Ultimate Kill (Book 1 Ultimate CORE Trilogy) (CORE Series) Read Free Page B

bad.”  
    “Yeah, and if my mom found out I flipped my star, she might make me stay home instead of going to Disney World.”
    “You’re going to Disney World for spring break? Wow, you’re a lucky guy. But I can’t imagine your mom leaving you behind.”
    “I dunno. My dad is always calling her a tease. So maybe she was just teasing me when she said if I’m not good at school I can’t go on vacation.”
    “A tease,” she echoed and hid a smile. “Yes, I bet that’s exactly what she was doing. Teasing you.” She gave his little shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Have fun and tell Mickey Mouse and Goofy I said hi.”
    Joey grew serious. “You know those are just people in costumes, right?”
    “Yes, I’m fully aware. Thank you. Now scoot. The principal is going to be calling for buses soon.”
    As Joey dashed down the hall, Claire Brundle, one of the school’s special ed teachers and her close friend, came around the corner. “Geez, Nurse Naomi, don’t you know anything? Mickey Mouse and Goofy aren’t real.”
    She laughed. “Thank God Joey clued me in, huh? That kid is a riot. You should have heard what he said his dad calls his mom.”
    “I don’t even want to know. Olivia’s preschool teacher told me that she’ll believe half of what my daughter says happens at home, if I believe half of what happens at school.”
    “Good advice. So, are you ready for your vacation?”
    “Yep. It’s scary how ahead of the game I am. Everything is packed, and all my darling husband has to do is load the car and we’re outta here. You know we still have room for one more.”
    Over the past few months, Claire had asked her a dozen times to join her and her family to spend spring break with them at the house they’d rented in Siesta Key, Florida. While she’d appreciated the offer, spending the week with Claire, her husband and daughter, her mother and father in-law, not to mention her brother and sister in-law and their three kids sounded not only like a recipe for disaster but a vacation from hell. Besides, she had her garden to tend to and some serious spring cleaning to do.
    She wrapped an arm around Claire’s shoulder. “Thank you. But I’ll let you have all the fun.”
    “Please?” Claire batted her lashes. “I promise you won’t have to pay for a thing.”
    “I am so on to you. You just want me there as a buffer from a houseful of in-laws.”
    “No. I need a drinking partner. If you’re there, my mother-in-law won’t give me the ‘Claire, do you really think you need that glass of wine’ crap.”
    She laughed. “Okay, so you want me there as an excuse to get drunk. For shame.”
    “That’s me. The town drunk.”  
    Their principal chose that very moment to round the corner. Claire’s cheeks grew beet red when he raised his eyebrows. After he went into the office, Naomi nudged Claire with her shoulder. “Smooth.”
    “No kidding. On that note, I’m leaving.” Claire started down the hall, then glanced over her shoulder. “If you change your mind, the minivan leaves at thirteen hundred this evening.”
    “You realize that’s one o’clock, right?”
    Claire gave her a wave. “Whatever. I’ll send you a postcard.”
    Shaking her head and grinning, Naomi went into her office. As she shut off her computer and locked down her supplies, she thought about the next ten days. No bloody noses, no bumps on the head, no pink eye or chances of lice. While she loved working with kids, being a school nurse wasn’t exactly dull but it also wasn’t the most exciting job, either. Back in the day, she’d worked in busy ERs and had dealt with all sorts of crazy cases.  
    Those days were long gone.  
    Rather than dwell on the past she looked to the week ahead. To the gardening, the spring cleaning. Maybe she’d even paint her spare bedroom or catch up on some reading or the shows clogging her DVR.  
    Alone.
    “Have a great week,” Donna, one of the school’s secretaries called from the main