The next day, after breakfast had been cleared away, Jordan set up Austin’s school materials on the dining table. Karen had given her a dirty look before she left, seeing as Jordan didn’t have to wake up for chores that morning. When Jackson came to her room after the bell started ringing, she threw a pillow at him and told him to go buzz off. She wasn’t waking up early to do chores if she was going to be tutoring Austin all day.

“Thank you for doing this, Jordan,” Lily said as she entered the dining room.

“It’s only for the week,” she replied. She set down some books on the table as well as school supplies. She took a deep breath, smelling the new pencils, notebooks, and workbooks. Ah, this was always her favorite part of going to school.

“It’ll buy us some time, at least until we decide on what to do with Austin.”

“And have you figured it out?” Jordan inquired.

Lily sat down and put her hands on her lap. “No. You know, Liz approached me last night and asked if I had thought about boarding school or even military school.”

Jordan let out a strangled cry. “What?” Oh no. “You can’t.” A snooty boarding school or a regimented military academy? Both sounded like a horrible fate for Austin.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Lily said. “I mean, ultimately it will be Jackson’s decision. And maybe …”

“Maybe what?”

Before Lily could answer, Austin trudged in, head hung low. When he saw the books on the table, he made a face.

“Did your dad explain to you what’s going to happen?” Jordan asked.

He nodded as he made his way to the chair she had pulled out, then looked at Lily. “Grams, is too late for me to say sorry and go back to school?”

“Don’t say that,” Lily began. “Jordan is here to help you. Besides, don’t you think she’s cool?”

“Yeah, but,” he looked up at Jordan then back to his grandmother, “I ain’t smart,” he said in a quiet voice, his eyes averting hers. “I don’t want Jordan to think I’m dumb.”

She had initially felt a twinge of hurt at Austin’s reluctance to be with her, but never thought it was for that reason. “Austin.” She bent down to his level. “I don’t think that at all. Please don’t ever say that about yourself.”

Green eyes looked up at her, wide and full of wonder. “You won’t make fun of me?”

“No, never.” She straightened up and gestured to the chair. “No one ever goes to school knowing everything. That’s why they’re there. To learn. And if anyone else made fun of you for not knowing or understanding the lessons, then they’re the dumb ones. Now, please take your seat.”

Austin did as he was told and Jordan opened up the books. “So, let’s start by reviewing what you did in math class …”

The morning went by quickly with Jordan barely noticing the time. Despite her love of academics, she’d never thought of going into teaching. But this was actually quite fun. Much to her surprise, Austin was an attentive student. While she had the impression that he was a low-level student, that wasn’t the case; he was whip smart and attentive. She had a feeling that Austin’s problems in school were more emotional. He was acting out because he wanted attention, and thus he was falling behind in his academic work.

“That’s great, Austin,” she said as she looked over his work. “You really know your multiplication tables.”

He beamed up at her. “It made more sense when you showed me how to do it.”

“Didn’t you listen in class when your teacher explained it?”

His little shoulders shrugged. “Yeah. But I think that was the day Jeremy Evans was passing this note with his drawing of Mr. Allman as a donkey.”

She chuckled. “There’s no one passing notes here.”

They continued with the math lesson and then moved on to reading and spelling. She really wanted to dive into science, which was her favorite subject, but wanted to save that for tomorrow. That would give her time to look the lessons over and see if there were some cool experiments they could do.

By the time Lily had asked them to clear the table for lunch, they had covered a lot of material and Austin was able to catch up with the lessons. She asked him what he thought so far. “I guess it’s all right,” Austin said. “When you’re all hovering behind me, I kind of don’t have a choice but to learn.”

“But the important thing is that you are learning,” she said. She never thought it would feel so good, seeing another person actually understand and apply what she was teaching. “Now, let’s put all your books on the side table and help your grandmother with lunch.”

Lily seemed glad for the help and asked them to set up the table. She and Austin were chatting and finishing up with placing the plates and napkins when the others started to arrive. Blake, Keith, and Karen came in first, and they all took their seats. A few minutes later, Jackson and Liz came in through the door.

“… that’s hilarious, Jackson,” Liz trilled. She and Jackson were arm in arm. “I can’t believe they did that.”

“It’s true,” he said, smiling at her. “I swear to you.”

The sound of Liz’s laugh made Jordan want to tear her eardrums out. She always wanted to rip Liz’s arm off, though it might take all her Lycan strength as it was wrapped like a python around Jackson’s forearm.

Jackson looked at his son. “Everything okay?”

Austin shrugged. “Yeah. It was all right.” He glanced at Jordan, a smile curling up at the corners of his mouth.

“I heard about your little assignment, Jordan,” Liz said. “Looks like you’ve found some way to make yourself useful around here.”

Before she could give a smart retort, Lily arrived with a tray full of food. Liz, of course, hurried over to help and once again praised Lily’s cooking.

Jordan could feel Jackson’s eyes on her, but she ignored him. She took her customary seat next to Austin and didn’t even look toward their side of the table, preferring instead to chat with Austin or Blake.

When lunch was over, everyone helped to take their dishes into the kitchen. Once the others had left, Jordan and Austin resumed their lessons. The dinner pretty much went the same way as lunch—Liz and Jackson dominating one end of the table, while Austin and Jordan kept to themselves at the other end.

“You did really well today, Austin,” she said as she scooped some mashed potatoes on his plate.

The boy’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Oh yeah.” She gave him a thumbs-up.

He glanced over at Jackson. “Maybe … you think …”

Liz let out a laugh over some story Lily was telling, drawing Jackson’s attention. She shook her long, luscious locks and gave him a seductive smile with her pouty red lips. Austin’s mouth closed and he stared down at his potatoes.

Jordan shot a dirty look toward the other end of the table, though it wasn’t like anyone paid her any attention. “So, Austin,” she began. “Guess what we’re going to do tomorrow?”

Doleful green eyes looked up at her. “What?”

She smiled. “We’re going to make a volcano.”

Jordan was pretty proud of herself for thinking up this particular activity. Baking soda volcano was a classic science activity, and while it might have been too advanced for a third grader, Austin seemed like he was having fun. Since they had the entire backyard to themselves, they decided to make it a giant volcano with the cone coming up to Jordan’s waist.

Austin’s face lit up with fascination as he looked at the bubbling ooze pouring out of the cone. “That. Is. So. Awesome.”

“I know.” She grinned at him. “Isn’t science cool?”

Making the volcano had been more of a reward than a lesson, something for him to look forward to if he did well in his lessons. And if that had distracted him from noticing Jackson’s attentions had been focused on Liz for the past twenty-four hours, then so be it. However, she wasn’t sure what would distract her. She’d lain awake most of the night thinking about Liz and Jackson. Wondering if at that very moment, Liz was sneaking into Jackson’s room and they were right under her. Her wolf was in a rage, so she’d tried not to think about it or listen too closely if there was anything happening in the room below hers.

“Jordan, look!” Austin pointed behind her. “Pa’s coming.”

Speak of the devil. “Oh, that’s nice.” She mustered up as much enthusiasm as she could so Austin wouldn’t suspect anything.

“What’s going on?” Jackson said as he walked up to them.

“It’s our science lesson.” She flicked a glance at him. “What are you doing back so soon? It’s not even dinnertime.” She also fought back the urge to ask “and where’s Liz?” After all, it seemed whenever she saw Jackson, the woman wasn’t far behind.

“I’m letting Garland supervise for the time being,” he said. “I have to take care of some business.”

“Pa! Pa! Did you see the volcano?” Austin said in an excited voice. “We made it from just flour and baking soda and vinegar!”

“That’s great, Austin,” he said.

“Why don’t you show your dad the volcano?” she suggested.

“Jackson! Jackson!”

Ugh. Of course. Liz was running up to them, and as usual, she looked perfect today in her cutoff shorts that showed off her long, lean legs and a tank top that clung to her generous assets, which seemed to be defying enough gravity that Jordan wondered if she could use them for another scientific experiment.

“Jackson, where were—oh.” Her eyes narrowed at the volcano. “What is that?”

“It’s our science experiment,” Austin said proudly.

“Oh! How nice,” Liz said in an overly excited voice. “I did one of these when I was a kid. I won the science fair that year. Mine had flames and a little village at the bottom that the lava destroyed. My teacher said it was the best she ever saw. Very advanced.”

“Well, I think the one we made is neat,” Austin said.

“Tell your dad and Liz about how we made it,” Jordan suggested. “I need a bathroom break.” In truth, she couldn’t stand being around Liz and Jackson. Their mere existence was irritating the shit out of her.

She made a quick escape upstairs and headed straight to the bathroom. Even though she was done and had washed her hands, she waited a few more minutes before deciding to go back downstairs. Coast should be clear. She left the bathroom and tiptoed down the hall toward the stairs.

“Jordan.”

Shit.

With a deep sigh, she turned around. Jackson was standing right behind her. “Yes?”

“How did today go?”

Wow, so he finally decided to check on his son. “It was fine,” she said in a chilly tone. “Now if you’ll excuse me.” She turned to head back down, but he caught her arm.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, his eyes steely.

“No. Not at all.”

He arched a brow at her. “Sounds like you do have a problem. Are you mad or something?”

“Mad? Me?” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. “Why would I be mad? I’m glad you’re finally taking an interest in how your son is doing. I mean, I understand, sometimes you can get distracted and all.”

The air grew thick as Jackson’s expression turned dark. “If you have something to say, then just say it.”

For a second, she thought of really railing at him about Liz. But she decided to stick to the subject of Austin. “I think you need to address the problem of why Austin acts out all the time.”

“Isn’t that what I’m doing now?”

“No, I mean address the real problem,” she said. “He’s seeking your attention and approval. If you were more involved—”

“So,” he interrupted. “Just because you spent two days with my son, you think you know what’s good for him?”

“And you think Liz does?” He seemed shocked at her words. But there was no taking them back now. “Sending him away won’t solve anything.”

“Liz tells me those kinds of schools build character.”

Liz could take it up where the sun don’t shine. “He doesn’t deserve that. You’ll only make it worse.”

He clenched his jaw. “Listen here, I’m his father and I make the decisions on what’s best for him.”

“I’m just concerned,” she said. “I’m not trying to be his mom or anything.”

“No, you could never be his mother.”

The shock of his words stunned her. She couldn’t breathe, and it was like the world stopped spinning but her body was still in motion.

She didn’t know how long both of them stood there in silence. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn he was as dumbfounded as she’d been by his words.

“You’re right,” she finally said, breaking the impasse. She turned on her heel and began to trudge away toward the stairs.

“Jordan. Wait.” He muttered a curse. “Where are you going?”

“To make myself useful.” She charged down the stairs, not even waiting for his reply. She ran out to the back porch, closing the door behind her, then leaned back and shut her eyes. When she heard the front door slam loudly, she knew it was Jackson leaving the house. She sighed in relief.

“Jordan! Are we done for the day?”

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Austin was standing right in front of her, Lily right behind him.

“Austin showed me your experiment,” Lily said. “Very well done. I remember I had to help Jackson with one of those. I don’t even know how you put it together on such short notice.”

“Grams said that since I did a good job, I can go with Jesse to watch them and Pa move the calves into the new shed,” Austin piped in.

“If you’re done for the day,” Lily added with a wag of her finger.

“Yes, we’re done.” Not that she could teach anything right now. The numbness was still steeped in her bones.

“Awesome! Wanna come, Jordan?”

“Maybe next time.” She didn’t want to risk running into Jackson. “I think I’ll do some reading. Stuff for work.”

“Aww, you gonna be stuck inside reading?” he asked.

“Well …” She took a deep breath. “It is a nice day. Maybe I’ll go and read on the front porch.”

“Why don’t you take a walk or something,” Lily suggested. “In fact, there’s a nice pond not far away from here. It’s quite secluded, and no one goes there during work hours. Should be a good place to get some work done. You can even sunbathe or take a dip.”

Hmmm, that did sound nice. “I think I’ll do that.” She ran up the stairs to grab her book. After asking Lily how to get to the pond, she was on her way.

It was one of those beautiful late spring days when the sky was a bright blue and the air smelled fresh and clean. It was strange, she realized, that she hadn’t yet reached for any of her allergy meds. Maybe there wasn’t a lot of pollen out here in the Shenandoah Valley.

The pond was located right where Lily said it was—about a thirty-minute walk from the house due east. A line of trees covered it and kept it shielded. Lily had said her late husband’s father had planted the trees to add some privacy.

She found a sunny spot by the edge of the water and sat down on the soft moss. As she opened her book, she attempted to concentrate on the words printed on the page, but she kept glancing at the clear, inviting waters of the pond.

Well, there’s no one here. She glanced around, and satisfied that she was alone, put her book down. She hadn’t brought a swimsuit with her, but she supposed her sports bra and panties would do. Lily would have warned her of any diseases she could pick up from the water, and no one would mind if she took a short dip.