Page 56 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
Brody’s life is here. And my life is...well, it’s nowhere right now.
I’m a boat without an anchor. I used to love that sense of freedom, the ability to go wherever I please, but suddenly it feels like I’m missing my compass, too.
If there’s nothing to hold me steady, and nothing to show me where I need to go, how am I supposed to feel anything but lost?
When Brody eases back into my driveway, he leaves the engine running and makes no move to get out of the car. I don’t knowwhat I expected, but I’m still sad the night is ending this way. I reach for the door handle but pause when Brody says my name.
“Kate,” he says gently, tenderness in his voice.
I turn to face him.
“Sunday. Do you want to have breakfast with my family? We normally have dinner on Sundays, but Olivia has a thing Sunday night, so this week, it’s breakfast instead.”
Something in my heart flickers back to life. “I’d like that.”
“And I was thinking we could go on a hike after? The Pulliam Creek Trail will take us down to the Green River, and from there we can hike the narrows.”
I nod my agreement. I would stroll the grocery store aisles with Brody if he asked me to, but I would love to see the narrows, so this is an easy yes. In fact, I’d go just about anywhere he asked me to go. For the first time, I realize that if he asked, I might even be tempted to stay.
Chapter Fifteen
Brody
There are more parentsthan I expect at the school board meeting. More parents than I’ve ever seen atanyschool board meeting. The Carsons must have gone all out in rallying their troops. There are a few people I recognize as former students or parents of former students who are there in support of me, and my parents and Olivia and Perry are sitting near the door, but other than that, the room is mostly full of people who are looking at me like I make a regular habit of throwing puppies into raging waterfalls.
Dad called an hour ago while I was on my way over and reminded me that no matter what the other side claims, I have truth on my side. I want to believe it’s enough, but these people look like they’re out for blood.
Principal Talbot approaches me, a grim look on his face. He motions me over to the edge of the room and places a steadying hand on my shoulder. “All right. Here’s what I know. Two school board members have kids in their extended families who have been a part of the kayaking program in the last five years and are behind it one hundred percent. Two more are neutral. But one—Nancy Shelbourne—she’s going to be the one to cause the most trouble. She’s got a list of questions a mile long, and every single one of them is going to try and discredit you.”
“Why do I feel like I just stepped into the pages of a John Grisham novel?”
John smiles. “Look. You know no matter what happens to the kayaking program, you’re still a part of the Green River Academy family. Your job isn’t on the line here. You understand that, right?”
I nod along, though the idea of my job without the kayaking program isn’t near as fun.
“We’ll get through this. Just speak the truth. The Carsons talk a big game, but they live with their kid every day. They know how much of an idiot he is.” John winks and moves back to his seat just as the meeting is called to order. I move toward my own chair on the front row, but not before a flash of dark hair coming through the back door catches my eye.
Kate is here.
We make eye contact, and she smiles, warming me from the inside out. No matter the uncertainty of our current relationship, there’s no denying how much better I feel now that she’s here.
My phone vibrates as I sit down, and I pull it out of my pocket to see a text message from Kate.
Kate: You’re going to be great. I believe in you like I believe in Cherry Coke and buttered popcorn.
I chuckle as I slip my phone back into my pocket. Whenever I would help Kate cram for tests, Cherry Coke and buttered popcorn were our preferred study snacks. Right before her tests, I would always text her the exact message she just sent me.
I love that she remembers.
I love that she’s here.
But how much longer will she be around?
The first half of the meeting is routine stuff. A reading of the minutes from the last meeting, suggested changes to the annual budget for the upcoming school year, an update on the new science curriculum adopted by the state of North Carolina, and now, finally, the concern of a number of local parents regarding the safety of the whitewater kayaking program at Green River Academy.
Diane Carson is given the floor first.
It takes all my focus to keep my breathing steady as she lists grievance after grievance regarding her son’s “experience” in my program. His questions were ignored. He was constantly overlooked. He was belittled and made fun of by other students. And then his “very life was compromised when he was allowed in the water without supervision or instruction, in a boat that held him captive and inhibited his ability to free himself.”
