Page 138 of Hot Shot

Maybe if I say it enough times it’ll come true.

Relief floods me when I turn onto our street and don’t see his truck. Hers is parked in the yard for some reason, so I pull in all the way up to the side door so we won’t get so wet, but we still end up drenched.

“Cass?” I call the second I pass the threshold, tracking sludge through the house without hesitation, my heart hammering. I approach our bedroom door just as she steps into view in fresh clothes, drying her hair with a towel.

“Thank God,” I breathe, scooping her up the second I can and burying my face in her damp hair.

She sighs, not seeming to care that I’m wet and my boots are muddy. “I’m okay.”

I let her go only to cup her jaw with both hands, inspecting her to make sure. “What happened?”

Her eyes cut behind me to Cricket, who has kicked off her shoes and is digging through her soggy backpack.

“Heya, bugalug,” I call, and she looks up. “Why don’t you go change into something dry?”

“Okay, Daddy,” she chirps, skipping to her room and shutting the door.

I follow Cass into our room and close the door behind me. “Tell me what happened,” I say gently.

She looks so defeated as she sinks into the chair in the corner, it hurts to look at her. “You should change. You’re soaked.”

I don’t argue, just toe off my boots. “I’ll change. You talk.”

She’s still holding the towel, picking at the edge of it with her eyes on her hands. “Trent was here when I got home. He said he wanted to see Cricket to say goodbye.”

I frown, pulling off my shirt. “Goodbye?”

“At first I thought maybe he was suicidal, but then he started talking about clearing his name. He said you wouldn’t let him see Cricket until he did.”

My hand pauses on my belt buckle. “What the fuck does he mean, clear his name? How’s he going to do that?”

“I don’t know. He wasn’t making sense and never really answered my questions. And then he just…left. I tried to get him to stay until you got back, but he didn’t want to for obvious reasons.”

“Do you think we need to call somebody?” I peel off my jeans and socks, then my boxer briefs, dropping them on the pile in front of my dresser.

“I don’t know. Maybe? But who? The police?”

“Patty and Paul?” The fresh clothes feel warm against my clammy skin.

“Yeah. Good idea.” She pauses as I zip up my pants. “There’s something else.”

I glance at her, adjusting my tee. “What?”

“I got fired today.”

An icy droplet of water from my hair slides down the back of my neck. I stare in disbelief. “Fired?”

She’s quiet, resigned, small in the chair, looking at her fingers again. “Fired. The school board called the principal today with a dossier of claims against me. You hitting Avery’s dad compelled them to have me fired.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s bullshit! He swung atme, for fuck’s sake.”

A small shrug. “Doesn’t matter, Wilder.”

I’m so fucking mad, I can’t see straight. “Itdoesmatter. There has to be a way to fight it.”

“They’ll have a hearing, but in the end they’re the ones who decide. I won’t give up, but…I don’t know that there’s much I can do.”

“No.” I pace away. “No. I don’t accept that. We’ll get lawyers. We’ll sue them. You’re not going to get fired for something I did.”

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