Page 28 of Welcome to Forever
He pulled open the front door of the school and came face-to-face with Kat as she walked beside Ben’s wheelchair. They were smiling and something inside him ached seeing them together. Ben needed a strong woman figure in his life, who accepted him for who he was—a boy, not a problem.
Her smile dissolved as she looked at him and her gaze traveled down his body. He remembered that he was still in his uniform, which was against regulations, but there’d been no time to change.
“You’re a Marine?” she asked, taking a small step backward, her face growing pale and accentuating those large green eyes of hers.
That’s when it hit him. She hadn’t known he was a Marine. Had she thought he just took care of people’s lawns for a living? That was the plan eventually, yeah, but not yet.
“Hi, Dad.” Ben wheeled forward, oblivious to the disapproval radiating from his principal.
“Hey there, buddy.” Micah forced a smile, keeping his eyes locked on Kat. “I guess I’ve never formally introduced myself. I’m Sergeant Micah Daniel Peterson.”
Her eyes glistened in the dark hallway. Most people were impressed by his title. Not her. She looked like she’d seen a ghost as she took another step backward.
“Dad?”
Micah reluctantly looked down at his son. “Yeah, buddy?”
“Why are you still in uniform?” Ben asked. “Isn’t that against the rules?”
Scratching his chin, Micah wished he wasn’t. “I was in a hurry to get to see you, buddy.” His gaze shifted back to Kat.
“I, um, have to go,” she said quietly.
It was an excuse. She didn’t have anywhere to go. He’d mowed the lawn here enough to know that she stayed late and was always the last person to leave. He also now knew that she had no fiancé to go home to, either.
“Kat?” He started to go after her, but she didn’t turn back.
“ ’Bye, Ben. See you tomorrow,” she called over her shoulder, her voice as shaky as the long legs walking away from him.
Turning back to his son, he hooked his head. “Come on, Ben. Time to get home.” He’d talk to Kat about her reaction later, when he didn’t have his son as an audience.
Just before they reached the double doors of the school, he turned to look at Kat once more, but she’d already slipped back into her office, hiding from him and the uniform he wore with honor. But he had no idea why.
—
Kat watched the father and son leave through the front doors of the school.Oh, boy.What had she gotten herself into? She couldn’t go anywhere with him. A Marine?
Plopping into the chair behind her desk, she cradled her head in her hands. Why’d he have to be a Marine? He was just supposed to be the sexy guy who kept the school’s campus looking pristine. Only, how in the hell had she not known he was a Marine? His hair was a buzz cut and the friend he’d been out with the other night was obviously in the Corps. She’d seen theSEMPER FItattoo on his arm.
She hunched over her knees, feeling like she was going to be sick. How had she let herself have feelings for this man without even knowing this aspect of his life? Well, the feelings would subside, and she’d just back out of the “function” he’d mentioned on the phone earlier. Maybe one of the teachers who worked here wanted to be his date. There was a laundry list of single females at the school who’d probably claw at the chance.
A sliver of jealousy ran through Kat with the thought. Then she jerked her head upright, gasping at the sound of a loud crash on the other side of the school. There it was again, coming from just beyond the west wing. She recognized the noise. The Seaside vandals.
The heels of her shoes clicked loudly as she walked down the long, shadowed hallway. If the kids could hear her, they’d better run because she was in no mood to be understanding tonight.
Theclick, click, sheeeshof the spray can grew louder as she neared the school’s side entrance. She was going to march down there and collect those kids by their scruffs. Then she was going to call their parents and tell them what a bunch of spoiled, misbehaving brats they’d raised. At least that’s what she wanted to do.
Pushing through the double doors, she was temporarily blinded by the light of the sinking sun. As she crossed the door’s threshold, her heel caught on the doorframe, flinging her body forward onto the rough pavement.Omph!The wind was knocked out of her in one quickwhoosh.
She didn’t move for a long second. The kids were gone, she was sure of that. She could hear their laughter trailing through the woods in front of her. She was also sure that she was going to feel like someone had beaten her with an umbrella tomorrow morning when she woke up.
“Kat?” a deep voice asked.
She lifted her head to see Micah standing there, watching her. She groaned.
“Are you all right?” He moved quickly toward her and crouched down to inspect her leg, which had bright red blood from a large gash spilling onto the sidewalk.
She shook her head. “Did you see them?”
