Angelo zipped back to her desk and attached the file to an email. Ive got basketball after school tomorrow. I wont be able to come in. Coach will bench me if I miss practice two days in a row.
Ah, yes. Coach Riley and the pressure he put on his players, despite the academic focus of Central Prep. Can you do lunch?
Yes, maam.
She pointed to the shoe storage bag hanging by the door. Grab your phone. Have a good night and Ill see you tomorrow.
But he didnt immediately leave. He exhaled a sigh before setting his backpack on the corner of her desk and digging inside. He pulled out a squished plastic bag with a red ribbon tied around the top and shyly dropped a gift of candy on her desk. Thank you, Ms. G.
An instinctive alarm sent a shock of electricity through her veins. But then she saw the blush darkening Angelos cheeks and realized she couldnt be paranoid about everything with a gift tag this time of year. Plus, the smushed present didnt look anything like the carefully prepared gifts shed received from her Secret Santa. She feigned a smile before genuinely feeling it, and picked up the gift. Are these your grandmothers homemade caramels?
Yeah. She wanted to thank you for the extra hours youre putting in on me.
Daisy untied the bow and pulled open the bag to sniff the creamy brown-sugary goodies. This present was safe. Shed seen it delivered, and there was nothing hinky about the candies wrapped in this modest bag. She could let herself enjoy it. I love her caramels. She made a special batch without nuts for me?
The blush faded as the grin returned. I dont know why you want to eat them without the pecans, but she remembered that was the way you like them.
Daisy pulled out one of the individually wrapped caramels and untwisted the waxed paper. Hey, between her and me, were going to get you into college.
Yes, maam. Um... I wanted to...
Wondering how long Angelo was going to stand there before he said whatever was making him shift back and forth so nervously, Daisy popped the caramel in her mouth and started to fill the awkward silence. These are the yummiest
She almost choked on the chewy treat when a sharp knock rapped on her door. Lo. You coming or what? Although the baggy jeans and sideways ball cap were a vastly different look than the school uniform Angelo still wore, Albert Logan shared his twin brothers face. Just because you got in trouble with the teacher doesnt mean I have to be late.
Im not in trouble, Angelo insisted.
I dont care. I just know I have to drive your sorry ass home before I meet the guys.
Grannys going to kill you if you skip dinner again.
She aint killed me yet. Albert jerked his head down the hallway toward the exit. Move it.
Hey, Albert. Daisy stood and offered a friendly greeting.
Hey, Ms. G.
Despite looking alike, the two brothers couldnt be more different. You know, my offer to stay after school and work with students who need extra help extends to you, too.
I aint in your class no more.
You arent anymore, she corrected. Im here with Angelo. I could easily tutor you, too. Get your grades back up so you can be on the basketball team again.
Whatever. He turned down her repeated offer to help him raise his Ds and Fs into acceptable grades and pointed to his brother. My car leaves in five. Be in it or walk home.
Although she was already plotting different arguments to convince Albert to get the help he needed, Daisy trained her smile on Angelo while he zipped his backpack and hurried to grab his phone. Be sure to thank your grandmother for the caramels.
Bye.
Once the teens had left her room, the silence of an empty school long after classes had ended closed in on her. Shaking off the instant sensation of loneliness before it could take hold of her, Daisy packed up her pink leather shoulder bag. She jotted a note to Bernie Riley, the boys basketball coach, asking him to have a chat with his former player to encourage Albert to take her, or someone else, up on the tutoring offer. Without sports to keep him interested in school, she feared hed wind up dropping out without a diploma. Then she grabbed her scarf and wrapped it around the neckline of her tunic sweater and pulled her coat from the closet before shutting off the lights and locking the door.
Shed make one quick stop at the faculty lounge to drop off the note, then head out. Besides hurrying home to let out her three dogs to do their business, she needed to get the place tidied up before showing the upstairs suite to the potential renter whod answered her ad in the paper. Her friend Hopes husband was a KCPD cop, and hed done a routine search on the guy and a couple of other tenant prospects to ensure they didnt have a criminal record or pose any obvious threat to her.
Having the dogs with her eased her concerns about living alone. But with the advent of the creepy cards and gifts, shed decided that having a man on the premises, preferably an older one who reminded her of the security her father had once provided, would scare away whoever was threatening her. Besides, one of the hazards of living alone in the two-story 1920s Colonial her parents and grandparents had once lived in was that she was spending a small fortune renovating it. With taxes due at the end of the year and her savings already tapped out, thanks to the new HVAC system and roof shed been forced to install, she could use the extra income of a tenant to get through the expense of the holidays.
Her steps slowed on the hallway tiles as her imagination surged ahead of her logic. Of course, the idea that her tenant might wind up being a serial killer, or even the sicko who was sending her that crap, was more than a little unsettling.
But no, Officer Pike Taylor had vetted this guy, so he couldnt be a danger to her. She sifted her fingers into the wavy layers of her hair and shook it off her shoulders. Stop imagining the worst, Daisy Lou, and go home.
Her stop in the faculty lounge and work room revealed that she wasnt the only staff member working late this evening. Hey, Eddie.
Daisy dropped her bag onto the chair beside one of the schools science teachers. It hit the seat with a thunk and Eddie Bosch laughed. Taking a little work home tonight?
Just some papers to grade. And my laptop. Plus all the items a woman would keep in her purse, along with a few emergency snacks, a stash of dog treats and an extra pair of shoes in case the knee-high boots she wore got too wet with the snow outside and she needed to change before her feet froze. Daisy shook her head as her friend in the loose tie and pullover sweater grinned. I guess I carry my life in there, dont I?
Well, you wont have to go to the gym and work out if you keep lifting that thing. He closed the laptop hed been working on and pointed a warning finger at her. Now about that chiropractor bill youll be getting...
Ha, ha. Squeezing his shoulder at the teasing remark, she circled around him and went to the wall of cubbies that served as the staffs mailboxes and searched the alphabetized labels for Bernie Rileys name.
She was glad Eddie had gotten to the point where he could joke with her. When theyd first started at Central Prep together, hed had a sadness about him he wore like a shroud. Hed been new to Kansas City, had moved there for a fresh start after losing his fiancée to a long illness. Daisy had made it her personal mission to cheer him up and make him feel welcome. Now, he often made it feel like she was working with the teasing big brother she, as an only child, had never had.