Page 20 of Minor Trouble
Noah rushed past me straight up the stairs to the apartment. Nothing new there, but this afternoon he didn’t even acknowledge my presence. Not even a “hi.” Another crappy day at school, I guessed. I blew out a breath, wondering how to tackle that one.
“Maddox, I’ve finished the Tuckers’ service. Do you want me to call them and tell them to come and pick it up?” I went to the office where Maddox worked on a bunch of paperwork. Grateful that I didn’t have to do that job, I cleaned up in preparation for the end of the day. The Tuckers’ car had been my last task, and I was eager to get upstairs to find out about Noah’s issue.
“Nice to hear you can contact your customers to give them an update on their car.” A female voice came from behind me.
I turned around to see Ainsley Coren framed in the doorway. She wore a traffic-stopping red sweater, and I swear her lip gloss was the exact same shade. A tiny smirk crossed her lips.
Maddox’s head swiveled towards her, taking his attention away from the accounts he’d been working on. “That one’s all on Seth. Couldn’t tell you what went wrong, but I’m sure he’ll make it up to you.” He winked.
I shot daggers at him. “Well, it’s ready now.” Flicking through the customer sheets, I found the one relevant to her and passed it over. “That’s all the work we did, parts and labor. How do you want to pay?”
Ainsley dug into her purse and pulled out a card. I grabbed the card machine from the desk, tapped in the information and swiped her card through, handing over the slip for her to sign.
She signed with a flourish and passed it back to me. “There you go.”
“Thanks. I’ll get the keys, and then you can head off.” I placed the card machine back on the desk and went to collect her keys from where they hung with the others. When I gave them back to her, our fingers brushed, and she jumped back as if she’d been electrocuted. I felt it too. Our eyes met, and I swallowed hard. She truly was beautiful, that long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, those legs I’d admired previously now in a pair of knee-high boots, a sliver of skin between their top and the hem of her skirt.
Should I really be looking at my son’s guidance counselor likethat?
Expecting her to high tail it out of there, I was surprised when she hesitated.
“Um, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
I flinched. Now she was going to address the message I’d sent last night about Noah. I didn’t really want to do this in front of Maddox, but he didn’t look like he was going anywhere any time soon.
“I met with Noah this afternoon, there have been some reports from his teachers.” Her green eyes were sincere.
All of a sudden, I had a flashback to my own school days, when I’d been the kid in trouble and the reports were about me. Seemed like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Now I’m the parent of the troubled kid.
I heard Maddox’s chair scrape across the floor. “Seth, can you lock up? I’m going to head home.”
His sensitive withdrawal was perfect timing, and I silently thanked him for his awareness. “Sure, no problem. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded, eyes flicking between Ainsley and me. “Have a good one, buddy.”
Once we were alone, I dusted off one of the chairs and gestured to Ainsley. “Take a seat. Can I get you a drink?”
“Water would be great, thank you.”
It almost felt like the meeting we’d had on Noah’s first day at school, but my nerves were more evident. My hand shook as I filled a glass and passed it to her. Unsure of where to sit, I dithered eventually perching on the edge of the desk.
“So, you—”
“Noah’s teachers—”
We spoke at the same time. A nervous laugh bubbled from Ainsley’s lips as if she felt as awkward as I did.
I gestured to her with my hand. “You go first.”
She fidgeted with the glass, turning it around in her hands and watching the water swirl around rather than looking at me. “Noah’s first week at school hasn’t exactly been the best start. I don’t know how much he’s told you.”
Precisely nothing.
But I couldn’t answer with that—how bad a father would I look? “Not much, you know what kids that age are like when it comes to communication.” I shrugged, trying to act as if I knew what I was talking about.
“He’s not mentioned falling asleep in class?”
