Free Signs of Life by Melanie Hansen Page B

extra-credit stuff, like helped a teacher or somethin’.”
    Kai grinned at her, and was amused to see her blush. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that? I could definitely use a smart assistant in this class.”
    “Can I start helping today? My mama has Dante ’til four, and I could—”
    “I think I have some copying and laminating you could help with. I’ll leave a stack in the office with instructions, so just get to it when you can, okay? And I’ll let Ms. Holbrook know you’re my assistant so she can keep track of your hours for that scholarship app.”
    Shauna’s smile lit up the room, her eyes bright with intelligence and determination, and Kai knew he wouldn’t be going anywhere.
     
     
    LOUD RAP music broke into Jeremy’s concentration, his steady rhythm faltering. He ground his teeth and cursed under his breath, resisting the urge to childishly shake his fist at the rapidly disappearing car. It was the second time it had happened on this run, the first time when the rattletrap car full of punks was going the other way on the typically quiet backwoods road. Jeremy was sixteen miles into his habitual twenty, and while he wasn’t usually distracted so easily, there was nothing he hated worse than rap music. All the mental peace and quiet he had achieved vanished in an instant as annoyance once again swept through him. He breathed deeply through his nose and out his mouth, letting the soothing rhythm of his feet slapping the pavement calm him. He rolled his neck and loosened the tension in his shoulders, swinging his arms easily by his side.
    After a few minutes, his rhythm steadied once again and he felt the focus, the calm return as the endorphins flooding his body quieted the noise in his head. Today Jeremy had really needed the tranquility his runs brought him, temporary though it was, as the next day he was scheduled to take the Oregon bar exam. It was another step in his coming-back-to-life plan, and already he was feeling the effects of the stress and anxiety.
    It wasn’t like he was worried about the exam itself, but more simply what it represented. It was tempting to just go back into seclusion from the world at large, keep doing what he’d been doing for the past year, which was long-distance consulting with his two former firms in Florida and California, plus a sprinkling of pro bono work here and there, mostly contract review and brief drafting. He didn’t fool himself that he was any sort of hotshot. Despite his impressively high-priced education, he was relatively inexperienced by legal standards, only five years out of law school by the time Brent died. Jeremy knew full well if he didn’t have the father he did, he’d still be toiling away in some assembly-line law firm and trying to distinguish himself from the ranks of the other newbies.
    Still he did have the high-priced education and impressive grade-point average to go with it, and he found it kept certain doors open for him, especially since he was willing to do the sort of grunt paperwork a lot of lawyers were too busy to do. It kept his mind sharp and his knowledge up-to-date. Plus it was something he could do at home, and it had allowed him to isolate himself and keep his interactions with people to a minimum. That part of it needed to change, and after his epiphany the morning after the gay club, Jeremy was determined to take baby steps toward reclaiming his life, and becoming licensed to practice law in the State of Oregon was one of many such carefully planned steps. And about the only one he was able to bring himself to do so far, even a few months later. One day at a time, shithead , he reminded himself yet again. You’re in a better place than you were six months ago, so cut yourself some fucking slack.
    Jeremy used the small towel tucked into the waistband of his running shorts to wipe the sweat from his eyes, then took a sip of water from the bottle that hung from the belt around his waist. It was mid-August, a hot