Page 87 of The Beast

I stand up, brushing myself off. Keir turns and heads through the castle, leaving the door wide open. This seems eerily familiar to the last time Isla was asked to leave a place of learning.

If Keir just wants me to come along to be an audience while he screams at some hapless teacher or administrator, I don’t want to feed into his energy. But by the time I catch up to him, he is already sitting in the driver’s seat of his SUV, gripping the wheel tightly.

“Hurry up!” he shouts.

His order makes me freeze. I look at him, opening the door to the passenger side of the vehicle but not getting in.

“Keir.”

He glances at me, his face red with anger. “What?”

“I’m not your staff. I’m not your employee. I don’t have to jump just because you snap your fingers.”

“I know that!” he snarls.

“Well, act like it! You have done nothing but order me around since I’ve arrived here. My suggestion to you would be to ask me to accompany you.” I cross my arms. “Nicely.”

He looks at me, a fire crackling in his eyes. “Will you just get in the car?”

“I don’t know. Can you say please?” I tilt my head. “Using my name wouldn’t hurt, either.”

He looks away for a second, his throat working. “Please, Ella.”

“Those are the magic words,” I announce. Climbing into the truck, I slam the door closed. Keir wastes no time in starting the engine and pulling off, grumbling under his breath as we head down the steep driveway.

I buckle my seatbelt and look at Keir, nakedly trying to guess at his emotions.

“Why are you so angry?”

He flashes me an impatient look.

“The people at this camp are supposed to be qualified. They are supposed to be top notch educators. Yet they call me not two hours in, telling me that I need to come collect my daughter. They’re obviously idiots.”

I narrow my eyes on his face. “Because they refuse to put up with Isla’s bad behavior?”

“Her behavior isn’t the problem!” he growls.

“No?”

He stares straight ahead, his posture stiff.

“Isla’s mother abandoned her. Okay? Kingsley left, and Isla started acting out a little. She just needs time. Nothing more than that. I shouldn’t have to explain to the people in charge of camp that Isla might act out on occasion. It just seems like they can’t handle even the most basic things!”

He hits the steering wheel a few times, punctuating his point. I try to formulate a response, watching his face carefully.

“If everyone around you says that Isla’s lashing out is unacceptable to them, to the point of kicking her out of school and camp, then maybe there is something to it.”

“It’s fine! They are all just overreacting. There is nothing wrong with my little girl. And there’s nothing wrong with the way I’ve raised her.” He glances at me, his expression begging me to understand. “She doesn’t have a mother. How can she be expected to be normal? I’m doing the best that I can for her.”

I glance out my window, trying not to let my complete shock show on my face. So that’s what this is all about?

Feeling like Isla is in need of protection from all the naysayers in the world? No doubt, some of Keir’s family said negative things when Keir and Kingsley split…

Keir pulls down a rutted road. The summer camp is housed in a collection of little white cottages next to a very pretty lake. There are a number of kids outside assembling pieces of a telescope in the grass when Keir stops the SUV. I glance at them as Keir storms past, on a collision course with the administrator’s cottage.

As a teacher looks on, a boy fits a black plastic scope onto one side. Two girls work together to fit the telescope on a tripod.

These are Isla’s peers. Especially if they are as interested in exploring the galaxies as she seems to be.

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