“Oh, it’s okay. I’m not family,” she concedes, and then must think better of it because she rushes out a hard and fast “Yet!”
“All right,” the principal says, looking back at me. “Right this way.”
I follow her through a door and down a narrow hallway. She eventually turns to a closed door on the left, pushing it open to reveal a slumped and quiet Liam, sitting in a chair.
“Liam,” she calls. “Your uncle is here.”
Liam turns to look at me, his face red and eyes full of tears. “Hey, buddy,” I say, taking the open seat beside him in front of the principal’s desk.
“Would you like to tell him what happened, or would you like me to?” she asks him, taking her own seat.
He looks down into his lap. “You can,” he mumbles.
“I’d like to hear it from you,” I counter.
Liam groans dramatically, stretching his legs out in front of him like he can’t bear to sit there any longer. “Max Greene called me an orphan.”
I frown. “Does Max Greene understand what an orphan is?”
“He said I already don’t have a mom, and soon I won’t have a dad either ’cause his dad said mine doesn’t want to be alive anymore.”
I turn to look at the principal, brows raised.
She purses her lips. “While I certainly donotcondone Max’s words, they also do not give Liam the right to resort to violence.”
“He pushed me first!” Liam yells loudly. “I told him to fuck off and he pushed me down into the sand, so I got up and punched him.”
Again, I turn to the principal. “Sounds like he was defending himself.”
“Three other student witnesses have confirmed it was Liam who physically harmed the other child first.”
“Yeah, Max’sfriends,” Liam spits out.
“All right, Liam,” I say, reaching a hand out to wrap around his small shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”
“Unfortunately,” Principal Wuthers announces, “school policy mandates a day of suspension for a first offense of physical violence. Liam will need to spend the day at home tomorrow, and hopefully, with some guidance and support from family, he can return to us on Friday in better spirits.”
I clear my throat, leaning forward so my head floats over her desk. “His mom just passed away,” I say, “and as you can imagine, things have been really hard at home. Don’t you think you can extend a little grace, just this once.”
Her face softens. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid with something of this magnitude we need to follow the rules. Liam will, of course, be welcomed back with open arms on Friday, and our school counselor, Miss Savannah, is here to support him through his emotions.”
“Fine,” I mutter, standing. “Do I need to sign anything?”
“I’ll send a report to Brooks via email. You can sign Liam out at the front desk.”
I nod, nudging Liam on the shoulder. “Let’s go, kid.”
Liam gets up on his feet and follows me back down the hall to the front office. “You okay?” I whisper.
His shoulders hike up to his ears, but he doesn’t say a word. The ride back to the ranch is quiet, apart from Liam shooting Ava a few curious glances from where he’s wedged between us on the bench seat. We find Rhett waiting on the porch steps of the main house, sipping from a bottle of beer.
“Hey!” he shouts toward Liam as he jumps out of the truck. “What did I tell you about that anger?”
The question catches me off guard—I wasn’t aware Rhett’s already addressed the subject of anger with our nephew. “Let him explain,” I call back, giving Rhett a sharp look. I don’t care what school policy is, Liam didn’t do anything wrong. Rhett and I would have done the same thing to defend ourselves in his situation.
Rhett’s eyes narrow. “Fine. Explain.”
So Liam does. This time, he shares that Max and his friends have been heckling him for weeks, calling him a “sissy boy” who misses his “mommy.”
