Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88078 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Parents are taking care of the kids this morning,” I whispered suggestively, wiggling my eyebrows at her.
“Oh yeah?”
I rocked my hips down once and ground them into hers before pulling back and dropping one hip to the bed at her side. “You wanna curl back up with me and actually sleep in for once?”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise at my words, and she giggled, shaking the entire bed. “Oh yeah,” she whispered, giving me a sultry smile.
We slept until ten a.m., and it was fucking fantastic.
* * *
I watched Kate and Bram as they talked quietly across the driveway. Everyone was heading out in a few hours to go home, and even though Kate had treated Bram like normal for the rest of the weekend, I’d known that she was going to corner him at some point.
Even though I’d asked her not to.
I wasn’t pissed about it, though. That was her brother—they had a relationship completely separate from mine and Kate’s. If she needed to clear the air between them, I was all for it. I didn’t want her worrying about that shit, and I knew she had been.
Bram reached up and smoothed Kate’s hair down while they talked, and every once in a while one of them would nod as if agreeing with the other. Their little powwow didn’t last long: About fifteen minutes later, Kate was grinning at Bram as he rubbed at the back of his neck uncomfortably. He turned to walk away and said something over his shoulder, making Kate laugh loudly.
Before Bram knew what was happening, Kate was hopping onto his back—almost knocking him to the ground—and giving him what looked like a really painful noogie while laughing hysterically.
Whatever reservations I’d had completely vanished.
I loved her.
Chapter 19
Kate
Hey, Katie?” Aunt Ellie called from the back door. “The school just called. They said you need to come get Keller.”
My head snapped up from where I’d been spraying off the patio furniture. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah, sounds like he got into trouble.”
“Fuck,” I hissed and stomped to the side of the house to turn off the hose.
“You want me to go with you?” my mom called as I jogged up the stairs. I was in cutoff shorts and a pair of Crocs—no way was I leaving the house that way.
“No!” I called back down to her as I reached my room. “I’ll just go pick him up.”
It didn’t take long for me to get to Keller and Sage’s school, and by the time I’d pulled into the parking lot, I was both furious…and embarrassed. I wasn’t sure what Keller had done yet, but if they’d moved from sending notes home to sending the kid home, I figured it must be pretty bad.
When I reached the office, I found Keller sitting all alone in one of the chairs against the wall, his face covered in dirt and smeared with tears.
“Auntie Kate!” he gasped, jumping up and running toward me. He wrapped his arms around my hips and buried his face against my waist just as a tall woman came out of the principal’s office.
“Hi, I’m Susan McCauley,” she introduced herself, reaching out to shake my hand. “I work as a counselor here at the school.”
“Kate Evans,” I replied, letting go of her hand so I could drape it over Keller’s shoulders. “What happened?”
“Is Keller’s dad going to be here soon?” she asked, rudely ignoring my question as she looked past my shoulder. “I’d really feel more comfortable talking to Keller’s parent.”
I felt like I’d been slapped in the face; I was so shocked by her tone. What the hell?
“Keller’s dad is at work,” I answered flatly.
“Well, it’s very important that he comes in to speak with me. Can you please call him and ask him to come in? It seems we don’t have his phone number in our records.”
“He can probably come in after work,” I hedged, grinding my teeth.
“Office hours end at four, so that’s not really going to work out unless he can get here before then.”
“Are you new?” I asked bluntly, in awe of her audacity.
“I’ve been here for a few months. Why?”
“Word to the wise, most of these kids have parents in the military. Most of the time they can’t just leave in the middle of the workday.”
She grew flustered as I stared at her, then straightened her shoulders. She had to have been younger than I was, but she held herself like someone much older.
“Well, what time would work for him?” she ground out, giving me an insincere smile.
“Probably around five,” I answered, lifting Keller into my arms. “Are we done?”
I signed Keller out quickly, trying to juggle his heavy body and my oversized purse, and within a few minutes we were in the car and headed back toward the house.
“What happened, bud?” I asked, glancing at Keller in the rearview mirror.