“Hey!” Matthew protests. “I’ll have you know, he was the one who made a mess of me, not the other way around.”
“Throwing the kid who can’t talk or defend himself under the bus? Seriously, Matthew? So mature of you.” Becky smirks at her brother as they join us. “Well, it’s good to know you can change him on your own. That will certainly make it easier when I drop him off for babysitting duty.”
Jackson extends his hands toward his mother, who takes him from me and kisses his cheek. “Right, Jax? Gotta make up for all the lost time with your uncle now that he’s here for good?”
Wait, what?
My head whips in the direction of the man in question. He’s glaring at his sister, clearly not amused. His mouth moves, but I can barely hear them talking over the wild rhythm of my heart echoing in my eardrums.
He’s back?
For good?
The same man who couldn’t get out of this town fast or far enough?
I flex my fingers, my nails digging into my sweaty palms. The bite of pain snaps me out of my haze just in time to hear Becky’s next words.
“I bet Sheriff Jenkins was excited to see your face.”
Sheriff? What does the sheriff have to do with?—
“Ecstatic.” Matthew’s expression turns dark. “He’s an even bigger asshole than he was before.”
“Can you blame him?” She shakes her head, a trace of teasing in her voice. “God help us all. Talk about a twisted sense of humor. Who’d have thought, my brother, the troublemaker, would now be a police officer in our small town?”
Jax draws her attention, but my focus is still on the man next to me as my mind processes this news.
The way he shoves his hands in his pockets, back stiff. The muscle in his jaw twitching as he presses his lips together before they curl in a mocking smile, his voice low and self-deprecating. “Yeah, who’d have thought.”
I can see it, though.
Yes, Matthew’s been a hothead more often than not. However, he has good intentions, and he rarely lets people see him for who he is.
Matthew turns to me, those piercing brown eyes finding mine, that smug grin still plastered on his face. But I can see the trace of hurt beneath it.
That was always my biggest problem—I could see him. The real him. The broken boy hiding behind the mocking smile and surly attitude.
And that was my downfall.
Hewas my downfall.
“How are your parents doing, Jessica?” Mrs. Santiago gives me a kind smile as she looks up from Kaylee, who’s sitting in her lap and playing with her doll.
“Good. Busy now that the school year is back in session.”
My dad is the high school principal, and my mom works as a kindergarten teacher, so for most of the year, their life is hectic, both at home and at work.
“What about your sisters?” Mrs. Fernandez chimes in from across the table. “There are three of them, right?”
I nod in acknowledgment. “Keeping them on their toes.”
There’s a tingling feeling at the back of my neck. I tilt my head to the side, letting my hair fall from behind my ear and shield me from view.
Mrs. Santiago chuckles. “I can imagine they have their hands full. What are they now? Early teens?”
“Amy and Emily are seniors, and Carly just turned thirteen. So it’s…” My voice trails off as I consider my words. “Lively.”
That’s one way of putting it. The Richards sisters are loud, opinionated, and feisty. Somebody is always grumpy because of raging hormones, and fighting over who stole clothes or makeup from someone is a regular occurrence. We love each other, and there isn’t anything we won’t do for one another, but we have no qualms about starting a fight amongst ourselves either.
