Chapter 1

It had been twenty days, two hours, and nine minutes since his mother’s death. It felt like he’d lived five lifetimes since he found out he had to move. Everyone he knew said the same thing. Rory wondered if they’d even considered how little their saying they were worried about him would help his situation.

His life had been turned upside down when his mother died, but she’d had a plan for him. His aunt had ruined that, and there was nothing he could do about it. The worst part was that since he’d learned he would have to live with the man his mother had referred to only as the ‘sperm donor,’ he’d begun to have nightmares. Rory would wake up and swear he could still smell the nostril-stinging odor of the antiseptic in his mom’s hospital room and hear the damned beep, beep, beep of the monitors.

The night before his father had been due to arrive, he’d had a meltdown. He’d turned his gaze to the sky.

“I need you, Mom,” he’d raged with a sob stuck in his throat. “Give me a sign. Anything to tell me what I should do about this mess and how I’ll live without you.”

As always, there were no signs. Rory would have given anything to have one last conversation with his mother, to feel her loving reassurance he would be okay. In the end, though, he was alone.

Rory found himself on an airplane to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Tyler Luv lived.

Tyler had arrived yesterday and stopped at the Freemans’, where he spoke briefly with Rory’s godparents. Tyler had then disappeared. Chris told Rory that he had to pack because his dad would be back to take him home with him the next day after he’d made all the necessary arrangements with Child Services.

Once Tyler had Child Services’ blessing, he could take charge of Rory. His dad had made a deal with his aunt that she could have the contents of his mom’s home to make her go away. At first, Rory had been livid. His dad had explained that his mother’s medical bills were more than the value of all her assets, including the home. Her sister taking the contents was better than giving them to the hospital.

Chris and Katherine had agreed to handle the sale of his childhood home and to ship the handful of keepsakes he’d set aside. As he rode to the airport, he found it funny to think that nearly everything he’d accumulated in 15 years could fit into a couple of duffle bags. He’d taken those with him; the rest would be shipped off in a day.

When the seatbelt sign turned off, Tyler touched his arm to get his attention.

“I thought we could use this time to get to know each other,” Tyler suggested.

Rory looked out the window without saying anything. That didn’t deter Tyler.

“I know that moving away from your home isn’t easy. Especially since I learned that your mother never gave you any of the cards or letters I sent while you were growing up.”

Rory turned to his father and gave him a level look.

“Be very careful what you say about my mother.”

Tyler absorbed his son’s hostility with a tight expression.

“I understand why she kept me from you. My only point was that if we’d been in contact, this whole transition could be easier for you. It wasn’t intended to second-guess her decision,” Tyler said.

It sounded exactly like that to Rory.

“Let’s try something different. Why don’t I fill you in on where you’re moving to? Is that safe ground for a conversation?” Tyler asked.

Rory thought about it and realized that some information would help him feel more in control.

“Okay, I’d like that.”

“You’ll be living in Summerlin, close to Las Vegas, in a community called The Valley. I moved my production company, Luv Entertainment, from Las Vegas when I married your new stepmom, Crystal. She has a daughter, and we wanted to get her into better schools.”

“What’s her name?”

“Sophie, and she’s your age,” Tyler said.

“What is it you do?”

“When I met your mom, I was an actor. As I got older, I took an interest in the other side of the camera. That’s how I met Crystal. While I still act occasionally, I wanted more control of the films. That’s why I started a production company.

“We mainly make shorts, which are usually five to twenty minutes long. We also make some full-length features,” Tyler said.

“Anything I might have seen?”

“We just won an award for Janie’s Gun. It was loosely based on the old Aerosmith song.”

“So, he had it coming?” Rory asked.

Tyler chuckled.

“You could say that.”

“How did you and my mom meet?” Rory asked.

“I met Grace when I lived in LA. She had grand plans to become an actress but hadn’t found the kind of success she’d hoped for. The first time I saw her was at my favorite breakfast place, where she was a server. I always tried to sit in her section so I could talk to her.

“After several weeks, I finally got up the nerve to ask her out. We dated off and on for about three months, and then she disappeared. I assumed she’d returned home,” Tyler said.

“But you said that you sent me letters.”

“It was a year later when she sent me a message saying you were born, that you were mine, and that she was struggling financially. I had steady work as an actor by then, so I made arrangements to send her money each month. I also wanted to come to see you, but she wouldn’t hear of it,” Tyler said.

Rory knew that his mom had a temper, and if she decided something, you did as she said. It would have been hard to ask his dad for support. She’d obviously done so and had managed it well, or there wouldn’t have been so much money in his trust fund.

“Why didn’t you come anyway?” Rory asked.

“I don’t have a good answer for that. I was busy working, and then I met Crystal and instantly had my own family. Besides, every time I asked your mom, she said, ‘no.’ She didn’t want to confuse you with me showing up and then leaving. If she ever met someone, she wanted you to be able to bond with them.”

“Whenever I would ask about you, mom didn’t want to talk about it. When she did, she called you the ‘sperm donor,’” Rory said.

He saw Tyler flinch.

“I probably deserved that,” Tyler finally said.

They were both quiet for a while before he finally said something.

“Look. I know that moving in with me and my family will be an adjustment. While I am your father, I don’t plan to lord it over you. You’re a young man who I suspect can take care of himself. All I ask is that you make an effort to fit in and treat everyone with respect, as we will do with you.

“At a minimum, we have to tolerate each other for the next three years. But my goal is that we become a family,” Tyler said.

“You haven’t irritated me too much so far,” Rory said with a tiny smile. “I’m sure we can tolerate each other ... at a minimum.”

“Oh, boy, you’re a smartass. You’ll fit right in,” Tyler predicted.

Rory nodded and looked back out the window as he thought about what he’d just learned. He was glad Tyler didn’t plan to become ‘instant dad.’ That would rub him the wrong way, for sure.

Rory’s first clue that his dad might have some money came when they didn’t have to go to the parking lot. Tyler had hired a service to park his Lexus LX, detail it, and then have it waiting curbside when they exited the terminal.

The woman handed his dad the keys as Rory got in and looked around. If his mom had been there, she would have made him put down a towel on the leather seats for fear he would excrete a bodily fluid, causing damage. It was apparently something teenage boys did.

“What did this set you back?”

Tyler gave him a sideways glance before answering.

“It’s my company car. We use it to pick up clients and actors. We want to make a good first impression.”

“My mom’s car was a fifteen-year-old Dodge Caravan with cloth seats. It had a bit of a funky smell from her picking me up from MMA practice. Not from me,” Rory clarified, “but from my gym clothes and the workout shoes in my duffle. I hope you have a beater for stuff like that. I would hate to mess up the new-car smell.”

Tyler barked out a laugh.

“I can’t wait to tell Crystal. She’ll make you take an Uber home.”

“Are there any mixed martial arts gyms close to where we live?” Rory asked.

“I’m really not sure. I’ll have my assistant look into that for you.”

The man even had an assistant. How much money did his dad have?

As it turned out, a buttload.

The city itself looked like a hipster magnet as they drove downtown.

“Everything is new and shiny,” Rory commented.

“Summerlin is relatively new as cities go. The first village was completed in 1990. Since then, it has grown to over a hundred thousand people. There are still over five thousand acres undeveloped.

“Howard Hughes, the crazy rich guy, bought 25,000 acres back in the 1950s. After his death, his family decided to build a master-planned community geared toward an active lifestyle. The town was named after his grandmother, Jean Summerlin. There are over 230 parks, miles of walking and bike trails, and we’re next to Red Canyon, where I go to rock climb. Because of our elevation, it’s cooler than Vegas, but we are in the middle of the desert, so it still gets hot,” Tyler said.

“A dry heat,” Rory quipped.

“When it’s 120 outside, it doesn’t matter if it’s a dry heat or not. One tip is to always take water with you. Your sweat will evaporate off you, and you won’t even realize you’re dehydrated.”

Rory just nodded as he took in his surroundings. Tyler called his wife to give her a heads-up that they were almost home.

They turned off the main road and drove down the winding, manicured entrance to The Valley. The divided parkway was lined with palm trees and cacti. As they rounded a bend, they came to a guard building in the center of a gated community entrance. The road split into two lanes. Tyler pulled into the left lane, closest to the building.

The gate automatically went up, but Tyler waited until a guard came out. Tyler rolled down the window.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Luv?” the guard asked.

“My son is moving in, and I need to get him set up.”

“Of course; your wife called us. If you could pull around and park, we need to take his picture to finish the process.”

Once parked, the guard met them at the back door and let them in.

“Rory, I’m Frank,” he said as he held out his hand.

Rory took it, and they shook.

“Let’s get your picture taken,” Frank said.

“What’s that for?” Rory asked.

“For our system.”

Rory felt like he was at the DMV when he got his driving instruction permit. He could only imagine what his hair looked like. Frank took his picture, then went to his PC and began tapping away.

“Give me your cell phone, and I’ll set you up,” Frank said.

Rory felt his cheeks warm.

“I don’t have one,” he admitted.

His father and Frank both looked stunned.

“I’ve never met a teenager that ... but that’s okay,” Frank said, recovering. “I’ll get you a key card and fob.”

“He’ll have a cell phone tomorrow,” Tyler promised.

“When you do, swing by, and I’ll load The Valley app.”

“What’s it for?” Rory asked.

“It gets you in and out of The Valley and all the facilities, like the country club. You also use it instead of cash,” Tyler explained.

The computer dinged, and a machine next to it began to hum. A moment later, it spit out what looked like a credit card. Frank handed it to him, and he saw his picture with the name Rory Luv printed on it.

“Sorry, but you got my name wrong. It’s Rory Walsh.”

Frank looked flustered.

“Let me fix that.”

A moment later, Rory was handed a new card and a key fob.

“You’re all set,” Frank said.

“Thanks. He’ll be by tomorrow with his phone,” Tyler promised.

Beverly had some nice older homes. It even boasted the Givins Irish Castle. The Valley’s homes were newer but rivaled the old mansions on Longwood Drive. And the further Tyler and Rory went, and the more the elevation rose, the bigger and more opulent they got.

Rory saw a sign for the country club.