Page 6 of Welcome to Forever
“I have to get to work.” He offered what appeared to be a genuine smile.
That’s a damn good smile.
“Of course. We’ll see you this afternoon.”
As he started to walk away, her gaze traveled down his tall, lean body. She should’ve recognized that ass immediately when he’d walked into her office. It was unforgettable, really.
Val cleared her throat, cracking a whip at her unruly hormones.
With a sigh, Kat watched the father disappear out of the school’s double doors and pointed at her friend. “I knew I shouldn’t have given you this job, Val. You’re going to be trouble this year.” She shook her head and reached for a stack of to-dos on her desk. Thirty minutes later, her phone rang, breaking the steady progress on paperwork that she rarely got to make.
“Trouble in Miss Hadley’s classroom,” Val said through the speakerphone. “You better get down there quick.”
—
Micah’s phone rang for the hundredth time that morning as he sat in the long line of traffic leading to Camp Leon’s military base. He had a good mind to turn the damn thing off. Glancing at the caller ID before answering, his chest tightened.Yeah, I should’ve turned it off.
“Hey, Jessica. How are you?” He didn’t hide the distaste of her name on his lips, or the fact that he’d rather be doing PT in the desert than talking to his ex.
“I’m good,” she said efficiently. “Listen, I don’t have time for small talk, Micah.”
Of course she didn’t. She never had. “Whatdoyou have time for? Other than the Marine Corps?”
She laughed dryly. Once upon a time, that laugh had been an adrenaline shot to his heart. Now, it made his teeth grind together. “I volunteered for another deployment.”
Stars burst behind his vision. “What the hell, Jess? Ben has been looking forward to us driving to Georgia at Christmas. He’ll be devastated.”
“He’ll understand.” There was a dismissive annoyance in her voice.
“I doubt it,” he said, his fingers gripping the steering wheel so hard that his arms went numb.
“It’s my job, Micah.”
“And what do you expect me to do if I get amandatory, not a voluntary, order of deployment? What happens to Ben then?” Uncurling his fingers, he watched as the blood rushed back into his hand.
“Your aunt Clara will take care of him. Just like last time. Or you could get out of it somehow.”
“Yeah, how would I do that? Tell my command that I’m pregnant?” he asked.
Silence sizzled between them.
“I never wanted kids. You knew that from the beginning.”
“Yeah.” He pressed the gas as traffic slowly inched forward. “Will you at least call him later and explain the importance of your career yourself?”
She didn’t answer.Right.He’d forgotten what a self-centered ex he had. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant during their five-month “relationship,” they never would’ve gotten married. He’d thought they could make it work, though. Micah had loved her, or thought he did at least. But the Marine Corps always came first with her, just like with his own dad. And he understood that, hadn’t even minded that she’d loved the Corps more than him. But he minded that she loved the Corps more than her own son. Getting married had been a huge mistake. Except for Ben. Ben was the only thing they’d ever done right.
“Fine. I’ll tell him tonight,” he muttered. Then, after a hurried goodbye, he hung up and entered the military base. A short drive later, he parked and was preparing to get out of his Jeep when his phone rang again. With a low growl, he glanced down at his caller ID—he didn’t have the patience for another round with Jessica. He didn’t recognize this number, though. “Hello?”
“Mr. Peterson?” a woman asked, her voice tight. “It’s Kat Chandler. I’m afraid you’re going to have to come back to the school. There’s been an accident with Ben.”
