Dangerous Rescue - Linzi Baxter Page 0,2

away, or she would lose herself in them.

“Miss Davenport and I met when I lived in Virginia.”

Sadness washed over Kaiden’s face, and he looked down at his hands. ”Sorry,” the teenager mumbled.

“Nothing to be sorry about. Miss Davenport is right—I came to talk to your teachers.”

Hudson had changed over the past six years. His sandy-blond hair dusted the top of his collar. Unlike her, he was in better shape than when they’d met. He still wore his signature black shirt. Siena used to joke that he never changed out of his black shirt and jeans. But his ass always looked great in jeans.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Kaiden is doing amazing in my AP Calculus class.”

“AP?” Hudson asked.

“Advanced Placement. The credits will transfer toward college courses. Which is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I believe with his grades, he should consider Harvard or Yale.”

“I need to play football or go to culinary school near San Diego.”

Kaiden was Siena’s top student. Her parents had been well connected in the academic world before they died in a plane crash. Siena had contacts, and she wanted to assist Kaiden with his college applications.

“Wait…why do you need to stay here? Secondly, Harvard?” Hudson ran a hand over his face.

“I can’t leave you, and there isn’t a guarantee I can get enough scholarships to afford Harvard, but the local college offered me a football scholarship,” Kaiden said.

Hudson pinched his brow, a gesture he made when he was thinking about his next word. ”Money is not something you should worry about. Leaving me is not something you should worry about. Figuring out how to get an education is more important than staying close to me. I’m gone more than I’m home. And when I’m on leave, I can visit you anywhere.”

“I think this is something you two should discuss, and if you need help with the applications, my door is always open,” Siena said. ”Other than that, Kaiden is my best student. Do you have any questions for me?”

Hudson’s lip ticked up. “Kaiden, can you give me a minute with Ms. Davenport?”

A chill ran down her spine. If Kaiden left, there would be no buffer, and she wasn’t ready to tell him her secret.

“We have no other teachers to meet with. I’m going to go find Max and hang out. I’ll see you at home.” Kaiden stood and left.

“What other questions about Kaiden can I answer?” Siena wanted to keep everything professional.

“I’m sorry,” Hudson said.

The two words she’d waited six years for him to say. They didn’t do anything to help heal her hurt heart. “Okay, you said your piece. I have other parents to talk to unless you want to discuss Kaiden more.”

“I need to explain.”

“There is nothing to explain. You decided to end our relationship instead of talking to me like an adult, and then you vanished. Poof—one day you disappeared. Not a word. I called the base to make sure you didn’t die, and after hours of pleading with the woman on the phone, I finally got her to give in. She told me you were fine. So, I really don’t want to hear your story to justify why you treated me like I meant nothing.” She closed her eyes to stop the tears. God, she hated how she could still cry over the man at the drop of a pin.

“You’re wrong. You meant the world to me.”

Anger buried inside her bubbled to the surface. She didn’t want to hear his excuses for why he up and left with no word, which was strange, because for years, she’d hoped he would come back for her. Being Kaiden’s teacher had thrust her into his path, and now he wanted to make himself feel better. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Becky heading her way. She stood, ignoring Hudson’s last comment.

Her friend's eyes searched her face before landing on Hudson, who was standing next to her with his hand on her elbow.

“Siena?” Becky asked.

“Um…my stomach is upset…”

Her friend nodded. ”I’ll cover for you.”

Becky had gotten Siena the job at Sunny High School. They’d met in college and became instant friends. Siena pulled her elbow from Hudson’s grasp and headed out the exit of the gymnasium toward her classroom. She would contact any parent she missed.

“Why are you running from me?”

Siena belted out an unladylike scream as she clutched her heart. Hudson was like a damn cat. She hadn’t heard him walking until