The parking-lot lights hadn’t come on yet; the sky still held that last slice of gold as Eric shut the car door and thumbed the contact labeled only “Worshipful.”

  One ring.

  “Eric. Good evening.”

  The voice was quiet, but it filled the car like it belonged there.

  Eric exhaled. “Worshipful, I’m sorry I jumped the gun and didn’t ask permission first.”

  “No apologies needed. Isaac already brought me up to speed. Sounds like you had a harder job convincing the boy than Isaac did convincing the gatekeepers.”

  Eric laughed under his breath. “He kept trying to disappear on me. I was terrified if I gave him twenty-four hours he’d talk himself out of being worth the effort.”

  “And the result?”

  “You’ll never guess who we ran into at the center.”

  “I don’t keep the girls’ schedules. Surprise me.”

  “Veronica and Shoshana.”

  A pleased hum. “Fortuitous.”

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  “More than that. They stole him for a full hour—ran him through the entire dinner kit like it was the most natural thing in the world. Napkin folds, which fork is which, the whole production.”

  “Veronica’s always been a teacher at heart. But Shoshana…?”

  “That’s the part that stopped me cold.” Eric glanced toward the lodge doors, voice dropping. “You’d put money on Veronica being the one with the spark. Nope. Shoshana took the lead—smiling, teaching, glowing. I’ve never seen her that bold.”

  A longer pause this time, thoughtful.

  “Interesting,” the Worshipful said at last. “Very interesting. Her parents know yet?”

  “Not yet. But Thomas didn’t flirt, didn’t posture. He just… let them help him. Listened like every word was gold. I haven’t seen Shoshana that open since she was little.”

  A soft chuckle drifted through the speaker. “Sounds like the boy’s a walking safe harbor. That says everything about his character—and hers.”

  “It felt like watching a seed decide the exact second it was going to sprout,” Eric said quietly. “None of the three of them realize it yet, but something real just took root.”

  The Worshipful’s tone shifted, warm steel underneath. “You’re bringing the guardian to the dinner.”

  “Planning on it. Want eyes on the place our boy goes home to every night.”

  “Good. A few brothers just pulled up outside my office. We’ll talk strategy tonight.”

  “Give them my best.”

  “And mine to your wife. She always had a soft spot for Shoshana. Keep that boy close, Eric. He’s one of ours now—whether he knows the words yet or not.”

  “Always.”

  The call ended with a soft click.

  Eric sat in the sudden quiet, watching the last light catch on the lodge’s stone archway. A slow, fierce smile spread across his face.

  Something important just started growing.

  And for the first time in a long time, the future felt exactly the right kind of inevitable.

  He turned the key. The engine hummed to life, ready to carry Thomas toward the next piece of the life waiting for him.