An Inner Darkness Book 5 Bay City paranormal

shoulders hunched against the cold and watched while Bo climbed into his car and backed out into the tree-lined street. Sam didn’t go back inside until the car was out of sight.
    ***

    Bo returned half an hour later with a sullen Adrian in tow. The boy ignored Sam’s greeting and stomped into his father’s office in a nearly visible cloud of preteen fury. The door slammed shut behind him.
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    Danny glanced at the office door, then raised her eyebrows at Bo before returning to her work. Shaking his head, Bo crossed to Sam’s desk and dropped into an empty chair beside him. “Don’t ask.”
    “You got it, boss-man.” David spun his chair around to face Bo. “You want me to take him out for ice cream or something?” Bo smiled. “That’s very nice of you, but there’s no need. We’re not staying after all.
    I’m taking Adrian home. He and I need to have a talk.” A sudden attack of nerves churned Sam’s stomach. He never knew whether to involve himself in Bo’s family affairs or not. Sean and Adrian weren’t his children.

    However, they were part of his life now via his relationship with Bo. What he hadn’t quite worked out was precisely what role he played in their lives. Trying to be a parent to them felt horribly awkward. He did the best he could, for Bo’s sake, but he always felt out of his depth.
    Sam licked his lips. “Do you want me to come with you, or would you rather I stayed here?”
“Would you mind coming with me?”
Damn. “Of course I don’t mind.”
The relief which flooded Bo’s face gave Sam a guilty twinge in his gut. “Thank you, Sam. I really need your support for this.” “No problem.” Forcing a smile, Sam laid a hand on Bo’s knee. “Hey, why didn’t the school call Janine?”
    Bo’s face clouded. “They did. She didn’t answer her cell, so they called Lee’s. He told them Janine was on assignment and he couldn’t leave work, so they finally called me.”
    Across the room, Dean winced, the expression only half hidden by the stack of papers he’d just pulled off the printer. He didn’t say anything, for which Sam was grateful. The tightness in Bo’s voice announced loud and clear how he felt about Lee being called before him. No one, least of all Bo, needed it spoken out loud.
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Ally Blue
    Bet I’m not even on the contact list at all, Sam thought, not without bitterness. He might not be very skilled at parenting—yet—but he cared about both boys and wanted to be available to help if needed. It stung that after all he and Bo had gone through to be together, their relationship remained unacknowledged by so many people in Sean and Adrian’s lives.
    Some days, he felt invisible to the world outside this office, and it hurt.
With a deep sigh, Bo rose to his feet. “Well, I suppose there’s no point in putting off the inevitable. Sam, how soon can you be ready to go?” “Depends. Is it okay if I finish this research tomorrow?”
“Yes, that’ll be fine.”
“Then I can leave right now, if you want.”
Bo nodded. “That would be good.”
Sam bookmarked the web page he’d been reviewing, then shut down the computer.
He pushed out of his chair. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Good luck,” David said, turning back to his work.
Sam let out a wry laugh . “Thanks.”
While Bo went to his office to get Adrian, Dean trailed Sam to the front door. “Don’t worry, Sam. You’ll be fine.”
Arching an eyebrow at Dean, Sam grabbed his jacket and pulled it on. “I hope you’re right. I’m learning this stuff as I go. It’s pretty hard sometimes.” “I bet.” Dean glanced at Bo and Adrian, who had just emerged from Bo’s office.
“See y’all tomorrow.”
Giving Dean’s arm a quick squeeze, Sam followed Bo and Adrian out the front door.
    They rode home in an oppressive silence, Sam at the wheel with Bo beside him and Adrian sulking in the backseat. Sam squinted through the windshield at the rain-blurred street. The drizzle had turned into a downpour in the last few minutes, cutting visibility to a few yards and transforming approaching headlights into tiny pixilated suns. It took every ounce of his concentration just to keep the car on the road.
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For once, he was grateful for the intensity of the storms which tended to hit this city.
    If it wasn’t for the distraction of driving through the deluge, the tension crackling between Bo