My appetite vanished, but I continued to clean myplate. Hank and my family had put a lot into this last-minute celebration and I would honor it.
A boy skidded to a stop on his dirt bike. Large chunks of mud dripped off his tires. It hadn’t rained in a few days, so I could only imagine where he’d found enough mud to skid around in. “Hey, Miss K.”
“Hey, Deon. How’s school going this year?” He’d been my student last year.
“Eh. You know.”
I did. I knew exactly what his teacher was going through. Deon was an active young man. His brain worked almost as fast as his body, which led to a lot of interesting and occasionally infuriating moments. He was a good kid, but if he’d gone to school in a large town, he’d have had a lot of trouble. Thankfully, in Bourbon Canyon, we could be a little more flexible and creative to accommodate active kids with vibrant learning styles.
“Did you have a good long weekend?” I asked.
He shrugged. “My stepdad worked all weekend.”
“That stinks. Does he have to work over the performance?” He was in Scarlett’s class and their performance was a couple of weeks after my class had theirs.
Deon nodded and looked away. He adored his stepdad, but the guy did shift work and couldn’t help his schedule. “My grandma’s coming though.”
I almost said which one. Between his parents and stepparents, Deon had a lot of grandparents. He was a lucky kid. “I’m looking forward to it. You guys have worked so hard.”
He ducked his head again. His brown gaze lifted over my shoulder and his forehead crinkled a moment beforethe screen door opened. The corner of the door brushed against my back, but I didn’t move.
A wall of heat was between me and the house. I didn’t look up. I picked one of the fudge-striped cookies out of the creamy cookie salad and licked the vanilla pudding and whipped cream mix off.
“Who’s that?” Deon asked, staring at Gideon.
“Uh...” Shit. How did I tell my students? I was bracing myself for work tomorrow, but I’d been anticipating adults.
“The proper way to ask is to introduce yourself first.” Gideon’s tone was almost disapproving.
My defensiveness rose, uncovering my mischievous side. No one messed with my kids, but Gideon did have a point and the teacher in me couldn’t miss a teachable moment.
Deon screwed his face up more. “Huh?”
I put my cookie down. “You say ‘Hi, I’m Deon’ and stick your hand out to shake his.”
The kid eyed me dubiously.
A disgruntled snort came from behind me, and I grinned. Deon was almost as dirty as his bike. The mud streaking up his legs was drying, same with his hands and arms, but there was no way someone was getting out of a handshake unscathed.
“It’s okay. He’ll tell you who he is once he shakes your hand.” I peeked over my shoulder, making my expression as full of censure as possible. “Right?”
Gideon towered over me. His dark gaze was intense and his stance was unyielding. He clenched his jaw once but said, “Right.”
Deon shrugged and laid his bike on the sidewalk. He swaggered across the lawn and up the stairs next to me.He thrust his hand out. “Hi. I’m Deon. Miss K was my teacher.”
I clutched my plate. Would he shake the kid’s hand? Deon was bold but sensitive. If Gideon was rude to my former student, he’d have to sleep on the lawn tonight.
Gideon shook Deon’s hand as if he were a fellow CEO. “Nice to meet you, Deon. I’m Gideon James. Miss K’s husband.”
“No sh—kidding?” Deon’s wide eyes swiveled back and forth between us. “I didn’t know you were married.”
“Surprise,” I said weakly.
His grin spread wide, showing off a missing canine. “Wait—so are you Miss J now?”
“I...” Shit. “Yes? Mrs. J.” I said it slowly, testing the flow. I’d only ever known Miss K, and it wasn’t like I’d had time to rehearse answering to something new.
He jogged back to his bike. The side of my leggings he’d brushed up against was covered in dirt.
