Sam’s chin lifted. “Dad was here so you know I couldn’t call you.”
Kurt nodded, replaying the memory of their father gathering up his stuff and leaving not thirty minutes after Sam had stormed out of the house. Claiming that there hadn’t been a reason to stay.
And him? Well, he’d let his dad go, then had opened a beer, sat outside, and tried to calm down.
“It sounds like you did what you thought was best, Sam. And while I wish you hadn’t gone off half-cocked, I can’t say that I wouldn’t have done the same.”
“So, you’re not mad?”
“No. I’m not happy, but, like you told me a couple weeks ago, I’m not your father.”
“So, you’re not going to ground me?”
He sounded so disappointed, Kurt almost smiled. “I’m thinking whatever happens next is going to be tough enough.”
“Do you think I’m going to get suspended now?”
“I don’t see why the school would want to get involved. But who knows how they do things here? I guess we’ll find out.”
“Yeah.” He leaned back in his chair.
“Now what can I do? Do you want me to call Garrett’s parents?”
“No. You already hit his dad.”
The kid probably had a point. “Okay. Should we get Miss Springer involved? She is your advisor.”
Sam shook his head. “I don’t want you or her to do anything unless you have to.”
“Then I won’t.” He picked up another slice of bacon. “Now, um, about everything else … you okay?”
“I’m not really sure. When I got home last night and saw that Dad had left, I was kind of upset … but I was kind of glad, too. Is that bad?”
“I hope not, ’cause I felt the same way. I love our dad, but I don’t always agree with everything he says.”
“I don’t either. I don’t want to move back home. Not yet.”
Just as Kurt was about to nod, the right words finally came to him. Leaning toward Sam he said, “For what it’s worth, I’ve learned something lately that might help you, too.”
“What?”
“Every once in a while, a man has to do something that he feels is the right thing to do. Maybe it isn’t what the rest of the world calls right. Maybe it even hurts other people’s feelings or makes them feel bad. But if you can live with the consequences, then you need to make peace with that and move on.” Looking a whole lot more grown up than he had fifteen minutes before, Sam looked straight at him. “I can live with the consequences.”
Thinking about the move and their father’s hurt feelings and even about trying to do right by a little brother, Kurt realized that he could live with them, too.
Feeling a hundred pounds lighter, he pushed the plate of bacon toward him. “Then have a piece of bacon,” he said.
Better people could have probably come up with something better to say. But when Sam grinned and did just that, Kurt knew everything was going to be okay.
CHAPTER 33
FROM LES LARKE’S
TIPS FOR BEGINNING POKER PLAYERS:
Win graciously. A broke loser always
appreciates a free beer.
When Kayla had hesitantly peeked into her classroom barely five minutes after her last class of the day ended, Emily had been fairly sure that the girl’s reason for being there had nothing to do with school.
When she’d closed the door after Emily invited her in, she’d been sure of it.
But though Emily had been around a lot of kids in her four years of teaching, never had such a chain of events hit her so hard.
Poor Kayla had poured her heart out—and had done so not because Emily worked at her school, but because she was dating Kayla’s boyfriend’s older brother.
It was a little mind-blowing, if she was honest. It made her relationship with Kurt—which she’d been trying to both keep private and come to terms with—seem more real. It was all connected.
When Kayla finished her story with a hiccup and couple of tears, Emily was wishing that she had a lot better idea of how to help her than she did.
All she knew to do was help Kayla make the right decision for herself. Reaching out, she curved a hand around Kayla’s. “I really am sorry all this happened.”
“Me, too.” After taking a shaky breath, the girl continued. “I can’t believe that this whole situation will never end.”
Placing both hands in her lap again, Emily said, “It really is too bad. However, no matter how much we wish otherwise, we can’t get rid of the past. What’s done is done.”
“That doesn’t help me, Miss Springer.”
“No, I guess it doesn’t. How about this? How about we do our best to try to figure out what to do about this latest development?”
“Okay …”
“What’s really bothering you? That Sam beat up Garrett in order to defend your honor and got called into the office because Mr. and Mrs. Condon called the school? Or is it that you suspected Sam was going to go after Garrett after he visited your house and you let him do it?”
Kayla paled, but to her credit, didn’t try to pretend that she didn’t know what Emily was talking about. “Maybe both. Or, maybe that I wanted him to beat up Garrett because he was such a jerk and it didn’t seem like anything bad was happening to him.”
“At least you’re taking responsibilities for your actions and saying the truth. I would have been pretty disappointed if you were sitting in front of me pretending you didn’t know what was going to happen with Sam after you told him everything and started crying in his arms.”
“That’s all you’re going to say?”
“What did you think I was going to say?”
The girl’s eyes widened. “Something about how I should’ve been thinking better things about Garrett. Like I should forgive him.”
“Not at all. He did some pretty stupid and mean things. Of course you’re going to be angry. I’d have a hard time forgiving him, too.”
“But just because I wanted him to hurt a little more didn’t mean I told my boyfriend to beat him up.” She blushed. “I promise I didn’t tell him to do anything.”
Noticing the fresh burst of pink on her face, Emily smiled. “Your boyfriend, huh? It’s official?”
“Yep. We just made things official.” Looking pretty darn adorable, Kayla lit up. “Oh, Miss Springer. You should have seen Sam. He looked kind of worried that I was going to say no.”
“That’s very sweet.”
“It was. It really was. He’s the best.”
“I’ve heard he thinks pretty highly of you, too.”
After smiling again, Kayla said, “What do you think I should I do now?”
Emily shrugged. “I know what I should tell you as a teacher and an advisor.”
“That I should have tried harder to stop Sam,” Kayla supplied.
“That’s what I should be telling you. But to be honest, if I were in your shoes I would’ve been really mad, and I probably would’ve wanted somebody to make him stop.”
“I think his brother’s upset with him.”
“I think Kurt is worried about him. He’s had one goal in mind, and that was to get Sam a scholarship to college. To a really good college. He’s afraid Sam’s lost that chance.”
“Do you think he has?”
Emily shrugged. “I don’t think so. Not to get into college. Maybe it will affect some people who are in charge of scholarships, but I hope not.”
Kayla looked near tears again. “If he doesn’t get his scholarships it’s going to be all my fault.”
“Definitely not. Sam made that choice.”
“But—”
“No buts. He’s seventeen. He really cares about you. I also know from Kurt that Sam doesn’t regret hitting Garrett one bit.”
“I hope Kurt doesn’t hate me. I
f Sam wasn’t seeing me, he wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Kayla, if you and Sam weren’t together, I don’t think Sam would be as happy. And believe me, Kurt wants his little brother happy.” She winked. “One more thing. I can promise you that Kurt would’ve hit Garrett, too. Those brothers are more alike than they realize.”
Kayla smiled at last. After giving her a quick hug, the teenager walked out the door.
Leaving Emily to stare at a pile of essays that needed grading, lesson plans that needed to be finished, phone calls that needed to be made, and even more paperwork that needed to be filed.
But instead of doing any of that, she walked out to her car. She had somewhere more important to be.
***
An hour later, she juggled two shopping bags and a purse as she walked up the sidewalk to Kurt’s house.
He answered as soon as she knocked, but instead of pulling her into a kiss, he looked a little weary. “Hey, Em. Did you text me and I didn’t see it or something?”
“Nope. I decided to come over and cook you boys some supper. Is Sam around?”
“Yeah. He’s had a crappy day.”
“It’s that bad, huh?”
Kurt shrugged as he took one of her bags and led the way down the hall to his kitchen. “You probably know as much as me.”
“I heard Garrett’s parents called the school.”
“Yes, they did. After Ryan Condon called me.”
She set her purse on the kitchen table. “Oh, my gosh! What did Mr. Condon say?”
“About what you’d expect. This wasn’t his kid’s fault. Sam was just being a redneck and needs to learn how to behave. I should be teaching him how to control himself better.” Kurt rolled his eyes. “I could hear his wife egging him on as he said all that.”
“Oh, my word.”
Kurt laughed. “I had a couple of better words to tell them. Which, unfortunately, is why they called the school.”
“What did Mr. Hendrix do?”
“You don’t already know?”
Emily shook her head. “I went right to the parking lot after school.”
“Well, Sam got suspended for two days.”
Emily felt her heart sink. “Really?”
“Mr. Hendrix said he had to do something, otherwise the Condons were going to call the police.”
“I guess you’re pretty upset.”
Kurt shrugged. “I’m upset at the situation but I’m not going to dwell on it. Sam did what he felt he had to do and now he’s paying the consequences.” He paused. “The only good thing is that Mr. Hendrix had some choice words for Garrett and his parents, too.”
“Good.” Feeling like they might as well get everything out in the open, she said, “Kayla stopped by my classroom after school. She feels like it’s her fault Sam got into trouble. And that you are mad at her because Sam’s dating her in the first place.”
“What? Of course I’m not mad at Kayla. She sure didn’t get Sam in trouble either. She’s the victim. She hasn’t done a thing wrong through this whole adventure.”
“Maybe one day you can tell her that.”
Kurt nodded. “I will.”
Looking at him carefully, she said, “You know, I have to tell you that I’m pretty impressed. I didn’t expect you to be this calm about everything.”
“I wasn’t this calm yesterday, but I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s nothing to do. Yeah, I wish Sam could’ve stayed away from Garrett, but I can’t really blame him.”
“Something else is bothering you, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.” He walked to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. “Want one?”
“All right.” After taking a sip, she said, “What happened?”
“It turns out that my dad didn’t just come to Bridgeport to see Sam and me. He, uh … well, he said he thought the mine was going to reopen and he wanted me and Sam to come back.”
Though her insides were clenched at the thought of him moving away, Emily did her best to keep her expression impassive. “Are you going to?”
“Hell no. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I borrowed money to pay for my building and my equipment. I just hired two guys to help me with a new account. I can’t just walk away like none of that even matters.”
“What you’ve accomplished so quickly isn’t easy. He should be proud of you.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t work that way in my family. I didn’t have any problem telling him no. What did happen is that Dad started talking about how everything we’d always had and done was always good enough.” Looking pained, he continued. “That I shouldn’t start wanting things that were too far above my station in life.”
Emily couldn’t believe it. “He said that?”
“Pretty much.”
“I bet that hurt.”
“It did. So much that I didn’t even try to tell him that I loved growing up in our town. I liked our neighbors, my friends, and my school. So, it wasn’t any of that stuff, it was that ever since the mine closed, it hasn’t been the same place.”
“And that your brother needed something more.”
“Yeah.” He grimaced. “Then my selfish father started talking all about how maybe Sam wasn’t actually all that smart after all.”
“Ugh.”
“Uh-huh. But here’s the best part. Sam heard it and took off.”
She pressed her hand to her mouth. “Oh, that poor kid.”
“Yep, he went right from that nightmare to holding Kayla while she was crying.”
“That’s a lot to handle in one day.”
Kurt nodded. “This move has been hard. I know it has been. Any move for a high school senior would be. But added to it, he’s got a lot of pressure on his shoulders … which I probably put there.”
“And now he’s overheard your dad say that maybe he can’t even handle it.”
“Yep.” He sighed. “My father said something to me that I can’t seem to shake as well.”
“What was that?”
“He mentioned that maybe I’ve been trying to make Sam into something out of my dreams. That maybe I’ve been trying to make him achieve things that I never was able to.”
“Do you think he’s right?”
Kurt stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. “No. I mean, I really don’t want that to be right.”
“He’s not, Kurt. Your father was hurting and wanted you boys to hurt, too.”
“If that was his intention, he succeeded.”
Kurt looked so down, Emily was even more thankful that she’d come over.
Which reminded her that she had things to do. Reaching into one of the paper bags, she pulled out a package of chicken. “It just so happens that you’re in luck, Kurt.”
“Because?”
“Because I’m about to make you and Sam my famous broccoli, pepper, and chicken pasta.”
His lips twitched. “It’s famous, huh?”
“Okay, it’s not all that famous, but it is pretty good. Go get Sam.”
“Why?” He looked at the packet of raw chicken. “Supper’s not going to be for a while, right?”
“I didn’t come here just to cook for you Holland boys. I came to cook dinner with you,” she said as she pulled out the rest of the ingredients. “Go get Sam.”
Kurt looked doubtful, but he did as she asked. And before long, all three of them were working on dinner together. Sam teasing Kurt about his knife skills and Kurt teasing her about the dishtowel she’d tied around her waist.
But when the three of them sat down to eat and both men’s expressions were at ease, Emily knew that everything was going to eventually be just fine. The three of them were beginning a life together. It was imperfect and full of mistakes. But it was also full of laughter and warmth.
And yes, maybe even love.
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CHAPTER 34
FROM LES LARKE’S
TIPS FOR BEGINNING POKER PLAYERS:
Smile at the table. Don’t waste your time off work turning poker into another job.
one month later
“Did you know you’ve been staring at your toenails for the past five minutes?” Campbell asked. “That color pink looks fabulous, but even so, I don’t think they’re worth that much contemplation.”
Realizing she was right, Emily looked up with a start. “Sorry.”
“What’s going on? I thought you wanted to come over here for a girls’ night.”
“I did.”
“But …”
Emily sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe staying in on a Saturday night, watching old movies and painting our toenails isn’t really cutting it anymore.”
Campbell frowned. “I know what you mean. We used to crave these evenings. But now, even with a bottle of wine, it doesn’t seem all that exciting.”
Her glass of wine was still half full. “You’re right. Even the wine isn’t making things better. No offense, Camp. It’s not that I don’t love your company or anything.”
Campbell stretched out her legs on her beige suede ottoman. “None taken.” She pursed her lips, then said, “If I tell you something, will you promise not to be offended?”
“Promise.”
“Well, while you were eyeing your toes, I was doing some thinking. About five minutes ago, I came to a conclusion.”
Emily took a sip of her rosé. “And what was that?”
“I think our Girls Nights In leave a lot to be desired.” Lifting one foot, her toes a freshly painted teal blue, she said, “Actually, I think they kind of suck.”
Campbell was practically a Southern belle. She didn’t use words like suck. She didn’t use them ever. Because of that, Emily was having a hard time not gaping at her. “How come?”
“Because you and I are sitting here at my house because our guys are having a poker night.”
“Well, yeah.”
“Kurt’s hosting, Troy’s there. So are two of his buddies.”
“So is my brother and my brother-in-law, and one of my brother’s neighbors.”
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