Tobias shook his head. “No. I don’t think she’d want you to risk yourself for his sake.”

“I’m getting old, Tobias. If I could help my son get stable before I pass away, I’ll consider whatever I’ve gone through or will go through to be worth it.”

Tobias didn’t think it was possible for Carl to get on an even keel. That would take too much effort on his part. He had to see the need and want to change, or nothing would happen.

He opened his mouth to say so—but then he closed it again. How could he be so sure Carl would fail? He didn’t know what the future held. He only knew that Uriah was essentially asking him to back off and let him have this chance to try. And if anyone should be willing to offer others a second chance, it was him. Uriah, Maddox, Jada, Maya, Aiyana and Atticus had all been kind enough to give him a second chance, hadn’t they? “Okay,” he said. “I’ll get the beer.”

Tobias carried a six-pack over to Uriah’s and put it on the kitchen counter without speaking to Carl, who sat in the living room, in Uriah’s recliner, glowering at the TV. He seemed to have lost his desire to have a beer, which made Tobias suspect he’d been more interested in scoring some weed. Although marijuana was now legal in California, it was definitely something Uriah wouldn’t get for him.

“Have a good night,” he told Uriah.

Uriah stepped outside onto the stoop with him. “I appreciate your patience,” he said.

Tobias jerked his head toward the house, to indicate Carl. “He’s lucky to have you. I just wish he realized that.”

To avoid getting any wetter, Tobias jogged back to his own house, where he finished cooking his burger and ate his dinner while watching TV.

Afterward, he felt at loose ends, frustrated and worried about the situation with Uriah and Carl, and he couldn’t quit checking his phone, hoping that Harper would respond.

An hour or so later, he was lying on the couch, watching the news while he considered going to the Blue Suede Shoe to shoot some pool—he figured it might help get his mind on other things—when he heard a knock.

Assuming it was Uriah, and wondering if he was going to have to play referee again already, he yelled, “Come in.”

The door swung open. But it wasn’t Uriah who walked into his kitchen; it was Willow from the Eatery.

13

Oh, shit. Tobias had never responded to Willow’s message with those brownies! He’d had a lot of other things on his mind and, hesitant to hurt her feelings, he’d put it off.

That was a bad decision because now here she was.

“Hello.” He jumped to his feet.

She closed the door. “It’s so cold tonight.”