It Had to Be Them (An It Had to Be Novel Book 4)

by Tamra Baumann

  Ally whispered, “N-n-n-nucleus.”

  “Very good.” Kline stood up and said to the class, “Ally was the first to answer correctly with nucleus so she gets to be our score keeper. Red team, take your base. Next question, please, Ally.”

  With all the kids engaged and having fun, Kline wandered around the room. The blue team started calling out the answers unusually quickly, so Kline quietly slipped behind their dugout to see what was up. One kid was using his phone under the desk to google the answers. Not a stupid move, but unfair to the others. Just as she was going to take the phone away, the blue team blurted out a wrong answer. Kline moved next to the kid with the phone and said, “Close, but incorrect.”

  “No way!” The kid thrust his cell her direction. “It says it right—ah, never mind.”

  Kline called out, “Who can tell me what your textbook says?” Then she held out her hand and waggled her fingers at cell phone boy. “Hand it over. You can pick it up from my desk after class.”

  The kids on the red team answered correctly and then gave the cell phone kid such a hard time for cheating that Kline didn’t have to say another word. She moved to the front of the room and laid the phone down. “Red team steals. Next question, please, Ally.”

  As the game progressed, the kids got louder and louder, but they were having fun, so Kline ignored the noise. It would probably send her home with a splitting headache by the end of the day if all the classes were as loud. She was pleased to see most of the kids taking notes as she wandered the classroom.

  Ally’s friend, the redheaded girl named Shelly, appeared at Kline’s side. “Did you know Principal Ellis has been standing in the back for like five minutes?”

  “Oh. Thanks, Shelly.”

  Kline turned around and her stomach dropped. Lisa Anderson, the bane of Kline’s existence growing up, was Principal Ellis? Why the hell hadn’t Barb said something?

  Kline was just starting to picture herself teaching in Anderson Butte, but there was no way she’d ever work for that dragon queen.

  The same sick-to-her-stomach feeling Kline had through most of middle school reared to the surface as she slowly walked to the back of the room. “Hello, Lisa. I didn’t notice you standing there.” Lisa was still pretty and well put together. That hadn’t changed.

  “Hi, Kline.” Lisa’s eyes did the familiar sweep up and down Kline’s body as if assessing Kline’s poor wardrobe choices. “Some of the surrounding teachers called because there was so much noise. I thought maybe you needed a hand, but I see everything is under control.”

  Kline tamped down all her old insecurities that tried to fill her with familiar self-doubt. “I’ll keep it down if it’s bothering the other classrooms.”

  Lisa waved a hand. “No. You’re fine. And thank you for being sensitive to Ally. The kids give her a hard time.”

  Kline chewed her bottom lip. Should she say it? Why not? She had nothing to lose because there was no way she’d take Barb’s job now. “Bullying and teasing? Like you did to me when we were this age?”

  Lisa crossed her arms. “I owe you an apology, Kline. I honestly regret being so horrible to you. I just hope that won’t stop you from taking Barb’s place. You’re clearly a fantastic teacher and we could use someone like you on our staff.”

  A few kind words now couldn’t erase the years of pain she’d caused Kline. “We’ll have to see after the election on Thursday.”

  “Okay.” Lisa pointed to the front of the classroom. “Just pick up the phone there if you need anything. It goes straight to the main office. Whoever answers will be happy to help you.” Lisa abruptly turned and walked away.

  After the door closed behind Lisa, Kline shook her head and tuned back in to the game. She drew a deep breath and willed her system to settle. Seeing Lisa again had been an unpleasant shock to Kline’s system.

  Was Lisa sincerely sorry, or was that a ploy to fill a teaching void? Lisa had been a world-class bitch back in the day.

  Surprised to see the class period was almost over, Kline sat in the empty desk next to Ally. “So, who’s ahead?”

  Ally smiled. “R-r-red. Did my m-m-mother get mad at you about the n-noise?”

  Her mother?

  “Principal Ellis is your mom?”

  Ally nodded.

  Shelly added, “Principal Ellis is so much better than Mr. Richards was. That guy was mean.”

  Kline was still processing the news that Ally was Lisa’s daughter. Ally seemed like a nice kid. Not at all the type Kline would picture Lisa having.

  She and Lisa were the same age. If Kline had stayed with Ben, she might have a kid in middle school too. “No, your mom wasn’t mad. And Mr. Richards was mean. He was the principal when I went here too.”

  Both girls’ eyes widened as they seemed to be trying to do the math.

  That made Kline’s inner clock strike midnight. She needed to get on the baby train pronto, before it passed her by.

  After the bell rang and the winner was announced, Kline braced herself to do it all again.

  As the day progressed, Kline realized how much she wanted to teach in such a well-equipped school. She loved teaching underprivileged kids, but she could help the kids here too. Barb had left notes about the ones who might need some extra support and Kline had enjoyed visiting with them and seeing how many were actually eager to learn. Funny, Barb’s notes didn’t include Ally.

  But the students had all behaved for the most part, and were all well ahead of the state minimum requirements. It’d be a good school to send her own kid to one day.

  Barb’s last class period was a planning one, so Kline took the opportunity to track Lisa down. She needed to see if the new principal was being sincere or not when she’d asked Kline to stay on. And maybe she’d get to the bottom of a few things that had been bugging her all day since running into Lisa. They were both adults now, on even ground. Maybe it was time to stand up to the bully.

  The secretary at the main office told Kline to go on back. Lisa’s door was open, and she was tapping away on a computer.

  Kline rapped a knuckle on the doorjamb. “Hi. Do you have a minute?”

  Lisa looked up from her computer. “Of course. How’d it go today?” She stopped typing and folded her hands on top of her desk, giving Kline her full attention.

  “Great.” Kline sat in one of the guest chairs. “But I didn’t realize Ally was your daughter until after you left.”

  Lisa nodded. “Thank you again for working with her.”

  Kline mustered up her nerve and asked, “Is it hard watching the bullying from the other side?”

  Lisa looked Kline straight in the eyes and said softly, “It rips my heart out every day. Ally doesn’t stutter nearly as much at home. The anxiety of speaking in front of others and the prospect of being teased for it makes her worse. That’s why we recently moved back here, so she could be in a smaller school. I thought maybe it’d be easier, but kids can be so cruel no matter where you live, right?”

  Kline nodded. She was going to ask the one question that she wished she’d been brave enough to ask as a kid. She’d seen enough bullying while teaching to have eventually put what happened to her as a kid into better perspective. “What did I do to make you and Rachel treat me so badly?”

  “You didn’t do anything, Kline.” Lisa’s gaze dropped to her hands. “I was the classic-case bully, full of insecurities I was hiding. My bad home life, which as you might remember came out much later, combined with the way all the boys adored you and not me, made me petty and mean. You never fought back, so it made you the easiest target. Then high school came along and all of that changed, didn’t it?”

  “It’s never been in my nature to fight with people. But I eventually learned to stand up for myself. Playing sports helped me do that. Maybe Ally will find something she excels at to help her find some more confidence.”

  Lisa nodded. “I can only hope. And then maybe she’ll be the one all the boys adore, like you were.”

 
; Kline smiled. “The boys thought of me as one of their own. They used to talk about how pretty you and Rachel were most of the time, by the way. I was glad I had basketball and my parents to get me through all those tough years.”

  “And you had Ben. He was always your champion. No one dared speak a bad word about you when he was around.”

  Ben had always been her champion. Even when he was making decisions for her. And Lisa seemed to be genuinely repentant. So maybe it was time to give Anderson Butte another chance.

  Ben finished up early for the day and grabbed his notes for the new clinic idea from his desk. He waved to Joyce on his way out. “I’ll be at my dad’s office if anyone needs me.”

  She said, “Good luck, Ben.”

  “Thanks. You can call it a day, when you’re done with the filing.”

  “Will do.”

  Ben hurried down the street and then across Town Square. He regretted forgetting his coat in his haste to get to the meeting. They’d already started without him and he hoped to catch Joe McDaniel before he left. A loud clap of thunder sounded as fat, gray clouds formed above his head. Could be a cold, wet walk home later.

  He took the stone steps into Town Hall two at a time, slowing at the top to hold the door open for the Three Amigos, head of the church council and spreaders of all gossip in town, to pass before him. “Ladies. How are we today?”

  Mrs. Johnson, leader of the grannies, said, “Every day we’re able to get out of bed is a good one. Want to buy a knickknack for Kline?” She thrust knit-covered things his way.

  “Not today. I’m late for a meeting. Behave now.”

  “What fun would that be?” The three giggled as they made their way to their usual table by the door, ready to pounce on any unlucky victims who walked by.

  Ben hurried down the hall to his father’s office. His father’s assistant was on vacation, so Ben passed by the empty desk and went straight back. Dad looked tired, but back to his usual self.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  Joe McDaniel stood and shook Ben’s hand. “No problem. You father was just telling me how he plans to get the building permit back so we can get started on the distillery.”

  They both sat down as Ben glanced at his father, who had a “Don’t say a word” glare on his face. Whatever Dad told Joe had probably been more a hope than the truth. Not his problem at the moment, however.

  Ben cleared his throat. “I wanted to talk to you, Joe, about possible funding for the expansion of the clinic. My thought is to offer the celebrities who come here one more reason to stay a few days. I’d like to add two floors to the current structure and expand the bottom floor. The third floor would have a separate entrance and private elevator that would serve a top-notch plastic surgery center, the second floor could offer more basic services like Botox and fillers, and the bottom floor could be expanded to provide emergency and hospital-stay services.”

  His dad asked, “So what makes you think we could attract plastic surgeons of that level to come live here?”

  “They don’t have to live here. We could fly the best plastic surgeons in from Denver, each only taking one day a week, and then hire one or two full-time docs for the emergency and hospital-stay portions. Plastic surgeons from Denver would jump at the chance to get their hands on those celebrities that all the California docs get now.”

  Joe’s mouth tilted into a slow smile. “Plastic surgery brings in a fortune. And this would be the perfect place to recover afterward so celebrities can avoid paparazzi. And to be able to get all that filler and Botox crap while I’m out skiing or hiking would make sense to my wife. I like this idea, Ben. Put some numbers together and I’ll take a look.”

  “Thanks, Joe.” Relief washed through Ben as he shook Tara’s father’s hand. Ben hated that he’d be running a glorified spa, but could live with that for the upgraded equipment and surgical suites that he’d be sure came along with it.

  Joe stood. “Well, looks like you have things under control here, Mitch. Guess we’ll be business partners and in-laws too, now.”

  Dad nodded and shook Joe’s hand. “We’re glad to make Tara an Anderson.”

  Joe chuckled. “Tara might have something to say about another name change. Should be interesting. See you gentlemen later.”

  As soon as Joe left, Dad said, “I made some big promises today, Ben. And one of those was that I was going to be reelected. I’m all for this new clinic idea, but not unless I’m still mayor and in control of this town.”

  It was time to take a stand on Kline’s behalf. His father wasn’t going to like what Ben was about to say, but he wasn’t going to back down.

  The rain pelted Kline as she ran up the slippery stone steps of Town Hall. Joyce said Ben had been in a meeting, but maybe he was almost done. She couldn’t wait to tell him she’d decided to take the teaching job. No matter if she won the election or not. She was going to stay. And be with Ben.

  Kline’s shoes squeaked so loudly there was no sneaking past the Three Amigos, so she headed their way. “Hi, ladies. How are you all?”

  Mrs. Johnson, the former high school principal, cracked a smile. “We’re great. Heard you were a hit at school today.”

  “How could you have heard that already?”

  Her wrinkled hand held up a cell phone. “Got a text from my great-grandson. Said you were pretty cool not to keep his phone today.”

  Cell phone boy from first period.

  “I hadn’t looked up the school’s policy yet, so he got lucky. Next time it’s mine for the whole week. You can tell him that. See you ladies later.”

  “That a girl, Kline. Gotta keep those kids in line or they’ll walk all over you.”

  Kline chuckled as she squeaked her way to the mayor’s office. Raised voices were echoing down the hall. Ben was in a full-out fight with his dad. She was about to turn back around and wait in the lobby when the mayor said, “Your cute little plan to make sure everyone in town made Kline feel welcome isn’t going to be enough, Ben. She left because she never fit in around here and you know it.”

  Kline’s stomach dropped. So there was a plan to make her feel welcome? None of the kindness she’d received had been sincere? Had they all been lying to her? God, had nothing really changed? Were they all conspiring behind her back?

  Ben started to answer, but the mayor cut him off. “And why have you put off telling her to drop out of the race like we’d agreed?”

  Kline laid a hand on her stomach as the mayor’s words punched her in the gut. Ben had agreed to ask her to drop out of the race? Was he doing it all over again? Making plans or decisions behind her back and calling it for her own good?

  The mayor added, “Kline drops out of the race or you can kiss your new clinic goodbye.”

  Ben replied, “Joe McDaniel and I—”

  Tears filled her eyes when Ben didn’t even fight back after being told to choose. Had he already made up his mind? Was she going to be thrown under the bus for a new clinic?

  The mayor said, “I’ll convince Joe it’s a bad decision, and I won’t stop at making up my own numbers to do it. You need to talk to Kline today, before she gets too settled in that cozy teaching job, because none of the Andersons want her here. All it’ll take is one word from me to Lisa and Kline’s out. Lisa is a loyal Anderson, and you need to be too.”

  “Dad, your heart attack alone is enough—”

  “You tell Kline about that, and I’ll lose for sure.”

  Kline’s feet started moving backward in retreat. He’d had a heart attack? And Ben hadn’t told her about it because of the election? So his father would win and Ben would get his clinic?

  Her hand went to her chest as the pain of Ben’s betrayal sliced her heart in two.

  Ben appeared in the doorway as he called out, “I’m done with you, Dad. You can just go—” When he saw her he stopped dead in his tracks. “Kline?” He threw a thumb over his shoulder. “Don’t listen to any of that.”

  Kline didn’t want to hear any
more lies. Her heart still bore the bruises from Ben’s earlier revelation. He promised her there’d be no more lies between them. She couldn’t be with a man who wasn’t capable of telling the simple truth. She turned and ran down the hall, past the Three Amigos, who called out to her, but she was too angry to hear their words.

  She shoved the glass door open and ran into the pouring rain. Ben was right behind her, shouting her name, but he was the last person she wanted to talk to. She needed to see for herself what had been said on the town loop behind her back. Were they all laughing at her for running for mayor too? That familiar sickness from her middle school days sat like a lead ball in her gut.

  She beeped the locks on her mother’s car and got in. Before she could start the engine, Ben caught up and banged his fist on the window. She ignored him and took off. When she glanced in the rearview mirror Ben kicked a puddle, sending water everywhere and probably ruining another pair of fancy shoes.

  Good. The traitor. And to think she was just about to tell him she wanted to stay and try again with him. But he hadn’t changed a bit. Telling lies and always catering to his father no matter what it cost her.

  Tears blurred her vision, forcing her to slow down. When she got home and inside, she found a note from her mother on the kitchen table. “Be back in time to cook a celebration dinner for your first day of school.”

  Damn. Now Kline felt even worse for making her mom walk wherever she’d gone in the rain. That probably wouldn’t help whatever ailed her.

  Kline jogged to the study and powered up her mom’s computer. It asked for a password, but her mom used “Kline” for everything so she got right in. She hit the icon to pull up her mother’s e-mail and started reading.

  Sure enough, Meg had sent an e-mail asking everyone to “make Kline feel welcome.” So it’d all been fake? The free meals, the tablet, the gym membership. Just to please their favorite son, Ben? Had he begged people to come to her birthday party too? To make her stay and feel like she fit in? Because the mayor hadn’t lied about that. She hadn’t fit in before.

  Scrolling further, she found an e-mail between her mother and Ben’s grandmother. As she read, her already achy heart threatened to just stop beating and put her out of her misery. She laid her head in her hands and let her tears fall.