She laughed. “How about you save that for the good-looking guy you have at home.”
He grinned. “I definitely will.”
She stood and put her hand out. “I’m glad to have you back on the team, Colby. The kids have missed you. We all have.”
He took her hand and shook it as he stood. “I’ve missed them, too. I can’t wait to get back to it.”
Colby left the school feeling so good he couldn’t stop himself from whistling a tune on the way out. He couldn’t wait to get home and share his news. And tell his two sneaky lovers what they were going to get for keeping this secret from him. Because he had no doubt Georgia knew exactly what Keats had done.
Hiding things was a no-no.
But it was going to be oh-so-fun delivering the consequences.
—
Colby leaned against the doorway to Keats’s bedroom, watching as Keats’s fingers moved over his guitar. He had a look of full concentration—tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth, brows drawn—as he tried out a few different combinations of chords for whatever song he was working on. There might as well have been a sign around his neck that said Creative Genius at Work.
Colby took his time soaking in the view, knowing that Keats was so involved he hadn’t noticed him standing there yet. Colby didn’t think he’d ever been more drawn to a guy. The shy teenager had grown into a man who was so quietly amazing, Colby couldn’t get his head around it. This kid, who’d had no fucking shot growing up with that scum of a father, had survived on his own on the streets without any help. He’d kept his shit together enough to not end up in jail or hooked on drugs. He hadn’t taken the easy way out for anything. And though he was still getting on his feet now, he’d somehow managed to become a man with so much heart and loyalty that Colby was damn humbled. He hadn’t been half the man Keats was when he was twenty-three.
“I had a meeting at school today,” Colby said quietly.
Keats looked up from his guitar, his fingers pausing midstrum. He pushed his hair behind his ear. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Principal Anders informed me that the long-dead Adam Keats magically appeared to make a statement to the school board officials a few days ago. A miracle. Runaway kid all grown up just strolling in to set everything right.”
“Imagine that. Must be a full moon. I’ve heard that’s when people come back from the dead.”
“Keats,” he said, stepping into the room. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He shrugged like it was no big thing. “You’re a good teacher and shouldn’t be getting dicked around for something that wasn’t your fault. Plus, I wasn’t going to let my father fuck things up for you. I knew he wasn’t going to take back what he’d said about you, so I did what I needed to do.”
“Thank you.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “Though saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough. You went to see your dad first, didn’t you?”
He blew out a breath and set the guitar aside. “It was time.”
The idea of Keats having to face that man again made Colby sick to his stomach. “You shouldn’t have gone alone.”
“I didn’t. George went with me.”
“Oh, well, I’m glad.” It was probably good Colby hadn’t been there anyway. All those years ago, Colby had held back his opinion because he was a teacher, and Alan Keats was a parent of one of his students. But if that man said one cross word to Keats now, Colby probably would’ve knocked the bastard off his feet.
“I’m sure you’ll be shocked to find out that he’s still a heartless asshole,” Keats said dryly. “Apparently, he knew all along I was in Dallas but didn’t bother to look me up.”
“God, Keats.”
Keats leaned against the headboard and pulled a knee up. “But I got to see my older brother, so it was worth dealing with my dad for a few minutes. And hopefully it helped you out, too.”
“Helped me out? They gave me my job back. I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”
His face broke into a broad smile. “You got it back?”
“They’re even going to make me full time after the Christmas break.”
“Holy shit, that’s great. I mean, I hoped I could help, but I didn’t know how much damage my father had already done.”
“Your father did more than enough. You sure you’re okay after seeing him?”
He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I’m all right. He was my dad. I’m used to that. But you should’ve seen how pissed George got. She looked ready to take a swing at him.”