Page 47 of Weather the Storm

“We got him. Another unit saw him fly through a stop sign and pulled him over. When they ran his license, the dispatch saw the order of protection, service pending, and alerted the officers. They called a deputy to the scene to serve him.”

“Holy shit.” I audibly exhale. “For real?”

“For real. Y’all have a nice night now.”

Too excited to wait for morning, I barge into the bedroom and wake Magnolia up. I feel slightly guilty doing so, but I know she’ll sleep easier knowing it’s done.

“Goldilocks, wake up.” I shake her gently, and she blinks herself awake.

“What?” she mumbles, sounding cute as hell.

“Officer Byrnes just called and let me know they served Grant the protection order.”

She bolts upright. “They did?”

“They did, baby. Now, if that asshole comes near you again, his ass is going to jail.”

“Wh-what if he requests a hearing?” Magnolia grips the covers and pulls them up to her chin.

“One day at a time, pretty girl. One day at a time.Ifthat waste of space requests a hearing, I’ll be right by your side, holding your hand the entire time.”

“You p-promise?”

I hold up my index, middle, and ring fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

§

It’s been three weeks since Grant was served. For the first two weeks, Magnolia was on pins and needles, checking the mailbox every day, expecting to find a letter stating that he’d requested a hearing.

But, it never happened, and with each passing day, she seems to breathe a bit easier.

Today’s my last day of classes before spring break, and just like we talked about, we rented a house down in Orange Beach. Myla Rose was hesitant about shutting the salon down for an entire week, but Azalea convinced her and that was that.

The only member of our crew who won’t be joining us is Seraphine. Her dad’s nurse needed the week off since her son is out of school, so she will be hanging out with her dad, making sure he eats right and takes his meds.

I wait patiently as my first class of the day files in and takes their seats. They’re loud and unruly—none of them want to be here today.

“All right, world historians, let’s settle down.”

Right on cue, Desi back-talks me. “Why don’t you just let us have a free day, Mr. M?”

“Because free days don’t enrich your mind.”

Desi’s eyes are all fire. “Actually”—she holds up her pointer finger—“the internet says your brain is one of the hardest-working muscles in your body, and if you don’t rest it from time to time, you’re actively putting yourself at risk for long-term side effects, such as blurred memories, which won’t help anyone ace those pop quizzes you love to dish out. Also, it can cause brain shrinkage.”

I raise my brows at Desi, all the while biting the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. Mateo sure has his hands full with her.

“Sí, you heard me right, Mr. M. They say the volume of your frontal and parietal lobe can shrink. That’sno bueno. Last but not least, you’re putting yourself at risk for emotional instability, which also puts your body at risk! You don’t want to put us at risk, do you, Mr. McAllister?”

“Well, Desi, you make a good argument. I guess we can watch a movie today.” I walk to my classroom closet and roll out the television cart. Judging from the smile plastered across her face, Desi’s counting this as a win. Little does she know, we were gonna watch a movie today anyway. I finished my grading last night and have no desire to do anything school-related over my break.

The rest of the day flies by, and before I know it, I’m pulling up to the house. Magnolia meets me at the door. “Did you have a good day?” she asks, rising up onto her tippy-toes to kiss me.

“Better now,” I reply, skimming my nose along her jaw.

“Oh God, save that shit until after I leave,” Seraphine blurts out from just inside the doorway.

Waggling my brows, I smile at her over Magnolia’s shoulder. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

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