by Fiona West
She stalked over to him until they were toe to toe, then stared up at him with her head thrown back. The anger in his gaze had tempered, but it was still there. “If you can’t live with someone who is willing to lay it on the line for her friends, then just break up with me now. Because I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand here and let Ranger bully Bilqiis for one more second. Not only because it’s wrong, but because I would’ve given anything to have someone do that for me. No one is going to silence me anymore. Especially not—” She choked on the words, but her heart demanded they be said out loud. “Someone I love.”
His chest was rising and falling fast, and she knew he was upset despite his stony expression. Kyle hesitated, then swiftly turned and walked away. She watched him go, and the crowd around them stated to disperse. Parents suddenly realized their children were listening to a lover’s quarrel, and hurried them toward a more kid-friendly activity, like ax-throwing. Ainsley walked back to the patrol car and sat down hard on the curb. She put her arms on her knees and let her forehead rest against them, her hair cutting off every worried glance and aghast stare. Someone sat down next to her on the curb, and she knew it was her dad without looking up; that stupid cologne.
“Kiddo?”
“Yes?” She didn’t lift her head, couldn’t meet his gaze right now.
“You’re right. We would’ve done all those things for you.” His big, warm hand came to her back, hesitantly, then he rubbed up and down, his calluses catching on the cotton of her shirt. Ainsley released a shaky sigh, snuffling into her shirt sleeve as she lifted her head just a little bit. The crowd was all gone now; even Ranger was sitting quietly nearby.
“I know, Daddy.”
“Sorry it isn’t working out with him. Even if he did break my mailbox.”
Ainsley sighed again, and in spite of it all, she laughed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
KYLE DIDN’T GO TO AINSLEY’S that night. He needed to do some thinking about what she’d said. It wasn’t that she was all wrong, but she also wasn’t all right. He felt they both had a tendency to value their own opinions too highly, and he wasn’t sure how to communicate that to her without hurting her even more. He didn’t want to hurt her any more. She loved him, after all.
Also, he had something important to do at home, and it was overdue. As expected, Winnie and Daniel were snuggled on the couch, her reading, him watching Netflix.
“Hey, Kyle,” his brother greeted him.
“Pause, please.” There was no point in beating around the bush.
Daniel groped around a little, found the remote, and paused the show.
“I just wanted to say that it’s okay if you move out early.”
“Oh. Okay. Thanks.”
“It doesn’t make sense for you to pay for two places, and I’m glad you found a house.” He felt like he was vibrating inside; the urge to jump up and down was strong, but it was incongruous with what he wanted to say. He made his feet stay on the ground and settled for swaying in place a little.
“You’re not going to charge me a penalty for breaking my lease?” Daniel asked, one eyebrow cocked. Humor? Yes, humor. Brothers were weird.
“No. Though I should, because I’ll miss the rent that you would’ve paid. Not that you ever paid on time, anyway.”
Daniel stood from the couch and slowly came in for a tight hug. “I’ll miss you, too, bro.”
Kyle felt tears stinging his eyes, and he blinked them away. But he squeezed Daniel back hard, putting into the hug everything he couldn’t figure out how to say. He knew he wasn’t losing his brother on a head level, but his heart? It wasn’t convinced. He hated change. This kind was the worst of all. Even when he saw it coming, he wasn’t ready for it.
Kyle cleared his throat. “I’m sure we’ll still see each other regularly.”
“Definitely.” Daniel swiped just under his eye. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“And we still have Sibling Night.”
“Yep.”
At the sound of a teary snuffle behind Daniel, both men turned to look at Winnie.
“I know why we’re crying, but why is she crying?”
“Because I’m taking him away from you,” she sniffled, wiping her wet cheeks with her pink sweatshirt sleeve.
Kyle considered this for a moment. “No. If it wasn’t you, it would’ve been something else. He had to grow up sometime. Everyone does. You shouldn’t feel responsible.” He paused. “Would you like a hug?”
Daniel and Winnie both laughed in a watery way.
“Sure,” she said, unfolding her legs and standing from the couch. Kyle made sure the embrace was gentler than the one he’d given Daniel, but still firm enough to convey comfort. Wimpy hugs were good for nothing.
“I know you’ll take very good care of him,” Kyle commented as he set her away from him. “Which is good, because he needs it.”
“Who’s going to take care of you, though?” Daniel teased. “I’m not just a liability, you know. I do stuff.”
“I’ve designated Ainsley to take over your responsibilities. I’ll be proposing to her shortly.”
Both their mouths fell open, and it took them a minute before they said anything.
“I see,” Daniel said, nodding slowly. “Maybe don’t put it that way when you ask her, though.”
Kyle scowled. “I’m not an idiot. I watch movies. I know I have to say romantic things. But I was hoping you’d look over a draft for me . . .”
“Of course, bro. Gladly.”
“Can I see the ring?” Winnie asked, bouncing a little with excitement.
“I haven’t procured one yet; I’d value your input on styles.”
As she beamed, he knew he’d said the right thing for once.
“This is really helpful, actually, Kyle,” Winnie said. “Starla Miller just called, and she’s starting to make plans to leave Charlie. If we move to the new house, she can stay with Ainsley, where the kids are already comfortable.”
“Oh.” Selfishly, he didn’t want Starla and her brood moving into his girlfriend’s apartment; it was going to make date night a lot more crowded. But the larger part of him was relieved to hear that she wouldn’t be living with a man who treated her so poorly. No one deserved that, least of all Starla, who always saved him the quietest carrel in the library. And despite his earlier reservations, maybe it proved that some mistakes were more fixable than they first appeared.
“Oh, and Kyle?” Daniel said. Kyle exited his own thoughts and gave his brother his full attention. “The Starla thing? That’s a secret.”
He gave him a knowing nod, then aside to Winnie, he explained, “I’m very good at secrets, but I have to know that it’s a secret. Remember that come Christmas.”
“Will do,” she replied with a grin.
CHAPTER THIRTY
MONDAY WAS AS AWKWARD as she knew it would be. After spending the weekend strategizing with Starla about what she’d need to do to leave Charlie, she was already tired. The teachers who didn’t give her looks of sympathy either avoided her gaze entirely or appeared ashamed of themselves; maybe they’d been involved? She hadn’t meant to call out anyone specifically except Ranger. There had been so many memes and shares back then, she really couldn’t remember who’d been party to the bullying. It wasn’t like she’d kept an enemies list carved into the back of her yearbook, crossing out their pictures.
She’d started to forget about the incident until circle time at the end of the day. They had a few minutes to kill; she’d just finished reading Ferdinand, a classic picture book about a bull, who ironically also stood up to bullying, too. Defied expectations, refused to fight in the bullfights in Madrid, preferring instead to smell the flowers. Pacifism was its own kind of rebellion, and she didn’t mind putting that in her students’ heads one bit. “Does anyone have any questions?”
Harmony raised her hand. “Why were you yelling at Cooper’s uncle?”
Ainsley felt her eyebrows go high on her forehead. Well, it w
as a valid question. She swallowed, but before she could respond, Denver piped up. “She got arrested, dummy.”
“Denver, we don’t call names,” she chided gently. “And I didn’t get arrested. Officer Painter just wanted to talk about what happened between me and Mr. Zane.” Thankfully, she didn’t have any of his kids or nieces or nephews this year, or this could be really awkward.
“Why, what happened?” asked Heaven, her big brown eyes wide.
“You weren’t there?” Cooper said, disbelieving. “It was so awesome. Miss Buchanan was all ‘nobody pushes my friends around’ and then she like karate kicked Mr. Zane so she could help that lady with the hat . . .”
“Her name is Mrs. Sadiq, and it’s not a hat, it’s a hijab. She told me once that covering her hair is a way to remember where she comes from and show respect to herself and the people around her.”
“A hat shows respect?” asked Verity. “My dad says we’re not supposed to wear hats in church . . . Does she take hers off in church?”
“Again, not a hat. And she doesn’t go to church, actually.” The gasp the children released was loud; you would’ve thought she’d just told them Santa Claus wasn’t real.
“Where does she go on Sundays, then?”
“Does that mean she can watch football? Dad has to watch his later. He hates that. He says he gets spoiled on Twitter.”
“She doesn’t go on Christmas and Easter? My uncle Randy goes on Christmas and Easter, and he says that’s just as good . . .”
Ainsley stammered, a little overwhelmed by their chatter, “I-I don’t know, guys.” Their volume increased, and she had to hold up her hands for quiet. “Would you like her to come visit our classroom? I’m sure she could answer these questions better herself.” The children agreed in a vote of fifteen to six that it would be best if they got their information from the source. But Ainsley wasn’t off the hook yet.
“Miss B, you said we’re not allowed to hit, but you hit that man.” The other small heads nodded insistently in agreement.
“That’s true, I did. That was wrong, wasn’t it? What do you think I should’ve done differently? What would you have done?” She stood up and turned to the whiteboard, but her heart stuttered as she noticed Kyle in her doorway, leaning casually against the frame. She blinked, staring at him for a moment too long, so that the children noticed. They hadn’t spoken since the fall festival, and she’d missed him. Every text message she’d gotten had been a huge disappointment simply because it wasn’t from him. She could’ve won the Publisher’s Clearing House, and if he wasn’t with the prize patrol when they opened the door, she’d have slammed it in their faces.
“Uncle Kyle!” Cooper jumped up and ran to him, giving him a bear hug around his middle. Kyle bent and whispered something to him, and Cooper nodded, then ran back over to the rug and sat back down. Ainsley turned to the whiteboard again, and they brainstormed other ways she could’ve solved her problem . . . They all agreed that she would’ve been much better off going to get Officer Painter right away, rather than trying to solve the problem on her own.
“He was a big man, Teacher,” said Harmony. “You shouldn’t fight such a big man.”
The bell rang, and Ainsley’s gaze shot to the clock. Shoot, we should be lined up by now.
“Everyone, quick, get your stuff. Blue table, you go first . . . No, not everyone at once, okay? Blue table first, then green table . . .” There was mild chaos as the kids got their stuff together, swapped back pencils and books and water bottles and all the other things they’d traded or borrowed during the day, and lined up. Kyle disappeared into the hall while they were getting sorted, and she could see him through the windows. Cooper ran to him again, and Ainsley mentally checked the boy off her list. Kyle still hadn’t said a word, and she wasn’t sure if he was just here to get his nephew or for something more. She thought she’d seen something in his face that seemed like regret or humility, but it was so hard to tell with him . . . Dragons often weren’t big on broadcasting their feelings, she supposed. It came with the territory of being a badass.
She hurried them out, but theirs was the last class, despite their efforts to be speedy. She’d let that last lesson get away from her . . . but it was so important. Modeling reflection and courage . . . these things mattered just as much as math and science in her mind, whether the standardized tests measured them or not. She would spend time on them. When she sent the last group off to bus number 8, she hurried back into the building, pulling at the lanyard around her neck nervously. If he wasn’t there, she wasn’t going to get upset . . . If he wasn’t there, it might not mean anything. Maybe he just wasn’t ready to talk yet. She rounded the corner into the early elementary wing, and her heart sank. No Cooper. No Kyle. They’d left. He’d left without saying a word.
“Hey.” She turned. Starla was just coming out of the library.
“Hey. What are you doing here?”
“Kyle called me. He asked if I could pick up Aiden and Em today.”
“He did?”
Starla grinned at her, then nodded. “And it was a good opportunity to switch back a few picture books that got into the wrong drop box.” She slapped Ainsley lightly on the backside. “Go kiss and make up. I think he’s waiting in your room.”
Kyle was sitting in the Think It Over Chair, facing the wall. Ainsley hesitantly picked her way through the desks toward the corner with the bulletin board of paper jack-o-lanterns the kids had done during a lesson about symmetry as her friend made herself scarce. “What are you doing here?”
“Thinking.” He didn’t turn around. “Cooper said this is a good place to do it.”
“You know, the kids call it the Naughty Chair.”
“That works for me.” He paused. “Are you still mad at me?”
“That depends.” She let her hands fall to his shoulders. “Are you sorry?”
He nodded. Ainsley started to massage his shoulders; she felt the tension began to drain from them, and his head dropped forward. Kyle sighed.
“I don’t regret what I said. But the way I said it maybe wasn’t right.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t sold on that apology, but she wanted to listen. She wasn’t sure she’d been a great listener lately.
“I was scared.” He swallowed. “I thought he was going to hurt you, Ainsley. I thought . . .” He sighed again and caught her hands, pulling her around to see him. “I am sorry I called you stupid. Will you forgive me?”
Pursing her lips, she gestured for him to sit up in the tiny chair. Ainsley slid onto his lap sideways.
“I think I need a little time in this chair, too.”
“No complaints here . . .” He leaned back to see her face better, stroking her hair down her back. “No one’s trying to silence you, least of all me. But confronting Ranger by yourself was a really dumb thing to do.”
“Yeah, I guess so . . .”
“You guess? Are you kidding me, Ains?” He pointed insistently to the whiteboard she’d just filled with nonviolent conflict-resolution ideas, and she laughed a little. His breath was coming faster, and she was fairly sure he was holding back more angry words. She held up her hands in surrender.
“Okay, it was a really dumb thing—”
“I don’t want to break up with you, Ains. I just want to be in all your foolish plots together. I want to be in everything with you. You’re sunshine,” he blurted out, his face reddening. “You’re sunshine, babe, and I’m the rain on your parade, but together, we’re a rainbow. I love you. I love you, and I can’t lose that.”
“That’s really, really corny,” she whispered.
“I know,” he whispered back, bringing their foreheads together. “But you loved it.”
“I did.”
He swallowed hard. “You’ve got to take better care of yourself. I can’t imagine if I hadn’t seen what was happening and called over Officer Painter . . .”
She put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Kyle. I’m sorry, all ri
ght? I’ll do better. I’ll try to start looking before I leap.”
“Just let me have your back, okay? I’m not saying you shouldn’t defend Mrs. Sadiq; of course, you should. But I was fifty feet away. Anyone around you would’ve helped if you’d just told us what was happening.” He put his hand over hers, lifted her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles.
“Don’t do that. Kiss my lips.”
Kyle blinked at her, then chuckled. “Okay, bossy.”
“Stop bantering and do it.”
He glared. “I don’t think I’m bantering, I’m just—”
“So you can kiss me in a dark trailer, but not in my classroom? That makes no sense.”
“Why do I have to be the one who starts it?”
“The man starts the kiss. This is known.”
“And here I thought you were a feminist . . .”
That did it. Ainsley brought her other hand up to his face and pulled him forward, touching their lips together in the barest of grazes. She brushed his cheek with her thumb, feeling his stubble under her fingers. “More?”
He nodded. “More.”
She pressed into him more fully for a longer one, sucking lightly at his lips, coming just shy of biting him with her teeth. Ainsley felt his hand slide up her shoulder to her neck, and when he gently squeezed the back of it, she felt her face heat.
“More?” Her own voice was hardly recognizable.
“How about I just tell you when I’ve had enough?”
Ainsley laughed softly, but Kyle tugged her forward again, his kiss more insistent, deep with longing and excitement at the same time. She felt his happiness as his chest vibrated with a grumbly groan, and she giggled.