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“That’s right,” she said. “Instead?”
“Instead, I try to get Lily away from Simon, or I start yelling for help from the sixth grade aides or the recess monitors.” He hung his head, as if this option was the worst thing imaginable.
“Simon won’t have lunch recess for three school days,” Miss Bair said, pulling her hand back. “Unfortunately, I have to do the same to Ford.”
“No suspension?” Martha asked.
Miss Bair shook her head. “I can’t do that,” she said, and while she couldn’t say more, Lee heard it all. She actually agreed with Ford, and she’d do what she could to protect him. She looked from Martha to Lee. “Any questions?”
“No, ma’am,” Ford and Lee said together, and they looked at one another and laughed.
“I think that covers it,” Martha said, and the three of them stood. Lee took his son’s hand in his as they left the classroom, but he waited until he was all the way outside before he crouched down in front of his eight-year-old.
“I don’t think you should hit people, bud,” he said. “But I’m so,soproud of you for standing up for Lily.” He grinned at Ford and nodded once. “Okay?”
Ford nodded and reached out to touch Lee’s cowboy hat. “I don’t want to tattle to the recess monitors.”
“Just stay away from Simon.”
“But what if he’s hurting someone?”
“Ford,” Martha said, kneeling down in front of him too. “You’ll get suspended next time, I promise. You can’t hit other children.”
He nodded again, his chin so low.
“Hey,” Lee said. “Chin up, son. Look at me.”
Ford did, and he seemed so lost and looking for Lee to guide him. “Do you want the other kids to think of you as a bully?”
“No.”
“You can’t hit other kids, not even if you’re standing up for someone.” He smiled and tapped Ford’s nose. “Plus, if you get suspended, I’ll work you like a dog on the farm. Is that what you want?”
Ford grinned too. “Can Queenie come with me?”
Lee laughed, realizing that his “punishment” for his son getting suspended wasn’t a punishment at all. He exchanged a glance with Martha.
“Come on, Ford,” she said. “Give your daddy a hug. We have to get going.”
Ford wrapped his skinny arms around Lee, and he held his son just as tightly. He whispered, “I love you, son. You be good for your momma, and you obey your teacher.”
“Yes, sir,” Ford said.
Lee stood and watched Ford link his hand in Martha’s. She met Lee’s eyes, and so much was said between them. Then they went to their car, and Lee went to his truck.
He drove back to the farm alone. He made dinner for himself, and he ate it alone. He hated being alone, and he wanted to do everything in his power to change his single status.
He got out his phone and let his thumb hover over the icon for the dating app he’d once used. He couldn’t tap on it; he just couldn’t.
He only wanted to go out with one woman, and she was Rosalie Reynolds.
Therefore, the following afternoon, Lee went through a similar routine as the previous night.
He changed his shirt. He washed his hands. He loaded himself into his truck. He drove to town.
Everything blurred around him, because when Lee focused on something, it was all he could see. All he could think about. All he could taste. And right now, that was a certain curly-haired brunette with gorgeous eyes. She’d rendered him mute once, and he was determined not to let that happen today.
He swallowed as he flipped on his blinker, scanning for the Curious Kids office. A small sign sat on the roof announcing the location of his destination, and he dang near stomped on the accelerator to get away.
