Page 103 of Road Trip
Chapter Twenty-Three
Abra
Having Katie come to take care of Mom turned out to be an excellent plan. It gave me a couple of days to do some shopping and arrange things for going back to work. Then Jilly called me.
“Abra? I want Sarah to move in, and she needs your room for an office space. Since you’re staying over at Gran’s anyway…”
I let her know I’d be out of there by the weekend. It was the best option. As much as I would miss my own space, if I didn’t have it to worry about, I could put some money away and maybe even save enough to buy my own place in the near future. Or something with Kelly…
He and I moved my stuff out on the following Sunday, and he seemed really pleased to see I had a normal bed. He tried it out and seemed so relieved, I didn’t even have to ask him to break down the antique at Gran’s house. He was happy to do it immediately. No more squeaky springs meant we were, well, very satisfied.
I started back to work, and while I was elated to see the kids, things were still stressful at home. My principal, Geri, was very understanding of my need to have some flexibility.
“I know I’ll get the work out of you,” she said with a wicked smile. She would, too. I’d do anything for her, and she knew it.
The first day of work when I came home, Katie and I had a great talk. Kelly wasn’t going to be back until late, so we decided to cheat and order in pizza. It was so good, the two of us moaned in delight as the cheese slid down our throats, then laughed at how ridiculous we were, cheating on Kelly’s healthy food. Gran opted to eat Kelly’s leftovers and scolded us. Mom ate quietly and then we put her to bed earlier than usual as she was complaining she didn’t feel well. Katie had let me know that other than a few moments of lucidity when Mom asked her questions about herself and they talked aboutThe Princess Bride, Mom spent more and more of her time sitting in the chair staring out the window or dozing. She was eating less, too. It was incredibly hard to watch, so Katie’s sense of humor on this night was a great distraction.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you, Abra, because, well, you’re so cool…just what do you see in my brother? Because he’s such a square, and you’re totally not.”
I laughed out loud, then thought I probably shouldn’t carry on about his sexual prowess or how much I loved the way he—
“You know, all I can really say is that while we’re totally opposites, I think we complement each other. I could use a little more structure, and he sure as hell could use a little more fun and spontaneity.” I thought back to our time in Vegas and tried to keep the dreamy smile from taking over. “He’s just pretty amazing.”
Katie made a fake retching sound. “I know, I know. He is, though, and I always hoped I’d find someone like him, someone who would take care of me like he does. But that’s probably not a good idea for me. I rely on him too much and then I’m not motivated to do what I need to do. I know I need to get over it and start being a grown up, but it’s hard.”
I took a swallow of Coke that we’d ordered with the pizza, enjoying the burn. “Adulting sucks, Katie. It’s a fact. But the more you take care of business, the more you can let yourself have fun. That’s a lesson I think your brother needed to learn.” But I thought about what she’d said. Was I relying too much on him? The difference was, I knew I could stand on my own two feet. I just didn’t want to anymore, and that made me vulnerable.
I hardly saw Kelly except at bedtime, and he seemed really preoccupied. We had a few more lovemaking sessions, but I sometimes wondered if there was something going on in his head. He didn’t say anything when I’d bring it up, but it worried me a little. It wasn’t until he paid me a visit at work with his Amazonian partner that I got a clue of what was going on.
My second week back to work, just two days before the kids returned, Kelly and Kara showed up in my school office. He looked amazing in his button-down shirt and slacks, the uniform for investigators, but it was the ginormous woman with him that caught my attention first.
“What’s going on?” I asked, surprised to see him and a little thrown.
“Actually, we were here to see your principal, Ms. Ryan. Abra, this is my partner, Kara Mitchell.”
The woman stuck out her hand and gripped mine tightly. She was very obviously trying to make a point.
“Pleased to meet you,” she said. “I’ve heard alotabout you,” she said with a smirk, looking down at Kelly. Yeah. Down. Like she was about four inches taller than his six feet.
“Wow, I guess.” I gave Kelly a confused look, but he was all business.
Geri came out then and smiled.
“Officers, won’t you join me in the conference room? I want my counselor to join us as well.” She smiled at me as she shook their hands. When Kelly gave his name, her eyes shot to me.
“Oh! It’s really nice to meet you,” she said with a knowing smile. Of course I’d had to spill the whole story to her. We were close like that, and she loved the dirty details. Kelly just blushed a little. Geri led us to the conference room at the back of the office, and we all took our seats.
“So I understand you wanted information about one of our students,” Geri said, starting off the conversation.
“Yes, ma’am. Sergio Consuelo.”
My gut lurched. Not Sergio. He was one of my favorite kids. I had to sit on my hands to keep from chewing on my already too-short nails.
“We need to locate him and were hoping you might know where we could find him.” Kelly was so fucking hot all cop-like. If this were any other scenario, like one that didn’t potentially involve one of my babies, I’d be a little turned on. Right now I didn’t like his vibe one bit.
“Is he in some kind of trouble?” Geri asked. “I know you can’t give me much information.”
Kelly cleared his throat. “Well, ma’am, we’re investigators with the Child Safety unit. We have an on-going investigation involving his family, and he’s the last child we need to interview. His family doesn’t seem to know where he is, and we think he may have important information to share with us.”
