Page 21 of The Sweetest Thing
“Yes, well.” His father spoke directly to Jed Dwyer, his tone razor-sharp. “It’s not like I had much of a choice now, did I?”
Dane shot his father a look.Challenging a man twenty years his junior with a good fifty pounds of work-earned muscle made all the sense in the world.Not exactly role-model behavior.He got the whole protective thing—he felt the same way—but Leif didn’t need his father causing a scene. Dane nudged his father, hard. “We appreciate your time, Mrs. Lopez.”
His father’s jaw was locked and it was clear he wasn’t happy, but he stopped glaring at Jed Dwyer. “Let’s go.”
Dane led the way, holding the door wide for his father. Leif grabbed his backpack and hurried after them, almost tripping over his own feet in the process.
“Mr. Dwyer.” Principal Lopez stepped aside so Jed Dwyer could come inside her office.
“Come on, boy.” Jed took hold of his son’s upper arm and pulled him to his feet, forcibly steering Clay into the principal’s office.
A cold, hard knot formed in the pit of Dane’s stomach as he watched the exchange. He’d been all too willing to blame the Dwyer boys for the trouble Leif had found himself in. But the reality wasn’t that clear-cut.Real life seldom is.
He turned to find Leif, alone, waiting. “Where’s Dad?”
Leif shrugged. “He got a phone call.”
“He left?” Dane glanced down the long, empty hallway. Was he going to talk to Leif? Tell him what the plan was—ifthe plan was still what Dane and Mrs. Lopez had discussed? Why had their father bothered to show up if he wasn’t going to stick around? He ran a hand along the back of his neck and sighed. “What is he, a ninja? I didn’t know the old man could move that fast.”
The corner of Leif’s mouth kicked up for a split second before he winced.
“Hurt?” Dane asked, eyeing his brother’s lower lip. It looked more swollen now. Painfully so. “Probably want to get some ice on that.”
Leif nodded.
“Let’s go.” Dane led Leif outside. He spied his father in his truck in the parking lot, the engine idling. From the amount of hand gestures, his father was having quite a telephone conversation.It’d better be damn important.He’d dropped everything to get here for Leif—including the long-awaited teleconference with the green architect one of his former colleagues had recommended for the expansion. Dane got into his own truck and sped out of the lot.
“I need to make a quick stop.” Dane pulled into the gas station on the edge of town, parked, and climbed out of the truck. He turned and asked, “You want anything from inside?”
“I’m good,” Leif murmured.
Dane wracked his brain for something to say—something to comfort his brother. Leif wasn’t okay, today had made that blatantly obvious. What if he said something that made it worse?It’s not like I have any idea what I’m doing. “Be back, then.” He closed the door, filled the gas tank, then walked across the parking lot and into the convenience store. Once he’d paid for the gas and a large paper cup full of ice, he stepped back outside.
His gaze caught on a woman, a toddler on her hip. She was vaguely familiar, tall and slim, with long red hair. Her green eyes met his. His smile of greeting vanished as she shot him a cold look and brushed past him, and into the shop.Have a nice day. Someone should. He shook the cup of ice and headed for his truck.
Ican’t seem to catch a break.
Tansy Hill, wearing a bright yellow attention-grabbing shirt with a honeycomb print, stood beside her clunker of a truck, filling the gas tank. He didn’t say a word. Maybe if he was really quiet, and really lucky, she wouldn’t see him.
Tansy turned, her mossy-green eyes scanning her surroundings.
Ornot.He could feel her gaze but wasn’t about to acknowledge her. There was no point. While he usually didn’t shy away from a good bout of verbal sparring, he didn’t have the energy to go toe-to-toe with her today.
He held his breath, keeping his attention on his truck, until he pulled open the driver’s door, climbed in and held out the cup. “Here.”
Leif took the cup and looked inside. His little brother’s jaw clenched tight and he pressed a hand to the side of his face but Dane saw the quiver of his chin. For an instant, Leif wasn’t some hostile, rebellious teenager, he was Dane’s little brother.And he’s hurting.
Dane reached out, resting a hand on Leif’s shoulder. “I... If you need to talk, I’m here.”
Leif nodded but kept his face covered.
“You ready?” Dane started the truck—but there was a knock on his window. All he saw was bright yellow, but it was enough. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, dreading the inevitable. Without looking, he rolled his window down. “Miss Hill. What an unexpected treat.” He glanced at her, shielding his eyes. “Hold on.” He reached for his glove box, pulled out his sunglasses and put them on. “Better.”
“Funny.” She sighed. “As a decent human being, it is mydutyto tell you that your right rear wheel looks extremely low.” She walked away without giving him a chance to say a thing.
Well, damn. Dane glanced at Leif, who was sort of smiling, and shrugged. “Too much?” He took off his sunglasses.
“I guess.” Leif shrugged back. “It’s kind of...your thing.”
