Cherry Pie Read Free Page B

why and wasn’t in the mood to analyze it.
    “He’s a big donor to the charity that runs this house. I hit him up for money as soon as he moved in.”
    “I’m not surprised you’re a pastor. You were always a good kid. Easy to talk to.”
    “I had a crush on you in high school.” Evan sounded amused. “Did you know that?”
    Conn looked warily over his shoulder. “Yeah, I knew.”
    “And you were still nice to me. And because you were, everyone was. If Conn Meecham didn’t mind, well, then, nobody else did. High school here could have been hell for me. Instead it was great.” He fiddled with a pen on his desk. “People expected me to leave here, you know, because I’m gay.” He gave Conn a hard stare. “I stayed because of you. Because you made this town accept me so I didn’t have to leave. I’ll never forget that, what you did.”
    Conn blew it off with a dismissive wave. “You were a good kid. Nobody cared.” Conn leaned against the window frame and crossed his arms. “Mama always told me you get what you give, Evan. I guess you owe me. You gonna save my soul now?”
    Evan snorted. “I think your soul is just fine. Now tell me what happened.”
    “You remember I blew my knee out?” Conn asked.
    “Yeah, your freshman year at Georgia Tech, right?”
    Conn nodded. “I guess that’s where my road forked.”
    “Your mama said you kept your scholarship. For how long?”
    Conn laughed without humor. “Not at all. I just told her that so she wouldn’t worry. It was a football scholarship. No football, no scholarship. Good-bye, Tech.” He saluted sarcastically.
    Evan was listening with a puzzled look. “Why didn’t you just come home?”
    “After my big send-off? Hometown boy makes good? Gonna set the world on fire with his fine football skills?” Conn shook his head with a disgusted snort. “I was too proud to come back with my tail between my legs. Afraid to shame Mama.”
    Evan sighed. “It wouldn’t have been like that.”
    “I know.” Conn walked over to the old chair facing Evan’s desk and sat, suddenly tired. “I got addicted to the pain pills they gave me. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
    “How did you get from there to prison?”
    Conn winced. “I didn’t go to prison exactly. I did my time in county.” He shrugged. “Just the same, I suppose.”
    “Did you know she’d died, before you came back?” Evan spoke in that quiet, nonjudgmental way his therapist in prison had. It was soothing and annoying at the same time.
    “Yeah, I knew. The local paper’s on the Internet. I kept up.”
    Thankfully Evan let that drop. “What were you in for?”
    “Possession.” Conn leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he clasped his hands and looked at the floor. “Panhandling.” He looked up at Evan and gave him a weak smile when he saw the knowledge on Evan’s face. “I had a good lawyer, a good guy. He got the charge changed from prostitution to panhandling.”
    Evan shook his head. “Aw, Conn, jeez.”
    Conn fell back in the chair and blew out a breath. “That actually felt good, to get telling someone out of the way.”
    “How long have you been clean?” Evan asked, all business.
    “Two years,” Conn automatically answered. “I haven’t had so much as a cigarette in two years.”
    “Have you been tested?”
    Conn nodded. “Yeah, regular drug tests and HIV tests. I’m clean. I’ve got the paperwork.”
    “Good,” Evan said. “You’ll need it to get a job.” He sighed. “I don’t know how easy things are going to be here for you. You’re not the boy who left Mercury.”
    “That’s why I’m here,” Conn replied evenly. “Somewhere along the way I lost him. I think I left him here, and I’m trying to find him.”
    Evan gave him a friendly smile. “I hope we can help, Conn. I really do.”
    Conn stood up. “Me too, Evan.”

Chapter Four
     
    John’s coffee cup stopped halfway to his mouth, and then he lowered it and set it on the table. He walked