Her Dominant SEAL(18)

“Drake, this is Miss Eastman,” Piper said excitedly.

He put on his game face. It wouldn’t be appropriate to come onto the woman that he wanted to get rid of. Unfortunately, his less than friendly demeanor just caused the teacher to amp up her smile. She had a great smile. Miss Eastman walked over and thrust out her hand.

“Hello, Mr. Avery, I’m Karen Eastman. I’m your sister’s biggest fan. She told me how you flew out from California to rescue her. I only wished she would have called me instead of staying outside all night.”

Drake looked over at Piper and frowned. “Why didn’t you call her?”

“Mom knows about her,” she said quietly. What did that say about his family, if his sister couldn’t trust either one of her parents? Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t help but notice Karen’s thin sweater and slim black pants.

Drake scowled at her. “You’re not dressed for this weather. What the hell are you thinking coming out in the snow dressed like that?” he demanded. Seriously, it was cold as fuck, was she out of her mind? “Couldn’t you have just e-mailed Piper her work?” Drake damn near shouted. Calm down Avery, you’re coming off like a pissed off SEAL on a mission.

Karen’s smile faltered, but she rallied.

“I’m over twenty-one and a big girl. It occurred to me to wear a winter coat and everything.” She pointed sweetly over at the coat laying on the back of an armchair.

Drake opened his mouth to lay into her when he saw the warm twinkle in her hazel eyes. His mouth twitched, but then he looked down at her feet. “Your shoes suck, though.”

Karen sighed.

“Okay, you caught me. I didn’t put on my boots. Look, in my defense, I normally park my truck next to the covered walkway by my classroom.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Piper dart out of the room. He knew she was getting something for her teacher’s feet.

“So why didn’t you e-mail her the stuff?” he asked again.

“Piper needed her text books, so I brought them. We talked, her other teachers and I, and we think we have a gameplan for her to continue her studies until this little situation blows over.”

“What do you mean, you and the other teachers talked? And this isn’t some little situation. This is serious shit!” Drake thought about the men he’d seen leaving his old house. He took a step forward and towered over her. “Just how many people know where Piper is?”

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him.

“Oh my God. Do they ever let you out in public? Seriously, Mr. Avery, let’s cool it on the scare tactics, okay?”

“I’m not trying to scare you, Lady, I’m trying to ask you if you’re out of your tiny mind? Our father just got out of prison and is batshit crazy. This is not some little situation that might blow over. You should not be here! How many people have you told about this location?”

Drake could actually see the wheels turning in her pretty auburn head as she decided how to respond. Tentatively, as if reassuring a growling dog, she put one small hand gently on his chest. “Mr. Avery, I know this is a serious situation. I’m not trying to mitigate things, I promise you,” she gave him a soft smile.

“Oh for God’s sake, call me Drake.”

Did she think eight dollar words and a sweet smile were going to calm him down?

“Okay, Drake.” She drawled out his name. “Did you know that Piper is top of her class? Did you know that yesterday was the first day she’d ever missed school? Last night the principal reached out to Trenda when she couldn’t get ahold of your mother. Trenda explained about your father and that Piper was with you. Edna, the principal, arranged a conference call with me and the rest of Piper’s teachers and we came up with a plan to keep your sister caught up with her studies. I volunteered to get her all of her lessons.”

Drake could see Piper’s bewildered expression behind Karen. She was holding a pair of socks.

“Why would everyone do that?” he asked.

“What do you mean?” Karen asked.

“Why would the principal call a meeting for a student when she just missed a day of school?” Drake asked.

Karen gave him a pitying look. “You’ve been away from Jasper Creek too long. You forgot how it works. We take care of our own. Piper is special. Everybody at Roosevelt High loves your sister. She’s going to be offered scholarships and we don’t want anything to jeopardize that.”

All during her speech, her hand still rested on his chest, her eyes bright with sincerity. He covered her soft little hand with his.

“You’re right, Piper is special. But you should not be driving in this bad weather, and mixing yourself up in our problems. This is dangerous, Lady.”