Noah-Fierce

by Ann, Natalie

  And here she was looking at a handsome guy that on any given day she’d love to get to know better, but of course Sebastian might be in the middle and her nephew had to come first.

  Not that she knew anything about Noah Fierce other than he was probably way out of her league.

  Sebastian opened the door and started to get in, but Noah stepped in front of him first. “No problems. No need to worry. I saw Sebastian here by himself and I figured I’d keep him company while he waited. We were chatting about his love of history.”

  She started to laugh when Noah smiled, knowing how false that statement was. “I’m sure you were chatting about his history class, but definitely not his love for it. Unfortunately he takes after me there.”

  “My heart is breaking. History is what makes us who we are.”

  She snorted. “Not everyone has a great history. I appreciate you keeping Sebastian company. Thank you.”

  “Never a problem,” he said and moved back for Sebastian to climb in.

  They were pulling away when she turned and said, “So what was that about and how did you miss the bus?”

  “It’s exactly what he said. I was sitting there waiting for you and he saw me. I think he thought I was lying about waiting for a ride and decided to stay.”

  She smiled. “I’m sure he is used to kids fibbing about those things.” But she was happy Noah was there to avoid any more fights that seemed to follow Sebastian around like flies to a sticky trap.

  “I wasn’t though.”

  “No, you weren’t. So how does he know about your history class?” she asked.

  “No clue unless the teacher ratted me out. I’m not the only one failing that class. I can’t stay awake long enough to remember the assignments.”

  “That’s your story and you’re sticking to it. I get it, but you need to drink some Red Bull then. Something.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I’ll pass the class, no worries.”

  He always did because he was a smart kid. Smarter than anyone realized, and if he just did his work or applied himself more, his grades would be so much better.

  “Dinner tonight,” she said. “I was thinking of making sauce and meatballs.”

  “You’re cooking?” he asked.

  “I bought premade meatballs in the meat department and sauce in a jar. It’s almost homemade. I mean I’ve got to manage to cook the meat without burning them.”

  “We’ll do it together,” he said. “I’m hungry and not in the mood for charcoal with my soft squishy pasta.”

  “Maybe a team effort will produce a better meal. So tell me, how did you miss the bus? You’re avoiding the question so that makes me think something happened.”

  He started to laugh and she wasn’t sure what to make of it. “I had to take a crap and I couldn’t wait.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? You were in the bathroom for long enough to miss the bus?”

  “It was a really big crap. We had tacos last night. You told me to use hot sauce instead of the salsa you forgot to buy. I was afraid my butt was going to burn.”

  Sometimes she completely forgot he was a teenage boy when he offered to cook dinner with her and then other times he couldn’t get any more gross than this conversation.

  “I don’t know what to say to you.”

  “You say you are going to cook a little bit better so I don’t have to run to the bathroom with my hand over my butt and miss the bus again.”

  Paige started to laugh so hard that she had tears in her eyes. “Okay, okay. I’ll see about some YouTube videos to help me cook better. And I promise not to ask you to substitute things if I forget an ingredient.”

  The two of them were laughing when she pulled into their apartment so the fear of seeing him with Noah vanished.

  But once dinner was cleaned up and put away, Sebastian in his room doing his work, she heard her phone go off with an email.

  She picked her phone up to see it was from Noah at the school district. He asked if she could give him a call tomorrow and left her two numbers. One for his office stating he’d be there by seven or his cell phone if it was easier for her to call after hours.

  He’d said twice it wasn’t an emergency and Sebastian wasn’t in trouble, he didn’t want to worry her, but he’d like to talk about a few things.

  She had no clue what it could be about and sincerely doubted he was asking her for a date. That would just be wishful thinking on her end. And why would she even consider that he’d be asking her that? He’d given no indication of being anything other than Sebastian’s principal. She had to get her father’s talk out of her head.

  Either way, she’d preached it enough that Sebastian had to come first so of course she’d call Noah but not when Sebastian was around.

  She emailed back that she’d call him after Sebastian got on the bus around seven fifteen. Until then she had to hope she could get some sleep without worrying what this could be about.

  9

  Singled Out

  “What’s wrong with you this morning?” Sebastian asked her. “You’re running around like we are late and we aren’t. I’ve got ten minutes still.”

  “Just get your shoes on and be ready,” she said. “The bus comes early sometimes and you know it.”

  “Sheesh.” He picked his bowl up and put it to his lips to drink the remaining milk from his cereal. “I forgot to tell you that I need money on my lunch account.”

  It never seemed to end. “Do you have enough for today?”

  “No. I barely had enough yesterday. I had to put something back.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. As if things weren’t bad enough, the last thing she wanted was him to be singled out because he didn’t have money for food. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the money to give him, but she relied on him to tell her when he needed it.

  “I forgot. I didn’t know myself. We don’t get a report or anything. Don’t they give one to you?”

  “No.” She picked her purse up and pulled her wallet out praying she had some cash in there when she didn’t normally carry any. It must be her lucky day. There was a ten. “Here. This should be good for today. Tonight when I get home remind me and I’ll get online and put money in there. We need to talk about how much you spend a day so I can remind myself to do it automatically.”

  “I’ll spend less,” he said.

  “No. That isn’t what I meant. I just want to plan better and not always be running by the seat of our pants as they catch on fire. If you spend five dollars a day then I’ll know fifty only gets you ten days and so on. Get it?”

  “Yeah,” he said, snatching the money out of her hand. “I’ve got it.” She hoped she reassured him. Money wasn’t tight, but it wasn’t flowing either. She went without more times than she cared to admit. It’s not like she was growing out of her clothes and shoes like he was and it was only for a few more years, she kept reminding herself.

  “And there is the bus,” she screeched. “Get your shoes on.”

  He slipped his feet in his sneakers, grabbed his fleece off the coat rack the same time as he picked his bookbag up from the floor by the door and ran out.

  The minute he was gone, she took a deep breath and sat down at the table. She’d been rushing so she could have enough time to call Noah. She normally left by seven thirty herself so that didn’t give her much time and she wanted to be ready to leave the minute she got off the phone.

  Once she heard the bus pull away letting her know all the kids were on it, she grabbed her cell phone and called Noah, noticing it was exactly seven fifteen and, like she’d told Sebastian, the bus had been early today.

  “Noah Fierce,” she heard, his deep voice sending vibrations throughout her body. Man oh man, why did every part of him have to be so sexy?

  “Paige Parker,” she said back and then rolled her eyes. When he laughed, she said, “Sorry. It comes from living with a teen. Sometimes I don’t think before I react back.”

  “Never a pr
oblem. I’m so glad you had a minute to call me. I won’t take up too much of your time, as I’m sure you’ve got to get to work.”

  “I’ve got about fifteen minutes before I need to leave.” She figured she better tell him now in case she had to cut him off. Though her employers were great and as flexible as they could be, they still had appointments and didn’t like to get too far behind.

  “I just want to reiterate it’s nothing urgent. I hope I didn’t worry you with the email.”

  “No. I mean I’m always a little worried when something comes up with Sebastian, but I guess that is part of being a parent.”

  “My parents would say that is the case which is why I always try to say right away it’s not bad or urgent to ease parents’ minds.”

  “That’s nice of you. So what is going on with Sebastian? Other than the exciting talk about history yesterday?”

  He laughed. “Are you aware Sebastian is failing history?”

  “I am. He doesn’t like the class. I think he’s bored, or so he says. He drifts off and then doesn’t do the assignments, but he’ll pull out a passing grade in the end. He always does.”

  Sebastian was a pretty smart kid. She wasn’t sure who he got it from, as his mother barely got out of high school. Paige herself hadn’t been a stellar student but she got by. It had to be some genes from his father’s side, but it sure the hell wasn’t his deadbeat dad.

  “So this is the norm with him?”

  “Not in all his classes. But I will admit he doesn’t spend as much time doing his work as he should. He barely studies too, but he always passes. If he applied himself better I know his grades would be even higher. I just feel like it’s an uphill battle. He hasn’t had the easiest of lives and we’re still adapting.” She wondered if that sounded like an excuse. “I mean he’s been with me for four years so I guess we’re always adapting.”

  “I know about his history.”

  “You do?” she asked. “He wouldn’t have told you. How did you find out?”

  There was some hesitation on the other end. “There wasn’t anything in his file. I just did a search on his name and found a bunch of articles on Cora Parker. That’s his mother, correct? Her name was listed even though you’re his guardian.”

  She let out a whoosh of air. “Yes. Cora is my sister.”

  “I’m sorry he’s had to go through that. High school is tough on everyone but worse when you’ve got something going on personally that others will latch onto and not let go.”

  “That’s why we moved schools. We didn’t move far, but I hoped a new school would help. He was still in elementary school when it happened and it wasn’t so bad. Middle school got worse. I thought the change would make it easier, but last year some kids found out and brought it up.”

  “I have no idea if it’s come up here, but if any child knows it from last year, then it’s known here. I will keep an eye on things. I can promise you that. That isn’t why I called though. Or not completely.”

  “Why did you?”

  * * *

  Noah debated on telling Paige the full reason he called. He had a great amount of sympathy for Sebastian and his situation. Even for Paige being thrown into what he suspected was a messy family scandal.

  But he’d seen potential in Sebastian and had a few of his teachers say the same thing. Not only that, he’d kept on eye on the kid now and again. He always sat by himself at lunch, he didn’t talk to many in the halls, and sat in the back of the room during class if he had his choice of seats.

  He definitely was a kid that wanted to blend into the shadows. What kind of life was that?

  “Do you know what subject I taught before I became a principal?”

  “Probably history.”

  He grinned. “Yes. Did Sebastian tell you that?”

  “No. He didn’t say much yesterday other than he didn’t do anything to get in trouble.”

  “No, he didn’t. I think Sebastian has a lot of potential, but he’s a loner.”

  “He is,” she said. “He’s felt like he was forced to be that way. Any friend he had before wanted nothing to do with him after the news got out. Even if the kids didn’t care, their parents did. I think he’s given up even trying.”

  Which was sad. “I don’t want to see that happen. I can’t force kids to talk to each other or be friends though I wish I could. Sebastian doesn’t want to play any sports?”

  “He’s never played anything. Even before he came to live with me. I’m not sure if it’s because my sister couldn’t be bothered or he wasn’t interested. I’ve brought it up and he always says no.”

  “Okay. Sports aren’t for everyone. We do have clubs and other activities he could get involved in. Maybe the history club.”

  “Now I know you are just pulling my leg,” she said, letting out a laugh. “He hates history.”

  “Oh my heart,” he said, putting his hand to it. She couldn’t see him, but it did bother him when people said how much they disliked history.

  “Sorry. I guess I’d feel the same way if someone said they hated to brush their teeth.”

  “No, that would be gross,” he said back.

  She laughed this time. Not a nervous one either and it made him feel better. Her voice had been wavering a bit since he answered and he suspected it was the uncertainty of his call. “Yes, it is. Plenty feel that way unfortunately.”

  “So my last suggestion is I work with Sebastian a little bit with history.” There was silence on the other end. “Ms. Parker? Paige?”

  “I’m here. I’m sorry. Are you offering to tutor him? Do you do that with other kids?”

  This was where things got sticky. “Yes, I’m offering to tutor but not like you think. I just thought maybe I could spend some time with him and see if I could get him to understand some of his classes more. See if I could persuade him to become more active.”

  “Why would you do that?” she asked. “With a school that size there is no way you can do it with everyone you think has potential.”

  “I don’t, but I have with other kids. Sebastian’s case is more complicated. I don’t want to see him lost in the shuffle and I believe that is what he’s trying to do.”

  “I’m sure he is. I don’t know,” she said. “The last thing he needs is to be singled out for spending time with the principal. He has enough things in his life.”

  “I agree. We could meet somewhere neutral if you want?”

  “You know, I want to say no, but then deep down I think he has the right to make that decision. Maybe if he talks to another man besides my father you could get through to him on things in life that I can’t.”

  “There is that too,” Noah said. “I’ve got lots of men in my family. I’ve got a twin brother, then another younger brother and three male cousins in Durham alone. No one in my family is allowed to be left behind. I suppose that’s why I feel the way I do when I see someone that might slip through the cracks.”

  “I can see that. I mean not many probably care as much as you and I appreciate it. And I’m sorry, but I do need to get ready to leave. Can I talk to Sebastian about it after school and get back to you?”

  “Absolutely. And even if he says no, I’m here if you’ve got questions or concerns at any point.”

  “Thanks, again,” she said.

  Once they hung up he sat back at his desk and wondered if it was a mistake to make this call or not. He wanted to help Sebastian, but he had to admit he wanted to see Paige too.

  As his mother often said, “what will be will be” and he’d done everything he could to get it to turn in his favor.

  10

  Get Involved

  He must have done enough because on Saturday morning he found himself driving to Paige’s apartment.

  He’d never expected to hear back from her last night, but at six he’d gotten an email saying that Sebastian was curious if the principal thought he was good enough to get him to even like history. He knew it was a joke but liked that Paige didn’t feel
intimidated to put that in an email.

  Maybe the kid was cocky and felt like it was a challenge. Nah, Sebastian wasn’t cocky, but he was probably a typical teen that didn’t think anyone could make him feel differently about something.

  He wasn’t going to question it though. He’d put the offer out there and was glad it was accepted.

  He pulled into the apartment complex. It was a middle of the road complex with lots of buildings and even a playground off to the side telling him other kids must live here. He’d been shocked she’d offered to have him come over, but the other choice was to meet in a public place.

  He parked in front of her building and then made his way to the door on the end. They were on the first floor of the white-sided building. There were flowers out front in pots and it looked pretty cheerful.

  The door opened before he could knock. Sebastian was standing there in shorts and a T-shirt. It wasn’t warm out, but he remembered those days himself where he ditched a jacket because it wasn’t cool. “Hi, Sebastian.”

  “Principal Fierce.”

  “You can call me Noah today.”

  “But not on Monday?”

  He could see the twinkle in the kid’s eye. Why he was hiding from everyone was beyond him when you could see just looking at him he had so much personality.

  “Probably not a good idea for either of us.”

  Sebastian snorted but opened the door. Noah stepped into the little foyer. The ceilings were low, making him feel like he was closed in. If he stretched his arms up, he was sure he’d touch or was damn close to it.

  He unzipped his jacket and held onto it, looking around, then saw the hooks and hung it up. “Sorry,” Sebastian said. “I should have taken that from you.”

  “Not a problem. Is your aunt home?”

  “She is. She’s in the kitchen. I’d say she was baking or cooking but then the smoke alarms would be going off,” Sebastian said loudly.