Read The Leopard in Love (BBW Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance) (Mail-Order Mates Book 8) for Free Online Page A

hear you have a date with my dad tomorrow.”
    “I do. What do you think about that?”
    He shrugged. “Whatever. He likes you. Do you like him?”
    “I think so.” Sarah smiled. “He’s a very good man.”
    KJ opened his food boxes and dug in. “I guess.”
    “Why did you skip today?”
    “I didn’t skip. They were going to suspend me. I just did them a favor and left before they had to ask.”
    Sarah’s mouth dropped open. “You were suspended?”
    “I was going to be suspended. Dunno if they did it yet.”
    “How did you get yourself suspended?”
    “I got in a fight.”
    “Did you win, at least?” Pete asked from the counter.
    KJ smiled and shrugged. “I dunno.”
    “That means you won,” Pete said. “Fighting is never right, but if you’re going to do it you’d better win.”
    “Peter!” Reba looked scandalized. “Don’t encourage the boy. KJ, you acted inappropriately. You should never fight.”
    “The kid was trash-talking shifters. I had to punch him. He didn’t know I was one or he wouldn’t have been running his mouth.”
    Sarah frowned. “That doesn’t make it better. You should have told an adult.”
    KJ snorted. “Yeah, ’cause that helps. I bet a nice, calm conversation would have changed his mind.”
    “You mean like punching him in the face did?” Sarah countered.
    “He’ll think twice before he runs his mouth around my kind again.”
    Sarah had to admire the kid’s chutzpah. She probably wouldn’t have the courage to physically fight for something she believed in; she was more of a petition and protest kind of girl. “I’m going to have to tell your dad about this. You’re staying here until he comes to pick you up.”
    “You go right ahead. He’s going to find out anyway. But don’t think you’re punishing me or anything. I was going to hang out around here anyway.”
    Sarah pulled out her phone and called Kai. As she’d expected, he wasn’t very happy. He couldn’t come to get KJ for a few hours. Sarah said she’d be fine to watch him until then.
    When she hung up, she spoke to KJ. “We’re going to your house. No point in us sitting around here while we wait. You can read a book or do something productive.”
    “I don’t read.”
    “I guess you’re going to start. You’re not going to be sitting on your butt the whole suspension.”
    “You can come and work here,” Pete suggested. “You can bus tables and learn how to set orders up.”
    “Really?” KJ said.
    Pete nodded. “Sure.”
    “I have to do a project with Clint on Saturday, but I’m in every day besides that.”
    “You understand we aren’t going to be paying you, right?” Reba told him. “This is a volunteer experience.”
    “Can I get food while I’m volunteering?”
    “I don’t see why not.” Pete looked at Reba, who nodded. “Great. Come in when we open each day and you can work for three hours.”
    Sarah was surprised KJ was so excited about working, but she didn’t argue with him. She couldn’t believe he’d gotten in trouble again. Skipping school, and now he was fighting. She wanted children, but she wasn’t sure if she could handle a ready-made problem child.
    ***
    “I’ll drop him off before I go down to the school tomorrow,” Kai told Sarah. “Thanks for staying with him. You really didn’t have to do this.”
    “I wanted to. I didn’t think it would be good for him to be gallivanting around town by himself.”
    “This really isn’t like him. He’s a good kid.”
    Sarah smiled. “People keep saying that, and I’m sure he is. He’s going through a rough patch, is all. You’ll get him straightened out.”
    “I hope so. First step is getting that damn McGarber guy fired.” Kai filled Sarah in on the details of the problem. “A few of the alphas and some other shifter parents will come in with me tomorrow morning. We’re not leaving until something is done about this jerk.”
    “Good. It sounds really detrimental to the kids. I can’t believe