You & Me (You & Me Series Book 1)

by Lisa Shelby

  Walking up behind my blond beauty I ask, “What do we have here?”

  “Hi, mommy. Jonafon and I are having oatmeal for breakfast.”

  “I see that. How is it?” I question knowing that she won’t eat it for me.

  “It’s nummy, mommy. It’s got apples in it.”

  I walk over to Jonathan and lift my hand to him. He knows what I want and gives it to me with a slap of the hand and a confused look.

  “I’ll tell you later,” I mouth to him.

  “What about you? Can I make you anything?”

  “Thanks, Georgia but I’m okay. I’m just gonna fix myself an English muffin and some OJ and I’ll be set.”

  “Well, if you like English muffins then you will love the Kelly McMuffin. I must say it’s my breakfast specialty. Maybe one day if you’re lucky I’ll make you one.”

  “That good huh?”

  “That good.”

  After breakfast, I get Ireland dressed and ready for school while Jonathan lets the dogs out and takes a shower. I’m in Ireland’s room directly across from the bathroom when the door opens and out walks a shirtless Jonathan. His jeans hang low enough to see that he still has that V shape that disappears into his perfectly fitting jeans. He’s drying his hair with his towel and doesn’t notice me gawking as he walks down the hall to the living room where he must have left his shirt. Just seeing his bare skin does something to me.

  He was in amazing shape during our time together all those years ago, but now he is seemingly perfect. He’s still lean, but a bit thicker to go with all that cut muscle. Simply put . . . he looks like a man. He’s aging nicely. Very nicely indeed.

  Ireland comes bounding into my face and says, “I’m ready, mommy!”

  I shake my head to clear myself of my lustful thoughts and follow her out to the family room. Jonathan unfortunately now has a shirt covering his bare chest and is tying his boots.

  “You pretty ladies ready?”

  “Yep, all ready Jonafon,” Ireland says proudly. She hooks her thumbs in her backpack straps and sways back and forth while she waits for him. If only she got ready for me like this every morning. So far, having Georgia around has its benefits.

  Jonathan throws a red plaid flannel on over his white t-shirt, leaving it unbuttoned but rolling the sleeves up his forearms. Put that together with his jeans and hot as fuck work boots and he is quite the sight. I’m not so sure I want him to come into the school for drop off. All those teachers are going to have heart failure when they see him. God-forbid even one of his dimples makes an appearance while he’s there, because none of those women will stand a chance.

  Ireland is in her seat—still in the back of his truck—and is talking a mile a minute telling Jonathan all about her new school. She is so excited to show it to him that she’s practically jumping out of her seat. Thank goodness she’s strapped in to that thing because she might just bounce right out of it.

  We get to school and Jonathan lets them make a copy of his ID and they add him to the list of adults that are allowed to leave with Ireland. When I think about the fact that her list has me, Mick, my Mom, Cami, Alex and now Jonathan. I realize that she is a pretty lucky girl to have so many cool people to take care of her. Once again this just proves that it really does take a village.

  As expected, all the teachers at school are completely charmed by Jonathan. It’s a struggle to get him out of there as Ireland walks him around to show him everything!

  Once we’re finally out of the school we head to the high school campus. Jonathan pulls up to an empty spot near the front and puts the truck in park.

  “Listen, Carter Blackburn, the school resource officer, is fully aware of what’s going on. He’s going to be around if you need him. I’m going to text you his number and I want you to program it into your phone. You know that I’m just a phone call away. If anything happens or even if you just have a gut feeling that something is off, you call me and I’ll be here. Got it?”

  “Got it, Georgia. Thanks for worrying about me, but I’ll be fine.” I assure him.

  He hops out of the truck and walks around the front to open my door and help me out.

  “Just call me if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll be here at 11:45 to pick you up,” he says putting one hand on the back of my head and gently pulling my head closer to his and placing one of his sweet kisses on my forehead.

  I feel myself float into the building and turn to look over my shoulder to see him still there waiting to make sure I make it into the building safe and sound. I give him a little wave and he lifts his hand in reply.

  Wouldn’t it be great to start every day like this?

  I continue to float my way through the halls of the school, into the office to check my mailbox, and then head toward my classroom. I always get in early and get things powered on and ready for class so that Heidi doesn’t have to really worry about anything before the bell rings.

  I unlock the door and flip the light on and see that there’s an envelope on the floor. I add it to my pile of mail, power on all the computers and the overhead projector. As I log into my email, I remember the envelope.

  I dig it out from under the other stack of papers I had picked up in the mail room and nearly drop it when I see the writing on the front.

  E. Jacobs

  I know this writing and I know this is not good. This means that whoever this is knows what car I drive, my name and what classroom I’m in. What the hell have I done to somebody out there for them to want to scare me like this? I don’t want to open it, especially alone. Knowing that somebody was in the school after or before hours to place this letter here is disconcerting to say the least.

  I follow my first instinct and call Jonathan.

  He answers on the first ring. “Hey baby, everything okay?”

  This time his baby is a comfort and that is all I want to feel right now. I don’t want to feel the sick feeling that I have in the pit of my stomach.

  “Jonathan . . . there was a note left under the door of my classroom.”

  “What’s it say, baby?”

  He sounds calm but I can hear the anger he’s fighting hard to hide.

  “I don’t know. I haven’t opened it yet. It just says E. Jacobs on the outside of the envelope.”

  “Okay, I want you to open it and tell me what it says. I’m right here, baby, and I’m turning the truck around and headed back to you.”

  I can hear the wheels of his truck screech as he turns around to come back to me.

  I open the envelope slowly making sure I don’t rip it, and when I unfold the paper a picture falls out. The moment I see the picture, tears fill my eyes and I feel as though my throat’s closing up.

  I try to speak, but I have to try again and I barely get the words out. “Oh my God Jonathan . . . there’s a picture . . . it’s the three of us walking at the zoo with Ireland in the middle of us. They’ve seen her, Jonathan. This can’t be happening. Not my baby girl”

  “Baby, I need you to take a deep breath and keep talking to me. Did they draw anything on the front or back of the picture?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, was there anything else in the envelope?”

  “Yes, there’s a letter.”

  “Read that to me, darlin’.”

  Hope you, Ireland and your boyfriend had fun at the zoo?

  Stay away from my family if you want me to stay away from yours.

  “Oh my God, they know her name! Jonathan, they know her name!”

  I suddenly notice that the halls are getting louder and the bell is about to ring. There will be students in the room any minute.

  “What do I do, Jonathan? The bell is about to ring and Heidi isn’t here yet.”

  “Just stay calm and try to act like nothing is wrong. I’m calling Blackburn right now and I’ll be there in five minutes. Hang in there, baby. I’m on my way and we’ll figure this thing out. Why don’t you take a picture of the letter and the picture and send it to me, okay?”
>
  “Okay, I will. But, Jonathan don’t disrupt class. I don’t want the students to know that anything’s wrong. Just come in as soon as first period is over, okay?”

  “Okay, but I’ll be with Blackburn or right outside your door.”

  The bell rings and the first few students start to trickle in.

  “I have to go, class is starting. Thank you and see you after class. Thank you so much, Jonathan.”

  “On my way, Gracie.”

  I hang up my phone, take the picture and send it to Jonathan. I throw the picture and the letter in my purse, and put my purse in my desk drawer. I can feel myself shaking, but I’ve stopped the tears from falling. Taking deep breaths to try to appear normal, I get up and go check in with my kids.

  The bell rings and Austin walks in with Heidi right on his heels, and she closes the door behind her.

  “Hey, Miss J. How was your weekend?”

  “It was good. How was yours, Austin?”

  “Not too bad. Just hung out with Kayla all weekend and actually did a little studying.”

  “That’s great, Austin. What did you study? Please tell me it was math?” I ask him, trying to stay engaged. He really is a great kid so it’s easy to fall into conversation with him.

  “I did. Math and Spanish. I’ve narrowed down the sections I need to go over with you today if we have time. I have my math test next period so I would love to have it fresh in my head.”

  “No problem, we’ll make sure to find time. Hey, how are things at home Austin? I know things were pretty rough last week.”

  “You know, it’s been better. Dad is still drinking a lot and I walked in the other day and he had just hit mom and split her lip open, but when I jumped in between the two of them he just walked away. He still has never touched me, but he hits mom sometimes when I’m not there.”

  “Austin, I am so sorry. Your mom still won’t press charges or leave?”

  “Nope, I’ve begged her to and she just won’t do it. I told her I would leave with her and for some reason she won’t leave. I don’t understand why he’ll hit her and not me. I could take it so much better than her.”

  I rip the corner of a piece of paper off and write my number on it and give it to him.

  “Listen, I’m not supposed to do this so please don’t tell anybody that I gave this to you, but this is my number and I want you to program it in to your phone. If you ever have an emergency, and you and your mom need help, you call me okay?”

  “Thanks, Miss. J. I really appreciate it, but to be honest I already have it. Jesse said you gave it to him and he wanted me to have it in case my dad ever did touch me. Sorry, please don’t be mad at him. We just don’t have too many adults that we can count on and he wanted me to have it just in case.”

  Shit, I could get in so much trouble if any of the staff or parents found out that I gave my number out. I need to be more careful.

  “Of course I’m not mad. But again, please don’t tell anybody because I could get into a lot of trouble or even lose my job, okay?”

  “Promise.”

  “Okay, now let’s get that math out and see what we need to go over.”

  As Austin gets out his homework, I look up and through the glass on the classroom door I see Jonathan talking with Officer Blackburn. The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach eases just a bit knowing he’s here.

  I’m barely holding it together when the bell rings and the students gather their things to move on to their next class.

  “See you later, Miss J. Thanks for everything.”

  “Have a good day, Austin.”

  As soon as the class is clear of students Jonathan walks in. The moment his eyes meet mine I feel a tear glide down my cheek. He wastes no time getting to me and pulling me into his arms.

  “I’m here, darlin’. You aren’t alone. You don’t have to deal with any of this alone.”

  His words are exactly what I needed to hear, and I feel some of the weight lift off of my chest. He gives me a little squeeze along with one of his comforting kisses to the top of the head.

  “Where is it, sweetheart?”

  “What?”

  “The note and the picture.”

  “Oh crap, duh, sorry.”

  I go get the note out of my purse and hand it to him. By this time Heidi can see that there’s something going on. We pull her to the front corner of the room and fill her in on what’s been happening including this latest threat that now involves my daughter.

  “Emily, I am so sorry. I had no idea. Do you think it’s Jesse’s family?” Heidi asks as she pulls me into a hug and then holds me by my shoulders. “Go home if you need to, but be sure that you go talk to Principal Utz and make sure that he’s up to speed on the situation, okay?”

  “I have no idea if it’s Jesse’s family, but I do know that I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to show any signs of them getting to me. It’s really important to me that I stay, if that’s okay with you?”

  “Of course, you do what feels right to you, but please go see Mr. Utz right now and fill him in.”

  “Jonathan Kelly, Mrs. Colyer, nice to meet you. I’m a Portland police officer and Officer Blackburn and I are on top of this. We’ll take her to the office right now.”

  “Nice to meet you, Officer Kelly. Thank you for helping Emily out with all of this.”

  “Of course, we’re gonna head over to the office and I’ll have her back soon.”

  Jonathan ushers me out with his hand on the small of my back and we meet up with Officer Blackburn in the hall to make our way to the office.

  The principal is in a meeting, so we have to wait in the office until he’s available. I can’t help but fidget. I have one hand worrying my necklace while one leg bounces up and down. Jonathan puts his hand on my leg and strokes his hand up my thigh and then back down to my knee, over and over. Eventually, my leg stops bouncing and I grab his hand in mine.

  I turn to look at him. To take more strength from him. He holds my stare; telling me it’s going to be okay without any words. He’s such a calming force and makes the constant anxiety that I feel seem to slip away.

  How did I get through these past years without him?

  At the moment, he may not be taking away all of my anxiety but he does make me feel like I’ll get through it and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. He feeds my soul every time he looks at me.

  Principal Utz opens his door and calls us in. We go over the details of the threats and show him the latest letter. We also bring up Jesse Miller and the fact that this started just after I reported his abuse. He makes arrangements with Officer Blackburn to view the videos from the few cameras that are spread out throughout the school. It’s a quick conversation and before you know it we’re leaving his office and I’m heading back to class.

  Jonathan makes me promise to not go anywhere in the school without Blackburn, and to text him if I need him. Thankfully, I only have an hour and a half left in my work day. Jonathan says he’s going to take care of a couple things and will be back to pick me up.

  I feel the loss of his calming force when he waves goodbye. I head back to class with Officer Blackburn and pray that I can keep it together for the next hour and a half.

  Every Other Freckle

  Jonathan

  I can feel myself raging as I walk out of the school. I couldn’t even touch her when I left because I knew that I wouldn’t leave without her if I did. The thought of leaving her at that school knowing that somebody is messing with her is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Thank God she only has an hour and a half left and then she’ll be with me again. I may go out of my fucking mind otherwise.

  Once I get in my truck I pull out my phone and pull up the info I had gathered on Saturday. While Emily was studying and Ireland was watching her movie, I was emailing back and forth with my favorite records clerk at work getting as much info on the Jesse Miller situation as possible. I program his address into my phone and point my truck in the di
rection of his house.

  I’m sure it’s not Jesse, but it just makes sense that this is connected to Emily reporting his abuse. I know this is against the rules and I shouldn’t be using my resources at work to solve a problem in my personal life, let alone be going to his house when I am off duty, but fuck it. I have to get to the bottom of this. Emily has enough to deal with and doesn’t need this shit.

  I pull up to the nondescript single story apartment complex, park in front of apartment four and turn the truck off. I get out and head up to the door and knock. It only takes a minute for the door to swing open and there stands a burly, unkept teenage boy who I can only assume is Jesse.

  “Hi, I’m Officer Kelly with the Portland Police Department. Are your parents home?”

  “Uh, no it’s just me.”

  “Are you Jesse Miller?”

  “Yes. Am I in trouble officer?”

  “No, you aren’t in trouble, bud. I’m just checking in on you for a friend of mine, Emily Jacobs. She’s a Teaching Assistant at the high school and she wanted me to check on you.”

  I watch to see if any emotions flash across his face at the mention of her name. All I see is relief that I’m just here to do a welfare check and not because he’s in trouble.

  “Oh, Miss J is the best. Tell her thanks for checking on me. I really appreciate everything she did for me that day.”

  “She’s worried that you haven’t been back to class. Is everything okay?”

  “Uh, well things are okay I guess.”

  “Talk to me. What’s going on? Can I help with anything?”

  “Well, I don’t really think there is anything that you can do for me, sir. My dad is in jail and it doesn’t look like he will be out anytime soon. My mom took off years ago. I have a little brother and I know if we look for help they will probably separate us. I can’t let that happen, so I’m trying to find a job that I can work during the day while he’s at school and somehow not lose our apartment. My brother has already been through too much and I can’t let him be taken off to foster care.”