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After today’s interminable shoot, she’d stopped at the doctor. Although she was feeling even worse than this morning, her throat was still on fire, and she had a splitting headache, she now had meds. All she wanted to do was get into bed and sleep until she felt better. She should stay in bed for two days, the smiling doctor had advised. If only… On a day like this one, she wished Aunt Janice or Craig or Aiden were close by… Or Mitch. He would’ve been such a great help…
Inhaling deeply, she lengthened her strides. To cry over what-ifs wasn’t going to help anyone.
Dylan’s teacher wanted to talk to her, not something she was looking forward to. She had no idea what was going on or whether she’d know how to handle the situation.
Riley knocked on the classroom door and opened it. A grim-looking teacher invited her in. Another boy, taller and bigger than Dylan, was standing next to a man, presumably his father. Dylan jumped up when he saw Riley and rushed into her arms. Picking him up, she hugged him close. His whole body was shivering. Burying his face in her neck, he clung to her.
“What seems to be the problem?” Riley asked.
The teacher introduced Riley to George and his father Paul before she turned to Riley. “Dylan hit George.”
Riley’s head was spinning. “Dylan? But he’s half George’s size…”
“I saw what happened,” the teacher said, pressing her lips together.
“Dylan would never…”
“Well, he did,” the dad chipped in, his face getting red. “I won’t tolerate—”
Riley tried to focus on what the man was saying, but she was so cold, her headache so fierce, she only caught a word here and there.
“Unruly… expel… my poor boy…”
Inhaling deeply, she hitched Dylan higher on her hip. “I’m leaving,” she told the teacher, ignoring Paul or Peter or whatever the man’s name was. “And Dylan won’t be coming back.”
The teacher was still stuttering when Riley closed the door behind her.
Dylan pulled away, his eyes wet with tears. “I don’t have to go back?”
She shook her head. “No, but we have to talk. Did you hit George?”
“Yes, but he pushed Sadie and she fell.”
“It doesn’t matter what George did; you don’t ever go around hitting people. You tell the teacher or you tell me, but you’re not to hit anyone ever again. Hug them, help them, but we never hurt other people, okay.”
“I’m sorry, Mommy,” he sniffled. “I wanna go back to Aunt Janice’s school.”
Her headache pounding mercilessly behind her eyes, Riley hugged Dylan. “Oh, sweetie, I know, but we don’t always get what we want, you know? You’ll have to learn to accept that. Let’s go home. I’ll order pizza. How does that sound?”
*
By six o’clockSaturday morning, Mitch had pressed the send button. His manuscript was traveling through cyberspace, and it was out of his hands.
Relieved, he checked his watch. There was enough time to shower and put on a clean shirt before he had to leave for the airport.
Jumping up, he stretched his stiff muscles. He was excited, nervous, scared—all at the same time. What if he messed this up? What if Riley wasn’t interested in anything he had to say?
In between his editing, these questions had been driving him insane. Numerous times he’d picked up his phone only to drop it again. She hadn’t reacted to text before, so it would be senseless to send another one.
He hauled the big suitcase down the stairs and out onto the porch. Without a backward glance, he locked the door behind him.
As he turned around, a movement from the direction of his car drew his attention. Craig and Aiden were leaning against his car. Damn it to hell, he seriously didn’t want to have to deal with the brother and the cousin right now. But, okay, he’d given them a hard time before he’d known they were serious about his sisters. He understood the protectiveness they were feeling. Didn’t mean he liked it, though.
“Craig, Aiden.” Unlocking his car, he heaved the suitcase into the trunk of the car.
With an eye on his luggage, Aiden cleared his throat. “You planning on a long trip?”
“Depends.”
