Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66516 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“Okay.” Kris shrugged and followed him out of the classroom.
“Are you a coffee drinker or are you too young to have fallen under its spell?” Abe asked as they walked to his car.
Her father set the coffeepot every night and drank half of it before breakfast.
“I like how it smells but not the taste so much,” she said.
“How about tea?” He continued making light conversation, trying to ease Kris’s tension. “The Roasted Bean has a great passion fruit green tea. It’s perfect for this weather.”
“Okay.”
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to reach Abe’s car, and then the radio eased the painful silence. They got to the coffee shop, placed their orders, and waited as the barista prepared their drinks.
“Are you okay with sitting here for a little bit while we finish our drinks?” Abe asked.
With yet another shrug, Kris picked up her iced tea and blueberry muffin.
Abe led the way to a table, sat down, and took a sip of his iced chai latte. Interfering in Jason’s family’s life was strictly off-limits. He didn’t need to be told that to know it. After all, the only time Jason mentioned his children was to say Abe couldn’t stay over on certain nights because they’d be there. But he knew Kris separately from her father, and he couldn’t stand by without trying to help while a student was hurting. That she was his boyfriend’s daughter made his concern more personal, but he would have reached out either way.
“I’m here if you need to talk,” he said, making every effort to sound casual and nonaccusatory.
“About what?” Kris asked, looking at him measuringly.
Her expression reminded Abe of Jason, and he decided it was the eyes. Not just the brown color Kris shared with her father, but the intensity of her gaze and the shape—flat on the bottom and curved in a half-moon on top.
“Anything you need to talk about,” he answered.
After only a moment’s hesitation, Kris sighed and, looking relieved, said, “I’m worried about my brother.”
“Why?” Abe leaned forward, his concern multiplying as he realized that in addition to Jason’s daughter being upset, something was wrong with his son. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” She glanced down at her drink. “He’s acting strange. I mean, he’s always been a pain, but lately….”
“But lately?” Abe repeated, hoping she’d continue her thoughts.
Frowning, she said, “Lately it’s more.” She breathed out loudly. “He doesn’t seem right.”
“Have you talked to him about what’s going on?” Abe asked.
“No way.” Kris’s eyes widened in horror and she shook her head furiously. “He’d kill me if he thought I was getting in his business.”
That seemed an unusually extreme reaction, but then again, teenagers were full of extremes.
“What about your parents? Have you mentioned any of this to them?”
“My parents?” Kris said in surprise, as if the idea of talking to them had never occurred to her. “No.”
“Why not? Maybe they can help.”
“I don’t think so. They’re both busy with work. And Donny—that’s my brother—is really hard on my mom. She doesn’t say anything, but I see how he is. He can be scary and even though he’s only thirteen, he’s already bigger than me and my mom.”
With every piece of information, Abe became more concerned. Hoping he wasn’t crossing Jason’s unspoken line etched in concrete but unwilling to ignore Kris’s distress, he said, “What about your father? Maybe he can intervene.”
“I don’t know.” Kris sighed. “We see my dad more now than we used to, but it’s still kind of weird, and if we cause a lot of problems, he might not want us around as much. Donny’s already making him crazy. I can tell.”
Abe’s heart broke, just broke. “I see,” he barely managed to rasp out. “Thank you for trusting me with this.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll give it some thought and see if I can come up with any ideas that might help.” He reached out and covered Kris’s hand with his, waiting until she met his gaze before speaking again. “Do me a favor and keep an eye on your brother. If things get worse or if you think he’s in real danger, let me know right away.”
“Okay, Mr. Green.”
He reached for his phone and started typing. “What’s your phone number? I’m going to text you so you can have my number.”
“You’re giving me your cell number?”
Although he didn’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill, he was concerned about how upset Kris was and her description of her brother’s behavior. “Yes. I meant what I said. If you feel like things with your brother are dangerous, I want you to get in touch with me.”
“I can call you after school hours?” she asked in surprise.
He didn’t give his phone number to students. It was a horrible idea for a lot of reasons. And even with a student he knew and trusted, like Kris, it wasn’t something he would normally do. But she wasn’t just a student. She was Jason’s daughter. And no matter how high and thick the wall Jason tried to erect between both parts of his life, Abe couldn’t look at Kris without seeing the man who had captured his heart.