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“I have eyes Mara.”
“Yeah? And did those eyes actually look at anything or did they immediately jump to conclusions?”
“I looked. We were in the middle of a conversation until he called out, ‘Yo, Joss’ and she turned around, forgetting about me completely while she got all up close and personal with him.”
“This new boyfriend, you get a good look at him?”
I nodded because I would never forget the feeling that washed over me as I watched the woman I wanted, walk into the arms of another man. “A very good look.”
“Ridiculously good looking with thick black hair and bright laughing green eyes? Dimples that accompanied an easy grin? And broad shoulders? Really broad?”
“Enough Mara, yeah that’s him. You’ve met him, I take it?”
She nodded. “A few times. His name is Jase Callahan, and he’s her half brother. The other one, the big guy? He’s the other brother.”
Brother? “She never said anything to me about having a brother.” She only ever mentioned her mother and her mostly absent father.
“Maybe you should have spent a little time getting to know her, if you cared about that, which you obviously didn’t. So why do you care now?”
I opened my mouth to explain, but I couldn’t. Not really. “I just do.”
“Or maybe you’re just mad that someone else is playing with the toy you didn’t want?”
“She’s not a damn toy!” Mara arched a dark brow at me, as if daring me to yell raise my voice to her again. “Look Mara, why didn’t she tell me she had brothers in Texas? She didn’t even grow up here.” Maybe she wasn’t as invested as she seemed. She said she loves me.
“Why do you need answers from me? You were doing a really good job of making up the facts on your own.”
“Mara,” I growled. “Please.”
“Look Ben, don’t worry so much about why she didn’t tell you, or why you didn’t ask about her family. Maybe focus on the fact that, if you really want her, she’s still available.”
“Excellent point, Mara.” A slow smile crossed my face as my mind started to race. “She’s still available.”
“I already said that,” Mara grumbled. “Do you want something or not?”
“Um, I’m not sure yet.” A plan started to form but it wasn’t fully formed yet. “I’ll take the biggest black coffee you have and three of those sugar covered donuts. And five minutes of your time, if you can spare it.”
Mara gave me a long, thoughtful look, and let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, sure. I’ll come out with your pastries, here’s your coffee.”
“Thanks, Mara. I owe you one.”
“No,” she grinned. “You owe me two, and I won’t forget. I never forget.”
Mara could be scary as hell when she wanted to be, which was often. “I’m glad Joss has someone like you on her side.”
She looked up at me, a bemused expression on her face. “Don’t you have some planning to do?”
“You mean don’t we have some planning to do.”
“Oh no,” she shook her head. “I’ll offer some tips, maybe some advice on things Joss likes but I am not helping. Not. Helping.”
I grinned at her insistence. “Well thanks for not helping, Mara.” I winked and walked away, suddenly feeling a whole lot better about life as well as my prospects for the future.
Joss
“Ms. Callahan, will this be on the test?”
I kept a smile on my face, ignoring the number one question loathed the world over by educators, and nodded. “I wouldn’t teach you anything you wouldn’t need to know.” It was the perfect non-answer and his annoyed groan told me I’d hit my mark.
“Right,” he began again because the kid was a master at arguing, “but will Civil War stuff be on the test? Specifically?”
“Yes,” I told him. “Because I wouldn’t teach you anything you don’t need to know. Haven’t you heard, Jason?”
“What?”
“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” The rest of the class erupted in laughter and Jason slunk in his seat, covering his face with the big history textbook he wanted to avoid reading. “Now that we’ve covered that, let’s talk about the Battle of Antietam.”
“Excuse me, is there a Joss Callahan in here?”
I felt my stomach drop at the thought of another delivery because I knew who it would be from. Ben. “I’m Joss Callahan,” I confirmed and waved the middle-aged delivery man to the front of the classroom.
He turned to pick up a vase that was at least three feet tall, filled with red, white and pink roses and tulips. It was a gorgeous arrangement, but it was over the top big and inappropriate. “Where would you like it?”
Anywhere but at my place of work. “Beside the desk will be fine,” I told him and waited for him to leave, hoping that we could get right back to the lesson plan. “All right, back to the Battle of Antietam.”
