Page 12 of Welcome to Forever
“Ben,” Micah reprimanded. “That wasn’t nice.”
“But that’s what you always yell at the TV when someone dodges the question on CNN, Dad.”
Kat couldn’t help laughing. It felt good to laugh. That’s why she’d wanted to meet Val here tonight. “It’s okay. Ben’s right. It was a slack answer. Hmm.” She tore off a piece of her pizza and popped it into her mouth. War had stolen her fiancé. She swallowed the thickening lump rising in her throat. She couldn’t think about the past, at least not now. “I’ll have to get back to you on that, Ben. Is that a better answer?”
With a shrug, he immediately asked her another question, as if he had a Rolodex in his little mind.
“So, let me guess. You’re going to be a reporter when you grow up?” she teased, sharing another look with Micah. The momentary meeting of their eyes sent fiery embers through her blood. He reached for the Parmesan cheese on the table and his arm brushed against hers. It should’ve been awkward, but she found herself mentally willing him to reach for something else just so that she could feel his skin on hers. Squirming, she looked at Ben, whose characteristic smile had faded.
“Reporters don’t have wheelchairs, Principal Chandler,” he said.
The lump in her throat was back. She set her pizza down and leaned in closer to him, making sure he paid attention. “Reporters come in all shapes and sizes. I’m sure there are some with wheelchairs.”
He shook his head, his hair falling in his face. “I’ve looked. There aren’t.”
“Well, let me tell you something. At one time, women didn’t become principals, either. There’s a first for everything. If you have a dream, you follow it.”
A little spark lit in Ben’s eyes. “That’s what Dad says, too. Right, Dad?”
“That’s right, buddy.”
Kat turned to look at him, surprised at the small smile that quirked on his usually straight lips. If possible, he was even sexier when he smiled.
“His favorite color is green, too. Fatigue green,” Ben said.
“Fatigue green?” she asked, looking across the table.
“Like the Marines wear,” Ben said.
“Ah.” She reached for her glass of water, enjoying Ben’s quick, excited speech. It wasn’t often she got to sit with one of her students and really get to know them.
“And his favorite food is Mexican, so you guys are pretty close on that one, too.”
Raising a brow, she looked at Micah.
He massaged his hands over his face, then glanced at her. “Ben thinks we’d make good, uh, friends.”
She straightened, looking between them. “Oh.”
“More than friends, Dad.” Ben turned to Kat. “His last girlfriend dumped him because of me.”
Micah shot Ben another look that seemed to go unnoticed as he rattled on.
“Nicole didn’t like my disability,” he continued.
Kat frowned. “Well, that’s not very nice.”
“So my dad’s lonely because of me.”
“I’m not lonely. I have you, buddy, and that’s all I need. Besides, Principal Chandler has a ring.” He pointed at her finger. “See that, Ben? It means some lucky guy got to her before you did.”
Ben focused on the diamond, his lips puckered in obvious disapproval. Finally, his dark eyes met hers. “That’s fake.”
“Ben!” Micah leaned across the table and poked his son gently. “Apologize to Principal Chandler right now. That’s a very nice, veryrealring.”
She felt like the kid who’d been caught in a lie, standing at the principal’s desk with a million and one excuses running through her head. To tell the truth or keep holding on to the lie? Only she hadn’t lied. She’d never said she was engaged. Her only guilt was the fact that the man who’d given her the ring could no longer make good on his promise. “What makes you say my ring is fake, Ben?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “ ’Cause you look lonely like my dad. If the ring was real, you wouldn’t look that way.”
