Page 39 of Bite the Bullet

Confused, I headed for the parking lot as I pulled out my phone to call an Uber. When I stopped, he stopped and watched me. “Um…you don’t have to wait. I can call for a ride on my own.”

“No, I meantokay, I’ll take you to pick up your son.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I?—”

“It’s not a big deal. It’s actually what I do.”

“Really?” I asked, my voice holding a note of teasing. “So, you drive around and look for damsels in distress that need saving.”

“On a slow day. But you’re not a damsel in distress, and you definitely don’t need saving.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Hey, I watched you fight off a guy who was about to shove a scalpel into your neck. I think that pretty much takes you out of the running for Queen Damsel.”

“I had no idea there was such an honor.”

“There is, but since you’re not qualified, I figured I’d just be a gentleman and help you out.”

I really didn’t want to rely on this man or let him think that I needed his help. I had every intention of getting as far away from this place as possible, and that meant breaking all ties with the people I knew. He was a police officer. There was no way he would just drop it if I told him I was leaving and he could never contact me again.

“That’s really very nice, but?—”

He groaned, rolling his head back. “It’s a ride. No other intentions other than helping you out. I promise, I’m not trying to pick you up.”

I highly doubted that, and he could tell by the look on my face.

“Okay, that may not be entirely true, but I actually am the type of guy that would help you out just because you need it.”

Pursing my lips, I thought about it for all of two seconds before deciding he really was a good guy and there was no point in turning down his offer. “Then I accept,” I said gratefully.

“Good, then let’s go get your son. Then I’ll take you out for a hot meal. No strings attached, of course.”

The only reason I agreed was because I didn’t have much in the house to eat. The doors opened behind me and I glanced over my shoulder, catching the look of disdain on Denise’s face as she stared at me from the nurses station. I was going to pay for this tomorrow.

“I’ll be right back,”I smiled at Pete as I opened the car door and headed to the preschool. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw his eyes following my every move. I flushed bright red as I turned back to the school. I would not allow some girlish fantasy to get in the way of what my objective was. Not to mention, I couldn’t allow him to keep coming around the house. That would only end badly.

Ms. Sally was waiting for me at the door, but lacked the usual happy demeanor she usually greeted me with.

“Hi, Ms. Sally. Am I late?” I asked, checking my watch.

“Not at all. I just wanted to talk to you before Parker realizes you’re here.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

Her face twitched with worry, which spiked the growing anxiety in my belly. “Not exactly. Parker didn’t do anything wrong, but some of the other kids in class can be…cruel.”

“In what way?”

“Parker isn’t always a very good listener. Now, you and I both know he doesn’t have the same social skills some of these other kids have.”

She was right about that. Parker tended to get irritated listening to kids his own age. While he was busy reading books from National Geographic and watching shows on the Discovery Channel, other kids wanted to talk about their favorite dinosaurs. And Parker would be fine with that, but he tended to correct the other kids when they couldn’t pronounce a dinosaur name or named the wrong one. And while he was very matter-of-fact about it, the other kids seemed to take offense to his blunt way of correcting them.

There was nothing I could do about it. As much as I told him it wasn’t polite to always correct others, he just couldn’t understand why not. He knew the right answer, and therefore, he felt he should say something. It was a frustrating battle that would take years for him to fully understand.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“I’m working with him in class on allowing other kids to answer. He’s just not old enough to understand these things. He’s as smart as a whip in some ways, but in others, he was just a four-year-old kid without the understanding of how his words affect others. I don’t want you to worry about it, but you should be aware that it’s happening.”

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