The Mighty Quinns: Thom by Kate Hoffmann

trying to find a way to get you noticed on social media in a positive way.” She pulled out her phone and held it out. “Look, we posted a picture of your new haircut and you got a thousand likes and seventy-six retweets.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “People are seeing the new you and—and they want to engage with you. They’re interested.” She pulled the phone away and tucked it back in her pocket. “We need them to be interested if we want to stop the trade.”
    “I just get the feeling that all of this is some big scheme to change who I am.”
    “Well, yeah, maybe it is,” Malin said. “The women, the fights, the drinking. Don’t you think you need to change?”
    “It’s a little late for that,” Thom replied.
    “No,” she said. “I don’t believe that.”
    “But it’s not all some altruistic effort to make me into a better man. You want to prove a point to your father, and you want to use me to do it.”
    She reached for the key and started the car. He couldn’t tell if she’d discarded his last accusation or if she was considering it in silence. For a long time as she drove, Malin didn’t speak. Then she took a ragged breath. “Maybe you’re right.”
    Thom cursed beneath his breath. Hell, he didn’t want to be right. He risked a glance over at her, and he saw a tear trickle from the corner of her eye. It felt like a knife to his heart, and he wanted to take back all his doubts and anger. But he’d protected himself for such a long time by taking the other person down first, and the instinct was too hard to fight.
    When they reached the firehouse, Malin parked her car out front but left it running. “I have some things I need to take care of at the office. I’ll be back later.”
    “You’re going to leave me alone?” Thom asked. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
    He didn’t want her to go. Even though he was angry, he still wanted to keep her close. It was inevitable that that they’d argue, but he wasn’t prepared to deal with the consequences.
    “I guess I’ll have to trust you.”
    “Don’t,” he warned. “I’m the last guy in the world you should trust.”
    Sighing deeply, Malin turned off the car then faced him. “Why do you want an argument? I’m not even sure what we’re fighting about.”
    Just the fact that she could read him so well fueled his temper. Thom got out of the car and slammed the door behind him. He didn’t want to care for her. Why couldn’t she be like the other women he’d known—easy to bed and even easier to leave?
    “I’m trying to help you,” she shouted as she got out of the car and circled around to him. “You could show a little appreciation instead of acting like a petulant child.”
    “Or are you trying to fix me?” he asked.
    “Wouldn’t that be part of helping you? What was so bad about today? You got a nice haircut and some fashionable clothes—for free, I might add. Ideally, when you go out now, people will look at you differently.” She met his gaze, and Thom felt as if she could see directly into his soul. “It’s time to grow up, Thom. Time to stop making the same mistakes over and over.”
    With that, she turned and walked to the front door of the firehouse. She waited for Thom to unlock it and when he did, she went inside, leaving him standing on the stoop.
    Of course she was right about it all. Until she’d appeared, his life had been a mess. And now she was trying to help him, and his instinct was to fight against any authority.
    Thom sat down on the stoop and raked his fingers through his new haircut. The stylist had put so much product in it that it felt crunchy. But he couldn’t fault the shave, he mused, rubbing his palms on his baby-smooth cheeks. And his feet and hands looked great.
    “Hi, Thom.”
    He glanced up to see ten-year-old Charlie Ross standing in front of him, dressed in a Minnesota Blizzard T-shirt and ragged jeans. He carried a battered hockey stick and wore rollerblades instead of