"Four of them," he admitted. "If she does this again, I'll have no choice but to suspend her. Make sure Faith knows that."
"Oh, I will," I promised as I headed to the door.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Iwalked out of the principal's office and found Zeke standing over Faith. The boy's arm was on her shoulder, and he honestly looked concerned. I cleared my throat, making the pair jump back, and then Meredith followed me out. Her eyes jumped between the kids, and then right over to me.
"I expect to have a weekend with my daughter soon."
I nodded. "Just let me know when. Not this weekend, though. Faith's grounded. No horse, no Netflix, and no friends over."
Faith huffed. "Dad!"
A glance made her mouth snap closed. Meredith just sighed. "Ok. We'll discuss it. I'm assuming you'll pick her up, because I have toworktomorrow."
"I'll take care of it," I assured her.
Meredith marched out of the office, but the moment she jerked the door open, another woman walked in. I recognized Emily Harding immediately. She was wearing a work shirt, her hair looked a bit frazzled, and there were dark circles under her eyes. Yeah, I knew what that felt like.
"What did you do, Zeke?" she groaned the moment she saw her kid.
"Mom," the boy insisted, "it's not like that."
"How do you think I'm going to pick you up? You're going to need to walk home."
"Emily?" I asked, catching her attention.
She looked up, her eyes landed on me, and then her shoulders slumped. "Luke, I'm sorry, he's - "
I just lifted a hand, halting her before she had to explain. "Can I talk to you in the hall a moment?"
"Ok?" But she turned back around, so I followed, leaving the kids in the lobby.
"What did he do?" she asked.
"Took a punch so Faith didn't have to," I said. "Look, she's been bullied, and I'm sure you've heard about what happened this summer..."
"I actually haven't," she admitted. "I do know you're at Southwind, though. Zeke said there was something going on about gay men?"
"My coworkers," I explained, hating that I was leaving so much out. "Evidently they've been together for a while. I promise they're good guys. Look, all I was going to say was that I can give him a ride home. Faith's got detention too, so I'll already be here tomorrow, but if you ever need someone to pick him up, I'm not that far away. It's the least I can do for that boy protecting my kid."
She looked away, a little smile finding her lips. "Um, Luke, Zeke's gay."
"Ok?" I hadn't expected that, but it actually made sense. He'd stood up for Faith because she'd stood up for Cy and Ash.
Emily just looked at me, confusion on her face. "I'm saying he's not trying to be her boyfriend. He came out to me last year, and it's been hard for him. I'm not even sure if he's told Faith, but he's thrilled to have a friend, and I just thought you should know."
"I actually shouldn't," I told her, remembering something Violet had said so long ago about Ash. "It's Zeke's decision to tell people, but in all honesty, I prefer the idea of her new pal not thinking like boys his age often do."
Her eyes were jumping between mine. "It doesn't bother you?"
"I live with two men who are madly in love. No, it doesn't bother me, Emily. In fact, I was going to talk to you about having Zeke come over sometime. Faith wants to take him horseback riding. We've got a few kid-safe horses. They're for the rehabilitation center. I can pick him up, take him home, or let him crash in a guest room. Whatever works for you."
"Why are you being so nice?" she finally asked, lifting her chin a bit.
I just clasped her arm. "Single mom, right? Busting your ass to figure out how to make this work? Yeah, been there, done that. I recently got a job that helps, and I promise that I know how it is. Granted, I wouldn't have offered the guest room overnight if you hadn't said he was gay."
She finally laughed. "Ok, I can see that. Luke, I might just take you up on that. I'm so sorry my boy got Faith in trouble - "
