Shepherding Marcus ahead of us, we headed out to the car. Marcus gawked as he climbed into the sleek Bentley and exclaimed, “Cool car!”

“Thanks.” Jake shot me an amused look and asked, “Where’s home?”

I gave him the directions and he pulled out of the lot.

“Allentron makes a better helper robot than your company, you know,” Marcus’s said in a superior tone.

“Marcus!” I twisted my head to look at him warningly, appalled at his lack of manners. “That’s rude.”

Jake smiled to let me know it was okay. “Tell me why you think so?”

“Cora took me to the robotics expo a few months ago.”

I grimaced at the memory of the geek fest, but Marcus had begged to go.

“While your robot looked better, the Allentron one had more functionality. I talked to the guy at the booth and they created their own programming language. Your company only uses C++ and Python.” He sounded comically contemptuous.

Even though it all sounded like Greek to me, Jake looked impressed. “I’ll have to talk to our engineers about this. How do you know so much about this stuff?”

“Oh, I’ve built my own robots. Well… I used to build them.”

I bit my lip guiltily. Before my mom got sick, we had the money and space for Marcus to indulge in his hobby, but our circumstances had completely changed.

“I’d love to see what you’ve made.”

Marcus stuck his head between our seats. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Cora, can Jake come up and see my robots?” Marcus looked at me pleadingly.

I hated to disappoint Marcus, especially after our crappy day, but my first instinct was to say no. I looked at Jake, my eyes huge. This man being in our apartment set off alarm bells. Whatever distance I was trying to maintain would be undone.

“Um…Jake’s a very busy person, Marcus. He probably needs to be somewhere.” I prayed Jake would latch on to the excuse I offered him.

“Do you?” Marcus turned to Jake and I heard the hopeful note in his voice. My heart ached. A male role model in his life was something I could not provide for him.

Please say you’re busy. Please!

“If your sister is okay with it, I’d love to see it.” His eyes danced with amusement as if he knew what I was thinking.

As if my agreement were a foregone conclusion, Marcus pumped his fist and exclaimed, “Yes!”

My eyes sent Jake a silent apology and I mouthed, “You don’t have to.”

In response, he mouthed, “I want to.”

Miraculously, a spot opened on our block and Jake pulled into the space.

“Um…it’s not the safest neighborhood,” I warned him as we got out of the car.

He shrugged. “It’s fine. My car has an alarm and nobody could steal this thing.” He held up the key. “The engine will kill itself if someone doesn’t have the computerized key.”

He walked next to me and without knowing how it happened, his hand was at my back again. Only unlike at the office, this time it felt like an affectionate gesture and not a means to move me along. My body tensed, but Jake did not drop his hand.

Marcus ran ahead of us, eager to show Jake his toys.

“Thank you for agreeing to see his robots. I’m afraid I’m not a very good audience. I love the theory of AI, but I’m not interested in the practical applications. I start spacing out as soon as he talks about the technical aspects.”

“It’s okay. Men are little boys at heart and what boy doesn’t enjoy robots?”

“He got his love of math and science from my dad.”

Jake looked at me inquiringly. “What did your dad do?”

“He taught Physics at the University of Chicago.”

“Was your dad Sebastian Branton?”

I stopped in my tracks and stared at him in amazement. “How did you know?”

“His theory on subatomic particles was brilliant! I wasn’t a science buff, but I took a physics class my last year in my undergraduate studies and his writing was so clear and concise.” His eyes darkened with sympathy. “I’m sorry about your dad. His death was a loss to the whole world.”

His sincerity was unmistakable. “Thanks. Marcus was only five when our dad died, but he adored him. I could see so much of our dad in him though. That’s why the fight today doesn’t make any sense. Marcus is a thinker, not a fighter.” I started walking again.

“He might just be undergoing changes he doesn’t know how to deal with. God knows Troy and I were holy terrors as teens.”

“I hope it’s just a phase.” But my gut told me something triggered this and I didn’t know how to get the truth out of Marcus.

“What did your mom do?” Jake asked.

“She was an art teacher. She loved everything to do with the arts. Marcus and I used to hang out in her ceramics studio when we were kids. One time we were playing tag and broke a sculpture she had been working on for months. My brother and I were terrified because that was how my mom earned extra money, but she just laughed it off and said she never liked it to begin with. She said the piece didn’t ‘speak to her.’” I smiled at the memory. I didn’t mean to share so much about my mom, but the words came tumbling out.

“She sounded wonderful.”

“She was, but to her disappointment, neither Marcus nor I inherited her artistic abilities. I’m lucky if I can draw a straight line,” I admitted ruefully.

“She would be proud of both of you.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at him and stopped in front of a three-story brick building.

Jake’s eyes were assessing and faint lines of tension formed around his mouth.

I supposed from a billionaire’s perspective, this must look like a slum, but the building was safe. I had looked at a lot of other apartments before finding this place. There were twelve units and many of the neighbors had young families. They seemed to look out for each other. It was the best I could do on my small paycheck and I refused to let Jake’s snobbery make me feel bad about our home.

My chin lifted and I marched up the steps. Marcus had left the front door wide open. I climbed up the creaky staircase, with Jake following closely behind.

When we entered the apartment, I was suddenly aware of how cramped it must appear to Jake. He probably lived in a humongous penthouse with views of Lake Michigan. Our apartment had two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen I could barely turn around in without bumping into something, and a small living room. We had no dining area and normally ate dinner at the counter or sat on the sofa. The walls could use a fresh coat of paint and the appliances were old. At least the furnishings were decent. We salvaged what we could when we moved out of our house in Edison Park.

“Um…why don’t you have a seat? Do you want anything to drink? I have soda, juice and water. I’m sorry I don’t have beer or wine, but I’m not a drinker and of course, Marcus is too young.” I knew I was rambling, but now that he was in my private space, I had an attack of nerves.

“Water is fine.”

Before I could turn away, he grabbed my hand and peered down at me. “Is everything okay with Marcus?”

My fingers tingled from his touch and I fought to not blush under his regard.

“He won’t say anything. The school has suspended him for three days. I’m scared to send him back there if this will happen again. It’s a black eye today, but it could be worse next time.”

Jake narrowed his eyes in thought. “How about moving him to a private school? There’s an academy that’s devoted to math and science in the city.”

I couldn’t contain my exasperation. “Jake, it’s not like I haven’t thought of that, but it’s mid-school year. Nobody accepts applications right now. Besides, private school costs a lot of money.” Afraid he would misinterpret my statement, I rushed to explain, “Not that you don’t give me a generous salary, but I need a bit more time to save up the funds.”

Before we could continue our discussion, Marcus bounded out of his room, his arms laden with gadgets and robotic parts. “These were the only ones I could find.”