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It’s your turn. See how you like knowing your brother is in danger.
Seth lowered the rifle, thinking of the man he despised.
“You need to die. A little bit at a time.”
Chapter 13
“You’re in a foul mood.” Cassie stood at the classroom door and watched Tammy scurry around in a tizzy. She chewed on her bottom lip, her face was flushed and she jerked at the things on her desk. It had to be her ex. He was the only one who could put Tammy in a bad mood.
“Oh, I’m just peachy,” Tammy said as she grabbed some papers from her desk and stuffed them into her bag with force. From the crinkling sounds, the papers were scrunched. If Tammy shoved any more in there, they’d be unsalvageable.
“Do you plan on grading those and giving them back tomorrow? Your students will think you threw them in the trash and then dug them back out.”
Tammy froze. When she turned around, her eyes clouded with defeat. Abruptly, she braced her hands on the cluttered desk, as if seeking the sturdy structure to hold her up. Red thick hair covered her face as she hung her head.
Instantly concerned, Cassie hurried forward and clasped Tammy’s shoulders. “Breathe, deep. Count to ten.”
“I’m okay.” Tammy straightened and began stuffing papers again. “The jerk.”
Ahh. Just as Cassie expected.
“Now what did he do?”
“He’s taking me to court,” Tammy said, flicking the latch on her case.
“What?” Cassie asked in a stupor. She could not have heard right.
“He thinks because he now has a new wife, he should have the boys.”
“After two years of being an absentee father, now he wants the boys?”
“Of course, he doesn’t want them,” Tammy spouted in anger. “The boys would make him look better if they lived with him. Prestige and all that crap. And he wouldn’t have to pay child support.” She flung her bag across the room. Papers scattered and floated to the floor.
Cassie retraced her steps and closed the classroom door. When she turned back, tears slid unheedingly down her friend’s face. She wrapped her arms around Tammy’s shaking body and held her.
“He’s a son-of-a-bitch. A rotten bastard.” Tammy jerked her head back, her eyes flashing with anguish. “What am I going to do?”
“Take one breath at a time,” Cassie soothed.
“I’m pissed. Really pissed.” Tammy tilted her tear streaked face up. “But I’m scared, too.”
The fact that Steve planned a custody suit was too much. He was an absolute shithead. “When did all this happen?”
Stepping back, Tammy took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. She snatched a tissue from the box on her desk and blew her nose.
“Principal Marsh called me to his office at lunch. He received a phone call from Steve.” She hesitated, twisting the tissue in her hands. “He wanted the boys’ records. Since they would be coming to live with him, he would make the decision whether or not they stayed in this school.”
“Good Lord.” How had Tammy been able to teach her class after receiving that shock? “He’s not serious.”
Tammy whirled in fury. “I thought he was bluffing and told Clayton as much. Then I called Steve. The SOB wouldn’t answer.”
Clayton Marsh was a good man. The teachers liked him because he was fair and went to bat for them. He would be on Tammy’s side and do everything in his power to help her keep her boys in this school.
“What did Clayton tell you?”
“I’m glad he told me what Steve was up to. But since Steve has shared legal custody, Clayton had to give him the boys’ records.”
“That’s normal. As teachers, we see things like this all the time. That doesn’t give him permission to take the boys from this school. You have sole physical custody.”
