That earned him an eye roll. “It’s mostly stuff like the importance of stretching before exercise and why we have to eat our vegetables.”
Nobody wanted a class full of constipated fourth graders. “I still don’t see what any of this has to do with me.”
“Seriously?” Henry was looking at him like he’d dropped an easy pop fly. “We’ve been shy on substitute teachers since the pandemic. Principal Gupta ran your clearance check. You passed, not that anyone’s surprised.We’d like you to sub in for a couple weeks. We’re thinking a crash course in first aid could do the kids some good, and you’re well qualified.”
They wanted him towhat? “Jesus, Coach. You kept that one close to the chest.”
“You gotta know when to hold ’em,” Henry quipped. “Principal Gupta thought it’d be better coming from me.”
Well, she wasn’t wrong about that, but…. “What the hell,” Ty muttered. “I only found out I didn’t get expelled this morning, Henry.”
“Then it’s the perfect time to heal your wounds with your old school. Right?”
I don’t think that’s how therapy works, Ty thought, but… maybe it did. Maybe if he spent a couple hours a day with some rowdy grade-schoolers it would take his mind off the rest of his life. “What the hell,” he repeated. “How bad could it be?”
Henry grinned. “That’s the spirit.”
Chapter 5
OLLIE KNEWintellectually that there was a housing crisis.
But Ollie did not know that by the time he got to the showings he’d booked, the apartments would already be leased.
“Now, I do have another unit in this building coming available next month,” his realtor told him placatingly. “Mrs. Hudson in 3B is moving to Boca Raton for her arthritis.”
Ollie considered the possibility of living without a kitchen for another four weeks. His intestines rebelled. Ollie liked vegetables. He liked having a digestive system that was not waiting for the dessert portion of an MRE. A month of restaurants and takeout and his mother’s dinners would set his gut biome back four months.
Besides, Theo needed nutritious meals.
“I’m looking to get into something a little sooner than that.”
Jenna said, “Hmm,” and consulted her tablet. “Well, there’s a one-bedroom guest cottage available starting next week. I can contact the owner and see if we can get you in for a showing this afternoon.”
Ollie had spent most of his adult life in barracks or in on-base housing. He didn’tneedthat much privacy. Theo could have the bedroom and Ollie could get a pull-out couch. Maybe it wasn’t ideal, but….
“Sure,” he said helplessly. “Let’s do it.”
The “one-bedroom guest cottage” turned out to be a converted one-and-a-half-car garage. It had a bathroom that would’ve fit in the back seat of Ollie’s Honda, a kitchenette slightly less cramped than a pop-up camper’s, a living area big enough for a couch and a TV, and a bedroom that would have to be Theo’s, because Ollie wouldn’t fit.
The front window also faced the driveway, so every time the occupants of the main house started their car, the headlights would shine right into Ollie’s sleeping area.
He sighed. “Do you think they’ll give me twenty-four hours to decide?”
Maybe he should just suck it up and buy a house. A kid should have a yard to play in, right? But what if they hated it here? What if Theo’s cancer came back and they had to move somewhere that had a specialist? And Ollie might have savings, but he didn’t have a job yet—who was going to approve him for a mortgage?
No, buying a house was out of the question for now. Ollie shook hands with his realtor and promised he’d call tomorrow with a decision on the cottage.
He was on his way back to the motel—he had an hour before he had to pick up Theo—when his phone rang with an unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon. Is this Ollie Kent?”
“Speaking.”
“Mr. Kent, this is Rosa calling from Secure Logistics. We’ve received your application for the guard position. Are you available to come in for an interview?”
He barely avoided sagging with relief. “I’d love to. What time were you thinking?”
