“My friendship with your mother is a helluva lot more complicated, and you know it.”

Yeah. Complicated as in neither one of them would date other people but had never dated each other because it was the ultimate betrayal of his father, and so no one was happy.

Marsh took another long drink.

“I signed a new client a couple of days ago,” Noah said.

“Anyone famous?”

Marsh was always hung up on the fact that Noah worked with celebrities. “Probably no one you know. He’s a young country singer.”

“Good money?”

“Enough.”

“You meet with that financial planner yet?”

Noah winced. This was a regular fight with Marsh. He couldn’t make the old man understand that Noah had no interest in meeting with his financial planner. Noah preferred his own investments, the kind that weren’t tied to propping up the fossil fuel industry. Noah had tried to explain it once, that there was a growing industry of socially conscious investing, but Marsh had scoffed, called it leftist bullshit, and told him he was throwing his money away.

“I’ve made some progress,” Noah said simply, keeping the details to himself. A petulant part of him wanted to ram his most recent earnings report down Marsh’s throat. Or maybe the paid in full note on his mother’s house. Or the zero balance on Zoe’s tuition bills. She would earn her Ph.D. next spring without a penny of debt.

That was enough for Noah. He didn’t need Marsh’s approval as long as he had theirs.

And Alexis’s.

Through the glass door, he could see her and his mom laughing over a scrapbook on the counter. Probably pictures of him from when he was a kid. From before his father died. There weren’t a lot of pictures taken afterward.

Noah finished his beer. “I’m going to see if they need any help inside.”

At the sound of the door against the metal track, they turned and stared. Zoe and his mom wore matching expressions of shock.

“She just told us about the kidney transplant,” his mom said.

* * *

* * *

“So, how does that even work?” Zoe asked fifteen minutes later at the dining table. She swallowed half a mushroom. “The transplant, I mean.”

Alexis, who sat to Noah’s right, sipped her wine. “I’m still learning about it, but it looks like I would have to go through two rounds of testing to make sure I’m compatible. And if I am, then I’d have to go through a bunch of other tests before the surgery can be scheduled.”

“How long does that take?” his mom asked.

“Normally, about six months, but we don’t have that much time. Elliott probably needs the transplant by Christmas.”

“Oh my gosh,” his mom said. “That soon?”

“He had two other donors fall through.”

“So if you’re not a match . . . ,” Zoe said, letting the unfinished part dangle like the fork in her hand.

Alexis glanced at Noah before answering. “I don’t know.”

The way she said it made Noah’s heart ache, because Alexis did know. It was quite possible Elliott would die, and dammit, Noah hated that she had that kind of pressure on her shoulders. He knew her well enough to know that if she wasn’t a match, she’d consider it a personal failing. Noah wanted to rest his hand on her neck, give it a reassuring squeeze, but Marsh was already watching them.

“This must be such a shock for you,” his mom said. “And after everything else you’ve gone through the past few years.”

Marsh made an indecipherable noise. Noah sent him a warning glare, which Marsh returned as he sawed off a chunk of meat.

“So what are you going to do?” Zoe asked.

“I’m not sure,” she said.

Zoe snorted. “You’re a way better person than I am. I’d tell all of them to fuck off and leave my internal organs alone.”

“For God’s sake, Zoe,” their mom admonished.

“What?” Zoe shrugged. “I’m just saying that Alexis is basically a saint for even considering it. She’s never even met him, and she’s willing to—”

“Wait,” Marsh said, cutting Zoe off. “You’ve never even met your father?”

“Marsh,” his mother said quietly, firmly.

“It’s okay,” Alexis said, stiffening as she straightened. “It’s not something I’m ashamed of. The truth is, no, I never knew my father. I still don’t really know anything. How they met. When they met. Why he left.” She swallowed hard at that last part. “But it looks like he’s been living just two hours away for most of my life.”

“Where’s that?” Marsh asked.

“Huntsville.”

Marsh lifted an eyebrow. “He work for the military?”

Alexis shook her head and started to answer, but Noah interjected. He knew where Marsh was going, and he wasn’t going to let him do it. “He’s an engineer,” Noah said.

“For NASA?” Marsh asked casually. Too casually.

“No,” Alexis said. “Some tech company.”

Marsh leaned back in his chair and reached for his beer. “Most of the tech companies down there are defense contractors.”

A heavy silence fell across the table. Alexis looked at Noah. Noah looked at Marsh. Marsh looked back. Zoe looked at her mushrooms.

His mom sat up straight. “Does anyone want more squash?”

* * *

* * *

Less than an hour later, after a hasty rendition of “Happy Birthday” and even hastier goodbyes, Alexis slid into the car and pinned Noah with a challenging stare. “So, what was that between you and Marsh?”

Noah adjusted the rearview mirror before backing out. “Did my mom torture you with her dumb pictures?”

“No. I liked seeing you in your Batman costume when you were seven, and I’m going to tease you forever about that unfortunate peach-fuzz phase from middle school. But stop avoiding my question.”

Noah turned right out of the subdivision. “He doesn’t trust me.”

“I knew it,” she seethed. “Because Elliott works for a defense contractor. He thinks you’re going to do something.”

“Yep.”

“But that’s not who you are anymore.”

“I know.” He hung another right.

“You haven’t been that person in a long time.”

He glanced at her sideways. “I appreciate the indignation on my behalf, but in Marsh’s eyes, I’ll always be that person.”

That person, of course, being an angry teenager with a genius IQ and a misguided need for revenge for his father’s death. A rebellious kid who ended up in FBI custody because of a reckless, failed attempt to hack into something way out of his league. A kid who never actually rose above the hacktivist version of coffee boy, who immediately agreed to consult for the FBI and testify against the big guys, but who in Marsh’s eyes would never, ever live up to his father’s sacrifice.

Alexis jutted her jaw to the side. “I don’t understand why he’s so hard on you. Haven’t you proven yourself a hundred times over?”

Noah merged onto the freeway. “It’s complicated.”

She traded righteousness for sardonic deadpan. “A sister I never knew existed just showed up to tell me my long-lost father needs a kidney. I can handle complicated.”

Noah peeled a hand off the wheel and massaged the back of his neck. “He promised my father he’d take care of us, and it made sense when Zoe and I were young and when Mom was having such a hard time. But now, it’s like he’s mad that we don’t actually need him anymore.” He let out a breath. “Sometimes I think he’s actually pissed off that I’m not that kid anymore, you know? The world doesn’t make sense to him if I don’t need an ass-kicking.”

“I doubt your father wanted you to be Marsh’s emotional punching bag for the rest of your lives.”

The insight—so precise and accurate and classically Alexis—was a sucker punch to his chest. He white-knuckled the steering wheel. “I’m more worried about my mom.”

Alexis muscles went rigid next to him. “Is he mean to her?”

“No,” he said quickly. “Trust me. I wouldn’t put up with that. I just feel like he’s the reason she’s never really moved on.”

Alexis relaxed in her seat. “You think they’re more than just friends?”

“I think whatever they are to each other, it’s not healthy.”

“It’s hard to judge people’s relationships from the outside.”

Her words managed to both scold and shame him, because he knew that better than anyone. He’d been fighting the outside judgments about his relationship with Alexis for months.

A quiet ding from her purse saved him from having to respond. She dug around until she found her phone. She stared at the notification longer than necessary.

“What is it?”

“Candi.”

“How the hell does she have your cell phone number?”

Alexis pressed her fingertips to her temple. “I gave it to her before I knew who she really was.”

“What does she want?”

“She has to go back to Huntsville tomorrow night. She wants to know if I would be willing to meet her at her hotel.”

“Tomorrow?” The question came out more defensive than he intended.

Her answer was another one of those frustrating shrugs. “I don’t see how I can say no.”

“Easy,” he said, loosening his grip on the steering wheel because he was about to pop a knuckle. “You just say no.”

“She’s desperate, Noah. How can I stand by and force her to watch her father die knowing I might have been able to stop it?”

Noah swiped his hand over his hair.

Alexis stared at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m tired of you caring more about other people than yourself.”