Renegade Path

“What did he say to you?” she asked.

“Nothing.”

Her face fell as if she expected to share things with me and I’d disappointed her. “I’ll tell you on the way home,” I added.

The way home. On the way to her home. I didn’t have one.

“Oh, I can’t wait until we get an actual camera. And we’re going to develop the film ourselves. That will be so much fun!” Juliet skipped ahead of me, hair flying behind her. I jogged to catch up to her, grabbing her hand to slow her down.

Her enthusiasm was infectious and I found myself smiling.

That smile didn’t fade until we got closer to her house and I spotted some guy crouched in front of an all matte-black Harley-Davidson motorcycle in her driveway. I pulled her back, stopping her in her tracks. “Who is that?”

“Who? Where?” She glanced around and when her gaze landed on the leather-clad biker, she broke into a grin. “Uncle Dex!” She jerked out of my hold and ran toward the stranger.

I sprinted after her, still unsure whether the guy was a danger. At the sound of her voice, he stood and turned. A grin broke out over his face. He held out his arms and she launched herself at him.

Who the fuck was this dude?

She laughed and chattered a mile a minute as he spun her in a quick circle, then set her on her feet. His gaze landed on me and he placed a protective arm around her. “Who’s your friend, Julez?”

She grabbed his hand and tugged him in my direction. “Dex, this is my friend, Roman. He’s new in school and we share a locker and a bunch of classes,” she said in a rush.

Dex was no fool. He took one look at me and knew I wanted to be a hell of a lot more than Juliet’s friend. I’d gotten similar looks from girls’ fathers in the past. This guy might not be her dad, but he had overprotective instincts like one. Not in a creepy-asshole way like the uncle I met yesterday. No, this guy’s demeanor was completely different. Stern, but curious. Something I respected.

I nodded and held out my hand. “Roman Hawkins, sir. Moved to the area recently and Juliet’s been kind enough to show me around school.”

He shook my hand and released Juliet. “Nice to meet you, Roman.” His shrewd gaze lingered, observing everything no doubt. I stood up straight under his scrutiny because anything else wouldn’t earn his respect.

“Are you staying for dinner?” Juliet asked with a pleading note in her voice I hadn’t heard her use before.

“Can’t, Julez. You know that. I did want to give you an early birthday present though.”

“Really?” She squeezed her hands together and squealed a bunch of happy noises. Damn, she was fucking cute all excited. She grabbed each of our hands and dragged us toward the back porch. While we settled into chairs, she ran inside.

“So where you from, Roman?”

“All over.” I wasn’t trying to be evasive. That was the truth.

“Where do you live?” he asked in a more specific, don’t-bullshit-me tone.

I swallowed hard and met his stare head-on. “At the Pine Bluff Group Home, sir.”

His eyes narrowed and he nodded. “How’d you end up there?”

I knew what he was asking. Was I a delinquent who got tossed into the system by the criminal courts—someone who might hurt his niece—or was I an orphan?

Instead of giving him my whole sad history, I answered the question he really wanted to know. “Been bouncing around the foster care system since I was seven years old. Never found the right family to adopt me, sir.”

That seemed to relieve some of his tension about me and he settled back in his chair just as Juliet burst out of the house carrying a tray with a pitcher of iced tea and several glasses. I jumped up to help her, taking the tray and setting it on the low table in front of her uncle.

“Thank you,” Juliet said breathlessly. “I was worried I would drop it for a minute.”

I caught Dex watching me again as I sat back in my chair and looked away. My grandmother had been strict when I lived with her. She firmly believed that being polite never went out of style. That meant holding doors open, carrying heavy things, and generally helping ladies instead of standing by and watching. It was probably childish, but I liked to think if Grandma was somewhere watching over me, she’d be proud I hadn’t let the system beat her lessons out of me.

Juliet sat facing her uncle and gave him her full attention while he handed over a package tightly wrapped with dazzling silver paper. I’ll admit I was a little jealous. First, I didn’t realize Juliet had a birthday coming up. Second, even if I did know about her birthday, I didn’t have a penny to buy her anything.