Arden

by Melody Anne

  With reluctance, Keera sat on the edge of her seat, her back ramrod straight, her gaze focused on the scratches in the table. She didn’t want to look at anyone. She knew that was a sign of guilt in any interrogation, but she didn’t even care right now. There was too much stress and fear running through her to try to hide it.

  “Do either of you have any idea how the drugs got into your school?” Declan asked. He didn’t come to the table, didn’t try to make them feel as if they were all friends. No. This was an interrogation, and he was letting them know they were suspects.

  “I didn’t know we had a problem,” Keera answered. “I’d like to know how you got wind of it before I did.”

  When Declan didn’t answer, she looked up. His gaze was on Ethan, but it switched to her as if he knew she was looking at him.

  “I don’t give out sources,” Declan said, making her feel as if he’d slapped her.

  “There’s no need to be rude,” Arden reprimanded his brother.

  “I’ve found in my line of work it’s better to be honest and to the point,” Declan said. He turned his attention back to Ethan, who hadn’t spoken.

  “There’s no way of knowing how the damn drugs got into the school. Hell, half the students are up to no good. I wouldn’t put it past some of the staff members, either. There’s a bunch of small-minded townies who don’t have a lot of ethics in this community,” Ethan said, not trying to hide his disdain for the place he’d grown up.

  “That’s not true,” Keera defended. “People in general are good at heart. This one incident shouldn’t condemn our entire school.”

  “What do you really know? You haven’t been here that long,” Ethan said. He’d never been so rude to her, and she didn’t know how to take it.

  Keera’s back stiffened even more, though she didn’t know how that was possible. It was this room, and it was the feeling of being judged. Her fear was beginning to diminish as anger took its place.

  “I might be new to this town, but I’ve committed myself to this school, and especially to these students. I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of this mess, and I will ensure this doesn’t happen again,” she said, making sure she looked all three of the men in the eyes so they’d take her seriously. “Is there just a drug problem at the school, or are they running rampant through the town?” she pushed.

  It looked as if there was a hint of respect in the expressions of both Arden and Declan. Ethan grumbled something as if he wasn’t hearing her. He was so bitter, and she didn’t understand it.

  “We’re focused on the school right now,” Declan said, not answering her question.

  “If you want my help, then I need all the information,” she pushed.

  “You’ll get the info you need,” Declan said. Though the words were harsh, the tone wasn’t. She sat back and stared him down.

  “I will solve the problems at my school. Why don’t you focus on the town?” she challenged him. It almost appeared as if he smiled before the expression was wiped from his face.

  “How do you think you can stop anything at your school when you didn’t even realize there was a problem?” Declan asked. His tone had calmed, but she still felt judged by him.

  “I’ll talk to the school board about security measures. I’ll also speak to the students as a group about the dangers of drugs, and one-on-one for those I think need it,” she said. The more she sat there, the more plans formed.

  “We could frisk the kids as they enter the school,” Ethan volunteered, glee in his expression at the thought.

  “No,” Keera said, her voice rising. “School should be a safe haven for these students. I won’t make them feel as if they’re criminals.”

  “I agree,” Declan said, surprising her. “I don’t believe students are responsible for this.”

  “You obviously don’t know who in the hell is responsible,” Ethan snarled. “Or you wouldn’t be wasting our time.”

  Declan’s eyes narrowed, and though Ethan was annoying her, Keera felt sorry for the man. She certainly wouldn’t want to be getting that icy-cold glare from the huge man who obviously held a lot of power.

  “Max will be a fixture at the school until this matter is solved. I don’t want any complaints,” Declan said. He again looked at both her and Ethan, but his gaze stayed on Ethan far longer than on her.

  “I’ll have to check the books to make sure that’s okay,” Ethan said, not willing to cede any of his vice principal power.

  “I just told you it’s okay, so it is,” Declan said.

  Ethan mumbled under his breath, but Keera didn’t hear what he said. She was sure it wasn’t anything friendly aimed at the FBI agent—or the entire Forbes family, for that matter.

  “If you hear of anything pertaining to the matter, you need to notify me immediately,” Declan told them.

  “Yes, of course,” Keera readily agreed.

  “Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” Ethan said with sarcasm.

  “I think that should be all for now,” Declan said, obviously having had enough of Ethan.

  “Really? That’s all?” Ethan asked. “You just wanted to bring us down here for a smoke show, to exert your power?” he added. He stood up so quickly his chair flew backward. “Next time don’t bother.”

  With that he stomped from the room, probably proud he’d seemingly gotten the last word. Maybe it made him feel as if he was better than the brothers, and Keera wondered if he had a history with them.

  “That was entertaining,” Arden said as he rose.

  Though Keera’s knees were a bit shaky, she stood as well, almost grateful when Max nudged a little closer to her as if making sure he’d be there if she fell. She reached out and petted his head, looking down at his shining eyes.

  “I like Max being at the school. He’s a good boy,” she said.

  “Yeah, with you,” Arden grumbled.

  A sound almost like laughter escaped Declan’s throat, and Keera looked at him in shock. He was gazing at the dog, a look of amusement shining in his eyes. It transformed the man’s face into something she might even call handsome if the guy didn’t intimidate her so damn much.

  “Is the dog giving you trouble, little brother?” Declan asked.

  “Not at all,” Arden said, tugging on Max’s leash. The dog didn’t budge from his position where Keera was still petting him.

  “Hmm, okay,” Declan said, his eyes still shining.

  “Let’s go,” Arden said to Keera. The moment she began walking, Max stood and trailed after them. Arden grumbled something about women and power, but she didn’t catch all of it.

  She let out her first breath of relief when they exited the building. She wouldn’t breathe easy again until this was completely over. She hoped it was much sooner rather than later. And she hoped her past didn’t cast a shadow over the real criminals, because if they focused on her, this would never be solved. She was innocent—but someone out there obviously wasn’t.

  Chapter Eight

  Max lay beneath the water table, his eyes shut, a breeze blowing over him, looking as if he were in heaven. He’d been well received by Arden’s football team, the kids deciding they wanted the mutt to be their mascot. The dang dog had seemed to understand their praise and had pranced around with his head held high, maybe trying to prove to Arden how valuable he was.

  Then the kids went to do their warm-ups, and he found a nice, cool place to rest for a while. Arden was a little jealous. It had only been a week since the school had been broken into and drugs had been found in the locker. They still didn’t have answers.

  The dog was becoming a permanent fixture in the school, and Arden was becoming an even more permanent fixture in Keera’s life. He hated having her too far away from him. There was just so much going on, and his nerves were on edge. Arden didn’t appreciate it.

  He wasn’t a guy who caved in to stress, and his motto in life was to live each day to the fullest. If something didn’t work out the way you thought it would the first time aro
und, then you picked it up again the next day. If it wasn’t meant to be, then it wasn’t going to happen.

  But for some reason, he couldn’t feel his normal sense of ease in the current situation. He had classes to run, papers to grade, and football practices to keep him occupied, and every other minute of the day was consumed with trying to find out what was happening in his town.

  Arden had no doubt his brother knew more than he was letting on. That was frustrating. But Declan always had been a person to keep to himself. He loved his family—Arden had no doubt about that—but getting anything out of Declan that his brother didn’t want to reveal was an impossible task.

  The kids finished their warm-ups and rushed over to Arden. He was damn proud of his kids. There was no way he was allowing what was happening at his school to taint how he felt about any of the students. They were great kids.

  “We have our first game in two weeks, and I know we’re ready,” Arden said. The boys smiled, always eager to hear words of encouragement. “But that doesn’t mean it’s time to slack off. The next couple of weeks are going to be intense,” he warned.

  There were a couple of good-natured groans from the crowd, but more smiles. These boys would not only work their hardest for each other, and him, but they thrived on being pushed past limits they thought were impossible.

  “We’re gonna kill at the first game,” his star quarterback, Devin, said.

  “Hell ya, we are,” his running back, Nathan, agreed. The two fist-bumped, and the rest of the team gave a loud “Boo-ya.”

  “Just remember we aren’t playing flag football here. We need to be tackling and blocking, and protecting that arm of Devin’s,” Arden told them.

  “Dang straight. I got sacked fourteen times last year,” Devin grumbled.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t hold on to the ball for so long,” Nathan teased. Arden was pretty sure Nathan had been bitten by a radioactive spider and had webs he could shoot from his wrists, because the boy could catch balls that any other person would surely miss. Arden knew he’d one day see him starring in an NFL game, hopefully his beloved Seahawks.

  “We don’t throw the ball to just throw it. We have to know our plays and work together as a team,” Arden told them. “And if that means we need to give Devin a little longer to make the right pass, then that’s exactly what we do.”

  “It’s all about the magic when that ball releases,” Devin said with a toothy grin.

  “Yeah, and your humility,” piped in Sean, a six-foot-one, 210-pound blocker.

  “It’s hard to be humble when you’re great,” Devin told the team, who laughed.

  Yeah, the boy had confidence in spades, and he might come across as cocky to strangers, but Arden knew better. He knew the kid’s mom had cerebral palsy and that Devin went home every night to take care of her and his younger siblings. He also knew that Devin tutored middle school kids during the week to earn extra money, and that he did it for free for a couple of kids who couldn’t afford to pay. Devin was that one-in-a-million type of teenager who a parent could be proud of, who a coach wanted to do everything for. Devin would go far in life.

  “Save the boasting for your weekends out,” Arden told them with a laugh. His kids might joke around, and they might rib each other nonstop, but the second they put on their uniforms and stepped onto that sacred field, they were the epitome of class. Arden wouldn’t have it any other way.

  There were no brawls in his football games, and there was never trash talk from his kids to another team. They were known for their good attitude, positive influence on other teams, and willingness to set an example. They were state champions and were worthy of hero worship from the younger generation. Arden was proud of that as well.

  “Okay, we’re going to continue daily doubles, but it’s going to look a lot different,” Arden said, coming out of his thoughts and getting back to the matter at hand. “I want to take you all to the peak and beyond. You’re ready for it.”

  “Hell yeah,” the team called.

  “Pick up the schedule on the way out, and I don’t want any complaints or missed practices,” Arden said. “You’ll also see that on Saturday we have one practice because we’re going by the senior center again.”

  “Sweet,” said Eddie, a small freshman, who was gearing up to be one hell of a running back himself. His grandma lived there, and the entire team felt as if she were their grandma, too.

  “Nice, Coach,” Jeremy, his tight end, said.

  Part of being on his team required ten hours a month of volunteer work. But his boys normally doubled that time without being asked. They were truly valuable members of the community.

  “Let’s quit chatting and get to it,” Arden said.

  “Boo-ya,” the team called, and took off. Arden’s assistant coaches began their training as his brothers, Kian and Owen, walked across the field.

  “Not that it isn’t great to see you two, but what are you doing here?” Arden asked as he grabbed his water bottle and chugged. For Washington, it was a pretty hot day.

  “We should be able to check in on our brother now and then,” Owen informed him.

  “You’re only in town a week. I’d think you’d have more important things to do than hang out at a high school like a washed-up jock,” Arden teased.

  “There’s nothing washed up about this,” Owen said, lifting his shirt and running his fingers across his six-pack abs. Both Arden and Kian rolled their eyes.

  “You know Declan is harassing all of us to keep an eye on things,” Kian admitted.

  “Our big brother worries too much. We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Just look at the kids out there. It’s a great school, and we won’t allow anything to taint it,” Arden assured them.

  “We have no doubt about it. But until this mess is straightened out, you might be seeing a lot more of us,” Owen said.

  “That’s going to be hard to do from New York,” Arden pointed out.

  Owen was a firefighter, and had taken off ten years ago to the other side of the country. Their mother had been sad, though she’d never made him feel guilty. And to be fair, Owen came home for visits quite often. But it always felt as if something was missing when his brother was gone.

  “I might be coming back home,” Owen said. The way he spoke the words, Arden had no doubt there was a story to be told.

  “Is everything okay?” Arden asked.

  “Now’s not the time,” Owen told him. Arden knew he could push his brother, but they had more respect for each other than to do that. When Owen was ready to share, he’d come to his brothers first.

  “I’m here anytime,” Arden assured him.

  “I have no doubt about it,” Owen said.

  “Where’s Roxie?” Arden asked Kian.

  His brother had married his high school sweetheart after years of separation, and the two of them were now raising Kian’s daughter, Roxie’s niece—yeah, that was a long story—together. And they were so in love it was a little disgusting, to be honest. But seeing them together made Arden think the whole marriage thing wasn’t such a bad gig.

  “She’s with Mom and Lily at the mall,” Kian said with a shudder. A trip to the mall was the ultimate punishment in all of their eyes. They didn’t understand how anyone could spend hours locked away in a building going from store to store. If a person needed something in this day and age, the best thing they could do was order it online. No hassle, no crowds, and no pushy salespeople.

  “Ah, so the truth comes out. You told them you had to check on the security of your town so you could get out of carrying bags,” Arden said with a laugh. Kian grinned big-time.

  “Damn straight.” Kian was anything but a slacker. As a well-respected surgeon, his brother worked hard, played hard, and more important, loved hard. Arden was proud of his siblings.

  “Is everyone on for Sunday dinner?” Arden asked.

  “Yep, even Dakota is coming with Ace and the kiddo,” Owen said.

  “Good. It’s been a few
weeks since I saw her. That’s too long. My nieces are growing up too fast,” Arden said.

  “Yeah, I agree,” Kian grumbled. His brother had lost out on the first few years of his daughter’s life because he hadn’t known about her. But he was more than making up for lost time. The entire family was.

  One of the coaches called out to Arden, and he had to say goodbye to his brothers. For at least an hour, he was going to let his mind empty of any worries and focus strictly on his team.

  He’d be able to do that a hell of a lot easier if a certain sexy school principal wasn’t flashing through his brain more often than not. Maybe he should be running drills with the guys. If he was exhausted, his brain would have no choice but to shut down, right? He somehow doubted it.

  He had his doubts about a lot of things right now. One thing he was more than sure of, though, was that he was going to have to do something about his attraction to Keera Thompson. The two of them might combust if he didn’t.

  That thought made him smile before he focused on his team once more. He couldn’t be thinking of Keera in that way when he was coaching. It would lead to an incredibly embarrassing moment for him.

  “Let’s do this,” Arden said.

  The kids were rapt as he dove back into coach mode. Damn, he was a blessed man.

  Chapter Nine

  Keera was a football junkie. Yes, she knew it was going against the grain for such a bookworm kind of girl to be so into not just any sport, but the grueling sport of football. It was something she didn’t share with the world. But she truly loved the game—loved everything about it.

  There was something magical at that moment when the Friday-night lights came on, illuminating that beautiful field where dreams were both made and broken. The noise on the field, and in the stands, made her heart accelerate. The smell of blood, sweat, tears, popcorn, and hot dogs heightened her senses.

  She even loved the cold fall nights, the games when rain was pouring down. The dirtier the game, the better. Yes, she loved football. Season tickets were her one indulgence each year, and she didn’t mind being in the nosebleed section. Though, to be honest, oftentimes she’d sneak down to a lower section. It was easier to tantalize her senses the closer she was to the field.