“Makes sense to me,” Law nodded.
“Why are you hanging out here with me?” the kid asked as he gave him a sideways glance. “Did someone mess up your project?”
This time Law sighed. “Good question. Seems like I’m looking for an excuse to avoid going to my meeting.”
“Are they making you do art?”
“Worse.” Law leaned his forearms on his knees.
“What?”
“They want me to talk…about feelings.”
The boy looked at him. “Oh. That’s bad. My mom asks about mine… a lot.” He gave that long-suffering sigh again. The kid had game. Then he brightened and grinned at Lawson. “But sometimes I feel better after talking, ‘specially when I’m sad or mad.”
Law looked up at the bronzed pendant lights hanging above them.
Seriously, I’m being schooled by a seven-year-old?
“Who are you going to talk to?”
“Strangers,” Law answered.
“Hmmm, I don’t know, mister. Maybe you should talk to my mom.”
Lawson barked out a laugh. God, that felt good.
When was the last time I laughed?
“What’s your name?”
“Kenny. What’s yours?”
“Lawson.” He held out his hand. The boy put his small hand in Law’s, and Law gently shook it. “Well, Kenny, I appreciate your offer.”
As he was smiling down at the boy’s gap-toothed grin, he saw something awe-inspiring in his peripheral vision.
Holy hell.
“What?” Kenny asked, his head swiveling.
Had he said that aloud? Nope, he hadn’t. But he’d definitely moved his head and now the kid was looking at the same attractive woman’s butt that he was.
Not good.
“What were you saying, Kenny?” he asked to distract the kid, while still trying to take in the sway of the woman’s backside in her yoga pants.
Holy hell. Where is she going? Even if it’s macramé 101, I’m in.
“I can tell you’re not listening. Do you know how?” Kenny asked.
Law grinned as she turned a corner. “How?”
“You ask questions and then don’t listen to my answers. My mom does that when she wants to do something else. You can tell me if I’m bothering you.”
“You’re not bothering me,” Law assured him. “You’re teaching me. You’re right, if something is upsetting me, I need to talk about it. Annnnnndddd….even if I don’t really want to do something like art class, I should probably give it a try.”
Kenny looked up at him sideways, “I taught you that?”
“There you are,” a young man’s voice called out.
Kenny and Law looked up and saw a harassed-looking skinny guy jogging down the hall. “I’ve been looking for you, Kenny. You’ve been gone for over fifteen minutes. You need to get back to class.” He gave Law a suspicious look. “Who are you?”
“I was looking for Room 1013.”
“Oh, you’re looking for the Grief Group. Yeah, they start up the same time we do, so you’re late. Follow me, they’re a few doors down from us.”
“Do I have to work with Damien anymore?” Kenny whined.
“How about you work on a project with me? I’ve been wanting to make a dinosaur out of crêpe paper.”
“What color?” Kenny asked as he started to follow his teacher.
“Gray.”
“No glitter, right?”
The teacher looked over at Law and grinned.
“I swear, there will be no glitter.”
“Good. I hate glitter.”
As they stopped outside a room, the man nodded at Law. “Thanks for finding my wayward student. Your room is on the left up ahead. They’re good people. Hope it helps. If not, you can come play with glitter.” He smiled and ushered Kenny inside.
Law wondered if the woman he’d noticed liked playing with glitter. Anything was better than thinking about the upcoming disembowelment.
Cut it out, Thorne, you agreed to this, God knows nothing else is working.
Jill looked up from her normal seat next to the window and saw the hot guy who’d been talking to one of the little boys from the art class. He had a presence about him, and everybody turned to look at him as he stepped inside the room.
Is he lost?
“Are you here for the Grief Support Group?” Lesley, the group coordinator, asked kindly.
He gave a stoic nod, but not before Jill saw an almost imperceptible wince. Damn. He belonged here—some way or somehow, he’d been through something. But Jill would bet herself a Coke that he wouldn’t last more than one session.
She stared at him from under her bangs, hiding her gaze. He was wearing a black t-shirt that wasn’t too tight but showed off muscled forearms and wide shoulders. His brown hair was cut short, accenting his sharp jaw. Add in the sturdy work boots and the way he dominated the room, she guessed that he was a first responder or military.
“Why don’t you take a seat next to the window?” Lesley suggested. “If you don’t feel like talking right away, don’t worry, that’s normal. We’ll get to introductions after our session. Right now, we’re listening to Beth tell us some good news.”
The hot guy took a seat next to Jill and gave her a brief smile. It might have been fast, but it was potent. Then his focus switched to Beth.
Jill liked Beth. She was glad that something good was happening for her finally. It had been a year since her fiancé had died.
Jill frowned when she felt the vibration coming from inside her purse where it rested against her calf. If it was the office coordinator again, she was going to come unglued. If it was her boss, she was going to throttle her. Seriously, everything was handled and they both knew it.
She mentally ran through her work checklist and was almost at the end when people started clapping. She looked around and saw Beth smiling brightly. Darn-it,
