When she was gone, Cory reached for Luis’s chin. He lifted Luis’s head and said, “Your lips are swollen. I guess that means Jase is in a good mood today.”
Luis smiled. “I had an allergic reaction to something.”
Cory laughed. “Yeah, Jase’s dick.”
Luis ignored him, but he continued to smile. He guided Cory’s feet into his jeans and pulled them up to his waist. When he fastened the button the jeans were so loose he could slip his entire hand down the front. “You poor thing,” Luis said. He felt guilty now because he’d been teasing him.
“You’ve lost so much weight. I’m gonna have to work hard to fatten you up.” Then he zipped up his pants and reached for a pair of shoes on the floor beside the bed.
But Cory sat on the bed and placed his palm on top of Luis’s hand. He looked into his eyes and said, “Thanks for everything. I really mean it. You and Jase are as close to me as anyone in my own family.”
Luis went down on his knees so he could put on Cory’s black boots. “You don’t ever have to thank us for anything, seriously. I still feel horrible about what could have happened to you. I should have checked out Darius Denby more thoroughly before I hired him. I shouldn’t have trusted him so much.” Whenever he talked about Darius, the pain in his stomach returned.
“I’m glad we all found out in time.”
“And at least he’s locked up now and won’t be able to hurt anyone else,” Luis said. In addition to the list of charges Luis and Jase pressed against Darius, Cory also pressed his own list charges and Darius had no choice but to plead guilty in order to receive a lesser sentence. He had two broken legs and he’d been sent to a special medical facility for criminals.
Though he hadn’t been formally sentenced yet, Luis was hoping Jase could pull a few strings and get the judge to give Darius the maximum amount of time in prison. Of course all this was news because Jase was the Virgin Billionaire and the media picked it up fast. But there was a crisis going on in the Middle East and what had happened at Cider Mill Farm paled in comparison.
When Cory was dressed and ready to go, his stood up and squared his shoulders. The nurse entered with a wheelchair and told Cory to sit down. He refused at first, arguing he was capable of walking on his own, but the nurse insisted it was a hospital rule.
Luis smiled and winked at the nurse. He knew how to get Cory to do anything. Luis placed his palm gently on Cory’s stomach and said, “We all know you’re big and strong and can walk out of here on your own. But the nurse will get in trouble and you don’t want that to happen. “I’ll push you downstairs myself. Jase and Hunter are waiting in the lobby and the truck is parked right up front.” He rubbed Cory’s stomach and smiled. “Okay?”
Cory grumbled something beneath his breath about being an invalid and sat down in the wheechair. The nurse and Luis exchanged glances and Luis winked at her one last time.
Then Luis piled a few bags on to Cory’s lap and wheeled him down to the lobby.
When they pulled into the driveway at Cider Mill Farm, Thomas, Cory’s parents, and Jasper were waiting for them on the patio. Camp jumped off Thomas’s lap and ran toward them. He ran alongside the truck, barking and yelping as if he hadn’t seen them in years instead of hours. Hunter looked out the back window and waved. Jase pulled up beside a shiny new white Jeep Wrangler and switched off the engine.
Cory noticed the unfamiliar Jeep at once. His parents, Thomas, and Jasper were walking down to the truck. “Who else is here today?” he asked.
Luis and Jase exchanged smiles. “Only who you see right now,” Jase said.
“What is that new Jeep doing here then?” Cory asked.
Hunter unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned forward.
“Can I tell him now?”
Jase smiled. “Yes, you can tell him now.”
“It’s yours, Cory. It’s a present from my Dads.”
Cory gaped at the brand-new Jeep. “Oh, guys,” He said. “Thank you, but I can’t accept that. It’s way too much.”
“I told you he’d react this way,” Luis said, glancing at Jase.
Jase turned around in his seat and said, “Look, Jasper found out the old Jeep was shot. Your mechanic said the engine was gone. There wasn’t a drop of oil left and it seized.”
“I don’t understand,” Cory said. “I checked the oil twice a day. I even carried oil in the backseat in a box just in case.”
“Hunter,” Luis said. “Why don’t you go out and play with Camp? He’s going crazy out there.” The little dog hadn’t stopped barking since they’d pulled up. And Luis didn’t want Hunter hearing what he was about to say.
When Hunter was gone, Luis frowned and said, “The mechanic said the oil was purposely drained. He said the oil cap had been removed, and it hadn’t been an accident.”
Cory looked confused for a moment, then he sighed and said, “Darius.”
Jase nodded. “I’m afraid so, Cory. And we feel responsible. Besides, we need you around here. The pool area has to be landscaped. We want something bigger and better than Jase and Roland have. We’re getting a new fence and you’ll be in charge of that as well. We need you to have dependable transportation. So we wanted to give you a new Jeep for our own selfish reasons.”
Cory smiled. “Good try, guys,” he said. “But my Jeep was old and ready to die. If Darius hadn’t drained the oil, it would have died sooner or later. Thanks, but I’d feel awkward taking a gift like that. I’ll just start looking for something used.”
Luis sat up. The others were approaching and he
didn’t want them to hear this. “I have an idea. Why don’t you and Jase work out a payment plan? This way it won’t be a gift.”
Jasper knocked on the window and said, “What’s going on in there?”
“We’ll be right out,” Luis said. “We’re having trouble with the Jeep.”
“I told you that would happen,” Jasper said, and he turned and told the others what was going on.
Cory looked down at his lap for a minute and thought.
When he liftd his head again, he nodded and said, “I guess if you let me pay you something each month, it will be okay.”
“Good,” Luis said. “Now that we’ve settled this, let’s get you upstairs to bed. You don’t want to exhaust yourself too much today.”