by Katie Meyer
“No.” Why was Kirstin being so weird about this? Did the author swear her to secrecy or something? “I promise I won’t tell anyone you let me read it, if that’s what you’re worried about.” A thought hit her. “Oh, are you part of one of those fan clubs, or whatever they call them, where you get early copies and write reviews or whatever?”
“Street team,” Kirstin corrected. “And no.”
“Okay then...” Megan shrugged. “Never mind, forget I asked.”
Kirstin sighed and sank into one of the old wooden chairs. “No, it’s okay. It’s just not something I talk about.”
Curiouser and curiouser. Pulling out the adjacent chair, Megan eased down and studied her friend, who looked uncomfortable and even...embarrassed? Setting the book aside, she laid a hand on Kirstin’s arm, shocked to feel her trembling. “Hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to upset you. I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is, we don’t have to talk about it.” Kirstin had been nothing but supportive, and Megan wasn’t going to ruin their new friendship over a paperback, of all things.
“Thanks, but it’s okay. I’m just being silly.” She blew out a breath, blond strands of hair floating off her forehead. “I have an advanced copy because the publisher sends me a stack of them before they officially hit the shelves.” Grabbing the book from the table, she pointed to the name printed in heavy font on the glossy cover. “I wrote it.”
“What?” Megan’s eyes flicked from the printed words to her friend’s face and back again. “You’re Jared Reeves?”
“In the flesh.” She offered a tentative smile. “Is that too weird?”
“Weird?” Megan’s voice rose. “Are you kidding? That’s so cool! Have you written anything else, other than this series?” Not waiting for an answer, she grabbed her phone from her back pocket and pulled up a search engine, entering Kirstin’s pen name and the word author. In less than a second, she was looking at a list of nearly a dozen titles, several of which she recognized as bestsellers. “Oh my God. Kirstin, you’re famous!”
Her friend shook her head, laughing. “No, Jared is famous. I’m just me. And I’d really like to keep it that way.”
“Of course, if that’s what you want.” Megan shook her head, still stunned by the discovery. “But I’m warning you, my silence comes at a price.”
Kirstin’s eyes widened and this time it was Megan’s turn to laugh. “Don’t look at me like that! I just want you to sign the book. Er, I want Jared to sign it. However that works.”
Her friend grinned. “That I can do. Got a pen?”
“One sec.” Jumping up, she went to the junk drawer and rummaged through the assorted odds and ends until she found a pen, her mind still processing Kirstin’s double life. She’d managed to balance two careers, one practical, one creative, and it appeared she was doing it well. Megan had hoped to find a similar balance between her role as Owen’s mom and her relationship with Luke. It just hadn’t worked out.
And no matter how good Kirstin’s books were, reading about happily-ever-after wasn’t the same as living it.
* * *
Twenty-four steps. That’s how many it took for Luke to pace from one end of the small hallway to the other and back again. Stopping in front of the double doors that led into the library meeting room the All Saint’s board of directors utilized for meetings, he strained to hear what was being said on the other side.
Unfortunately for him, the library had been designed to minimize sound, not wanting whatever functions took place to disrupt the quiet reading of the regular patrons. Frustrated, he resumed pacing, only to nearly trip when Grant, seated in one of the two chairs flanking the doors, stretched a long leg directly into his path.
“What the heck?” He grabbed the wall to keep from falling face-first into the maroon industrial carpeting.
“You’re giving me whiplash, pacing like that.” Grant stretched his neck until it cracked. “Plus, it makes you look guilty.”
“I thought you were on my side.” Maybe bringing Grant along to the meeting had been a bad idea.
“I am. Which is why I’m telling you to sit your butt down and stop acting like you did something wrong.”
Luke hissed out a breath, but sat, shifting in the uncomfortable chair probably donated from some rich person’s estate decades ago. Definitely meant more for looks than comfort, but it didn’t matter. The thing could have been a butter-soft leather recliner and he wouldn’t have been comfortable. Inside the end-of-year board meeting was happening, and he’d been notified that the allegation made by Liz Robbins was on the agenda. It was total crap, but sometimes crap had a way of sticking to you, which was why he’d brought Grant.
A lawyer was overkill, that’s what he’d told himself, but when Grant had offered, he’d accepted anyway. Better to have backup and not need it than the other way around. And unlike him, Grant was a local boy. That mattered in a place like Paradise. It would be harder for the old guard to dismiss the arguments of one of their own. At least, he hoped so. He’d already lost Megan to this nonsense, now his very livelihood was on the line.
He’d nearly stared a hole through the doors by the time they finally opened, the polished wood making a soft whooshing sound as it rubbed across the carpeting. “Dr. Wright, please come in.” Melinda offered him a smile as she let him pass. He returned it with gratitude. At least he had one ally in this thing.
Inside, the ten members of the board sat around a conference table. Behind it, opposite the door, late-afternoon sunlight leaked through the gaps of the dated vertical blinds covering the large window. Flanking the table, floor-to-ceiling bookcases lined the walls, holding the more valuable or delicate books that could only be read on site. At some point, he’d enjoy perusing them, seeing what hidden treasures might be found. But today his attention was on the matter at hand.
“Thank you for joining us,” Alice Bell said in greeting, as if this was a social call rather than what could be the beginning of the end of his career. “But I’m afraid this is a closed meeting,” she continued. “Your visitor is welcome to wait outside.”
“My lawyer will be staying,” he informed her, making sure to emphasize the word he knew would matter to them.
“I hardly think an attorney is necessary,” Robert Swanson said with a broad grin from the end of the table. “Surely, we can handle this matter among ourselves.”
“That’s the goal,” Grant said smoothly, stepping forward and introducing himself. “Think of me more as a consultant, someone familiar with the terms of Dr. Wright’s contract as well as the relevant statutes.”
“Statues? What statues?” demanded Elijah Reed, his bushy eyebrows drawing together to give the appearance of a graying caterpillar perched on his brow. “I thought we were going to talk about some hanky-panky going on with him and that pretty lady.”
“Statutes,” Melinda said to the septuagenarian, lips twitching. “He means laws. Not statues.”
“Well, then he should have said so,” the old man grumbled.
Great. This was the group he was supposed to trust with his future? Luke was tempted to just walk out, and keep going until he hit the mainland. Resigning would be less painful than having his personal and professional actions judged by a group of self-righteous, out of touch busybodies. They could take their job and—
“Let’s have a seat, shall we?” Grant pulled out the nearest empty chair and half steered, half shoved Luke into it, effectively quashing any ill-advised attempts to flee.
When Luke glared at him, Grant just smiled wider. Despite his annoyance, Luke found himself relaxing a bit. He didn’t trust himself right now, but he trusted Grant to protect his interests.
Sitting, as well, Grant managed a commanding presence, and all eyes were on him as he pulled a file folder from his briefcase and set it on the table in front of him. Leaving it closed, he made eye contact with each board member befo
re beginning, his voice clear but authoritative.
“As I said, I’ve familiarized myself with Dr. Wright’s contract and, as I’m sure you are all aware, there is nothing in it that precludes relationships of any kind, including those involving—” he cleared his throat “—‘hanky-panky’ with a relative of a student. So that leads me to ask what this proceeding is about.” He grinned, working the charm that won him dates and court cases alike. “Not that I don’t enjoy meeting y’all, but I’m sure you busy people have better things to attend to than a schoolhouse rumor.”
A few heads nodded, eating up Grant’s good-ole-boy routine. Or maybe they didn’t care either way, and just wanted to get home, where they could gossip in comfort. Whatever worked, Luke didn’t care. But of course, it couldn’t be that easy.
“But he’s the principal! He can’t date a parent!” Alice Bell insisted petulantly.
“According to his contract, he can.” Grant opened the folder and removed a stapled set of papers. “I’ve got a copy here, if you’d like to take a look, but I assure you, there is no such restriction anywhere in it.” He passed the paperwork down the table to her.
Pulling a pair of glasses from her purse, she read, her lips moving silently. As the minutes stretched by, her cheeks flushed in fury.
“Would anyone else like to look?” When no one said yes, Grant closed the folder and replaced it in his briefcase before resting his elbows on the table, his posture showing he was more than happy to let the board make the next move.
“What about the accusation that he’s been favoring the woman’s son?” asked someone along the table.
Luke bristled. “That woman has a name,” he growled, leaning forward to try to see who had spoken.
Grant kicked him under the table, the sharp motion at odds with the smoothness of his words. “Is there any evidence to that effect? My understanding is that the person making that allegation does not have a child in Owen Palmer’s class, nor does she have any direct knowledge of any interactions involving him. And as schools that follow the Americans with Disabilities Act have demonstrated, providing help to a special needs student is not favoritism.”
Grant’s less than subtle hint landed with the intended impact.
Silence followed, and tension in Luke’s shoulders eased slightly.
“Well, then, let me thank you for your time, and your diligence.” Grant started to rise. “As there seems to be no actual misconduct, I’m sure we all agree that you will continue to honor the employment terms spelled out in Dr. Wright’s contract, and to conduct his end-of-year evaluation in a manner consistent with the terms therein.”
“What about the kid?” Rob Swanson spoke again, his baritone echoing in the low-ceilinged room.
This time Grant anticipated Luke’s reaction, gripping his arm firmly enough to forestall a retort. But even Grant’s voice had an edge to it when he replied, “I’m sorry, can you be more specific? What about Owen?”
“Well, he doesn’t have a contract, right? So we could kick him out, and any other kid whose mama Luke gets a hankering for.”
Luke had to grip the arms of the chair to keep from leaping up and grabbing the smug banker by his fancy golf shirt. But pummeling the old man wouldn’t help, so he dug his nails into the wood and let Grant handle it, praying his friend had anticipated this.
“Not in the same way, but I assume his parent signed an enrollment agreement. I’m afraid I haven’t had an opportunity to familiarize myself with the terms of it, but they would be binding.”
Alice, apparently eager to redeem herself, popped out of her seat. “Even so, what matters is the precedent it sets. We need to be sure this doesn’t happen again. And the enrollment agreement just says that if a student is asked to leave, we have to refund them any remaining tuition balance.”
Crap. She was right. Luke had reviewed the agreement himself back when he’d planned to expel Owen. When Grant looked to him for confirmation, he nodded, afraid if he opened his mouth to speak, he might throw up. He should have anticipated this, but he’d stubbornly held on to the idea that reason would prevail and he and Megan could go back to being a couple. But it didn’t look as though that was going to be an option. Swallowing heavily, he stood. “You don’t have to do this. We aren’t dating anymore.”
“Still, I think it’s important to set an example. To prevent this from happening again,” Alice argued stubbornly. When Rob slowly nodded in agreement, the rest followed.
And it hit him. This was no longer about doing right by the students, if it ever had been. This was about power, and them not wanting to be proved wrong. He knew how the petty politics of this group worked, and thought they might make his own life difficult, but even then, he’d been sure that any ire would be directed at him, not at Owen or Megan.
But Megan had known.
That was why she’d wanted to keep things secret. It was why she’d broken up with him.
And even that hadn’t been enough.
Grant tried to persuade the board to reevaluate at a later date, but Luke knew it was over.
Because of him, Megan’s worst fears had come true.
Standing forcefully enough to knock his chair back several inches, he said the only thing left he could.
“Effective immediately, I quit.”
* * *
“Megan! Wait up!”
Megan stopped at Kirstin’s request, already partway out the double doors of the school entrance. She’d just dropped Lily off at Owen’s classroom after taking her for a bathroom break. Since the gala, she’d gone back to working in the park, or at a café, knowing that using the conference area would just fan the flames of any gossip about her. Besides, she really wasn’t ready to run into Luke yet—hence her mad dash from the building as soon as Lily was settled. Still, she wasn’t going to blow off a friend, either.
“What’s up?”
Kirstin looked up and down the hall before motioning Megan closer. “Did you hear about the school board meeting yesterday?”
“No, did you?” She’d never been one to stay up on that stuff, and trying to plan a half decent Christmas for Owen was draining all her mental energy. She had none to spare for school board politics, and now that she and Luke had broken up, and Liz hadn’t started any more trouble, it hadn’t seemed important.
Nodding, Kirstin again checked the hall. “They’re trying to keep it quiet until after the winter holidays,” she said, referring to the two-week break that started tomorrow. “But I was in the office to turn in some evaluations and heard one of the admins on the phone complaining about how hard it was going to be to get a new principal midyear.”
“What?” Megan’s legs weakened. “They fired him? Even though we broke up?”
“No, that’s the strange thing. From what I heard, his contract didn’t give them any grounds to fire him.”
“Then why do they need a new principal?” Either she was missing something or Kirstin wasn’t making any sense.
“Because he quit.”
“What?” Forgetting to be quiet, Megan’s voice filled the empty corridor. “Why would he go and do a stupid thing like that?” He loved his job; had wanted so badly to prove he could do it well.
“I don’t know, exactly, but I did hear your name mentioned. And then she said something about how she’d always known Dr. Wright was hot, but she didn’t realize he was such a romantic.”
“What on earth is that supposed to mean?”
Kirstin shrugged. “I don’t know, but maybe you should find out.”
“You mean...like, talk to him?” Her stupid heart fluttered at the thought.
“Unless you know sign language, or have mental telepathy abilities you’ve been hiding, yeah, that’s probably the best approach.”
Megan closed her eyes, considering. She really didn’t want to get involved. But from what Kirstin was saying, she
already was. And breakup or not, she’d rather get the scoop from Luke than one of the board members.
Opening her eyes again, she sighed. “Fine. I’ll go.”
“Good.” Kirstin smiled in approval, likely imagining some romantic reunion scene like in the books she wrote. That would not be happening. Still, Megan needed to find out what was going on, for her own peace of mind. And she needed to do it before the gossip brigade started spinning a hundred different versions of what had actually happened and it was impossible to untangle what was and wasn’t true.
“If I’m not back—”
“Can I walk Lily for you? Sure, I can do it during my planning period.”
“Thanks.” Impulsively, Megan gave her friend a quick hug. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”
* * *
The drive to Luke’s home took only a few minutes. Not nearly enough time for her to figure out what she was going to say. Or to build up the courage to say it. And that was why she was passing his driveway for the third time instead of parking and getting it over with. If she kept this up, the neighbors were likely to report her for suspicious activity.
The fear of being arrested for stalking was finally what had her pulling into his driveway on the next go-round. But it was sheer curiosity that got her out of the car and walking to the door. Why on earth would he have quit?
A thought struck her as she pressed the doorbell. What if he’d quit to avoid her? Was he so hurt, or on the flipside, so angry, that he couldn’t stand to be in the same building anymore?
Sweat tickled her brow despite the cool December breeze. Would he even speak with her, if he hated her that much?
This was a mistake. She was sure of it. But before she could leave, the door opened.
“Megan.” Luke rubbed a hand over the dark stubble along his jaw. “I was going to call you.”
“You were?” Her voice sounded weird, high and breathy, like some Marilyn Monroe impersonator. Not good. But speaking was difficult when just seeing him knocked the breath out of her.