Free A Hoe Lot of Trouble by Heather Webber Page A

I even get the chance to try?
    If I was smart, I'd start pulling away from Riley, not become more entwined with him. My heart was already broken from his father leaving. It was going to shatter when he left too.
    But I couldn't distance myself. Riley needed me. More now than ever. And distancing myself seemed so cold because, unfortunately for me, I loved the little bugger. Dammit.
    I knew one thing for sure. I didn't want to meet with the vice principal alone. To the secretary, I said, "I'll be right back." She nodded as I pulled open the door.
    In the hallway, I fished my cell phone from my backpack, punched in familiar numbers.
    Ana answered on the first ring. "Ana Bertoli, underpaid and overworked."
    "Still one of those days?"
    "You need to ask?"
    "Guess not. Hey," my gaze swept down the long hallway, past the trophy case and the standard artwork covering the white cinder-block walls, "do you have a few minutes? I mean, if you don't have the time it's okay, I know you're busy and all, probably on the lookout for those probationers out there running loose, needing your guidance."
    Swaying a bit, I leaned against the wall. The municipal center was just five minutes from here. Knowing the way Ana drove, she could be here in three.
    "What's wrong? You're rambling. I know something's wrong if you're rambling."
    "I need backup. Riley's in some sort of trouble and there's this meeting with his vice principal and Kevin bailed on me."
    "You're there now?"
    "Standing in the hallway looking at some really bad self-portraits."
    "I'll be right there."
    Before I could even say thanks, the phone went dead. Reluctantly, I dragged myself back inside the office.
    "Mrs. Quinn?" The secretary was waiting for me. She gestured to follow her down a carpeted hallway. "Mr. MacKenna's ready for you."
    "Thanks. I'm, uh, expecting someone. Could you point the way when she gets here?"
    "Sure thing," she said over her shoulder as she led me along.
    My legs went spongy as I dutifully followed. Incomplete thoughts swirled. I pressed a hand against the wall to steady myself when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked me down.
    I readjusted my backpack straps on my shoulders and took a deep breath, willing air into my lungs. The door at the end of the hallway stood open. I walked in, feeling the tension of my day rising like tsunami.
    "Mrs. Quinn? I'm Robert MacKenna."
    I heard the door close behind me as the secretary stepped out.
    "It's nice to meet you," I murmured politely. I was lying through my teeth. I didn't want to be here. I knew what he was going to say, and I didn't want to hear it. I didn't want to have to defend myself, my actions.
    "Have a seat." He motioned to a chair opposite him.
    I sat.
    Silence ensued. Was this some form of vice principal torture?
    Finally, I looked up from studying my shoelaces.
    His eyes were a light blue. There wasn't anything too unusual about the color, but what he was able to portray with just a glance was highly extraordinary.
    Sympathy. Empathy. Concern.
    Completely different from Kevin's heated, passionate looks that had made my knees quake when I first met him. But there was something similar to Kevin in this man's gaze. An underlying current ready to zap me from my seat and into his arms. I shifted my gaze to look out the window.
    My imagination was running wild, I reasoned. It was on overload. Robert MacKenna wasn't even my type. He was too all-American for me. I've always been drawn to the bad boys.
    His hair was too blonde and cut too precisely over his ears for my tastes. He wore a suit and tie that looked as though it had been designed—and made—in the sixties, and when he came around the desk to sit in the chair next to mine, I noticed he wore—of all things—cowboy boots!
    I needed some sleep, was all. About a week's worth.
    Pointing to a coffee pot on a small table near the window, he asked, "Coffee?"
    I noticed he wore a wedding band. I didn't know why I noticed—okay, maybe I looked for one. So