amazing.”
“I know, right? I was wondering when you would finally acknowledge this.”
“Cocky, too. What happened to the little girl who idolized me most of her life?”
“She grew up. The better question is what happened to the handsome nerd with the heart of gold, and how did he end up here?”
“That’s so much water under the bridge, ‘Nice. I accepted that when the U.S. Attorney’s office accepted my plea.”
“Fair enough.”
“So, what brings you to sunny California?”
“Didn’t you get my last letter before they shipped you off, and the graduation pictures I sent you?”
“No, I didn’t. The last letter I got from you was in April of last year. They moved me here at the end of April, and all I’ve gotten since I’ve been here are Isaiah and Brenda’s holiday cards and newsletters with personal notes every once in a while.”
“I’m a student at Stanford.”
Trevor’s jaw dropped. “You’re in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Wow! Shanice, that’s ... I knew you were in college, but I didn’t know it was such a good school, and that you were so ... close.”
She frowned. “If you call six hours away close.”
His eyes grew wide. “You drove six hours alone?”
“No, a friend and I flew to LA together, and I drove a rental here.”
“You and a friend?”
He didn’t ask the obvious, but she rolled her eyes and answered anyway. “It was a girlfriend. Lisa.”
Trevor decided to change the subject, since he’d been so blatant about the identity of her friend. “So, how’d you end up at Stanford? I thought you were looking at Florida schools.”
She smirked. “I was, until this idiot I know stole a billion dollars from all fifty states of the union.”
He laughed and she joined him. “So, you’ve been at Stanford since last August?”
“Yeah. I had to get a handle on my studies and it took a while to trust anyone I knew with your story, because Mom and Dad didn’t want me to make the trip alone.”
Trevor loved Isaiah and Brenda for being such caring parents for Shanice. “They’re right. Coming alone would be a bad idea. In fact, coming at all is a bad idea.”
“I did not come to school in the same state as you to be told I can’t come visit.”
“I know, but you’re here to get an education, not visit a convict every weekend.”
“Well, I couldn’t come every weekend anyway, but maybe once a month or so.”
“Not even that much. Listen, as much as I appreciate your visit today, you can’t come here again.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s really no point.”
“No point? Didn’t you read my letters? I meant it when I said I would never give up on you, Trevor.”
“Visiting me could get you hurt.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Well I do!” Trevor’s raised voice caught the attention of just about everyone in the room, so he toned it down. “Shanice, what I did pissed off some very bad people.”
“Is your Uncle Phil one of those people?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“No, it isn’t. You can’t convince me that Philip Kyle didn’t play a part in you landing in jail. Mom and Dad believe that, too. We just don’t have any proof.”
“And you don’t need any. I’m here, paying for what I did. I wish the people who want this money didn’t know how much your family means to me, but they do. Do you want your parents or the twins to be hurt?”
“What do you mean?”
“These people wouldn’t hesitate to use you and your family to get to me. I spent the last couple of years I was in college trying to distance myself from you guys.”
“But I kept pushing the issue,” Shanice said, realization suddenly dawning on her. “Was Mom’s accident caused by these bad people?”
Trevor nodded, his expression grave. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
Fresh tears sprung into Shanice’s eyes. “I lost my baby sister because... I knew there had to be a reason you kept pushing
“I know, right? I was wondering when you would finally acknowledge this.”
“Cocky, too. What happened to the little girl who idolized me most of her life?”
“She grew up. The better question is what happened to the handsome nerd with the heart of gold, and how did he end up here?”
“That’s so much water under the bridge, ‘Nice. I accepted that when the U.S. Attorney’s office accepted my plea.”
“Fair enough.”
“So, what brings you to sunny California?”
“Didn’t you get my last letter before they shipped you off, and the graduation pictures I sent you?”
“No, I didn’t. The last letter I got from you was in April of last year. They moved me here at the end of April, and all I’ve gotten since I’ve been here are Isaiah and Brenda’s holiday cards and newsletters with personal notes every once in a while.”
“I’m a student at Stanford.”
Trevor’s jaw dropped. “You’re in Silicon Valley, Santa Clara County?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Wow! Shanice, that’s ... I knew you were in college, but I didn’t know it was such a good school, and that you were so ... close.”
She frowned. “If you call six hours away close.”
His eyes grew wide. “You drove six hours alone?”
“No, a friend and I flew to LA together, and I drove a rental here.”
“You and a friend?”
He didn’t ask the obvious, but she rolled her eyes and answered anyway. “It was a girlfriend. Lisa.”
Trevor decided to change the subject, since he’d been so blatant about the identity of her friend. “So, how’d you end up at Stanford? I thought you were looking at Florida schools.”
She smirked. “I was, until this idiot I know stole a billion dollars from all fifty states of the union.”
He laughed and she joined him. “So, you’ve been at Stanford since last August?”
“Yeah. I had to get a handle on my studies and it took a while to trust anyone I knew with your story, because Mom and Dad didn’t want me to make the trip alone.”
Trevor loved Isaiah and Brenda for being such caring parents for Shanice. “They’re right. Coming alone would be a bad idea. In fact, coming at all is a bad idea.”
“I did not come to school in the same state as you to be told I can’t come visit.”
“I know, but you’re here to get an education, not visit a convict every weekend.”
“Well, I couldn’t come every weekend anyway, but maybe once a month or so.”
“Not even that much. Listen, as much as I appreciate your visit today, you can’t come here again.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s really no point.”
“No point? Didn’t you read my letters? I meant it when I said I would never give up on you, Trevor.”
“Visiting me could get you hurt.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“Well I do!” Trevor’s raised voice caught the attention of just about everyone in the room, so he toned it down. “Shanice, what I did pissed off some very bad people.”
“Is your Uncle Phil one of those people?”
“That’s beside the point.”
“No, it isn’t. You can’t convince me that Philip Kyle didn’t play a part in you landing in jail. Mom and Dad believe that, too. We just don’t have any proof.”
“And you don’t need any. I’m here, paying for what I did. I wish the people who want this money didn’t know how much your family means to me, but they do. Do you want your parents or the twins to be hurt?”
“What do you mean?”
“These people wouldn’t hesitate to use you and your family to get to me. I spent the last couple of years I was in college trying to distance myself from you guys.”
“But I kept pushing the issue,” Shanice said, realization suddenly dawning on her. “Was Mom’s accident caused by these bad people?”
Trevor nodded, his expression grave. He couldn’t bring himself to say the words.
Fresh tears sprung into Shanice’s eyes. “I lost my baby sister because... I knew there had to be a reason you kept pushing
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