Here for You by Skylar M. Cates

worker, sometimes arriving early or staying late. Ian would bring in bagels and coffee for breakfast, Brendan usually went home for lunch, and they often worked right through dinner. Brendan would pass the bar on the first try soon, of that Ian had no doubt. He’d be there to help, of course, if Brendan needed it. That was understood, and Ian enjoyed mentoring him. Ian, in the past, had done litigation for big firms. He didn’t mind division of property cases, but he was happier concentrating on his own firm and his specialty in family law. Brendan was equally passionate about these cases, but unlike Ian, Brendan had more trouble leaving the work at the office, especially the grimmer cases. He was still so green, and Ian figured his objectivity would come with more maturity. There had been one in particular, a custody battle, which made Brendan furious, where the little girl was marked up and her mother kept calling her in sick to school. Ian had managed to get the girl away from her abusive mother, into the care of her grandmother, and they’d celebrated at his office.
    Ian hoped Brendan considered him a good boss. He wasn’t the kind of person to say praise out loud, but he tried to make sure Brendan knew he appreciated him. It was only Ian, Brendan, and Katherine, his secretary, in his office day in and day out. Yes, he could be strict about deadlines, and Ian was nobody’s idea of fun, but he always tried to let Brendan know how much he valued him and his work. He knew Brendan thought highly of him, whether he continued to work for Ian or not, but hoped Brendan also considered him a friend. He didn’t have too many of those.
    Ian had been so busy building up his firm, although nobody in his old life supported his decision to leave a much more lucrative place to be out on his own. He enjoyed it, and besides, his gut told Ian it had been right to walk away, and Ian trusted his gut. It had failed him a lot less than the people in his life.
    Cole had grown unusually quiet, and Ian wanted to reassure him, but he didn’t quite know how to form the right words. He was certain Brendan would be fine. They needed to pursue this thing logically, and soon they’d find him, and Brendan would have some explanation they’d all overlooked. It had only been a few hours since lunch. Ian took out a ballpoint pen and small notepad from his dashboard.
    “What’re you doing?”
    “Trying to list places Brendan might have gone.” He scribbled a few thoughts down and turned to Cole. “We’re working on an adoption case not far from town, and Brendan felt for the prospective parents. He talked a lot about them—Maddie and Steve. It touched a nerve or something for him, I guess. They had called earlier today, and I wonder….”
    “What?”
    “If he rode his bike out there to see them in person? I told him I’d handle it, but Brendan was pretty concerned for them. I know that she called again right before lunch.”
    “That sounds like Brendan,” Cole said. “Where do they live, exactly?”
    “Grove Trails. It’s a new community, just built. It’s away from the beach and your place. Closer to the turnpike and the nature preserve.”
    They had sat in Maddie and Steve Kaufmann’s kitchen only last week. After years of infertility, they desperately wanted to adopt. They’d hired Ian to make a private adoption a reality. But they were glum, beaten down from failed IVF treatments and depleting funds. Maddie was three years older than Steve. She was attractive, a good dresser, a bit too thin, maybe. Steve was handsome in a nondescript way, his hair thinning a bit on top, but his expression open and sincere.
    “Can you help us?” Maddie asked, stirring her iced tea round and round, then cupping the glass between her palms.
    “Yes, can you?” Steve asked with a wary look in his eyes, one that said they’d been burned too many times already and he was tired of hoping.
    “Of course! Ian can help you,” Brendan answered before