Free The Principal's Office by Jasmine Haynes Page B

would give Gary a piece of her mind. “Get me a pen.”
    Nathan scampered to his desk. “Thanks, Mom.”
    After reading the fine print, she signed and handed it back.
    “Can you mail it for me tomorrow?” he asked eagerly.
    “Write up the envelope and put a stamp on it, and then yes, I can mail it tomorrow.”
    He grinned. “You’re the best, Mom.”
    She was, for now. Because he’d gotten what he wanted. But the next time she denied him something, she’d be in the doghouse again.
    “Please unpack your suitcase and put the dirties in the hamper.”
    “Sure, Mom.” He dragged the case over and flung it on the bed. One good thing, at least she wouldn’t be doing that herself, like she normally did.
    “And thanks for changing my sheets, Mom.”
    Whoa. He was laying it on thick. “You’re welcome, Nathan. Would you take out the trash for me tonight?”
    “Sure, Mom.”
    Was it bad to milk it for a few extra chores she usually had to get mad over before he’d do? No. But she was still going to call Gary to tell him how pissed she was.
    She ducked into Justin’s bedroom. He was already on the computer, and she blew him a kiss. Her baby, he didn’t grimace at her. Next year, he’d probably tell her to stop with all the kissy stuff. “Dad’s got a girlfriend.”
    Her jaw dropped, and her heart sank. She wasn’t jealous; she just didn’t want any fallout from it. “Are you okay with that?”
    “Sure. She was nice. Kinda young.”
    “How young?”
    “About twenty-five, I guess.”
    Good Lord. All that crap about having grown apart and needing to find himself was just that, crap. He’d wanted someone new, someone younger, someone smarter—Rachel stopped herselfright there. She didn’t care. She didn’t have to deal with his moods anymore. She didn’t have to tiptoe around the house when he’d had a bad day at work. Except for the money issues, life was better without him. Besides, what Gary did wasn’t her business anymore. Unless…“Did she spend the night?”
    “Nah. She brought some movies over on Saturday.” He rolled his eyes. “Chick flicks.”
    “Well, you were a good kid for watching them. And I’m glad you liked her.” She didn’t ask the woman’s name, what she looked like, nothing, but she wondered how long Gary had known her. Since before the divorce? Had he been keeping her a secret? Rachel wouldn’t think about it. It no longer mattered. “Unpack your suitcase, would you, sweetie?”
    She went to her own room and closed the door. She didn’t want the boys hearing her argue with Gary.
    “I’m not even home yet, Rachel.” His voice was far away, distorted by the car’s Bluetooth. “What did I do now?”
    She pursed her lips. “I told you I wasn’t ready for Nathan to start driving lessons.”
    The Bluetooth did not disguise his long-suffering sigh. “I told him to tell you that you could pay me your half later.”
    “That’s not the point, Gary. You didn’t call me before you did it.” He hadn’t even had the decency to tell her; he’d let Nathan come to her with the news.
    “Fine. Then don’t sign the paper.”
    “You know I can’t do that without sounding like a bitch.”
    He didn’t say anything. Because she was a bitch. In his mind. He probably told his new girlfriend what a bitch his ex-wife was. She wouldn’t ask about that, because she
wasn’t
a bitch and his love life wasn’t her business.
    “Look, will you just promise you won’t do stuff like this without telling me first?”
    He grunted. “Sure. Whatever.” He sounded like Nathan. Shewanted to smack him. Damn him. He always took away her choices, made the decision without her, then came off like the good guy riding to the rescue.
She
was Snidely Whiplash.
    Since she couldn’t smack him the way she wanted to, she rode him a little bit more. “And the garage door still needs fixing. The remote only works intermittently.” Gary was supposed to fix the stuff around the house, just like