Page 119 of Feels Like Home

“Hey, Patrick. How’s it going, old man?” she teases, earning a bright smile inreturn.

“Could be better, Christine. What? Nocoffee?”

“You have my boy in lockup and you expect me to bring you coffee? No way. You come in and pay forthat.”

I want to laugh at her natural banter with him, though he has been in our school system a long time and was Bri’s principal, too, but I’m a little stuck on the ‘my boy’ statement shemade.

A term that slid out her lips so easily that I know it wasn’t forced orfake.

That came direct from her heart, and dang if it doesn’t make my heartbeat pound in myears.

She leans down and hugs Aidan, who returns it, and then looks at him closely, inspecting hisinjuries.

Her dark hair is pulled up in a messy bun; she’s wearing a pair of black leggings, sneakers and one of my work hoodies that’s so big on her it covers her butt. And damn if she doesn’t look more beautiful than I’ve ever seenher.

After she settles into the chair, she reaches over and grabs Aidan’shand.

“Sorry I was late. Did you explain whathappened?”

“I was just getting to that,” Patrick tells her; a look of fondness and adoration crosses his face as he watches her. It has my fists clenching. She might not be mine anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with her being someone else’s either. Though I highly doubt that’s the look he was givingher.

And I’m going to get herback.

There’s no other option forme.

I knew it after the six amigos hijacked my office with an impromptuintervention.

I knew it the night I drove over to herhouse.

But really, I knew it the second I walked away fromher.

“Get on with it,then.”

He chuckles at her then stands to move around the front of his desk, leaning back againstit.

“Here’s what we’ve gathered from what the other students have told us, who witnessed the fight before Mrs. Lyonsintervened.”

“Dana pulled them apart?” Christine laughs, and Amanda startsgiggling.

“Oh, I bet she loved that,” Amandaagrees.

“She’s probably been waiting all year for her chance to get in the middle of somecatfight.”

“Hey! It wasn’t a catfight! That’s what girls do! And… it should be known that she pulled my ear! And called me a punk!” Aidan saysincredulously.

Christine pats him on thearm.

“Be lucky that’s all she did. She does Crossfit. She’sstrong.”

“She pulledmeby the hair. I probably have a bald spot.” Amanda scrunches her eyebrows and stretches her neck, looking at her son’shead.

“That would be a blessing to have that mop of hair cut off,” Ben grumbles to his son, and I have to choke back mylaughter.

“From the sounds of it, you were both acting like punks, so the term seems appropriate.” At the sound of my voice, Christine’s head jerks up, and she stares atme.

“Actually, she calls me punk all the time. I think it’s her way of saying she loves me best,” Aidan says proudly with a cheeky grin, gaining our attentionagain.

“Aidan,” I snap, and this time his smile dies, and he shifts in his seat. “We need to get back to the reason why we’rehere.”

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