Office Hours

13 | the p l a q u e

| C A D E N |

     CASSIDY STONE GAVE HIM A MOTHERLY SMILE. She'd been the sole mother figure in his life in recent years and it warmed his heart more than he would ever admit. Caden hoped Ryder knew how lucky he was to have her.

"Are you sure you don't want me to drop you at home?" Cassidy offered for the umpteenth time. "You know how I feel about you walking by yourself on this side of town."

Caden chuckled. "I'll be fine, Miss Cassidy."

"Cassidy, Caden. I've been saying this since you and Ryder became friends."

"I don't want to disrespect you."

"It's not disrespect if I'm giving you permission to."

"You're always going to be Miss Cassidy to me."

She smiled before shaking her head with a sigh. "Aw, Caden. I wish there were more teenage boys like you."

More teenage boys with a deep sense of longing for their mother? More teenage boys who were watching their best years fly by because they worked on weekends to pay bills their bum of a father religiously neglected?

I don't wish there were more boys like me.

Still, he gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Thanks, Miss Cassidy. Let me know when you're home."

"No, you let me know when you're home. I mean it," she said, glancing out the window in disdain. "It isn't exactly safe for you here."

"I'll be fine."

"You better be, or I'll have to lose my character and show these pompous assholes why they shouldn't look down at you because of your color."

"I'll text you," he said when Cassidy reached over to hug him.

"You better."

"And thank you again for doing all of this for me. I really appreciate it."

"Anytime," Cassidy replied, smiling as Caden exited the car.

Walking a distance off, he waited until Cassidy's car disappeared before turning in the opposite direction. Seeing Grace's Rolls-Royce, he entered and she drove off, parking in a lot that wasn't overly packed despite it being midday.

"I'm surprised you texted me," Grace said, looking over at him with her arms crossed.

"I've been busy," he said, sighing when she gave him a disbelieving glare.

"So busy you couldn't reply to any of my texts?!"

"I didn't pay my phone bill so they cut it off. . ."

"Oh. . . I'm sorry. Do you need-"

"No," he said, cutting her off. "Come here."

Smiling, Grace unbuckled her seatbelt and crawled onto his lap. He brushed her blonde hair out of her face and smiled at her beauty. Grace was gorgeous, but lately he wasn't seeing her how he used to. He hadn't been for a while. . .

"Tell me all you've been up," she said, smiling.

"I opened a bank account today," he said, feeling pride. "Don't give me that look."

"Sorry, I'm not judging you. I'm just surprised you didn't have one."

He shrugged, stopped playing with her hair and laid his hands on her waist. "You know where I'm from. . ."

"I've heard of where you're from. You've never brought me there and I really want to know you better, Caden."

"Where I'm from isn't for girls like you."