Ten did laugh then. Rachel acted as if they were five-year-olds sharing secrets in that dramatic way that only kindergarteners could. “Ah, well, Ronan will be on his best behavior today.” Ten crossed his fingers. They’d had a chat about his language, but Ten knew Ronan’s colorful vocabulary was always locked, loaded, and ready to deploy.
“He wasn’t yesterday. My little Ruthie told me what he said, and I was shocked and appalled that such language would be used in front of innocent children.” Rachel made a pearl-clutching gesture, which was downright hilarious in light of her extracurricular activity in the shower.
“I understand where you’re coming from.” Ten nodded in mock sympathy. “I’m not the biggest fan of his language either, but Ronan was talking about a vicious murderer who’d preyed on unsuspecting housewives back in the 1980s and how it’s possible he’s returned. I’m sure you heard about that murder in Beverly last week.” Ten leaned closer to the woman. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but the killer favors blondes.”
Rachel gasped. Her hands fluttered to her bottle-blonde hair.
“I’ll make sure to have a long talk with Ronan about what kind of language to use around the kids first thing tomorrow morning. In fact, I’ll put together an entire presentation to show the cold case squad before he and the others get back on the case of the Blonde Bombshell Killer.”
The woman’s eyes widened in fear. “No! That won’t be necessary. I think every second of the workday should be spent trying to find and arrest this monster.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” Ten offered what he hoped was a sincere smile as Rachel raced away toward a group of concerned-looking, blonde mothers.
“You’re going straight to hell for that little performance.” Ronan snorted.
“Yeah, well, I needed something to show her that you saying the word ‘asshole’ in front of her precious childisn’tthe end of the world.” There were far worse things than hearing the occasional word you couldn’t say on television. People who didn’t work in law enforcement had no idea of the horrors they encountered on a daily basis.
“She’s over there right now telling her friends about the, what did you call it? The Blonde Bombshell Killer?” Ronan bit his lower lip to keep from laughing.
“All I could think of was Marilyn Monroe.” Ten shrugged. “Now that Rachel’s been vanquished, let’s get the show on the road.”
Miss Becca, dressed in jeans and a pink sweater, led the kids from the building to the bus. They were chatting and laughing happily with each other. As they boarded, Ten checked their names off. All of the kids and chaperones were present and accounted for. He climbed on the bus, and a weird feeling of déjà vu hit him. Ten hadn’t been on a school bus since his senior year of high school. It was funny how memory worked. He’d put Everly on the bus every day for the last eighteen months, and his own time spent on one never crossed his mind until this moment.
Standing beside the driver, Ten consulted his trusty clipboard. “We’re almost ready to go, but we’re missing one person. Has anyone seen Tennyson?” He bit his lip to keep from laughing.
“He’s right there!” the kids shouted, pointing to him.
Ten spun around. “Where?”
“There!” the kids shouted even louder. “In the blue shirt!”
“Wait,I’mwearing a blue shirt!” Ten laughed when the kids groaned. He headed down the aisle, checking all the little faces, making sure no one was in distress.
“You’re silly, Daddy!” Everly said when Ten passed her row. She was sitting with Aurora. The two girls were doing some kind of elaborate clapping game.
It reminded Ten of “Miss Mary Mack” when he’d been in school. He’d known all the words and hand gestures, but all of the girls thought he had cooties and hadn’t wanted to sing with him. Ten felt another bolt of déjà vu trip through him. He hoped there wouldn’t be any more little blasts from his past today. “I know. We’re gonna have a great time today.”
Everly frowned. “Maybe.”
Ten’s eyes narrowed on his daughter. “Are you feeling worried about the show?” He hadn’t gotten any indication there would be trouble today. As far as he’d seen, the concert was going to be a smash, especially the grand finale sing-along.
“A little bit. What if I sing the wrong words? Or I trip onstage? Or the kids from the other school are mean?” Everly’s bottom lip trembled.
Of all the kids on the bus, the last child Ten thought would have stage fright was Everly. “You’re going to do just fine. Remember how excited you were to meet your cousin Brooke when we were in Florida?”
Everly nodded. “I love Brooke.”
“Right, but before the day you met, she was a stranger too, right?”
Everly and Aurora nodded.
“All of the kids you’ll see today are just friends you haven’t met yet. I’m sure if you smile and wave, they’ll all love you.” Ten hated to see Everly doubt herself. To him, she was the smartest, sweetest little girl in the world, but he also knew not everyone his daughter met over her life would agree.
“Thanks, Daddy.” Everly turned back to Aurora, and the two girls started their clapping song again.
“Everything okay?” Ronan asked from across the aisle.
Ten nodded and slid into Ronan’s seat. “She was worried about the other kids at the school.”
