“That would be great, Jenny. I’m starving,” he said.
The girl bounced to her feet and ran off to the front to get him food.
“Good boy,” Arden said with a grin.
“Yeah, yeah,” Kian muttered.
Jenny was back far too quickly and set a tray down. Kian looked at the food, and since he couldn’t identify what was on his tray, he knew it was going to take some effort to force it down his throat. At least he’d be back at the hospital soon in case he had to have his stomach pumped.
“Thanks, Jenny,” he said.
The bell rang and the kids jumped up from the table. “See you in class, Mr. Forbes,” a couple of the kids said, and then the cafeteria quieted as kids rushed off to their next period.
“Do you have to run?” Kian asked. He was picking at the food on his tray. He took a bite and was surprised it wasn’t too bad.
“No. This is my free period,” Arden said. “What’s brought you down here?”
Kian was quiet for a minute. He wanted desperately to share what was happening in his life, but he wasn’t sure what he should or shouldn’t say. He squirmed in his seat as he tried to hash it all out in his mind.
“Come on and spit it out. I don’t have that much time,” Arden insisted. His brother finished off his food, then snatched Kian’s tray and began to eat his food. Kian reached for the banana and peeled it as he tried to get as comfortable as he could on the hard bench.
“I’m having a hell of a time with my daughter not living with me, and I’m alternating between wanting to get in a knockout yelling match with Roxie and wanting to pull her into my arms and kiss her into submission,” he spat out.
He looked up in time to see Arden spit his drink of juice down the front of him before he began coughing. Arden glared at him.
“Wow, a little warning next time would be nice.” Arden pulled himself together quickly. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel,” he added with a chuckle.
Kian sighed, then he relayed his frustrations to his brother, who didn’t interrupt once. He had to respect the man for that. Kian wasn’t sure he’d have been able to keep quiet for so long.
“What does Roxie plan on doing about all of this?” Arden asked quietly.
“I can’t read her anymore. I’m beginning to think I never was able to, and maybe our entire relationship was all in my head,” Kian admitted.
“I don’t think that at all,” Arden disagreed.
“The entire family liked Roxie,” Kian said. “I loved that at the time, but now, with these new developments, I’m thinking you all are gonna side with her and turn against me,” he said, only half kidding.
“No matter what you do or don’t do, we’ll always have your back,” Arden assured him.
“You should have gone into counseling instead of teaching. You’re good at it,” Kian said.
“Yeah, I’ve been told that before. But teaching is a lot like counseling. I love these kids, and I believe in them,” Arden insisted.
“They know it, too,” Kian assured him.
“There are days I don’t think I can get through to some of them, and then there are other days I feel I’m making progress. Sometimes I want to give up, but then I’m around a kid like Matt, who has an atrocious home life, and I see him glowing now, feeling a real part of the team and doing great with his grades, and I know I’m where I belong,” Arden said.
“Plus, you get to be a bum all summer,” Kian pointed out.
“Hey, we have football practice for half the summer. I’m not slacking,” Arden said.
“Football isn’t work,” Kian insisted.
“It is when it’s ninety degrees out,” Arden argued.
“I think you just like to get all sweaty and shirtless for the cheerleading coach,” Kian said with a wink.
“The cheerleading coach is sixty and happily married.” Arden laughed.
“Well, maybe it’s for one of the hot teachers. I hear some kinky stuff goes on in schools when the lights go out,” Kian said, finding himself quite amusing.
“I’ve had a few desk fantasies with one or two of the staff members.” Arden winked again.
Right then the seventy-year-old librarian walked by and winked at Arden, and Kian busted up laughing as his brother’s face turned a nice shade of red.
“I think Ms. Myrtle’s interested in helping you out.”
“Shut up,” Arden grumbled.
Kian was serious for a moment as he looked at his brother. “Thanks. I’ve been sufficiently distracted.” He flashed a crooked smile.
It had only taken a few minutes, and Kian was feeling much better. He’d made the right decision in coming to visit his brother. They might rib each other like crazy, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other.
“Mom and Dad haven’t called me for a few days, so I’m assuming they’re consumed with being grandparents,” Arden said with a chuckle.
“They didn’t last long with keeping their distance, but I think it’s good for Roxie to have them in her face. They have respected her, but now that they know for certain that Lily is my daughter, they don’t want to miss any more time with her,” Kian grumbled.
“You’re upset about this?” Arden said, obviously confused.
“No, not at all. I just want to be with Lily as well. I knew Mom and Dad would be incredible, and I love that Lily has this family with open arms. She’s my daughter, and that’s all any of our family needs to know in order to love her. I just want her to have the full benefit of grandparents and aunts and uncles. I want Roxie to have that, too.”
“She has that,” Arden told him.
“But we’re broken right now. It’s wrong. Mom has told me how beautifully Roxie is doing as Lily’s mother.” Kian sighed because Roxie was allowing his mother in and not him. “Maybe I’m failing as a father. Maybe I’ll never get it right.”
Arden laughed before slapping Kian on the back. Kian wasn’t too thrilled about that. He waited to see what his brother had to say.
“I love seeing this humble side of you,” Arden said. “But don’t let it last too long. It sort of freaks me out.”
“I’m being a little bitch, aren’t I?” Kian chuckled.
“Yeah, but I’ll forgive you,” Arden said. “Now quit whining, and you can walk me to class.”
“I’ve got nothing better to do at the moment,” Kian said.
It took both men a few seconds to get out of the table. For just a moment, Kian felt trapped and wanted to break the damn thing, but he might get his brother in trouble if he started smashing school property.
“Did you get a call from Dakota?” Arden asked as they made their way down the hall.
Their little sister had married Ace Armstrong last year. And though all the brothers had wanted to smash Ace’s face in at one point for not only putting Dakota’s life in jeopardy, but also for knocking her up without being married to her, they all really liked the man now, and his entire family. The Armstrongs were good people.
“Not in a few days—why?” Kian asked. He was instantly worried. Their little sister might be married now, but that didn’t mean they didn’t worry about her. If Ace ever hurt her, they’d have to kill the man.