Scrimmage Gone South (Crimson Romance)

by Pace, Alicia Hunter

  Time stopped. His knee began to throb. His heart raced. He said nothing because he couldn’t. She was asking the one thing he could not do. Living that time had been bad — way beyond bad. He could not revisit it. Talking about it would only bring back the anger and if he became that angry again, he might never get past it.

  “You can’t do it, can you?” she said sadly. “You can’t do the one thing that might save us.”

  “Don’t you see? We don’t need to do that. I don’t need to understand what you did or think it was okay. Doesn’t it mean more that I can say it doesn’t matter?” He raised his hands in frustration. “My, God, Townshend! I love you, no matter what, in spite of everything. How can there be a better love?”

  She cupped his cheek and looked at him all soft. Yes! He had won.

  “Thank you, Mr. Darcy,” she said with tears in her voice.

  “I don’t understand.” She might as well be speaking French. But in any language, he hadn’t won anything.

  “I know,” she said as if she was sympathizing with a child who had dropped an ice cream cone and there wasn’t another to be had. “And I know you love me. I feel it. But you would always be hanging back, looking for a way to take your love back. So I’ve got to walk away before you do that.”

  There was something so calm, so final about her voice, but something vulnerable and wistful too.

  He had the feeling if he put his hand on her cheek she would let him. He was right. She closed her eyes and moved her cheek against his hand. Something about that sent his whole insides into lockdown.

  “Well,” he said. “You were always out of my league, anyway. So classy.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” she whispered. “You were always out of my league. So beautiful.” She brushed his cheek with her fingertips.

  “Ridiculous,” he said and placed his hand over hers.

  “Yeah.” She pulled away and started the car. “Ridiculous. Aren’t we just?”

  • • •

  Tolly did not want to go to work the next day. She hadn’t eaten; she’d barely slept. But, boy, had she showered. She was very, very clean. However, the only thing she wanted less than going to work was to stay home.

  So here she was. At least she didn’t have court this morning, or any appointments. She could pretend to look at files and brood. She’d earned a good brooding and she was going to have it.

  Or not. Her office door opened softly and Harris stepped in. She opened her mouth to speak — until she saw is face.

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong. People thought she and Harris had an almost twin connection, but it wasn’t true. She’d watched that spookiness between her mother and her aunt all her life, and what she and Harris had was nowhere close. She could just read him and his facial expression told her everything she needed to know — except the details. Her mother and aunt would have likely known the details.

  “Mama?” she asked as he walked toward her desk. “Daddy? Grandmamma or Papa?” Had it been Missy or Harris’s parents, his expression would have been different.

  He bent over and rested his fists on her desk.

  “I just got a call. Nathan has been arrested for sexual misconduct.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Of course,” Tolly said without emotion. She had no emotion — not yet. She’d used all her emotion where this was concerned trying to warn him. And it had done no good, whatsoever. “Jamie Fisher.” She looked at Harris for the confirmation that she knew would come.

  His face shifted to shock and he let himself down in the chair across from her. “And you knew this how?”

  “I’ve been watching it for weeks. I knew.”

  Harris’s face grew even more puzzled. “Tolly, are you saying Nathan did this thing?”

  “No!” Now she had emotion — it flew through her like a match on a stream of gasoline. “No, never. Nathan wouldn’t do that. She has an unhealthy attraction to him. I tried to tell him, tried to warn him. He marked it up to an adolescent crush and told me to mind my own business. He had the idea that if you don’t do anything wrong and are careful, you can’t get in trouble. Insisted that since he was never alone with female students, nothing could happen to him.”

  Harris shook his head. “Naive.”

  “Hardheaded,” she said.

  “That too. But what would you have had him do?”

  “Any number to things. Tell the principal. Have her removed from his class. Tell her parents.” She took a gulp of the stone cold coffee at her elbow. “Let me have a come to Jesus meeting with her.” She covered her eyes with her hand. Maybe if she couldn’t see, it wouldn’t be true. But it was. “Tell me the particulars.”

  “I don’t know much. The girl went to the guidance counselor this morning. She called the police. They came and talked to the girl. Then they took Nathan in for questioning and ended up arresting him.”

  An arrest this quick was unusual. “He acted like an asshole to the detectives, didn’t he?”

  Harris hesitated. “Yeah. Can’t blame him, but it wasn’t prudent. They don’t like that.”

  “No. I imagine not.” Only she didn’t have to imagine, having been on the wrong side of his bad mood more than once.

  “Well.” He rose. “I’m going to want to talk to you some more about this. A lot, actually. But I’m going to get him out of jail.”

  She jumped to her feet. “Jail? They’ve got him in a cell?”

  “Get your girlfriend hat off and put on your attorney hat. Of course they’ve got him in a cell.”

  Oh, right. Harris didn’t know she didn’t have a girlfriend hat anymore. No one did.

  She pulled her purse out of her bottom desk drawer. “I’m going with you.” Regardless of her hat or lack thereof, she wanted him out of that cell yesterday. “Let’s go.”

  “You aren’t going.” Harris said it like he meant it. Not that it mattered.

  “I have to.”

  “No. Nathan called me. He was very specific. He does not want you to come there.”

  “I don’t care,” she said. “Does he think I’ve never been to the jail?”

  “Tolly, he’s in bad shape. You know he was placed on immediate paid administrative leave.”

  She did know it. That’s what always happened in these cases and it had always seemed like such a civilized way to handle it — protect the children but don’t punish the untried. But he was being punished.

  Harris took her hand. “Don’t fight me on this, brat,” he said softly, with compassion. “He’s upset and confused and embarrassed.”

  “Angry,” she said.

  “Yes, that too. And it will just make it worse for him if you see him there. You can help him more here. We’ve got to put a case together and fast. You can do more good here for right now. Stay here and get started on some research. You know what to do. Later, when he’s home, I’ll call and you can come over and we’ll talk to him.”

  “All right,” she said. But she had a different plan, because she didn’t have to stay out of his business anymore. If she could fix this, maybe it would even the score between them and she could walk away with a little less guilt.

  • • •

  Once at the high school, Tolly went straight to Principal Sydney Malone’s office. She knew him from church, even before becoming a high school mom — not well, but well enough. Not surprisingly, there was a heaviness in the air of the outer office. What was a surprise, but probably shouldn’t have been, was that Daryl Grayson was there talking to Becky Jennings, Principal Malone’s administrative assistant.

  “Yep. It’s fixing to get ugly around here. The press will get hold of it any second now. And I gotta say, it goes to judgment. You saw him pull my boy out of that game and put in that tenth grader. Guess he likes ’em young
.” Daryl laughed but Becky did not join in. That did not stop Daryl from forging on. “I gotta say, if it was my little girl — ”

  Tolly chose that moment to reveal herself. Daryl only paused for a second. He tipped an imaginary hat.

  “Miss Tolly.”

  She ignored him. She didn’t want to, but she did it for Nathan because he’d never been able to.

  “Becky, I’d like to see Mr. Malone.”

  “You’re in line behind me,” Daryl said with a self-satisfied grin.

  Becky picked up the phone and spoke quietly. Then she said, “Tolly, you can go right in.” She didn’t look at Daryl to enjoy his response. She didn’t have time for it.

  Sydney Malone was a pleasant middle aged man who usually looked happy. He was not smiling today. He stood when she entered the office and held out his hand.

  “Thank you for seeing me, Sydney.”

  “I suppose it would be too much to hope for that you are here to discuss Kirby’s schedule for next semester,” he said as they took their seats.

  “Nathan didn’t do this thing, Sydney.” Whatever it was. She still didn’t know the specifics.

  “We are committed to finding the truth,” he said. “It is, of course, our first priority to protect the children put in our care, though we will not condemn a valuable member of our faculty out of hand. We will trust those in authority to give us the answers we need. At that time, and only then, will we take permanent action.”

  “Sydney,” Tolly said with a sigh. “Let’s start again. I am not the media and I am not here to raise hell at you. Nathan didn’t do this thing. You know it.”

  He sighed and ran his hand over his face. “I do know it, Tolly. But putting him on leave was standard procedure. You know that.”

  “I do.”

  “Then what do you want from me? Are you representing him?”

  “No. Harris is. I want to make it go away before there is any representing that has to be done.”

  “That would be too good to be true.”

  “Then call that girl down here and let me talk to her.”

  Before she finished her sentence, Sydney was shaking his head. “I can’t do that, Tolly.”

  “Is she here? Or has she gone home?”

  He hesitated. “She’s here. Her parents were going to take her home, but she said she had done nothing wrong, that she had no reason to go home.”

  “Seems to me a girl who had been violated would be so shaken up, she’d need to go home. I guess she wants to enjoy the drama she has created.”

  “I didn’t say that.” But she could tell from his expression that he agreed.

  “I am not unsympathetic to Jamie, Sydney. I think she is a very confused girl. It would be better for her if she recants before it goes any further. It would be better for the school. And I can reason with her. I know I can.”

  “But most of all it would be best for Nathan and that is your true concern. I understand that. But I cannot condone you talking to that girl without her parents’ permission.”

  “Then call them. Get them down here. I’ll talk to her with them present.”

  “Oh, come on, Tolly! They aren’t going to allow that.”

  “What do they think?”

  “What would you think if Kirby came home and said a female teacher had been inappropriate with him?”

  “If Kirby said that,” she said slowly, “it would be true.”

  “I know that. I’ve known Kirby all his life.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “And I’ve known Jamie ever since she moved here three years ago.”

  “Then take a chance, Sydney. Help me talk to her. Let me save everyone.”

  “No. I can’t.”

  “Even though you know I might be right.”

  “Even at that. You are not thinking. If I bring Jamie into this office and let you ambush her, it will come back on Nathan. You would know that, if you would pause to think for ten seconds.”

  They sat and looked at each other for a long minute. She wondered if she looked as defeated as he did.

  When he turned and began typing at his computer, she thought she had been dismissed until he spoke again.

  “I realize that Kirby has been through a lot lately,” he said slowly and pointedly. “I can understand why you would want to check on him in view of what has happened with his coach.”

  What? She should have thought of that, maybe. But she was more than sure that Kirby was handling this just fine. And if he wasn’t, she would reassure him all in good time. This was not in good time. This was action time. Panic time.

  She opened her mouth to speak but the principal waved her silent. He reached into his desk drawer and handed her a tag on a lanyard.

  “I am going to give you this visitor’s pass and I have opened the class schedule database. All you have to do is type in Kirby’s name to locate him. I would do it for you, but I’ve got to go deal with Daryl Grayson. I plan to take him to the lunchroom since there’s no one there this time of morning. I suggest you stay in here for a few minutes so you don’t have to see him. I wish I didn’t have to.” He rose. “Make yourself comfortable in my chair, so you can find out where Kirby is right now. You know your way around the school, don’t you?”

  “I do.” She nodded. “I understand.”

  After Sydney left she lost no time, but it wasn’t Kirby’s name she typed. Right now, Jamie was in third period French. She could wait outside the door. Oh, but wait! She was a library assistant during fourth period, which started in twenty minutes. Perfect — not that anything was perfect. Or even good.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Are you sure you want to go home?” Harris asked Nathan as they pulled away from the Merritt City Jail.

  “As opposed to jail? Or back to school? I think I’ll pick home, be it ever so humble.”

  “It might be ever so swarming with the media before long.”

  “Oh, come on, Harris. I’m not that interesting.”

  “The world is always interested in child molesters and you’ll always be the Angel.”

  “I am not a child molester and don’t call me Angel.”

  “Get used to it, buddy.”

  They rounded the corner in time to see a news crew disembark from a van.

  “Guess it’s out,” Harris muttered. “What do you want to do?”

  “I don’t have many choices, unless you’re willing to drive me to Mexico.”

  “You have all kinds of choices. You can go home with me. We have plenty of room. It might be a little crowded, but you can go to Tolly’s.”

  So she hadn’t told him they were no more. “This is where I live. I can be here,” he said stubbornly. Within twenty-four hours he’d lost his girl, his job, and his team. He wasn’t giving up his bed — especially since Townshend’s wasn’t an option. “You can drop me at the curb.”

  Harris frowned and shook his head as he pulled into the driveway. The cameraman and a reporter stood, poised to descend. “Not a word,” Harris said. “I mean it, Nathan. Go in the house. I will make a non-statement and be right behind you.”

  Funny walking into a place a few hours after everything had changed. When he’d left this morning, he was upset but determined to win Townshend back. She was wrong. Nothing mattered except that they loved each other. He had not established a game plan yet, but he was working the angles.

  But now he had nothing. And Townshend had been right about Jamie. This led him to wonder what else she’d been right about, but he didn’t have the wherewithal to give it any energy. He straightened up the mess around his recliner and carried a dirty coffee mug and a handful of candy wrappers to the kitchen. He had no idea how to straighten out his life, but this he could do.

  The door opened and Harris came in talking on the pho
ne. “Yeah. We’re here. Come on. There’s press. Not a lot. A station out of Birmingham and a couple of newspapers.” He paused and looked at Nathan. “Yeah. Seems okay, considering. Right. Sure. Bye.”

  “Who was that?” Nathan asked, but he knew.

  “Tolly. She’ll be right over.”

  “Townshend is coming here?” What did that mean?

  “It took everything I had to keep her away from the jail.” He sat down and opened his messenger bag. “Okay, take a seat and tell me what happened.”

  “You said you had the police report. Tell me what Jamie said.”

  “No. You tell me what happened. Then we will get to that.”

  “Nothing happened. Don’t you believe me?”

  “Of course I believe you. But I’ve got to hear about what was going on with you when it was supposed to have happened. Then we’ll look at what she said and let you respond to it.”

  Nathan sat on the sofa facing Harris. “Shouldn’t we wait on Townshend? Won’t I just have to tell it all again?”

  “I want you to tell it again. And again. And again. But right now, I want you to tell it the first time to me.”

  “You’ve got to give me something — a place, a time. Because I don’t know when you are talking about. Because nothing happened.”

  Harris nodded and riffled through some papers. “Okay. What happened during your lunch period yesterday? Monday.”

  So long ago. On Monday, he was fresh off a victory on the field and things were great with Townshend. And no crazy teenager had accused him of anything.

  He took a deep breath. “Okay. Lunch. Fourth period. It’s an hour and a half long, to allow for classes and lunch. I don’t have a class then. It’s my planning period. I hardly ever go to the lunchroom. I usually go to my office in the field house. I have a little refrigerator and a microwave and I keep some food there. But I didn’t go there yesterday. I stayed in my classroom. After Homecoming week, I was real behind on my paper grading and lesson plans so I stayed there to work.”

  “Do you do that a lot?”