I shouldn't have said anything more, but him thinking I'd leave my sister made me angry. "My brother's inside too; he's fifteen. I work some days and some nights; whenever I can get the hours. It's not ideal, but it's our only choice. My brother is very responsible." I spoke so fast, my words tumbled together.

Reed gave a loud sigh. "Fuck."

I did have some pride left because it came flaring back to life. "Don't fucking pity us."

I threw open my door and so did he. He followed me up to the door and Don Gato rubbed against his pant leg.

Traitor.

I was back in my territory and feeling stronger. "You need to leave now."

"I'm coming inside."

"No."

"Yes." There was steel in his voice.

"You'll upset my brother."

"Too fucking bad. Open the door."

It pissed me off, but I had little choice. I knocked on the door. The small curtain to the right of the door moved aside. An inside light came on and a slight thump sounded when Jon lifted the two-by-four barring the door. Our lock broke a few months ago, so I'd bought a padlock for the outside when we were away and hardware to hold the wood in front of the door when we were inside.

I walked up the two metal steps. Reed followed. Don Gato scampered past us and ran to the back. He liked to snuggle with my sister, Bitsy, at night.

Jon stood inside the door dressed in his boxers. He was skinny and tall, though he'd just begun filling out some. When dressed, most people looked at Jon with contempt. He'd adopted a Goth persona; the entire black underlord thing, including makeup. But he was my brother and he could do just about anything and I'd love him. I saw his body stiffen when he looked at Reed.

"Jon, this is Mr. Tyler."

Reed put out his hand. "Please call me Reed."

Jon looked down at Reed's hand and I could actually see the minute his sleepy brain processed the full name. His head jerked up as he looked closely at our guest.

"You're Reed Tyler." Jon's voice cracked on the last name.

"Yes. Are you going to shake my hand or should I put it down?" Reed said with humor.

Jon's hand shot out and he shook hands with one of his idols. I'm sure Reed was used to it, but I knew Jon would never forget this moment. Even Goth kids could like sports, and Jon loved baseball. When he released Reed's hand, Jon immediately picked up his pants from the end of the couch and quickly pulled them on.

"Did Bitsy sleep okay?"

"Yes, umm, she hasn't woken up. I fell asleep a few hours ago."

I saw Reed looking around the small space. Piles of books sat on the small foldout dinette, and there were a few boxes of food and a toaster on the three-foot-long counter. Bedding covered the couch because it's where Jon slept. I slept in a double bed with my sister. Our home was a far cry from Reed's mansion.

"You follow baseball, Jon?"

"Sometimes." Jon wasn't giving anything away. He might know Reed was famous, and worship the player, but that didn't make his baseball idol a good person. In our small dirt-poor world, we learned quickly to distrust everyone.

Reed smiled. "I don't see a television. Do you have one in the back?"

I noticed the redness creeping up my brother's face. "No. If I have time, I listen to the games on the radio."

Reed rubbed his jaw and I realized he did it when he wasn't sure what to think or say. "Do you play?"

"No-well, in the street around here I have, but I don't play on a team."

Teams cost money and it should be obvious by our surroundings that we didn't have money.

"Jon has school in the morning and he needs to sleep, Mr. Tyler."

"I think you should call me Reed."

I didn't say anything. It wouldn't matter what I called him because in a few minutes, I would never see him again.

"Whose school books are those?"

Jon didn't give me a chance to answer. "A few are mine." He left it at that.

Reed stepped closer to the table and looked at the titles.

His left eyebrow arched as he read the title aloud. "Analytical Concepts in Accounting."

Again, my pride got the better of me and my voice sounded stiff. "I don't plan to work at Tasty Burger my entire life."

"How many classes are you taking?"

He needed to leave, but I went ahead and answered. "Two each semester."

He turned to my brother. "What are your grades like, Jon?"

"Decent."

Reed didn't seem put off by Jon's monosyllable answers. "What subjects do you like?"

My brother surprisingly said, "English, literature, and history."

I heard a slight rustle of material and was first to notice my sister; her little hands rubbed her eyes as she looked questioningly at everyone in the room. In two steps, I picked her up, pressing her head to my shoulder. "Hey, sugar, you should be sleeping."

She pushed her upper body away from me, her big eyes going to the strange man in our trailer. "Who are you?"

I saw Reed's reaction. Almost everyone had a warm fuzzy moment when my sister gave the big-eyed stare. She was as adorable as they came. It's the reason Jon and I were so protective; Bitsy was our world.

Reed gave her a soft, calming smile and lowered his voice. "I'm Reed. Sorry about waking you up."

"Sokay. Don Gato wanted his belly scratched."

I rubbed her hair. "I'm putting you back to bed, sugar." I quickly turned and headed to the back.

I could feel her little hand lift from my shoulder, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her wave to Reed. Laying her on the bed, I pulled the covers up. "I promise to be in soon. Go back to sleep and I'll make your favorite pancakes in the morning."

"He's pretty."

Out of the mouths of babes. "Yes, he is."

"Is he your boyfriend?"

I knew Reed could hear every word through the walls. "No. He's just a nice man who gave me a ride home. That's enoughsleep or no pancakes."

"I love you, Jaycee."

My heart melted. "Love you too, sugar. Goodnight."

I slid the accordion door so only an inch remained open. I turned and looked at Reed.

His deep voice remained low. "I need to grab something from my car and then I'll let you all go to sleep. I'll be back in just a minute." He opened the door and walked outside.

My brother's huge eyes met mine. "You brought Reed Tyler here. Did you know it was Reed Tyler?"

"Shh. We'll talk after he's gone."

Reed stepped back in holding the shoebox with his balls. He placed them on the table on top of my accounting book before turning to my brother and shaking his hand.

"It was nice to meet you, Jon."

Jon just nodded.

Reed's blue eyes turned and drilled into mine. "I hope those give you what you need. I'll make sure the media knows I no longer own them."

I couldn't speak past the lump in my throat. I wanted to cry, and, more than anything, I no longer wanted Reed Tyler's balls.