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Kayla noticed the cluster of men standing on the curb as soon as Peggy turned the car onto the tree-lined street. It was a nice neighbourhood; upper-class but not snooty. The houses were a mix of sprawling bungalows and traditional two-story designs that sat on wide lots and boasted charming and expansive front porches. Houses in the area ranged from $950,000 to $1.3 million. Despite the picturesque quality of the subdivision, Kayla had yet to determine why Brian had chosen to purchase a house that wasn’t more secluded. Although the Littrell home was definitely one of the most expensive houses on the street, it wasn’t the type of house that she would typically associate with a celebrity.

“Well that didn’t take long.” Peggy muttered as she navigated her Land Rover into Brian’s driveway.

Kayla followed the older woman’s gaze and decided that she must be referring to the fact that Chris and Shane were currently chatting up Brian and AJ. She smiled in spite of herself as Peggy killed the ignition. During their last encounter, Chris and Shane had let it slip that they both had a borderline obsession with 90s pop music. Kayla could only imagine how the two men must have reacted when they had discovered that a real-life Backstreet Boy had moved in down the street.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen.” Peggy called as she opened her door and gingerly lowered herself onto the asphalt.

Kayla swung herself out of the car without difficulty. She walked around the massive vehicle to join Peggy on the other side; clutching a file folder that contained Brian’s copy of their first report. Although Kayla was pretty sure that Brian was well aware of the fact that he had completely bombed the first inspection, she still felt apprehensive about handing him the official results. She hated telling any parent that they were in danger of losing their child, especially if she knew that, deep down, the parent in question would never intentionally do anything wrong.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” AJ returned the greeting and flashed them a heart-melting smile. “As you can see, we’re just finishing up.”

“I can see that.” Peggy trilled; her eyes fluttering across the front yard. “There certainly are a lot of boxes.”

“We’re just in the process of cleaning them up.” AJ explained. He vigorously pulled apart the bottom of a box and tossed it on top of the other already flattened boxes. “Why don’t you guys go on inside and I can finish up out here.”

Kayla glanced quickly at Brian. He had yet to say anything to them, but he was at least nodding slightly at AJ’s suggestion that they should make their way inside. Their eyes locked and Kayla quickly looked away. She couldn’t stand to see the pain that she and Peggy had clearly already inflicted.

“He’s soooo not gay.” Shane giggled. “Poor Lorna really needs to stop jumping to conclusions.”

“What’s that?” Brian turned to look at Shane and Chris.

“Cinny, he was totally just checking you out.” Shane clucked. He short Kayla an approving smile. “Those skinny jeans make your ass look fantastic, by the way.”

“Who was checking her out?” Brian looked positively panic stricken. “Me? I – I was hardly even looking at her.”

“Oh, come on!” Shane laughed. “It’s okay to admit that you were taking a quick peek. If I were a straight man, I would be all over her like a fat kid on a Skittle.”

“You guys are too sweet!” Kayla gushed. She could feel the blush creeping up her neck and she purposefully avoided looking at Brian. She was almost positive that Shane had made the comment simply to break some of the tension. Even so, Kayla knew that she would be cherry red in less than five seconds if she looked at Brain

“I only speak the truth.” Shane reassured her. “Come on Brian, don’t you think that Kayla’s pretty?”

“I – I – well, yes.” Brian stuttered. His face had turned just about as red as Kayla’s felt. “You’re very pretty.” He mumbled as he dropped his gaze to her shoes.

“Well – errrr – thanks.” Kayla stammered. She shot daggers at Chris and Shane as she spoke. Kayla knew that Shane was only trying to lighten the mood, but she could have strangled him right there on the spot. To make matters worse, she could see AJ hiding his smirk with his hand as he crushed another box.

“Why don’t I take you guys inside?” Brian suggested. “Peggy looks ready to go.”

Kayla turned to face the house and saw that Peggy was currently inspecting the contents of the garage. She hadn’t even noticed that the older woman had wandered away from the conversation. Of course, that didn’t mean that Kayla wasn’t thankful that she had. The last thing that Kayla needed was for Peggy to think that she was distracting another client. She had already been removed from one file because the client in question had been a complete pervert.

Brian and Kayla fell into step beside each other and Kayla motioned for Peggy to follow them. In the background, she could hear Chris and Shane resume their conversation with AJ; their carefree laughter being carried along by the wind.

“Chris and Shane are quite the couple.” Kayla broke the silence. “I assume that they told you about our semi-annual visits.”

“They did.” Brian confirmed.

“They’re real sweethearts.” Kayla continued. “I think that they sometimes forget that not everyone is as forward as they are though. I hope they didn’t make you feel too awkward with the whole checking me out joke. Shane was just trying to be funny.”

Brian looked as if he was about to respond, but Peggy quickly caught up to them and interrupted. “Let’s get this done.” She commanded. “My feet are killing me.”

The three of them reached the foot of the porch and Baylee stood up from his sullen perch to greet them. “I’m supposed to say ‘hello’ to you.” He stated. “To show you that I have manners.”

Brian let out a grunt of embarrassment that almost sounded like he was being strangled. Kayla watched as he desperately tried to catch his son’s eye, but it was obvious that Baylee had no intention of looking his father in the face.

“I see.” Peggy pursed her lips together and hastily scribbled something on her notepad. “Well, it was nice of you to say hello.”

“Baylee!” Brian admonished. “Apologize to Ms. Peach and Ms. Ford for being so rude.”

“I wasn’t being rude!” Baylee challenged. “I did what you told me to do.”

Brian looked dumbfounded as he stared back at his son. “He’s not usually like this.” He stammered. “I think he’s just a bit upset over the move.”

“So, Baylee didn’t want to leave Georgia?” Peggy probed. She turned to face Baylee as she asked her next question. “Was it hard to leave all of your friends?”

Baylee shrugged. “I didn’t really have any friends.”

“That’s not true!” Brian countered. “You had friends ... at school.”

“The information that we have indicates that Baylee was homeschooled.” Kayla pointed out. “It’s possible that it could have been reported incorrectly ... just like your move-in date.”

“He was homeschooled.” Brian clarified. “But, when we were home for an extended period of time, he went to this academic-based program specifically for kids who are homeschooled. He went to the program three times a week.”

“I wasn’t friends with those kids.” Baylee shot back. “They barely even talked to me.”

“You never told me that.” Brian’s voice took on a concerned tone as he addressed his son. “What do you mean they didn’t talk to you?”

“This is perhaps a conversation that the two of you need to have at another time, Mr. Littrell.” Peggy sighed. “Whatever happened in Georgia is really none of our concern. We’re merely here to determine whether or not you’re capable of being a successful guardian to Baylee here in Kentucky.”

“Right, sorry.” Brian mumbled.

“Speaking of school ...” Peggy paused. “... I’m assuming that you’ve sorted out a way for Baylee’s homeschool program to continue here in Lexington.”

“I haven’t actually sorted out the homeschool program yet.” Brian admitted. “I AM enrolling Baylee at the local elementary school first thing tomorrow though.” He rushed on. “I’ve heard that Sparrow Hill has an excellent – errr – program.”

“It is a highly rated school, Mr. Littrell.” Peggy confirmed. “However, I think you will find that the program is pretty standard. It is, after all, a public school. So, a public school curriculum will be delivered.”

“Right. That’s what I meant.” Brian flushed slightly at his mistake.

“You never told me that I was going to school tomorrow.” Baylee cried; his voice ripe with indignation. “What if I don’t want to go?”

“I have an appointment tomorrow morning, but Kayla will meet you at the school at 8:00.” Peggy ignored Baylee’s outburst. She spoke without lifting her eyes from her notepad as she added more scribbles to the page.

“Kayla will meet me?” Brian repeated.

“It’s standard procedure.” Kayla smiled. “You would be amazed at how many parents lie about registering their children for school. It’s gotten so out of hand that we now have to request confirmation of the registration from the principal.”

“Really?” Brian’s eyes flashed with guilt as he forced a smile onto his face. “What kind of a horrible person would lie about sending their kid to school?”

“Like Kayla said, Mr. Littrell, you would be amazed at what some people do.” Peggy replied. “So, are we ready to go inside?”

“You bet!” Brian nodded vigorously. “We’re ready.” He opened the front door and motioned for Peggy and Kayla to go ahead of him.

Kayla stepped into the foyer behind Peggy and suppressed a gasp. She could hardly believe that she was looking at the same house. The clutter and chaos had vanished; everything was in its proper place. Pictures hung on the walls and an assortment of knickknacks had been unpacked and placed tastefully throughout the house. The hardwood floors gleamed and the smell of fresh-brewed coffee wafted out of the kitchen. Kayla didn’t even need to bother taking out her check-list; the house was immaculate.

“Welcome back.”

Once again, Kayla found herself staring up into the smiling face of Nick Carter. He had somehow managed to join their group en route to the kitchen. He must have followed them out of the foyer, but Kayla definitely didn’t remember seeing him when she and Peggy had entered the house. Where had he been hiding?

“No clipboard today?” Nick whispered.

His lips were dangerously close to her ear and Kayla shivered as his breath tickled the back of her neck.

“The place looks great.” Kayla took a step to her right in order to increase the distance between her and Nick. “Brian must have worked really hard.”

“He had some help.” Nick grinned. “You guys rattled him pretty bad on Friday night.”

“I know.” Kayla frowned. “Unfortunately, we have to follow the rules.”

They entered the kitchen and were greeted by Kevin and Howie. The two dark haired men were sitting at the kitchen table, sipping from oversized mugs of coffee. Their conversation ground to a halt when they caught sight of Peggy and Kayla, but they recovered quickly.

“Coffee?” Kevin offered. “It’s fresh.”

“I can make you some tea if you would prefer.” Howie added.

“No thank-you.” Peggy declined for the both of them. “We’ve got to be heading out.” She motioned for Kayla to hand Brian the folder that she was still clutching in her right hand.

“Oh ...” Kayla faltered. “... here’s a copy of our initial report.” She handed Brian the file without looking him in the face. “There shouldn’t be any surprises.”

“Thanks.” Brian acknowledged. “I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow morning.”

“That’s right.” Kayla nodded. “I’ll meet you in the main office at eight o’clock.”