Page 42 of Her Forever SEAL

He looked at what he had.

He thought about Sophia saying it’s nothing with half a second of silence in front of it.

He closed the notebook. Then he opened it again and added one line at the bottom of the page.

Next window—ask Sophia directly.

He'd known for twenty-two years when she was carrying something alone. He wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

He put the notebook away and went back to his position.

12

The study room smelled like dry-erase markers and musty carpet, the same as always. Kayla got there first, the same as always, arranged her notes and her highlighters and sat in the chair facing the door, the same as always.

But nothing else about this Wednesday was the same as always.

She forced her leg to stop shaking up and down as she waited.

Cat came in two minutes later and took one look at Kayla's face. “What happened?”

“Nothing yet.” Kayla straightened her notes. “I don't know. I just have a feeling about today.”

“We don’t have a test, do we?”

Kayla’s lip twitched. She thought about saying yes, just to mess with Cat.

“No, no test.”

“Thank God.” Cat slipped down into her seat and took out whatever complicated coffee drink she'd smuggled in. She didn't push. That was one of the things Kayla liked best about Cat, she knew when not to push.

Mandy arrived four minutes after that.

Kayla watched her come through the door and felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. She had been watching Mandy unravel ever since the hallway scene. Looking at her now, she was actually amazed that she had shown up.

“You look like crap,” Cat said.

“Thanks,” Mandy muttered as she slunk into her seat, her books falling haphazardly across the table. “Just what I needed to hear.”

“I was thinking you looked like dogshit, but I refrained. So you’re right to be thanking me,” Cat teased.

That did not generate a smile. Mandy sat there, stone-faced.

“Uhm, what chapter are we on?” Cat asked Kayla. “The Conner chapter?”

Both Kayla and Cat looked over at Mandy who was staring at the whiteboard like it could explain the meaning of life.

Cat snapped her fingers in front of Mandy’s face.

“What?” Mandy gave Cat a harsh look. “I was paying attention. “The Conner Party. Utah. They were starving to death.”

Cat looked over at Kayla. “Donner Party. She’s all yours. I’ve got to take the longest bathroom break you’ve ever heard of.” She picked up her coffee drink, took one more worried glance at Mandy, and quietly left the room.

Mandy watched her go. Then she looked at the table. Her finger traced a scratch in the surface that had been there since they started using this room freshman year.

“You know you can tell me anything, don’t you?” Kayla whispered.

“Not this. It’s really bad.”