Schooling the Jock (Nerds Vs Jocks #1) - - Eli Easton Page 0,80

mom and constantly going to voice mail, I finally pulled into the long drive up to the farm.

There was my mom’s car, and way off in the distance I could see my dad’s truck.

I screeched to a stop, jumped out of the car, and ran into the house, throwing open the door.

My mother looked up from the couch with a gasp, her knitting falling from her hands. “Jesse!”

I stopped like someone had painted glue on my shoes, taking in the scene. The normal family scene. Eli leaped up from where he and Micah were playing with LEGOs and ran to me. “Jesse, you’re home!” He grabbed me around the legs. I put a hand on his back since any physical affection from the boys was a gift, but my head was spinning.

“Mom?”

“Jesse, darling.” She rose from the couch. “What a surprise. Is everything all right? I mean, of course it’s not, or you wouldn’t be here.” She hurried over beside me. “What’s going on?”

I stared at Micah, who happily stacked LEGOs. His cast looked fine. “Where’s your phone?”

“My phone?” She looked totally confused. “In my purse, I imagine.”

“Probably not.” I looked down at Eli. “Hey buddy, where’s Mom’s phone?”

He got a conniving expression that definitely conveyed that he was the smartest guy in the room. With a smirk, he pointed toward the hall that led to their bedroom.

“Why don’t you go get it, okay?”

When he left the room, my mom said, “Oh no, did he call you? It’s his new favorite thing.”

“Not only called me, but told me Micah was terrible, and you were awful, and then he proceeded to have an asthma attack on the phone.”

She shook her head. “He did have a mild episode this morning, and I wasn’t sure what brought it on. Micah’s been so cranky because he’s completely over the cast. They kept it on an extra month to be certain it was totally healed, and he can’t stand another minute. Fortunately, it comes off Monday. I didn’t realize how much his moods were bothering Eli.” She gave a small gasp and gripped my arm. “Oh my God, are you telling me that Eli convinced you to come home?”

I nodded as Eli walked back into the living room slowly and held the phone out to Mom. “Sorry.”

He clearly wasn’t a tiny bit sorry. He’d mastered his mom’s technology and managed to get me to come home. What was not to like?

She took the phone, flipped though the voice mails and the tangled mess he’d made of it, and looked at me with compassion mixed with humor. “It’s not unusual for me to get no calls for a whole day, so I didn’t miss the phone.” She looked at Eli. “Eli, you can only use the phone when you’re with me and I tell you that it’s okay. Is that clear?”

He nodded and went straight back to the LEGOs, sitting close to Micah and putting his arm around him. Definitely, the-boys-against-the-world time. Fortunately, it always changed back again.

Mom said, “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry you drove all that way. Are you missing classes? I hope nothing critical.”

I expelled a long breath. “It’s fine. I’m just glad everything’s all right.”

“You won’t drive back all that way today, will you? I can get you up early tomorrow morning.”

I definitely didn’t want to spend another four more hours driving today. By the time I got back, they’d have left for sectionals, and the idea of facing the mess I’d left at campus was overwhelming. Dobbs hated me now. Oh God, I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to crawl into bed, pull the covers over my head, and never come out. “I’ll leave in the morning.”

She smiled. “Good. Come get something to eat.” She started to the kitchen. “I’m truly sorry, Jess. I had no idea Eli had called you. You know how they can be.”

And, of course, I did. The fact that I hadn’t questioned Eli’s call at all spoke as much to my state of mind as to Eli’s powers of persuasion.

With a long sigh, I took off my coat, dropped it on the couch, and followed her into the kitchen. Suddenly, I was nothing but tired.

Mom turned from the stove with a smile. “Breakfast or lunch?”

“I never managed to get any breakfast.” I wanted to add I was too busy being an asshole, but I didn’t.

“Breakfast it is.” She pulled out the big black skillet I knew so well. I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute.