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

his short-cropped hair as she shoved his face into her ample chest. His hands moved to her waist in an effort not to lose his balance, but it was enough bodily contact to cause Daphne Davenport to storm across the gym and exit toward the apartments in a jealous rage. Maggie released Billy as soon as the door closed. She turned, winked at the camera, and walked off in the other direction. Billy stood there, dumbstruck.

“How does a man that handsome not know how to make out with a woman?” Hattie asked.

“I have no idea, but we’ll need to catch Daphne before Maggie gets bored. She didn’t sign up to school a grown man on...” I turned to see the kids listening intently. “Um…”

“Kissing is the word you’re looking for,” Beth said with a smirk.

“Yes. Kissing. Sorry, drew a blank.”

Hattie and Tweedle giggled again.

“Are you ready to finish your book cover?” I asked Nicholas.

“It’s already done,” he said, scrambling off the bed and running over to the table. He ran back, handing me the book.

“Nick, this is great!” I said, turning the book over. He had found an old pirate ship picture which he had turned on an angle and had it floating from the back cover to the front. A boy stood at the front of the ship; his sword pointed out into an oncoming storm. “How did you do this?”

“It was easy. I had to watch a few videos to figure out how to get the picture of the boy on the ship, but after that, it was smooth sailing.” He laughed at his own joke.

“The title looks good too,” Beth said, admiring the cover. “I’m impressed. It looks professional.”

“Except I had to tape it onto the book,” Nicholas said, shrugging.

“Have you showed this to your Aunt Katie, yet?” Haley asked, taking the book from my hands as she flipped it over.

“Uh-uh. Why?”

“She’s designing a flyer for the year-end sale. Maybe you can help her.”

“Can I call her?” Nicholas asked, lighting up with a big grin.

“I think she’d like that,” I said, ruffling his hair before he ran downstairs. “Thank you, Haley. He needed that.”

“You’re welcome, but I wasn’t kidding. He’s good.” Haley handed the book back to me. “He has an eye for it. After he helps Katie with her year-end sale, maybe he can fix the graphics on the store’s website.” She pulled her blood pressure kit and wrapped a cuff around my arm, pumping it tight.

“Why is Haley checking your blood pressure, sunshine?” Hattie asked.

“Because Doc was worried about some chemicals I inhaled. How are you feeling?”

“Alert enough to know you’re not telling the whole story.”

“Do you want to hear the whole story?”

“No,” she said, sighing. “Not really.”

Sara giggled.

Hearing activity in the front yard, Pops walked over to the window. “Why is Whiskey parking a flatbed trailer in the front yard?”

“Likely that will be the spectator’s area for the relay race tonight. We have visitors coming to watch.”

Sara ran over to look out the window with Pops. “Can we decorate it?”

“As long as you help clean up later, sure.”

“Come on, Beth. We have decorations in the basement,” Sara said as she ran over and pulled Beth by the hand toward the stairs.

I fell back onto Hattie’s bed, closing my eyes.

“We have a few things we need to chat about,” Tech said, nudging my shoulder. “You can take a nap afterward.”

“But I’m so comfortable.”

“You woke me at four-thirty this morning. I have a right to mess with your mid-day nap.”

“Fine!” I whined, mimicking Nicholas when he was throwing a fit. I rolled off the bed and stomped my way dramatically down the stairs. I could hear Pops and Hattie laughing behind me.

Tech followed me with his laptop. At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped to figure out the best place to have a private conversation. Nicholas was in the dining room, talking to Katie on speaker phone while he worked on his computer. In the living room Bridget was working on her computer while her head bounced wildly to whatever was playing through her earphones. Abigail and her nanny would be in my atrium, so that wouldn’t work either.

Going to the basement, we walked through the gym quietly, hoping not to wake the security shift who were napping. We passed Beth and Sara who were pulling out decorations for the trailer before Tech and I turned into the furnace room to follow the tunnel down to Donovan’s.

“This is getting a little out of hand,” Tech said as we entered Donovan’s basement family room.

“Agreed. Now what has you acting so secretive?”

“When I was pulling the video for Hattie, I saw something odd,” Tech said, opening a video file on his computer and hitting play.

I moved closer, leaning over to see better. “What am I looking for?” The video was a wide-angle view of the gym at Headquarters.

“Watch Grady.”

Grady was leaning against the far wall, fiddling with his phone. His head was bent like he was watching the screen, but I knew him well enough to know he was scouting the room. “Who’s he watching?”

“Sebrina,” Tech said, pointing to the other side of the room where Sebrina and Shipwreck were talking next to one of the makeshift buffet tables.

Shipwreck stormed off and Sebrina wandered over to sit next to Donovan. She whispered something to him, leaning a little too close. Donovan stood, glaring at her as he walked over and sat beside Wayne. Sebrina winked at Donovan before she left to join another group of guys. Bones walked by, shaking his head at her as he passed. Grady shifted, turning to lean his good shoulder against the wall so Sebrina remained in view.

“Odd, right? If Grady’s so in love with Sebrina, why’s he