon and Nour too? He moved freely in and out of their work area when Nour was around. “Sharon, please tell me.”
She sighed, but once she opened her mouth, her eyes were as bright and eager as always. “I said I wouldn’t tell you, but . . .”
Oh God. Lily braced herself.
“I did see him and his friend up on the roof of the big building over there. I told him not to do it again or I’d tell you.”