“But you said it wasn’t forged.” At his obviously confused expression, she pointed to his phone. “I overheard you.”
He shrugged, frowning. “I didn’t know who put Kofi up to it, but I didn’t want him to get in trouble for it. He’s just a kid.”
“How old is he?”
“Twenty-three.”
“At twenty-three, I was working for Benington Mayer already.”
“That’s because you’re brilliant,” he said. “When did you graduate from college?”
“When I was twenty. I started at sixteen. Connor helped me get early admittance,” she said.
“See? You had help and a hand up.” He smoothed his thumbs over the silky skin of her hips, under his shirt. “That’s all I’m trying to do for Kofi.”
She stared at him, obviously holding back from saying something.
“Just say it,” he said.
Her forehead furrowed but she began calmly. “It seems to me that you can’t give someone a hand up if he doesn’t want it.”
“Of course he wants it,” he protested sharply.
She nodded reasonably. “So you haven’t tried to help him get a job or go to school yet?”
“I have. He’s under our dad’s influence.”
She lifted one shoulder. “And he’s old enough to make that decision for himself. At eighteen you decided to go play professional soccer. You know better than most people that if you want something, you decide and you go for it. You covering for him isn’t going to change his decisions.”
“I can try,” he said in a low, determined voice.
She smiled sadly. “You can’t save the world, Danny.”
“No, but I can save Kofi from himself.” He picked her up and set her gently to the side so he could get up. “I should have done it sooner, when I saw the drugs.”
“Drugs?” she said, her voice suddenly sharp. “What drugs?”
Sighing, he headed to the bathroom. “The last time I was home I found some drugs around my house.”
“Pot?” she asked, following him.
He turned on the water, wondering if he should shield her from it. But then he saw the look on her face, the one that told him he better tell her the truth. “I don’t know. I think there was everything. Like coke.”
“Coke,” she repeated flatly. “Do you think they’re dealing?”
“Maybe.” Probably definitely.
She crossed her arms, her light eyes burning with incredulity. “You do understand that if they get in trouble for drugs, it could spill over on you.”
Wincing, he stepped into the shower. “And our foundation. I know. I’m figuring out how to clean it up.”
“By letting your brother off criminal charges he deserved?” She pressed a palm to her forehead and took a breath. “This is serious, Danny. Drugs are not good.”
“No kidding.” He put his face under the water and rubbed it.
She turned the water off.
“Hey.”