McCormick put his sport coat on nervously, and glanced in the mirror while he straightened his tie. He was surprised at how nervous he felt, after all, the judge's son Tom was just another in a long line of people Hardcastle had introduced him to over the past few months.
Well, that wasn't really true, was it? Because Thomas Hardcastle wasn't just anyone. As the judge's son, his opinion would matter to the judge. If Tom didn't like Mark for any reason, he might try to convince his father to send him back to prison. That possibility, although probably remote, was on Mark's mind now, and had been since he'd learned about the visit.
Even if he didn't send him back to prison, Tom still might want his father to stop his "experiment" in rehabilitation and have Mark transferred to a more traditional parole arrangement.
Mark shook his head, surprised to realize that he didn't want his situation to change. Though he would never admit it to the judge, he found Hardcastle's strict adherence to his principles, to be a very comforting and stabilizing influence in his life. Something he had never been exposed to, had never known he lacked, but now he knew he needed.
The truth was that ending the relationship he had with Hardcastle… whatever that was…. was almost as distressing as being sent back to prison. He hadn't exactly formed the thoughts before this, but now he realized that he cared about the judge and he liked this arrangement, and as crazy as it sounded, he wanted it to continue.
Still, he wondered what the judge's son would be like, and what he would think of Mark, the ex-con who worked with his father on his files.
He sighed, not really knowing how he came to realize that Hardcastle hadn't told Tom about his crime fighting project, but also certain that he was correct. What would Tom think of it? Who would think their father would be rounding up dangerous criminals in his retirement? No wonder the judge had told him not to discuss their activities or their cases.
He sighed finally, realizing that all these thoughts weren't helping, and walked over to the main house.