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She was right. Maybe he’d picked up extra hours at work. Was he still working behind the bar at the club? It was possible he hadn’t seen my messages. Unlikely, but not impossible. I couldn’t tell if they were read or unread, but they showed as delivered.

I sent one more.

Jaymi: Can I make you dinner tonight?

“Miss Jaymi?”

I lifted my head.

Lili limped over to my desk. “Can I have a bandage?” She pulled up her pant leg to show me her skinned knee.

“Oh, no. Sit in your chair. We should wash it first.” I went to the sink next to Taco’s terrarium and wet a paper towel. “What happened?” I asked as I squatted in front of her.

“I fell.”

I smiled. I supposed that was the simple answer. I carefully blotted the dots of blood. “Do you want to pick your bandage?”

She nodded and limped over to my first aide drawer. She flipped through the assortment of bandages, picked one that looked like a pickle, and handed it to me.

Once she was in her seat, I opened the paper, pulled the tabs, and covered the scrape. “You’re all patched up.”

She smiled at the pickle. “Can I stay in?”

“Sure.” I stood and went to my desk to see if Brett had replied.

“Miss Jaymi!” Lili shrieked. “Taco is dead!”

I set my phone aside and rushed to the terrarium. “Shhh.” I squatted down next to her. “He’s not dead. He’s starting his molt.” The spider was on his back, on a bed of spider silk, completely motionless.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’ve watched him molt before. I promise. He’s fine.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “As soon as he sheds his skin, we can take the shell out of the habitat.”

She bent down and stared at Taco, as if waiting for him to move. “He looks dead. I’m going to ask my dad if I can have a spider. He likes bugs, too.”

My heart fluttered at the mention of her dad. “If he comes to pick you up, you can show him.”

“It’s my mom’s week.”

“Ah. You’ll just have to tell him about it.”

Her face pinched. “I can’t talk to him.”

“Why?” I shouldn’t ask, but I was desperate for anything Brett.

“My mom…” She grew quiet. “My mom doesn’t like my dad. They’re getting divorced. Mom’s going to marry Ornery. I’m not supposed to talk about my dad on her weeks.” She stared into my eyes. “It’s the new rule, but it’s okay because they don’t fight about me anymore.”

“You know they both love you. Just because they don’t want to be married to each other doesn’t mean it has anything to do with you.”

“Only Mom gets mad.” A broken smile twisted her lips. “And when I see my dad, I get to ride on the Harley.”

I nodded. She wrapped her little arms around me. “I love you, Miss Jaymi.”

I held her tightly. “I love you, too.”

The bell rang, and the children rushed back into the classroom.

Lili scrambled away from me and ran to Caydee. “Taco looks dead!”