Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7) by Kaylie Hunter (great books for teens txt) 📗

Beth, whining as he watched Nicholas who threw one of the kid’s chairs into the chalkboard.

“Get Sara out of here!” I yelled at Beth as I ran directly at Nicholas.

In the short time it took to cross the room he turned, throwing a second chair at me. I blocked it, knocking it away with my forearm as I protected my face with my other arm. Wild Card, who had approached Nicholas more stealthily from behind, grabbed him and held him in a straightjacket hold, pinning his arms at his sides. Nicholas kicked and screamed, even snapped his teeth at Wild Card, trying to bite him. I stood frozen, not recognizing the level of rage that had overtaken my son.

“Kelsey! Get the boxing gear out!” Wild Card yelled. “Hurry!”

“What?” I asked in a stupor.

“On it,” Wayne said from the doorway before he ran down the hall.

I watched Wild Card struggle to carry my thrashing and screaming son out of the room and down the hall. I followed, still trying to process what I was seeing.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, watching Wild Card carry him down where Wayne and another guard met them and strapped boxing gloves onto Nicholas’ hands. As soon as Wild Card released Nicholas, he stepped a few feet away and slid punching mitts onto his own hands, barely in time before Nicholas’s fists started flying his way.

“That’s it,” Wild Card said. “Let it out! Come on. Is that as hard as you can hit?”

Nicholas came close to punching Wild Card in the nuts but Wild Card jumped out of the way in time.

“Keep it clean, boy,” Pops hollered as he walked toward them. “Hands up! Elbows in! Protect your body. That’s it. Turn sideways and put your weight into it. That a boy. One, two, hit. One, two, hit.”

“Keep it coming!” Wild Card said, blocking another right punch.

I watched in fear and awe as they kept talking to him. He was not only responding to them, but I could see the hostile energy dissipating as he threw each punch. I had heard they’d worked with him after he’d been rescued, teaching him how to control his anger. I’d never seen it firsthand, though. By the time I had returned to the ranches in Texas, Nicholas was running and playing with the neighbor kids.

Beth and Sara walked over and stood beside me.

“What happened?” I asked Beth.

“I don’t know. His phone rang, and he said it was Grady. Sara was taking a test, so I asked him to step into the hall. When he returned a few minutes later, he threw the phone into the window. After that… it’s a blur.”

“He’ll be okay, Aunt Kelsey,” Sara said, wrapping an arm around my leg. “Uncle Wild Card will help him.”

I turned toward the stairs, still watching Nicholas. Pops held up a hand, motioning for me to stop. He nodded to Wild Card, who was still dancing around the gym goading Nicholas to hit the punching pads. I turned away, walking back to Kemp’s office and closing the door. I pulled my phone from my back pocket and called Grady.

“Kelsey,” Grady answered.

“What happened? What did you say to Nicholas?”

“I tried to call you,” Grady said with a heavy sigh. “Your ringer must’ve been turned off. When I couldn’t reach you, I called Nicholas. I asked him to get you—”

“Grady! What the hell did you say to Nicholas?”

Silence.

“Tell me what the fuck happened!”

There was a long pause. “I told him I wasn’t coming home.”

“He already knew you’d be away for a few more days. I told him before school.”

“No. Not for a few days,” Grady said in a hushed low voice.

I fell rather than sat into the guest chair. “What are you saying?”

“After I’m released from the hospital, I’m going to Montana for a while. I have some things I need to think about.”

“What things? And why the hell can’t you think about them here?”

He sighed. “I’m not ready to talk about it.”

It was my turn for a long pause as a million thoughts scrambled in my brain, trying to understand, until only one thought remained. “This is about Sebrina. Isn’t it?”

“Partly,” Grady admitted. “It’s complicated.”

“You owe me an explanation.”

I could imagine him on the other end of the phone, shaking his head. “Sebrina and I have unfinished business. I’m sorry, but it’s the truth. I don’t know what our relationship is at the moment, but that’s not the only thing I need to think about.”

The pause returned. I’d had it with Grady’s stalling.

“What else?!” I yelled into the phone. “What other shit do you need to go all the way to Montana to think so damn hard about?”

Grady growled before yelling back at me, “It’s partially about us too! I’m living with my girlfriend who refuses to commit while I raise her kid. It’s not the life I wanted! In fact—except for Nicholas—it’s the exact reason I left Sebrina! I keep falling for women who aren’t interested in settling down and raising a family with me.”

“And you think the best way to handle the situation is by running away? Abandoning the little boy who sees you as a father figure?”

“I’m not his father! Don’t you get that?”

The phone disconnected. I moved it away from my ear and stared down at the Call Ended message.

“What the hell just happened?” I asked myself. Nothing Grady had said made sense. I knew him. I knew how he thought. I knew how he felt about me. How much he cared about Nicholas. Even if he still had feelings for Sebrina, he wouldn’t abandon us over the phone like this.

Looking at my phone again, I called Bones.

“I take it you talked to him?” Bones said when he answered.

“I need a