Angel of Redemption (14 page)

All
he does is hum.

* * *

The next few days are mostly me playing catch-up. I do a
few visits, but spend a lot of time in my office working on six-month reports
and adoption paperwork, returning phone calls, dodging other phone calls, and
writing safety assessments.

By Thursday afternoon, I’m finally all caught up
on everything. At ten minutes ‘til four, I get called to the front. Logan is
emptying his pockets so he can go through the metal detector. Dean is standing
next to him. He’s dressed in layers—a white Henley, red hoodie, and a
black coat. He’s wearing a pair of loose-fitting jeans and his blue Docs. His
jaw is covered in a slight scruff, and he’s got a black knit hat covering his
head. I’m not the only one who notices how mouthwatering he looks. He’s
garnered the attention of most of the women in the waiting room. He tugs at his
cuff, allowing a sliver of ink to show.

“
Hi, guys,
”
I smile, trying really hard to focus on my kid rather than
his guardian.

“
Hi,
”
Logan grumbles.

“
Ms. Brooks.
”
Dean nods. He has a sexy little smirk on his face that
makes me want to lick him. I wonder what he
’
d do if I just ran my tongue across
his face. He reaches out his hand. I look at him oddly, because he
’
s never done that before, but I don
’
t want to be rude. I put my hand in
his, and my heart speeds up significantly. My body warms at his touch. I glance
down. Once again, the
X
s on his
knuckles grab my attention. Maybe someday I
’
ll ask him the story behind them.

When
I look back up, Dean
’
s green eyes seem intent on reading mine. He
’
s still clasping my hand and staring.
I stare right back. I let go, though, when Logan gets through the metal
detector and turns around.

“
We should be done by five. I
’
ll drop him off on my way home,
”
I say softly.

“
Sounds good.
”
We
’
re just about to go through the door to the offices when he
calls from behind me.
“
Kayla?
”

I
turn around curiously and raise my eyebrows at him when he curls his finger,
beckoning me back. My stomach tightens. I stay on my side of the front desk as
he leans over, his breath on my cheek.

“
We need to talk about Matty,
”
he whispers.

“
Yes, we do,
”
I whisper back. I have the urge to turn my head so that I
can feel his lips against my skin, but, thankfully, I
’
m aware of where we are. We
’
re being watched not only by our
security guard, but also by other visitors and security cameras. I force myself
to lean back a little.
“
I
’
ll talk to Matty when I drop Logan off. If he
’
s up for it, then maybe next week you
and I can figure out where to start.
”

Logan
starts whistling loudly. It
’
s one of those
I
’
m-impatient-and-you
’
re-being-too-slow
types of whistles. Dean chuckles when
I purse my lips.

“
I
’
ll see you later.
”
I smile.

We
’
re not even ten minutes into our
session when I realize I
’
ve already lost Logan. He doesn
’
t give a shit, and he
’
s not paying attention.

“
What do I need a job for? You guys pay
for all my food and clothes.
”
When I don
’
t say anything, he keeps going.
“
I just don
’
t see the point.
”

“
The point is, how are you going to
support yourself when you age out?
”

“
Welfare.
”

“
You don
’
t qualify for welfare. You
’
re a young, single male without
children. You
’
re
perfectly capable of getting a job.
”

“
Excellent. Guess I
’
ll have to go spread my seed, then,
”
he says, rubbing his hands together.

“
Logan, be serious. This is not a game.
”

“
It
is
a fucking game, Kayla. It
’
s all about how to work the system.
Everybody knows that.
”

I
’
m so frustrated with this boy right
now, I could scream.

“
What about college?
”
I offer.

“
What about it? What school is gonna
let a guy like me in?
”

“
A guy like you? Logan, if you put any
effort into your education, you could be top of your class. Colleges would be
scrambling over you.
”

“
Yeah, right.
”

I
grit my teeth together to keep from screaming at him
…
or wringing his neck.

“
Hey, look who I found out front,
”
Sara sings, coming into the room. Behind her trails my
little sister.

“
Oh, crap. I didn
’
t realize you were in the middle of a
session.
”
Sara grimaces as Logan whips his head
around. Claire stands with her bag slung over her shoulder, her phone in her hands.
She
’
s
texting and not even looking up. Her phone beeps, and she laughs before lifting
her head.

“
Hi,
”
she chirps.

“
What are you doing here?
”

She
opens her mouth to answer, but then her attention is diverted. She
’
s staring. Really staring. Not at me
—
at Logan. He
’
s staring, too. Shit. Houston, we have a big freaking
problem. I have to get Claire out of here because Logan looks like he
’
s about to pounce. Sara starts
giggling. This is so not funny.

“
Hey, Sara. Can you please take Claire
to the cafeteria and get her something to drink?
”
I
’
m begging her with my eyes as she grins at me.

“
Sure,
”
she squeaks, trying not to bust out laughing.

“
But I
’
m not thirsty,
”
Claire protests, still staring at Logan.

“
Yes, you are.
”

“
But
—”

“
Come on, Claire. Let me show you the
quality eating area that the state of Minnesota has built for us,
”
Sara says cheerily, grabbing my sister
’
s hand and pulling her out of the
room.

“
Who was that?
”
Logan asks the minute they
’
re out of sight.

“
Nobody,
”
I grumble.

“
She was not nobody, Kayla. Holy shit.
Is she another one of your cases? Can Matty and I be placed with her foster
parents? I promise I
’
ll be good.
”
I think he
’
s actually serious.

“
First off, no, she
’
s not one of my cases. Second, I want
you to forget you even saw her.
”
Now he
’
s looking at me like I
’
ve lost my mind.

“
You can
’
t be serious.
”

“
Deadly. Now focus so we can be done.
”

“
I can
’
t focus now,
”
he scoffs.

“
Then you need to go home.
”

Logan
takes a few breaths through his nose.
“
Okay,
fine. But lemme go to the bathroom first. Then maybe I can focus again.
”

“
Fine. Whatever you need to do, but
hurry up.
”

He
pops up with a cheeky grin and strolls out of the room. A few minutes later,
Warren appears in the office with his earbuds in. His head is bobbing and his
shoulders moving to whatever beat he
’
s listening to.

“
Hey,
mami
,
”
he shouts, obviously not aware of how loud he
’
s talking.
“
How come Logan Davidson
’
s chatting up your little sis in the
caf?
”

“
What?
”
I yelp, jumping out of my chair and hitting my knee on my
desk.
“
Ouch! Shit. Ow, ow, ow.
”
But the pain is nothing compared to the panic I
’
m feeling at the moment. I rush past a
confused Warren and down the hallway to the cafeteria.

“Logan!” I shout across the room. He turns to look
at me and at least has the decency to look guilty. I throw my hands up,
completely frustrated. “Bathroom?”

“
I went,
”
he defends. I glare at him.
“
I
went to that one,
”
he says, pointing to the men
’
s room in the cafeteria.

“
The one across the hallway was too
crowded?
”
Out of the two hundred people in this
building, there are less than two-dozen men. There
’
s no way the men
’
s room was busy.

Logan
’
s nose wrinkles, and he leans down.
“
It smelled like shit,
”
he whispers. Claire giggles. This is where I
’
m reminded that my gorgeous,
virgin
baby sister has just been introduced to the biggest teenage playboy this side
of the Mississippi.

“
My office. Now!
”

What
he does next makes me want to cry. He turns, grabs Claire
’
s hand, and kisses her knuckles.

“
It was nice to meet you, Claire
Graeme.
”
He smiles widely, putting his dimples
on full display. I think Claire
’
s going to spontaneously combust. Her
face is tinged pink, and she pulls her hand close to her body once Logan lets
it go, rubbing the place where his lips were. Oh, shit.

Logan
’
s swagger as he walks away tells me
what
’
s
on his mind. I turn to face my sister, who
’
s still rubbing her hand.

“
No.
”

“
No?
”

“
Don
’
t even think about it. Don
’
t even think about him.
”

“
I
…”
Her mouth curves up into a tiny smile.

“
Claire, I
’
m serious, honey. You have no idea.
”

“
Come on, Kayla,
”
she says, rolling her eyes.
“
He
was just flirting. I know I
’
m not his type, okay?
”

I
try to remember being sixteen. I wasn
’
t nearly as naive as my sister, but I still reacted the
same way when a cute boy paid me a little bit of attention. Except none of the
boys that I went to school with were ever as smooth as Logan Davidson.