“I see,” Reed murmured, accepting it.
“My lawyer suggested that it would be in my best interest to write them down,” Jen said as Reed took his time smoothing what appeared to be the back of a detention slip.
“Your lawyer?” Reed said, following her gaze as she glanced towards her right at the window overlooking the front office and lobby and found himself wondering what his cousin was doing here. Reed reached over and hit the call button for the front desk.
“What can I help you with, Principal Bradford?”
“Could you ask Mr. Bradford to join us, please?” Reed said, shifting his gaze back to the little delinquent.
“Just a moment,”Janine said as Reed shifted his attention to the list of demands and-
“You want immunity for all your past transgressions?” Reed asked, feeling his lips twitch as he glanced up to find Jen nodding solemnly.
“And a permanent late pass,” Reed said as he read over the rest of her demands.
“So that I’m not forced to rush my social experiments.”
“Social experiments?” Reed asked, tossing the list on his desk as he sat back while he debated his options.
“For Harvard,” Jen said with a helpless shrug and a long-suffering sigh as though she really didn’t have a choice in the matter.
“I see,” Reed murmured absently as he watched his cousin, Garrett, walk into his office and sat down in the chair next to the little delinquent.
For a moment, neither one of them spoke as they slowly narrowed their eyes on one another until finally, Reed said, “Onemonth detention, a fifteen-page paper on the placebo effect, and she cleans the damage Mr. Jorgenson did to the teacher’s lounge in his attempt to protect himself from his sandwich.”
“Is that your best offer?” Garrett drawled as he reached over and helped himself to a brownie while Jen sat there, folding her arms over her chest as she sent him a smug look that was just fucking sad at this point.
“One and a half months of detention, a twenty-page paper on the placebo effect, she cleans the damage that Mr. Jorgenson did to the teacher’s lounge, and she joins the track team to keep her out of trouble,” Reed said, watching as Jen’s smug expression turned confused and-
“Deal,” Garrett said, taking a bite of his brownie while Reed watched Jen’s expression turn horrified.
“What do you mean ‘Deal’?”Jen demanded on a gasp of outrage.
“And if she doesn’t get back to class in the next five minutes, I’ll call Joey,” Reed said, watching as the realization of what that meant seconds before Jen released a strangled curse as she grabbed her bag and quickly made her way to the door, the threat of calling his wife apparently enough to get her to move her ass. Not that he could blame her, Reed thought as he glanced back at his cousin and-
“I need a favor.”
CHAPTER 35
One Month Later...
“We need to go over the rules again,” Garrett said, tightening his hold around her hips when she moved to climb off his lap.
“You mean the ones that only prove that you’re insane? Are those the rules that you’d like to go over?” Kristen asked, blinking at the man who was clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
“I’m trying to keep you safe,” Garrett said, making her lips twitch.
“It’s just a family barbecue with your cousin’s house. I think I’ll be fine,” Kristen said, pushing his hands off her hips and climbed off his lap, watching as he struggled not to panic as his gaze shot from her to his front door and-
“Be prepared for interrogations. They’re usually harmless unless you show fear, then the others will join in,” Garrett began as she grabbed his hand and pulled, leaving him with no choice but to get up.
“Watch out for interrogations,” Kristen said, nodding. “Got it.”
“And once the bitch-slapping begins, try not to get in the way,” Garrett said as Kristen grabbed the platter of baked goods that she’d made last night and headed for the front door.
“Avoid bitch-slapping,” she said with a firm nod as he held the door open for her only to have Blanket join them before he plucked the platter from her hands.
“And I can’t stress this enough, if an adorable teenage girl with dutch braids asks you to play catch, say no. In fact, if you see her throwing a baseball, just fucking run,” Garrett said as he let the front door close behind them.
