I scrubbed my hands over my face, hating that I was such a pushover, especially where my brother was concerned. At least this weird job interview was tonight and not next week. I’d go in, maybe fill out an application, be interviewed for the position, and be out of there within an hour. Then I could call B&M and make arrangements for my upcoming heat.
I went back to grading, shaking my head at myself. Lucas was definitely going to owe me for this one.
CHAPTER TWO
Linus
Imade it through the rest of the afternoon without too many more interruptions. My principal, Olivia, came to talk to me about Eddie Wallace, but she agreed with my assessment of the boy, and that Mr. Wallace was being a jerk. She also said she’d handle it, which took a load off my shoulders.
“You’re out on Monday and Tuesday, right?” Olivia asked as she left the room.
I blushed a little as I stood to gather my things and answered, “Yeah, if my heat shows up on time and isn’t longer than usual.”
Olivia nodded. She was a beta, but she’d had enough experience with omega teachers to know how our biology worked. “I’ll have one of the Ed students doing their practicum take over your class.”
“Thanks,” I said as I shrugged into my coat and hefted my satchel over my arm.
There were good people out there, despite the Mr. Wallaces and Lucases of the world. Olivia was one of them. So were a fewof my colleagues, who I waved to or got into little chats with as we all headed for the parking lot and home.
It was early spring and the weather still wasn’t great, so it took me longer to drive home than I’d thought it would. Once I was tucked away in my cozy, one-bedroom apartment, I pulled out my phone to check the directions Lucas had texted me for his interview.
“What the heck?” I said, frowning at the phone when I saw the coordinates. And yes, they were coordinates, not an address. “That’s out in the middle of nowhere.”
Well, out in the middle of nowhere at the foot of Blue Knob Mountain, where Kincade Slopes was located. I actually knew the area. Two years before, Olivia had arranged for one of our faculty continuing education retreats to be held at Kincade Slopes. We’d even stayed overnight on the school’s dime. The staff there had taken excellent care of us. I remembered meeting Madison and Benny Kincade, the owners of the lodge, while we were there. They were a great couple and what I aspired to find someday.
My memories of that weekend trip stayed with me as I rushed through an early supper, then grabbed a shower. They were good memories, which softened me to the ridiculous errand Lucas was sending me on. I got out of the shower and dressed in one of my nicer outfits, something that didn’t make me look like I was around small kids all day. Kincade Slopes was a fairly long drive, more than an hour. I had to hoof it if I was going to get there before eight.
Halfway there, while I was zipping along at exactly sixty-five miles-per-hour and not an MPH more, I got a call from Lucas.
“Are you there yet?” he asked. I could have sworn he was giggling.
“Not quite,” I said. “But I should be there well before the interview.
“Don’t arrive early!” Lucas shouted loud enough to blast out the speakers in my car.
“It’s good form to arrive early,” I told him in my teacher voice.
“Not for this,” Lucas said, something about his insistence making the hair stand up on the back of my neck. “You have to show up exactly at eight.”
“Showing up early won’t hurt.”
“It will,” Lucas insisted. “They have, um, time slots for the interviews. Ten-minute time slots. You have to stick rigidly to yours.”
I huffed impatiently. “Alright,” I said, that feeling of being a doormat growing in me again. “But you owe me for this.”
“Trust me, you’ll be thanking me for the whole thing soon,” Lucas said.
I frowned. Something wasn’t right.
“You’re okay out there at the beach house, aren’t you?” I asked. “Staying out of trouble?”
“Oh, always, always,” Lucas said.
“That’s a huge lie and you know it.”
Lucas laughed. “I have more fun than you do.”
I wanted to snap back with a clever reply, but he was right. Lucas always had more fun than I did. Granted, I wasn’t sure I liked his sort of fun. But then again, I didn’t actually love being a boring, vanilla omega either.
