“Terrible influences?” Paul raises an eyebrow, grinning. “Kid, who do you think let you stay up late watching horror movies with popcorn when your old man here thought it was ‘inappropriate’? Who do you think taught you how to sneak out without getting caught?”“Which, by the way, you were terrible at,” I add with a chuckle. “You didn’t make it past the back gate without tripping on that pile of gardening tools.”“Oh, God,” Mike laughs, his eyes lighting up with the kind of boyish amusement I haven’t seen in years. “Yeah, that was all Paul’s doing. Every time I got grounded, I’d look out the window, and there he was, standing in the driveway, pretending he was innocent.”Paul puts a hand to his heart, feigning offense. “Excuse me, innocent is exactly what I was.”“Innocent?” I scoff. “If innocent means corrupting my son with your schemes, then sure. Innocent as a wolf in a henhouse.”Mike’s grin softens, and for a brief, blissful moment, everything feels easy, uncomplicated. We’re jus
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