20. Gavin

TWENTY

GAVIN

Present

“Uncle Gavin, can I get an ice cream cone?” Finn interrupts us, his hand already out, waiting for money. The kid knows I never say no to him.

“Your father is going to kill me,” I mutter, grabbing a couple of bills out of my wallet.

Finn counts them three times before holding out his hand again.

“What now?”

“I need to buy our friend one,” he says, motioning to Henry beside me.

The old man nods at him. “Listen to the boy. He’s much smarter than you.”

I scowl and prepare to stand. “If you don’t want to hear the rest of the story?—”

He reaches out and squeezes my arm. “You aren’t leaving me hanging here. I can guess where things went wrong, but I can’t help you if you don’t tell me everything.”

I grab a twenty from my wallet and push it toward Finn. “One ice cream for you and one for him.”

Finn grins and runs off toward the ice cream truck.

“And no candy!”

I watch him as he gets in line behind a few other kids.

“So let me guess, her father caught you?”

If only it was that simple.