Chapter 2

The low rumble of Steve's voice could still be heard, as he and Myah were only around the corner from the kitchen in the study. Knowing what was coming, Nahele kept his gaze downward. Steve wasn't one for deliberately embarrassing his kids, but their actions the past few months had on occasion led to swift enough punishment that they were not strangers to witnessing or hearing the other get taken over Steve's knee. Sure enough, there came the clear sound of five sharp swats, followed by Myah's pitiful yelp. Nahele sighed, imagining Steve's response to finding out what had caused her to curse in the first place.

Nahele noted J to have his ear more obviously cocked in the direction of Myah receiving her spanking. He looked a little curious, but after hearing her cry out, shook his head and muttered "Yowch."

H50 H50 H50

Myah was painfully aware of how close her proximity was to the kitchen, but was even more aware of the pain that had just been inflicted across her backside. Her adopted father was kind and loving, but no one could deny that the strictness that had dictated every detail of his life in the military came across strongly in his parenting style. He was hardly unfair though, and made his expectations very clear. One would think staying out of trouble with him would be fairly easy. Myah could never pinpoint why she still struggled with it.

Steve had her tucked underneath his left arm, locked against his side, somehow also managing to pin her arms and thus rendering them useless. He'd swatted her upturned bottom hard, five times and now she waited, unsure if the punishment was over.

"You ready to pull yourself together?" Steve asked sternly. "If you're frustrated, fine, I'll always talk, but you better keep the disrespect in check."

Myah nodded, feeling her lip quiver a little. She'd been in a bad mood even prior to rolling out of bed. She'd blamed it on the seemingly endless rain initially, which was odd as normally she actually liked a good storm. When Steve had insisted they still run in the rain that morning, her bad mood had made the familiar exercise seem absolutely intolerable. She couldn't find her stride, and after snapping at the boys when they'd literally started to run circles around her, she'd been left to jog along on her own, feeling very sorry for herself.

Delia's text arrived while they were lifting weights in the garage post run and her friend excitedly informed her that their English grades had been posted. Myah was not excited about this news but tried to assure herself that her grade would not be too bad. The semester was not even halfway over after all. Of course, she couldn't find her login information for the online site the teachers used to post grades and after she had entered in the third incorrect password, Nahele had yelled at her to quit hogging the bench. Her middle finger was rarely used, but somehow it had seemed appropriate to flip her brother off. Steve had glowered at her and sent her outside to do burpees in the rain.

As a result, her shoulders ached and now her backside did as well, although that was diminishing quickly. Part of her wished that Steve would haul her upstairs for a real spanking and then she could cry her stress out in his arms. The problem was she really wasn't sure what the problem was. Their family had weathered a lot of storms together recently and for that Myah was thankful. But now it seemed immature to be upset when there was no good reason.

"Yes, sir." Myah finally answered softly.

Steve slowly allowed her up. He eyed her firmly, though the sternness seemed to have left his face. "So what was that about? What happened?"

Myah hesitated. Steve had made it pretty clear earlier that fall that if you go in trouble at school, you got in trouble at home. She wasn't sure if that also applied to grades. It was still early in the semester after all and surely she would have time to bring the grade up. Was it really worth mentioning?

"Are you really thinking about keeping something from me?" Steve asked, his eyes narrowing.

Living in a house with a former navy SEAL who read people for a living was sometimes a real inconvenience.

Steve's voice lowered to a growl. "After everything we went through last month?"

His words cut Myah to the quick. He was more than right. "I got a D in English. But it's not a big deal." she hurriedly. "It was just one bad test and I have plenty of time to bring it up."

"A D?" Steve sounded incredulous but not especially angry. "Jeez, kid. Do you normally struggle with English? You read all the time."

Myah shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even remember how I did last year."

Steve nodded, his gaze turned gentle. "Grades probably weren't a priority."

Myah shook her head. The last few years of school were a blur.

"Well…" Steve seemed to be considering his next words. "I guess you'll get your test back today?" At Myah's nod, he continued. "Show it to me tonight, so I can see where you're struggling. I should probably start checking your homework. Any other classes you're worried about?"

Myah stared at him. "Check my homework? Dad, you're making way too big a deal out of this. I'm not in preschool, I don't need you to check everything."

"Apparently I do. I probably should have been doing it all along, but it didn't occur to me. That's my bad." He eyed her curiously. "Why are you fighting me? You were plenty worried about that grade. I'm trying to help you."

"I don't know." Myah wished he didn't have to sound so reasonable. She also wished she could figure out why the idea of him overseeing her schoolwork bothered her so much. She was normally eager to chatter on to him about whatever she was doing.

Steve's phone sounded a familiar buzz, offering reprieve. "We'll talk more tonight." he stated and Myah knew from the look in his eye that there was no chance of him forgetting.

"Okay."

"Tell the boys to pack it up." He already had his phone to his ear.

Myah sighed and returned to the kitchen. J was still at the table. Nahale was closing the dishwasher. "Dad says pack it up."

"You going to be able to sit down in the car?" Nahele elbowed her in the side.

"Please, please make fun of me in front of dad." Myah shot back sarcastically. She sometimes felt like Steve was more strict with her than with her brother, but she was completely confident that if he heard Nahele teasing her about getting into trouble, her brother would be the one having trouble sitting down in the car.

"Yeah, right. I wasn't born yesterday." He tugged on her ear. "I know you're a spoiled brat."

Myah glowered at him. "I really don't know how you manage to draw that conclusion." She was quite certain that spoiled brats didn't get escorted out of the room for attitude adjustments. "You jerk." She attempted to shove him out of the way.

"Alright now." J managed to step in between Nahele and Myah, wrapping a muscular arm around each of them and pulling them into loose headlocks. "Don't make me knock both your heads together!" J's bravado appeared to falter when Steve's face appeared just as he'd threatened the McGarrett siblings. Myah however, was not surprised when Steve just shot them an eye roll.

"I've no doubt they deserve it, J, but it's time to roll. Let's go."

H50 H50 H50

Friday was an early release day and Myah tried to focus on that. Just a few hours and school would be over. English was mid-morning and Myah chewed on her lip, knowing that a conservation with Ms. Coleman would be inevitable. Ms. Coleman wasn't a terrible teacher, but since having an unfortunate run in with her niece earlier that fall, Myah had felt awkward in her class. Steve's sister, her Aunt Mary had given her an old kindle at the end of the summer and Myah had it tucked into the small shelf under her desk. She rubbed the edge of the tablet in an effort to relax. Steve was right in that she did read a lot. She loved adventure novels, mysteries and fantasy. A D…. I probably learn more English from these stories than this class…

Myah thought back to the week of the test. She had torn through an entire series of books that week, reading at home and at school… Myah felt a wave of guilt as she considered her actions. Steve was strict about bedtime which included shutting off her phone. He'd never specifically said no kindle though, and Myah had kept the backlit tablet tucked under her pillow almost every night that week, and had then discreetly read during class time as well. She tried to hold back a groan, thinking things were falling into place. She certainly didn't need to pay attention in class to know exactly how Steve was going to react if he found out why she had bombed the test. Regardless, her heart twisted at the idea of keeping something from him, especially after what their family had gone through at the beginning of the school year. She desperately wished she could go back in time for a do-over. Why was paying attention in class so hard?

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Author's note: Hey you sweet gems, I was so blown away by the amount of reviews left and sweet words written when I posted the first chapter to this story. I will be very honest, I only started this story as a way to try and push past my writer's block. You know, writing about a rough day in the life is usually good for when you can't think about anything else to write about. Well, this story did serve to accomplish that, and I'm almost finished with an entirely separate story that just needs a little more work and editing. Finishing and posting that is probably going to be my focus but I didn't want to not acknowledge all the sweet notes left here, even though this story is not really a priority right now. Love you guys!