Page 7 of The Sunny Side (Rojo 2nd Generation: Rojo Police Department #3)

B RAWLEY

I walked down the hall with Max beside me and greeted the kids who were on their way to classes.

I was happy that the majority of them looked happy to see me.

Many of them greeted me with fist bumps and high fives.

I had an even closer relationship with a few of them, and I ran into two of them just a few feet inside the door.

“What size shoes are you wearing?” I asked a young man named Oscar.

“You want my shoes?” Oscar asked as he and I completed an intricate handshake we’d been doing every time we saw each other since summer school started.

I looked down at his shoes and pursed my lips as if deep in thought before I said, “I’m wondering if they’ll fit me, and if they do, how will I convince you to give them up?”

“I’ll trade them to you for Max,” Oscar offered. Max tilted his head as if he were considering it and then took a step closer to Oscar as he wagged his tail. “He’s in! Let’s do it.”

“I can guarantee my boss won’t agree to that trade,” I assured him with a frown. I pretended to think about it some more before I said, “But I really like those shoes.”

“You can’t get him in trouble with his boss, man,” Martino, a young man who seemed much more cautious and less rebellious than Oscar, told him firmly. “He’s the only cop I’ve ever met who isn’t a total asshole.”

“Hey, didn’t we discuss the language?” I asked.

Martino mimicked my usual stance and frowned before he said, “He’s the only cop I’ve met who isn’t a total chocolate starfish.”

I choked back my laughter as I said, “That’s a unique way to put it, Martino. Definitely a five-star replacement.”

Martino put his hand up and high-fived me before he asked Oscar, “How was my impression of Officer D?”

“Four out of five. It needs work,” Oscar teased.

“I don’t make faces like that,” I argued as I saw the SUV I was waiting for pull into a parking spot. “Gotta go, guys. Don’t be late to class and don’t be a starfish!”

The boys were still laughing when I pushed the door open and walked outside.

I stopped in front of the parked SUV and watched as one of the young men who had a reputation for skipping class walked toward me.

When he looked up and saw me, he spun around to take off, but his sister was expecting that and dropped her shoulder to stop him with a move that any linebacker would’ve been proud of.

The boy bounced off of her before she clamped a hand down on his shoulder and marched him in my direction.

“Officer Dumont! Thanks for meeting me here.”

“My pleasure, Ms. Elliott!” I responded. “I like to greet the kids as they walk through the doors in the morning.”

Dayton trudged toward me, shoulders drooping and head bowed. Instead of getting onto him when he lifted his hand up and flipped her off over his shoulder, she called out, “Love you, too, Dayton! Have a great day at summer school.”

As he walked next to me toward the doors, I said, “I thought you were gonna get past her, but she’s pretty good. Has she ever played football?”

“She sucks.”

“She seems pretty cool to me, but I don’t have to live with her, so what do I know?”

“Nothing!”

“I disagree. I know she’s pretty intent on you attending summer school, and I know your teachers like having you in class because you’re a pretty smart guy. Not quite as smart as I am, but you’ll do in a pinch.”

“You think you’re smarter than I am just because you’re a cop?”

“No, man! Wisdom comes with age. I bet I’d win in a trivia competition.”

Dayton narrowed his eyes and asked, “What kind of trivia?”

I hummed as I thought about it and then asked, “What does Mrs. Proctor teach?”

“Social studies.”

“Okay, let’s do social studies, history, general knowledge, and music.”

Dayton shook his head. “I can beat you in all of those categories.”

“You think so?” I asked. When he smirked and nodded, I asked, “Is that a challenge?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s talk to Mrs. Proctor and see if she’d be willing to set up a competition. Maybe she can find a few more people who want to play. I’m down if you are.”

“You’re not gonna win.”

“I guess we’ll have to see about that. You seem pretty confident, but I’m not sure you should be. You know that if Proctor agrees to it, she’s gonna use trivia from what she’s teaching in class. Doesn’t bode well for you, considering you miss it as often as possible.”

“And?”

“That means you’re not gonna know the answers to her questions, and I’m gonna mop the floor with you because I’ll make sure she lets me study her notes.”

Dayton’s eyes flashed, and I knew I’d hooked him. I just hoped that it would stick. I hated to see a kid so young going down the path he seemed to be aiming for, but maybe we could still redirect him.

“I’m gonna kick your ass.” When I frowned at him, he sighed and smirked. The smirk turned into a lopsided smile just as we stopped in front of his classroom and he said, “I’ll run the score up on you!”

The bell rang as I opened the door for Dayton, and I said, “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

I followed him into the room and greeted Mrs. Proctor, a teacher who I knew liked to find different ways to challenge her students, before I said, “Dayton seems to think he could beat me in a trivia competition, Mrs. Proctor.”

Mrs. Proctor looked over at Dayton and raised her eyebrows before she asked, “Did you issue a challenge?”

Dayton nodded as he flopped down into a chair at one of the tables. “He said he’d take me in history, general trivia, and music trivia, but there’s no way.”

I could tell she was on board, so I raised my hand and asked, “Does anyone else think they can beat me in a trivia challenge?”

Kids started hooting and hollering, and Mrs. Proctor clapped her hands for silence before she grinned at me and said, “My money’s on the kids, Officer D.”

“Will you arrange the competition?”

“We’ll do it the last week of summer school,” she suggested. “I’ll make all the arrangements, but I’ll have you know that these kids are the sharpest you’ll ever meet.”

I let my gaze roam over the room of smiling teenagers, some of whom I knew were a challenge to the teachers here and others just seemed a little out of their element, before I said, “I’ll take all of you on with one stipulation: you’ll be excluded if you have any disciplinary problems leading up to the contest. Is that a deal? ”

The kids agreed loudly, and Mrs. Proctor put her hands up for silence. She smiled proudly before she said, “Good luck, Officer D! You’re gonna need it.”

I said my goodbyes as I took some good-natured ribbing from the kids and then walked out into the hall with Max. Once the door was shut behind me, I looked down at Max and sighed before I said, “I guess I better start studying, or I’m gonna look like an idiot.”

Anyone who said dogs didn’t understand language would have been proven wrong when they saw Max pull his gums back into his version of a smile. Yeah, even the dog was smart enough to know I was cooked.

“Well, shit.”

◆◆◆

CLANCY

“What’s the latest news on Satan and the minion?” my mom’s cousin Steph asked as she walked toward the table with a fresh carafe of coffee.

She never specified who was who, but every time she referred to my father and stepmother in those terms, I couldn’t help but laugh.

As she topped off my coffee, I said, “No news on the legal front, but we all know that’s going to take forever, if anything ever comes of it at all. However, I did receive a certified letter from my father telling me he was going to take me to court over control of Darcy and Tansy’s trust funds.”

“What did Petra have to say about that?”

“Sometimes when she laughs, it scares me a little,” I admitted.

Stephanie barked out a laugh before she said, “You’re right to be afraid. Her mom tries to joke that she’s lit with an inner light we can’t see, but anyone who crosses Petra Parker knows that light is hellfire and will soon feel the flames.”

“She’s sure that their inheritance is safe with Mr. Hamilton in charge of it. I trust her when she says the new situation is airtight.”

“Marcus is a wonderful man, and she’s right - you can trust him implicitly.”

“The girls feel the same way. They absolutely adore Mr. Hamilton and his husband. They are even getting to know his children.”

“The entire family is wonderful. They’re a little quirky, and their dynamic might take some getting used to, but I adore every Hamilton I know. They’re genuinely great people.”

“You’ve known the family for a while, right?”

“Absolutely! I’ve known Marcus and his brother since we were kids. You’ve met Drea and Carlie and know that we’ve been friends forever, but what you may not know is that Lout, Marcus’ brother, was part of our circle from the time we were very young.”

“That man is a walking piece of art, and his wife is just as gorgeous.”

“That’s true.”

“Marcus’ husband, Reagan, was so wonderful while we were searching for a place to live. I was so happy that the houses he found for us are all in the same neighborhood.”

“When I talked to him about it, I explained that they should be close enough for comfort but have enough distance for some semblance of privacy.”

“Exactly! I’m excited to be a homeowner for the first time, and Darcy and Tansy love their rentals.”

“Which house did you decide on?” Steph asked.

“I chose the three-bedroom, and since I was able to make a significant down payment, the bank had no problem approving my mortgage application. Luckily, Reagan is good friends with the developers of the neighborhood, so they went ahead and let me move in while the bank gets everything in order for my closing. I had no idea there were so many hoops to jump through to buy a home, but it will be worth it. I think it’s the perfect size for me.

I just love it. I have a guest room for when friends come to visit, and I can use the smaller bedroom as my office and storage for all the classroom decor and things I’ve collected since I started teaching. ”