AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Actually, Ido approve.” What he didn’t approve of were the looks they were leveling Cassidy’s way. Like she’d done something wrong raising theboy.
“Perhaps you don’t realize the full scope of what he’s attempted,” Mrs. Lopez offered. She flipped open the folder infront of her. “According to his notes, he went to Yellow Rose Matchmakers with the express purpose of finding a—”
“A father,” Ty interrupted. “Yes, Iknow. Ihave from the beginning. My grandmother and I own the Yellow Rose. Iwas there when Hutch showed up.”
Mr. Peters lifted an eyebrow. “And you approve of this sort of manipulation?”
Ty leaned across the table so they could get a clear look at his expression. He wanted to be certain they saw just how serious he was. “I’m all for anything that will get Hutch’s mother to marry me. Hell, if pasting wings on cows and tying rockets to their backsides so they could be shot over the moon would get Cassidy to marry me, I’d be the first one in the pasture with a bucket of glue.”
In desperation, they turned to Cassidy. “You realize Hutch set everything up? He caused you to lose your apartment. He disabled your car battery so you’d be at Mr. Merrick’s mercy. He...” Mrs. Lopez blushed. “He disconnected your bed rails.”
Cassidy waved a hand through the air. Ty ducked. Mrs. Lopez flinched backward. Mr. Peters wasn’t so quick or so lucky. “Oh, sorry. Ididn’t mean to hit you. You see, Ihave this false body image and my arms are three inches—”
“Sweetheart? Let’s stick to the bed rails.”
“Oh, right. Hutch wanted Ty to come to my rescue. Like a knight in shining armor-type thing.”
“If you say so,” Mr. Peters said dubiously.
“Hey! He’s only ten years old. He wasn’t thinking about... He wasn’t trying to...” It was Cassidy’s turn to blush. “It wasn’t a bed thing. It was a rescue mission.”
“Let’s start with the apartment,” Mrs. Lopez suggested. “He caused you to get evicted. Doesn’t that concern you in the least?”
“See, you’re wrong there. We were evicted because of Miz Mopsey.”
“That’s the dog.”
“That’s right.” Cassidy tilted her head to one side, the beginnings of a frown puckering her brow. “How did you know?”
Mrs. Lopez tapped her notes. “It’s here under Plan B.” She slipped a pair of glasses on the tip of her nose. “I quote, ‘Walk Miz Mopsey past Mrs. Walters’s door and make a racket. Maybe she’ll notice for once.’” The teacher glanced up. “Unfortunately for you, she did.”
“Is all this necessary?” Ty demanded. “If Cassidy had gone in to talk to the woman, she’d have found out they didn’t have to move that night. Doris would have given them time to find a new place.”
“How do you know that?” Cassidy asked, her frown deepening. “Come to think of it, how do you know her first name?”
He shrugged uneasily, realizing too late that he’d given away more than he should have. “I didn’t think it was proper that she throw you out in the middle of the night So I talked to her about it when I went to pick up your car.”
“Ah, yes. The car.” Mrs. Lopez shuffled some papers “It didn’t work because of a burned out... Here it is. Acaliper switch.”
“A caliper switch? No such thing,” Mr. Peters interjected.
Ty nodded. “Yeah, Iknow. It was the battery cables.”
Cassidy rounded on him, catching him in the ribs. “You knew? You knew and didn’t say anything?”
Damn. “You didn’t want my help, remember?” he retorted defensively, clutching his side. “I offered and you said hell no, let the kid do it. If you’d bothered to ask, I’d have told you what was wrong with the rattletrap.”
“I did not say hell.” She turned to address the school officials. “I did not say hell. Idon’t swear.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t say help, either. And since you didn’t, Ididn’t.”
She swiveled again. Ty recoiled again. “Because you wanted to take me home with you. So you lied.”
“That’s right. No! That’s—”
“Moving along...” Mr. Peters interrupted. “Shall we talk about the skunk that got into the cabin?”
“Shall we not?” Ty suggested hopefully.
