Read Online The Heat Is On (Boston Five Book 1) by Poppy J. Anderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Poppy J. Anderson
Tags: General Fiction
Ads: Link
talking completely. Shane never said the words, but it was clear he blamed Heath for their dad’s death. It didn’t matter, because Heath did feel responsible.
And now he had to add another sin to his list of transgressions.
Hayden.
At the funeral, she sat next to him, crying for the only father she had left, one hand comfortingly on his arm. The night before, she hadn’t objected when he woke her from a deep sleep and practically tore into her. God, he’d behaved like an animal before collapsing next to her in a trembling heap. She had neither slapped him nor yelled at him; instead, she had turned to him, put her arms around him, and hadn’t let go for the rest of the night, while he thought he would go mad with self-loathing.
He didn’t know what had gotten into him.
That wasn’t him.
He didn’t want to be like that.
His eyes were dry as they followed Father Brady slowly circle the open grave, sprinkling it with holy water, blessing it, and reciting a prayer.
Next to him, Hayden murmured the same psalm, crossed herself, and then leaned back into his shoulder, at the same time stroking his icy hand in a comforting manner. She was shaking so hard he had to take her by the arm to help her stand after the service. When his mother burst into desperate sobs, Kyle was there to support her, together with Shane. Heath screwed up his eyes and decided he would never cause Hayden this kind of pain. Never.
Chapter 5
“Hayden? Do you have a minute?”
Hayden looked up from her newspaper and saw the friendly face of her principal. She’d been alone in the teachers’ lounge, because the lunch bell had rung a minute earlier. Most teachers had hurried to grab a bite in the cafeteria and brace themselves for the afternoon portion of their day. Hayden put her paper aside and gestured to the empty chair next to hers. “Of course, Mr. Horrace. What can I do for you?”
Mr. Horrace was a gaunt man, with pants that ended above the ankle and seemed to reach up to his armpits. She’d heard some of the more astute students call him Half-mast-Horrace, and she had to admit it was hard not to smile at that. Of course, she’d maintained a straight and stern face, reminding the urchins that it was not okay to make fun of their teachers, let alone their principal. But it had been funny anyway. His strangely cut pants and the springy gait with which he walked through the hallways surely invited a nickname like that.With a sigh, he sat down on the slightly rickety chair, remaining curiously straight, even when sitting. “Well … I just received a rather unpleasant call.”
Even though his face maintained the same friendly expression, she immediately thought of the times she’d been called at school before. Both times, she had received devastating news. Less than four months ago, while she was in the middle of supervising a test, she’d been summoned to the phone in the secretary’s office, where they’d told her both Heath and Joe had been injured during a job and were in the hospital. By the time she’d arrived at the ER, Joe had already passed.
The first time she was called at school, she’d been in fourth grade—as a student, not the teacher. The principal had come to her classroom and taken her to his office, where Joe was waiting to tell her that her dad had been shot and killed on active duty. She still shuddered at the thought of a firefighter being shot by dealers while he was trying to extinguish a fire in an abandoned factory building where they happened to have set up their illegal drug kitchen.
Horrace brought her back to the present. “Justin Miller’s father called to complain about you.”
She immediately relaxed a little and let out a sigh of relief. “Really? What did he say?”
Mr. Horrace rolled his eyes. “He said you gave his son an F and wrote a note on the test saying that he was in danger of having to repeat fourth grade.”
“That is correct,” she admitted,
And now he had to add another sin to his list of transgressions.
Hayden.
At the funeral, she sat next to him, crying for the only father she had left, one hand comfortingly on his arm. The night before, she hadn’t objected when he woke her from a deep sleep and practically tore into her. God, he’d behaved like an animal before collapsing next to her in a trembling heap. She had neither slapped him nor yelled at him; instead, she had turned to him, put her arms around him, and hadn’t let go for the rest of the night, while he thought he would go mad with self-loathing.
He didn’t know what had gotten into him.
That wasn’t him.
He didn’t want to be like that.
His eyes were dry as they followed Father Brady slowly circle the open grave, sprinkling it with holy water, blessing it, and reciting a prayer.
Next to him, Hayden murmured the same psalm, crossed herself, and then leaned back into his shoulder, at the same time stroking his icy hand in a comforting manner. She was shaking so hard he had to take her by the arm to help her stand after the service. When his mother burst into desperate sobs, Kyle was there to support her, together with Shane. Heath screwed up his eyes and decided he would never cause Hayden this kind of pain. Never.
Chapter 5
“Hayden? Do you have a minute?”
Hayden looked up from her newspaper and saw the friendly face of her principal. She’d been alone in the teachers’ lounge, because the lunch bell had rung a minute earlier. Most teachers had hurried to grab a bite in the cafeteria and brace themselves for the afternoon portion of their day. Hayden put her paper aside and gestured to the empty chair next to hers. “Of course, Mr. Horrace. What can I do for you?”
Mr. Horrace was a gaunt man, with pants that ended above the ankle and seemed to reach up to his armpits. She’d heard some of the more astute students call him Half-mast-Horrace, and she had to admit it was hard not to smile at that. Of course, she’d maintained a straight and stern face, reminding the urchins that it was not okay to make fun of their teachers, let alone their principal. But it had been funny anyway. His strangely cut pants and the springy gait with which he walked through the hallways surely invited a nickname like that.With a sigh, he sat down on the slightly rickety chair, remaining curiously straight, even when sitting. “Well … I just received a rather unpleasant call.”
Even though his face maintained the same friendly expression, she immediately thought of the times she’d been called at school before. Both times, she had received devastating news. Less than four months ago, while she was in the middle of supervising a test, she’d been summoned to the phone in the secretary’s office, where they’d told her both Heath and Joe had been injured during a job and were in the hospital. By the time she’d arrived at the ER, Joe had already passed.
The first time she was called at school, she’d been in fourth grade—as a student, not the teacher. The principal had come to her classroom and taken her to his office, where Joe was waiting to tell her that her dad had been shot and killed on active duty. She still shuddered at the thought of a firefighter being shot by dealers while he was trying to extinguish a fire in an abandoned factory building where they happened to have set up their illegal drug kitchen.
Horrace brought her back to the present. “Justin Miller’s father called to complain about you.”
She immediately relaxed a little and let out a sigh of relief. “Really? What did he say?”
Mr. Horrace rolled his eyes. “He said you gave his son an F and wrote a note on the test saying that he was in danger of having to repeat fourth grade.”
“That is correct,” she admitted,
Similar Books
