Becoming James Black by Skye Turner

Author:Skye Turner [Turner, Skye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Fiction
Publisher: Skye Turner Books
Published: 2015-09-28T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Rose

Raquel and I have been getting along very well. I’m really surprised, but after the barn incident with Tobias a few weeks back, all three of the girls have kept their word. I’m never alone and one of them is always with me during the day. If I’m not with one of them, I’m with Jaye.

A rough baritone voice carries on the wind and I look in the direction it’s coming from. I see Jaye talking to a commanding looking cowboy and my curiosity is peaked.

Raquel sees me looking across the yard and nods at Jaye and the man. “That’s Sam. He’s a cop in Fort Worth and he’s the closest thing to family Jaye has. He comes out a few times a year to see Jaye.” She smiles sadly. “I bet he’s here because of Jaye’s birthday.”

My stomach drops at the mention of Jaye’s friend being a cop. Today is Jaye’s birthday. He’s now eighteen… an adult in the eyes of the law and I’m not. I’m only fifteen. Though our relationship is strictly kissing and hand holding, I know that should someone want to make a stink about our age difference, he could get into a lot of trouble.

Raquel must notice the unease on my face because she claps my shoulder and says softly, “Rose, it’s ok. Sam is a really good guy.” A look comes over her face that unnerves me. She says softly, “He reminds me that not all men are bad and want to hurt you.

“Jaye has known him since he was three and he lost his mamá. He told me that Sam wanted to adopt him but that because he was single and had no family they turned him down multiple times. They thought the responsibility was too much for him.” She snorts and her accent thickens. “Yeah, instead of giving a child to a man with a career that protects people, they thought foster care was the best fit.” She laughs harshly. “Estúpido folladoras.”

I nod as I think about what she said. Then, I ask, “He’s known Jaye for fourteen years then?”

She grunts. “Yeah. Jaye came here right after I did. I was only twelve when I was sent here. He was around fourteen.” She looks around the yard and jabs her toe into the dirt. “This is where the sidewalk ends.”

I don’t understand what she’s saying, so I ask her. “What? What does that mean?! Where the sidewalk ends?”

She laughs harshly as she looks at me. “You know… like in a town… the sidewalks are all paved and pretty in the parts that they want you to see. But as you leave the center and reach the outskirts they start to crack and the farther out you get, they just don’t have them. This is like that. It’s the end of the road. The last resort. It’s hell… where the sidewalk ends.”

Oh, I get it now.

She’s right. My case worker even said as much when she dropped me off. She said this was the last place she had to put me.

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