Chapter 30
HONEY
Before I get to my midday duty, I shoot another text to Cash. It’s been almost a week, but I still feel bad about him finding me and Beau together.
Me: You’re my favorite brother.
Cash: Stop trying to butter me up.
Cash: Of course I’m your favorite brother.
Me: I really appreciate your discretion. You probably deserve some donuts.
Cash: Stop trying to buy me off.
Cash: What kind of donuts are we talking about?
Me: Chocolate devil’s food. Maybe a dozen from Dunkers.
Cash: I suppose I could eat some donuts. But I’m not sharing.
Me: Of course not!
Me: I love you, bro.
Cash: Because I’m very lovable. Duh.
Chuckling, I shove my phone into my purse as I step into the cafeteria.
Why can’t my father be as easygoing as Cash?
A pit forms in my stomach every time I think about the conversation I need to have with my dad. He’s going to blow his top.
For the last week, all I could do is think about how well the Walkers took the news and compare that to the nuclear meltdown I’m facing. I got texts from Paige and Baylee, and they’re both ecstatic I’m dating Beau. Why can’t my family be like that?
And why the hell is my father still out of town? He’s never gone this long.
A student nearly runs into me. “No running in the cafeteria,” I say. “Slow down.”
“Sorry, miss,” he says before he ignores me completely and races away.
Being a cafeteria monitor is the least favorite part of my job. Every two minutes, I glance at the clock. Finally, it’s almost time to go. I’m dying to get back to the office so I can text Beau.
Yes, I’m a little pathetic. I feel like a teenage girl all over again, giddy every time he texts or calls.
Adrian walks into the cafeteria and yells, “Hot off the press!” as he hands out stacks of the student newspaper. When he gets to me, he grins. “Hey. Did ya see this?”
The headline on the front page reads, “Mad Crapper Still at Large.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “How did that article beat out the Halloween fire for top billing?”
“My editors had a huge argument about it. There was yelling. Keith and Sabrina flipped out on each other. Chicken nuggets were thrown. But at the end of the day, in the minds of teenagers, nothing can beat someone dropping trou and taking a dump in the middle of a stairwell.”
I consider the logistics of how someone has gotten away with this. According to the article, there have been three different dumps so far. “Maybe they poop somewhere else and bring it to school.”
“Like a bag lunch?”
“Gross.” We both laugh as I grab a stack for my afternoon class. “Your students are going to win so many awards this year. How could they not with all this juicy stuff going on?”
“I hope so. It looks great on their college applications. Plus, it’ll get my father off my case. He’s always griping about how we don’t print real news.”
“You run a high school newspaper, not the New York Times.”
He chuckles. “Tell him that.”
“Hang in there.” At least I’m not the only one having issues with my dad.
The bell rings, and with a wave to my colleague, I head for the doors. When I get to the office, I do a double-take. “Aunt June.”
She’s standing in the middle of the room while teachers bustle around her. My aunt is wearing one of her crocheted shawls over a button-up pink house dress. Reaching up, she pats her short hair, which is freshly curled into tight white-blonde ringlets.
When she sees me, her eyes light up. “Hi, darling.” She opens her arms, and I hug her.
God, I hope Cash didn’t open his big mouth. Maybe Aunt June is here to warn me that my father knows I’m dating Beau and has gone to DEFCON 1. “What a nice surprise. What’s going on?”
She grins and points to the conference table. “I brought you some snacks. You’re always working these days.”
I glance over at the tray of food. “They look… delish. What are they?” I squint at the sausages and oddly shaped dough that surrounds them.
Trish walks by and does a double-take. Before I can ask if she’d like one, she scurries off. Okay, so it’s not just me. There’s definitely something strange about the shape of the food.
Aunt June grins. “Pigs in a blanket. Try one.”
“That’s so sweet of you.” I grab a paper plate from our communal supplies in the corner and pick up a pig in the blanket. When I bring it to my mouth, I try not to laugh because it definitely looks phallic, but it tastes good. “Yum. Thank you.”
June pats my hand. “I was going to make you a coochie board, but I wasn’t sure that was enough food for your office.”
I almost choke. “I’m sorry. A what?”
“A coochie board. A coochery board.” She shakes her head, confused. “Or is it a coochy-coo board?”
It takes me a second. “A charcuterie board?”
“Yes, dear. That.”
Oh my God. I press a hand to my stomach as I try not to crack up. “You’re the best, Junie. I love you.” I hug her, grateful to have someone like her in my family. See, my mom’s side is somewhat normal. It’s my father’s side that’s a little psycho. I motion to a chair. “Would you like to sit down?”
“I need to pick up your mother. She has some errands to run.”
“Aunt June, have you seen my dad lately? He hasn’t responded to my texts.” By the time I got the balls to talk to him, he said we’d talk in person when he got back from Dallas. But he was supposed to be home by now.
She waves a wrinkled hand. “Who knows? Who cares?” Aunt June isn’t his biggest fan.
“Okay, well, let me walk you out to your car.” The woman is eighty. I’m worried she might trip on the sidewalk.
“I can manage.” She kisses me on the cheek and ambles off.
I follow behind just in case she needs a hand, but she gets to her old pink Pontiac GTO without a problem.
When I make it back to the office, I stare at the tray of food. What am I going to do with all this?
My colleagues eat a few of them, but by the end of the day, there are still several left. I text Beau.
Me: My aunt made me some food. Would you like some? I can’t eat it all. But fair warning, everything she makes looks dirty.
I take a quick photo and send it to him. He responds a minute later with a laughing emoji.
Beau: Hysterical but sweet of her. Bring them by the firehouse. It’ll give me a chance to see you.
My heart skips a beat, and I feel like I’m floating on water as I drive over after school. We haven’t had a chance to hang out all week. I’ve had a ton of essays to grade and he had to help his brothers at the ranch. Now he’s on a three-day shift at the firehouse.
When I get there, I’m not sure where to go. I don’t want to wander around while I carry the sausage fest, so I leave the tray of food in my SUV. I wander over to the open bay where the engines sit and two guys in Wild Heart Fire Department uniforms see me.
The younger one smiles at me. “Can I help you?”
Damn it. I didn’t plan this well. I glance around, looking for Beau. I’m reluctant to come right out and ask for him. What if these guys are friends with Trig? “Hi. I was told I could bring food by here. One sec and I’ll grab it.”
I turn around and head back to my SUV. I parked in the back. As I stand there, I text him that I’ve arrived.
Burly arms wrap around me, and he nuzzles against my ear. “Hey, gorgeous.”
“Oh my God, you scared me.” Laughing, I turn in his arms and lean up to kiss him.
When his tongue slides into my mouth, I groan and run my hand through his hair. A minute later, he pulls away and looks back at the station. “Probably shouldn’t be kissing you out in the open like this.”
I touch my lips, which tingle. “Maybe not, but sneaking around is starting to get annoying. I just want to be able to kiss you when I want to kiss you.”
His eyes twinkle back with a smile as he cups my face and runs his thumb across my cheek. “It won’t be forever. I promise.” After another kiss, he offers to carry the tray of food. “Want to come in and meet my friends?”
“Will this get people talking?” I shouldn’t care, but I need to handle this carefully with my family.
That gives him pause. “Maybe.”
“I should probably go then.”
“Wish I didn’t have to work tonight. Want to go out tomorrow evening? We could grab a pizza and watch a movie or something.”
“That sounds fun, but Cynthia is coming over. If I had known you’d be free, I wouldn’t have made plans with her.”
He scrubs his face. “Sorry. I need to coordinate with you better.”
“You’re juggling a lot. I understand.” My brothers run around on the ranch until they’re ragged. I don’t know how Beau does so much.
I help him unload the tray of food. When he gets a good look at it, he barks out a laugh. “You weren’t kidding when you said she makes dirty food. These look like…”
“Like uncut sausages?”
Chuckling, he shakes his head. “I didn’t say it.”
“It’s like she wondered, ‘What’s the most inappropriate thing I could make for a schoolteacher?’”
He grins. “I have a feeling I’m gonna like your aunt.”
“You will. She’s adorable.”
“You’re adorable.”
I’m grinning at him when his co-worker pops around my SUV. “I heard you might need help bringing something in.” It’s that girl Melissa. She smiles at Beau in a way that tells me she’s seen him naked.
I know they used to date or whatever, but it’s clear to me she still wants him. Inside, I’m growling. “Hi, I’m Honey.”
“Hey.” She glances at me, then looks at the food. “Oh my God. Who the hell made these?”
Her voice has such a mean tone, it makes me bristle. “My great-aunt. She’s eighty years old.”
“Well, they look like dicks.” She points to the largest sausage and then nudges Beau. “This one reminds me of you.”
No, she didn’t.
Where is Cynthia when I need her to run over someone with her car?
“Melissa. Back off,” Beau growls, his jaw tight.
“What?” She giggles and squeezes his arm.
I give her a brittle smile. “Enjoy being a dick. I mean, eating a dick.”
Before she can respond, I jump in my SUV and start the engine. I can see the apology in Beau’s eyes when I drive away.
I can’t wait until Beau and I can openly date. I have a feeling Melissa won’t be so excited. It’s a thought that makes me smile.