Chapter 18

I worried it would be weird after the kids all went off to school, but it wasn't. It was comfortable. A lot like what Lily had told me once before. Being together but doing our own thing. We'd both spent the morning working from the kitchen table. I was working on designing a website for a New York clothing store while he checked in on his properties and made a few calls. But now that all the kids were home from school, it was time to head out for parent-teacher conferences.

"Where are my shoes?" Finn glanced around the foyer area.

Didn't I just see them? I scanned the living room. "Over there. By the fireplace."

"I did not leave them there last night."

I shrugged. "I guess you did."

"It's the ghost!" Kai sat up from his spot on the floor of the living room and turned to look at us.

"There are no ghosts." But it was weird these things kept happening.

Once in the car heading toward the kids' school, Finn glanced over at me. "So, Kai's is first grade, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, and his teacher is?—"

"Ms. Taylor. I remember." He sent me a smile that shot straight to my core. "And you think she's going to be concerned with his reading?"

I loved how he listened and remembered the things the kids and I had told him. "Yes. They were concerned at his last school, so I'm betting it's still an issue."

We talked about Kai a bit more before moving on to details important for Jayden and Blair. He chuckled when I told him a few notes had come home about Jayden being disruptive and distracting other kids around him.

"He's probably bored." Finn shook his head. "I used to make paper airplanes after I finished my work because I was done before everyone else. Which was fine. Until I sailed it across the room."

I laughed. "You didn't?"

Finn shrugged. "I didn't know what to do with myself at that age."

By the time we parked at the school, I was confident he knew everything he needed to.

Like I had predicted, Kai's teacher told us he was behind the rest of the class in reading, but with a little practice at home, she was sure he'd catch up this year.

"Anything specific we can do? My nephew had note cards placed around the house, labeling things. Should we do that?" Finn asked.

"I would do sight words rather than house words." She tapped a paper on the desk in front of us. "I'm sending you home with a list. The ones highlighted are the words he still needs to master."

Finn turned to me. "We're going to need to put these all over the house."

It was so cute how invested he was. For a minute, I forgot it was all for show. But, with the way he was talking maybe it wasn't. And I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"What's the matter? Do you not want to do that?"

"No, no, I think it's a great idea."

"Oh, and Kai drew a picture of his family." Ms. Taylor turned a piece of paper around, setting it in front of us. "It made me laugh, with the dog and ghost on it."

Finn was in it, too. All of us were labeled with our names, except Finn. He was labeled "Dad" and I was labeled "Mom." I couldn't help but smile.

Jayden's teacher had very few issues educationally, but he did say Jayden was disruptive after finishing his work and talked to everyone around him.

Finn leaned back in his chair, stretching his legs out and crossing one ankle over the other. "Do you think he's bored?"

The teacher cocked his head. "It's likely. But he has lots of things he knows he could do once he finishes his work. I have figured out he likes to help, so this past week he's been helping me with some tasks. That's been a good option for him."

Once we finished with Jayden's teacher, we only had Blair's teacher to meet before we could head back home. She needed to practice and master her multiplication math facts. The teacher stressed she had most of them down except for sixes, sevens, and eights.

I shivered and pulled my sweater tighter around my body as we walked to the car. First week in November and it was starting to get cold. I climbed up into the SUV, and before I could even reach out, Finn was pushing the seat warmer button for me.

"Should get warm in a minute."

"Thanks."

By the time we walked through the door at home, Finn had a plan for sight words, math facts, and even mentioned starting a buddy read of Percy Jackson with Jayden. I chuckled at how excited he seemed. Shane had all the kids sitting at the table playing UNO. One of the few games everyone could always agree on.

Throughout dinner, and even afterward when Finn was doing sight words with Kai and math facts with Blair, he kept looking at me, making me wonder what would happen later tonight.