Kickstart My Heart (Burgers and Brew Crue #1) - Lacey Black Page 0,80

quick glance before practically dragging her son away from the school, as if he were in danger. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure whether he is or not, but I’ll be damned if this man is going to hurt anyone on my watch.

I look at the door and see Lizzie there. She waves, which makes me smile, and glances around in confusion.

“Umm,” Miss Hanson says, as she rejoins us. “If you both will stay here, I’ll run inside and call Miss Sargant.”

“That won’t be necessary. I understand you have rules to follow. I’ll reach out to Miss Sargant myself,” the man claiming to be Lizzie’s dad says. There’s no missing the disdain in his tone when he refers to Mallory. He looks at me before adding, “I’m sure I’ll be added to the form as Lizzie’s pickup real soon.”

With that, he turns and walks away, heading down the sidewalk and away from the school. The man keeps going, not stopping to get into a vehicle, until he rounds the corner and disappears.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Meyer,” Miss Hanson states, clearly shaken by the ordeal.

“You did exactly what you were supposed to do,” I assure her.

“I’ve never had a situation like that arise before.”

“I hope it never happens again. I’ll talk to Mallory later and make sure she’s aware of what happened,” I reply. “Can I take Lizzie now?” I’m suddenly incredibly anxious to get her in my arms and under my supervision.

“Oh, yes,” she says with an uncomfortable chuckle.

Miss Hanson uses her key card to open the door. The moment she does, my Lou bolts through the doorway and runs straight into my arms. “Walk!”

“Hey, Lou. How was school?” I ask, positioning her on my hip.

“We made puntins!” she exclaims, pointing to the orange hat with lopsided black eyes.

“I love your pumpkin,” I reply, kissing her forehead and carrying her to my Jeep.

When she’s buckled in to her seat in my Jeep, I shut the door and glance around. I see no sign of the man claiming to be Lizzie’s dad, but that doesn’t mean anything. Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of him.

Instead of driving to my place, like we normally do, I head for the bar. “How about a cheeseburger and fries for lunch today?”

“Yay! Mickey D’s?”

“No, not today. Let’s go see Mommy and get one of Jasper’s big burgers.”

“Woohoo! I can showded Isaac my puntin hat.”

Smiling, I drive in the direction of where Mallory is. “He’ll love it! I bet you can even get Isaac to wear it.”

Lizzie giggles in the back seat. “It’s too widdle for Isaac, silly,” she states through fits of laughter.

“He does have a big head, huh,” I reply.

First thing I notice when I hit Burgers and Brew is the full parking lot. It’s not even noon, and we’re busy. I pull around to the back lot and park in my usual spot. It only takes me a few seconds to get Lizzie out of the Jeep, adjust her pumpkin hat, and head for the back door.

“Can we dough see Mommy?” Lizzie asks, as we enter the building.

“Yep, in just a few minutes. Let’s stop by and see Isaac first,” I reply, picking her back up in my arms and moving toward the stairs. When we reach the landing, I can hear Isaac’s voice, but I don’t stop. I’m not sure who he’s talking to, but this is important.

Stepping into Isaac’s office, I see Jameson seated across the desk. “Hey, man,” he says, instantly grinning when he sees Lizzie. “Lizzie!”

“Day! I dot a puntin hat!”

“Wow, look at that,” he replies, jumping up from the chair and walking over to where we stand. “That’s the best pumpkin hat I’ve ever seen.”

Lizzie giggles in reply and points to the cabinet across the room. Isaac jumps up and retrieves the coloring book and crayons inside, setting them down on his desk. I place the little girl in his chair, remove her jacket, and help her get started with the crayons. As soon as she’s set, I nod to my friends to the back of the room, where they both move to meet me.

“What’s up?” Jameson asks, already recognizing my agitation.

“Apparently, Lizzie’s dad is here. He showed up at the school and tried to take her,” I whisper so little ears don’t hear.

“The fuck?” Jameson growls.

“Yeah, the teacher was all nervous because he just showed up and wanted her. I could tell something was wrong and walked up there. She wouldn’t release her