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He groaned. “Any chance you’re a whiz at Pre-Cal?”
She wasn’t. In fact, of all the subjects in school, it had been her least favorite. She came up behind him and grasped the back of his chair, eyeing the problems in front of him.
“Not a whiz, but I can try and help.”
He craned his neck to look up. “Yeah?”
She shrugged with a giggle. “Don’t expect too much, but I’ll give it a shot.”
He sighed. “Thanks, Riss.”
For the next hour and a half, she was reminded of how much she truly hated math and how she sucked at it. Her brain physically throbbed by the time he closed down his computer.
“Thanks for your help.”
She laughed. “Trev, you did it, not me. If anything, I probably confused you even more. I suck at math.”
“Well, yeah, you do.”
She playfully slapped his arm, and he burst out laughing. She sat back in her chair and caught a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of the room by the back door.
She cleared her throat and lifted her hand in a small wave. “Hi.”
Caden emerged from the corner, pinning her with his stare. “Still here, huh?”
“Hey, Dad. Yeah, Riss was helping me out.” He snorted and then grinned. “Well, she was hanging out.”
Marissa rolled her eyes and gave him a half smile. She glanced up at Caden to see his gaze set on her with a small smirk. That was the face she liked. Eased and gentle. She hadn’t even realized Trevor had packed up his school work until he stood and gathered his notebooks and computer in his arms.
“I’m going up. See you guys tomorrow.” He walked through the doorway and shouted with his back turned, “Dinner’s in the oven, Dad. Riss, made you a plate.”
Her face burned and she kept her eyes on the table as she listened to him walk up the stairs. She shifted in her seat when Caden dropped a cooler on the table. Time to go. She stood up and watched as he leaned over and grabbed the plate from the oven, peeking under the foil.
“Bye,” she blurted and pushed in her chair.
Caden ripped off the foil and opened the drawer, grabbing a fork. “Any leftovers besides this?” He aimed the fork down at the plate he was holding.
“No. They can eat, those two.”
He forked a piece of meatloaf with his focus on her and ate it. Caden leaned back against the counter and chewed, all the while watching her.
“You saved some for me, huh?” His tone was odd.
“I just figured you’d be hungry when you got home.”
“I am.”
She drew in a breath, trying to batten down her awkwardness. They had left off on a strange note. She wasn’t sure how to act. “Well, I’m gonna go.” She turned but didn’t get far before he spoke again.
“Pop have a good day, give you any problems?”
“Nope. We mostly hung out.” She smirked. “Reminiscing about old times.”
Caden snorted and raised his eyebrows. “Colleen?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s easier for him to see me as her, I think. She must have been some woman.” Marissa raised her brows. “Quite the eclectic and adventurous girl.”
Caden was looking down at his plate as he continued to eat, but his chest shook, and she knew he was laughing. This was a different Caden. Drake’s words rang in her head.
