She turned on her recorder. Trevor looked down at it. “No.”
She switched it off. “No?”
“Not for this part.”
She didn’t know why, but she wouldn’t ask, at least not yet. “Okay. I’ll just make notes on my laptop. Anything you’re uncomfortable with, we’ll discuss.”
“Fine.”
She might be new at this, but she was still a journalist. Her job was to dig and dig deep, even into uncomfortable territory, to make the subject at ease enough with her that he’d divulge secrets he might not otherwise want to delve into.
She’d do it with Trevor if she had to, but she hoped he’d feel comfortable enough with her that he wouldn’t even notice the probing questions.
“What was the first organized sport you remember playing, and how old were you?”
“That’s easy. Soccer. I was five. Though I don’t know if you could call it organized.”
She laughed. “Yes, I remember. I played, too. My parents referred to it as bunch ball, because we gathered around the ball in a bunch and chased after it.”
“Yeah, T-ball was a little better. I played that, too. Then Pee Wee league football.”
She’d started typing in notes. “You liked sports a lot as a kid.”
“I was a hellion with excess energy. My mom had to keep me busy, so I played sports year round.”
“Is that what you wanted to do?”
“I loved playing. And my mom was right. I didn’t like to sit and be quiet. I wasn’t much for quiet time, watching a movie or reading a book. I wanted to be outside running around and doing things.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“I have a brother. He’s younger than me.” When she didn’t say anything, he added, “His name is Zane. He’s still in college.”
“So quite a bit younger than you.”
“Yeah. He’s my half brother, actually. My parents divorced when I was seven years old. My mom remarried and had Zane.”
She hadn’t known his parents divorced. So much she didn’t know. She was making copious notes.
“Are you and Zane close?”
Trevor grinned. “Yeah. He’s great. So smart. He’s premed, so he’s going to be a doctor. He graduates next spring and then he’ll start medical school. My mom and stepdad are so proud of him. Hell, we all are.”
“I’m sure she is. Just like she’s very proud of you.”
“Oh, yeah, sure she is. But you know, sports isn’t medicine. I’m not gonna save someone’s life catching a football or hitting a home run.”
“I don’t think it’s very fair to compare yourself to your brother’s career choice, though. You’re doing what you love, following where your talents lie. So is your brother.”
He shrugged. “True enough. Next question.”
And he glossed over the fact that it obviously bothered him that his brother had chosen an important career path and he for some reason felt his wasn’t.
“How often do you see your brother?”
“As often as we can get together.”
“Where does he go to school?”
“He’s getting his premed degree at Washington University here in St. Louis, where he’d also like to go to med school. I think, given his grades, it’s a given he’ll stay there.”
Haven smiled. “How wonderful for him.”
“Yeah. Like I said, he’s really smart.”
“I’d like to meet him and interview him.”
“I’ll see what his schedule looks like and maybe arrange that.”
“Thanks.”
She looked over her notes. “Tell me about your dad. What happened after the divorce?”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“I don’t want to talk about my dad.”
“You and your father aren’t close?”
“I love my mom. My stepdad is an awesome guy and stepped in when my father wasn’t around, which was most of my childhood. He’s the real dad in my life. Let’s just leave my father out of this whole process.”
She put the laptop to the side. “Okay. Off the record, tell me about your dad.”
He stood. “Not now. Let’s take a break. How about a swim before it gets too hot and before I have to leave for the ballpark?”
She looked up at him. “Trevor, we’ve just started and there’s a lot of material to go over.”