Page 36 of The Keeper and I
“I hadn’t found the right person.”
“In other words, a soulmate?”
“No… someone I was compatible with and that I liked.”
“Until Laci?”
“Right. But that doesn’t make us soulmates.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “If you say so.”
“I do.”
Billie shot him a knowing look before getting a glass of wine. By the time she took her first sip, Ethan and Laci were back.
“Darlin’, we better get ready to go on stage,” Ethan said. “You ready?”
She nodded. “So ready.”
“We’ll see y’all after,” he said to Jordan and Laci and then they were gone.
Jordan and Laci went to their seats. He pulled hers out for her and let her get settled before he took his chair to her left. Their table included Hector, Israel, Luka, Artem, and their dates who locked onto Laci. Before Jordan knew it, the women were all asking her for selfies. She happily posed with them until Ethan and Billie took the stage.
“Hi, everyone,” Ethan began. “In case you didn’t know, I’m Ethan Knight, and this is my beautiful fiancée, Billie Axton. We’ve invited you all here for a cause that’s very dear to my heart. You see, not many people know this, but my mother struggled with a heroin addiction. It was a fight she lost when I was ten years old.”
Jordan blinked. He had never heard this story before. He knew Ethan’s parents were not in the picture, and that his grandmother had raised him, but that? Jordan was even more surprised Ethan was so kind.
“Luckily, I had a great coach,” Ethan went on. “One day, when my mother forgot to pick me up from school, Larry Lowe extended an offer to join the boys on the soccer field—or football pitch as y’all say over here—” The crowd chuckled. “And I found the passion for a game that would eventually become my career.
“Unfortunately, Coach Larry passed away earlier this year. To honor him, Billie and I started the Larry Lowe Foundation so other children of addicted or absent parents can have the chance to pursue their passions whether that’s sports, or theater, or music. The money we raise tonight will go toward paying for gear, instruments, or even rides to practice. Whatever their needs are, we will accommodate. I got very lucky to have someone believe in me the way Coach Larry did. All I want is to give that belief back and help kids like me, who might never have an opportunity without it. Thank you.”
Billie stepped forward to explain how the silent auction would work, and Laci turned watery eyes on Jordan.
“Did you know all that?” she asked, her lip wobbling.
“I had no idea,” he answered, startled at the sight of her emotion. “Are you crying?”
“No,” she whispered as she snatched her napkin to dab at her eyes. “It’s just really sweet.”
Jordan’s chest felt like melted chocolate on a hot day. Laci didn’t know Ethan, and she had been so moved by his story that it brought her to tears. There was something to be said for having a heart that tender. He admired it.
He gently rubbed her back.
She rested her head on his shoulder. “We’ve got to bid on something.”
“We will.”
Jordan had already resigned himself to the idea of spending money because Ethan was a friend, but after hearing the cause, he was sold. And he adored that Laci wanted to contribute as well. He shouldn’t have been too surprised, considering the way she supported Tate even when her brother was not around.
Bidding began after dinner. Jordan bid on a trip to the Maldives. Laci insisted on bidding on something as well, so she bid on a lot of the vintage jewelry that Billie’s old flatmate and best friend, Tessa Gallagher, had provided through a community of antique enthusiasts. The jewelry was gorgeous, all diamonds and sapphires, and he imagined Laci would look quite regal in them.
Tessa spotted Laci eyeing the jewels.
“They’re from around 1913,” she explained, and her Northern Irish accent took Jordan by surprise. “They belonged to the last earl of the Colfield family before he died in the First World War.”
“Wow,” Laci said. “How funny, my parents own the Colfield estate now.”
Tessa blinked. “They do?”