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I stared at Laney.My in-laws and mother didn’t know about Liam—or Laney.My actions were questioned enough.But no, I wasn’t hiding Laney too.Dammit.I was an adult.
“What?Have I met her already?Does she hate me?”Laney stated it like a forgone conclusion.
“Aspen Whitfield.Know her?”
“Nope, haven’t pissed her off yet.”
“I think she’d like you.”Before I invited Aspen over, I realized that I hadn’t really done that.Ever.Mom had leapfrogged through town after town until we’d landed in Coal Haven.I hadn’t had a chance to get to know anyone well enough, and then I’d been too sick to play or visit.School had taken everything out of me for so many years.“You’re the first friend I’ve had over.”
“I’m honored.”Laney jutted her chin toward my phone.“Invite another one, and we’ll increase our friend circle by thirty percent.”She wrinkled her nose.“Is that math right?Wait, I don’t care.”
I might’ve chickened out on my own, but I did as Laney commanded.I have a friend over and we ran dry.Want to bring a case here and I’ll tell you what happened?If she turned me down, would it be like getting rejected for a date?I didn’t know what that was like either, and I didn’t want to.
Aspen’s reply was immediate.You saved me from death by curiosity.Be right there!
“She’s coming.”Aspen hadn’t asked for my address, but it was Coal Haven.She’d figure it out if she didn’t know.
“Let’s put our stuff away.I need my full attention to hear about how Kennedy Barron lost her shit.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” I mumbled.
Glee filled her eyes.“It doesn’t have to be when they’re used to sweet little innocent you.I hope Aspen brings something yummy.This calls for a celebration!”
She didn’t even know that I’d been in the right.I had been.The twins deserved teachers who hadn’t already decided how their year was going to go.
Aspen arrived right after we’d hauled out a trash bag of wallpaper and vacuumed my room.The bed was still pressed against the dresser, but I left it.The new position worked for me.
One round of phone sex in that bed had reignited the guilt I’d experienced that first time with Liam.That bed had been bought when Derek and I had moved into the house.One of those assumptions I’d forgotten I’d had.That the bed would be the place I would’ve slept with only my husband for years.Then it’d become the place where I’d thought only about Derek.A little intimate sanctuary.Until Liam.I had to realize that I was giving that bed a lot of power.A queen-size mattress wasn’t going to dictate how I remembered my time with my husband.
But having the bed in a different spot helped.
I let Aspen in.Laney pressed a wad of cash into her hand.“For your service.We were out.”
Aspen grinned and pushed her hair off one shoulder.“You’re Laney, right?”
Laney smiled, but tension snapped over her features.“Damn.You’ve heard of me.”
“I’m friends with Lyric.She said you’re pretty badass.That you can tell off any Barron in town and get away with it.”
Laney’s expression rippled with surprise, like she hadn’t expected talk about her to be positive.“That is indeed true.Barrons have a hard time hearing the truth.”
Aspen snickered and dug a can out from the case.“I hope you don’t mind hard seltzer.I think it tastes like fruity piss, but I only have one swimsuit, and it looks amazing on me, so I’ve gotta fit into it all season.”She cracked open the can.“I’m dying, Kennedy.Z said you yelled at her.”
Both women stared at me, eyes wide.“I didn’t…yell,” I sighed.“She found out she has Liam’s twins in her class.”
“Liam?Oh, Lyric pointed him out one night when he came into Rattler’s to grab pizzas.You two friends?”
I nodded and concentrated on the cold can in my hand to keep my expression from giving away that Liam and I were more.“We are, and I’ve been helping him and his grandma with the kids.”
“But they’re rambunctious little boys and Z is prepared to smoosh their little vibrant personalities.”Aspen shook her head.“She makes me a little ragey.I want to say something, but I’m afraid I’ll make it worse.I’m just the new girl.”
“I bit her head off, but when I was leaving, Mr.Gilding stopped me, and I unloaded.”I didn’t regret it.Mrs.Z could make those kids’ school life hell.
“Nice,” Laney hissed.“Go right to the top.”
“He talked to her,” Aspen said excitedly.“She said she threatened to quit.Ooooh, if only.You’d be my new hero, Kennedy.Not many parents or teachers stand up to Z.”
I lifted a shoulder.I didn’t feel like a hero, and I didn’t need drama at work.“I’m not the type of person that does that though.”
Laney cocked her head.“But you are.Who cares what anyone thinks?”
Laney took a slow sip of her drink, eyeing me.I could see the subtle challenge in her eyes.I was the type who told Mrs.Z off because I’d done it, and then I’d basically reported her to the principal.So why wouldn’t I stand by what I did?What about when the rest of town found out?Liam had had issues with her as a teacher, and he likely wasn’t the only one.But Mrs.Z had taught hundreds of children.She was well liked and respected in the community.
The Mrs.Z issue wasn’t the only subject in Laney’s knowing look.If I couldn’t embrace the conflict between me and a fellow teacher and weather the fallout, how would I handle not just the town learning I was seeing Liam, but the rest of the Barrons?
