~
Aaron felt the warmth of her arm against his. He reached for her hand, enjoying the way it seemed to disappear in his own. Her fingers were long and delicate. They’d be perfect for playing the piano. His mind searched for a conversation starter to keep his thoughts from focusing on how badly he wanted to kiss her again. “Did you two have a relaxing day?”
“We did. We watched a movie earlier. He’s been happy to sit around and play. Sometimes our weeks are so busy we have to decompress over the weekend. Hey, did you hear whether they got the printer fixed yesterday?”
“Yes, it’s working normally now. Although I heard Cynthia complained the whole time the repairman was there.”
“Thank goodness. I was dreading going into work on Monday if they hadn’t.”
Monday. Aaron thought about his schedule for the new week and scowled. “I’m not going to be here for lunch that day. My mother’s going to be in town. She’s never here long and wants me to meet her for lunch. I didn’t want you to think I forgot and blew it off.”
“Thanks for letting me know. I hope the visit with your mom goes well.”
Aaron stifled a groan. “Yeah, so do I. But usually, when she comes to visit, there’s some ulterior motive behind it. And as a side bonus, I get to hear complaints about the latest man in her life.”
“That sounds stressful. What brought her to town?”
He absently rubbed the top of her thumb with his own. He pictured the small graveyard nestled in the trees about a half hour’s drive away. The marker with his brother’s name on it was in a section of the graveyard where the area was covered with bluebonnets in the spring. During the summer, lush green grass grew around it. Beloved son and brother. He shook to clear the engraved words from his mind.
Serenity was watching him when he looked up, chewing on her lip and concern drawing her brows together. She gave his hand a squeeze.
He took a settling breath. “Today is my little brother’s birthday. She always comes to town long enough to visit his grave.” Irritation rose like bile in his throat. “My father comes around in the evening. Because they can’t stand to be in the same place at the same time. I’ll meet him for dinner.” Aaron rarely spoke about his family, so why was he suddenly sharing all of this with Serenity?
Maybe it was because she was watching him with eyes that held the right balance of understanding and concern. What he appreciated was the lack of pity. The last thing he wanted was to be pitied for what his parents did — or didn’t do. But saying it aloud was easing some of the pressure that’d been pushing in on his chest all day. He dreaded this date all year. Even though he thought about Kenneth often, most of his favorite memories revolved around Christmas. That’s when he went to visit his brother’s grave, leaving a new toy zebra — Kenneth’s favorite.
“If they can’t keep things civil for an hour to meet in your brother’s memory, they’re putting themselves first. And no one wins.”
Aaron’s eyebrows flew up at her quick assessment of his family’s dynamics. She was hitting it dead on. “You’re not wrong.”
They were silent for a minute or two until Serenity cleared her throat. “What happened to your brother?”
He knew that question was coming. It was completely natural to wonder. He hated having to answer it. But this time, for some reason, the normal barbs of pain and resentment the memory brought to the surface seemed a bit duller with her there. Aaron pushed that realization down, unwilling to explore it. Not now.
A quick glance assured him Gideon wasn’t in the room. He released Serenity’s hand and ran fingers through his hair. “Kenneth was four years younger than I was. He had autism and while he was verbal, he was also prone to wandering.”
Serenity pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. Her cocoa eyes stayed on him and he continued.
“My parents were usually good about making sure doors were secured so he couldn’t get out of the house.” He swallowed the lump of emotions that threatened to lodge themselves in his throat. “When he was six, we were getting ready to sit down and eat dinner. But we couldn’t find Kenneth anywhere. We found the back door unlocked and hanging open. They called the police and there was a frantic search for him.”
Serenity’s feet fell to the floor and she covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide and shining with tears. “Oh, Aaron.”
“They found him an hour later in the neighbor’s pool. There was nothing they could do.” Despite every attempt to maintain control over his emotions, there was still a catch in his voice. “My parents spent the next two years blaming each other and keeping me so busy with after school activities that I only went home to sleep.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and ran a hand down the side of his face. “This is going to sound horrible, but it was a relief when they finally divorced. And even more so when I turned eighteen and could move out on my own.”
His eyes flitted from a spot on the coffee table to Serenity’s face. She brushed a tear away and sniffed. “I can’t even imagine going through what you have. I’m sorry you experienced that.” She sniffed again. “Your brother must have been an amazing kid. What was he like?”
Aaron thought about Kenneth, all of the fun memories coming to the surface. A smile brought the corners of his mouth upwards in spite of the mix of emotions vying for attention. “Kenneth was smart. He could read novels at the age of five. He loved zebras more than anything and he knew everything there was to know about them.” Aaron chuckled. “He’d spend an hour or more telling me about the different facts he’d learned. One time, Mom took us to the zoo and we never made it past the zebra enclosure.”
Serenity was smiling too. She shifted on the couch until she was facing him, her legs crossed in front of her. Dark hair flowed down past her shoulders to almost touch the cushion she sat on. “That’s awesome. I’ll bet it drove you crazy sometimes.”
“Definitely. We didn’t have a lot in common, but we sang together. We even made up songs about zebras.” He laughed again. “I decided to become a music therapist because of him. It always made him happy and I grew up wanting to help other kids in a similar way.”
“I know you’re making a difference in Gideon’s life. And every other student that steps a foot into your classroom.” Serenity gave him a watery smile. “Kenneth would be proud of you.”
“Thank you.” Aaron reached for her hand again in hopes of hiding the warmth he felt creeping up the back of his neck. Even when he’d told Zane about Kenneth, he’d kept the details vague. If someone had told him he’d spill his guts to Serenity even a few days ago, he would have said they were crazy. Now, he was glad he had. The heavy weight on his shoulders eased a bit.
Aaron turned her hand over and laid it on his knee. With his other hand, he caressed the skin on the underside of her wrist. It was as smooth as satin and he was tempted to touch his lips to it.
Gideon ran in, tossing a train onto Serenity’s lap. She gave Aaron’s hand a small squeeze and let go to fix the wheel that had come off the engine. Once it was good to go, Gideon retrieved a collection of train cars and brought them back, setting them up on the living room floor.
Aaron stayed at the house another hour before he decided to head home. Serenity walked him to the door. Aaron waved to Gideon behind her before turning his full attention to the woman standing in front of him. “I’ll see you tomorrow at church.”
She nodded. “Thanks again for the pizza. It was great.”
“You’re welcome.”
Gideon stood next to his mom, his arms wrapped around hers.
Aaron desperately wanted to pull Serenity to him and kiss her like they had the day before. But he couldn’t, not with her son watching them. Serenity gave him a grin that was a cross between sympathetic and humorous. He chuckled, gave up, and placed a kiss on her cheek near her ear. “Bye.”
“Goodbye.” She gave him a little wave before closing the door behind him.
Aaron took in a fortifying breath as he got i
nto his car. He didn’t need any more incentive to find a way around the policy at work. But if he had, there was no doubt about it. Serenity had completely embedded herself in his heart.
Chapter Fifteen
It was just as well that she wasn’t supposed to meet Aaron for lunch. Serenity would’ve had to cancel on him, anyway. She’d walked into work that morning with a note waiting for her on the desk:
Serenity,
Please come see me at 1 p.m. today. I have something I wish to speak with you about. Thank you.
Cynthia
She’d dreaded the meeting all morning. Maggie was kind enough to trade lunch hours with her so at least Serenity was able to eat beforehand. It had been odd eating lunch at the same time as the majority of the other people at the school. Serenity even saw Letty and Zane for a short while.
She said a prayer that things were going well for Aaron and his mom. They’d talked about the whole thing more on the phone and he promised he’d call her tonight to tell her about it and the dinner with his dad. She’d made him promise, even if it was late when he got home again.
On her way to Cynthia’s office, Serenity tried to quell the ball of nerves bouncing around in her stomach. She didn’t know the woman and, while she tended to be a little demanding, hadn’t had any horrible experiences to set her on edge. But she’d heard enough from her co-workers to know that Cynthia didn’t call people in to pay them a compliment.
She paused at her door for a deep breath and knocked. Cynthia’s voice summoned her inside.
The office was decorated with every kind of flower Serenity could imagine. From photos on the walls to the sun catcher in the lone window, to the pot of pen flowers on her desk. Serenity blinked against the assault of color. She hadn’t known what to expect from Cynthia’s office, but the cheeriness was not something she would’ve bet on.
“Thank you for coming by, Serenity. Please have a seat.”
Serenity eased into the chair opposite Cynthia. It was much lower than she anticipated. In fact, the other woman seated at her desk chair seemed significantly taller and Serenity could only assume the differences were intentional.
This was not a good sign of the conversation to come.
Cynthia cleared her throat. “I heard that your son was injured on the playground Friday. How is he doing?”
Was that all she wanted to talk about? Maybe this wouldn’t be bad after all. “He’s healing up fine, thank you. He’s back to school today and if you didn’t see the bandage on his head, you’d never know he hit it.” She smiled.
“Good. Good. I’m glad to hear that.” Cynthia shuffled some papers around on her desk. Once she’d finished, the expression on her face turned to something much more serious. “When you began working here, there was a packet of guidelines and school rules that you should have been given. Did you receive that information?”
Serenity thought back to her hiring process. She didn’t remember getting anything then, but they had received a booklet with school policies when Gideon enrolled. She told Cynthia as much. Her mind flew through what she could remember, trying to figure out which one of them she might have violated.
“I understand that our music therapist, Aaron Randall, accompanied you to the hospital.”
“Yes. He helped me get Gideon there and then back home again afterwards.” What did Aaron have to do with any of this?
“I see. That was thoughtful of him.” Her expression didn’t relay the same sentiment. She studied Serenity over the tips of her fingers that she kept steepled in front of her nose. “I’ve also heard that the two of you eat lunch together most of the time. Is that correct?”
“Yes. We both usually take a late lunch. I met him in the breakroom the week I started working here.”
Cynthia gave a definitive nod. She slid a piece of paper across the desk. “I want to make sure that you saw this particular guideline. I wouldn’t want you or Aaron to run into any complications because of it.”
Completely confused, Serenity’s eyes moved from Cynthia’s face to the paper and scanned it. Then she went through and read it in detail. Nausea rolled through her gut as the words sank in. She definitely had not been made aware of the policy before today. “Can I keep this copy?”
“Of course.” Cynthia waved her away. “If you have any questions about it, I hope you know you can come to me.”
Serenity nodded, numb. She said her farewell and left the office quickly. As soon as she got back to her desk, she had Maggie’s full attention.
“What did she want?”
Serenity held up the paper. “Apparently, I was unaware of one of the guidelines and since Aaron and I have been spending some extra time together, she thought it was prudent I did.” Her words dripped with sarcasm as her mind raced. Was Aaron aware of the policy? If so, why hadn’t he warned her? From the wording, it sounded like he was putting his job at risk if they pursued anything more than friendship. Could she be fired, too?
Maggie looked sad. “I’m sorry. The whole thing’s a mess. Did you hear what happened at the end of the last school year?”
Serenity shook her head.
Maggie told her about the administrator who had started seeing one of the student’s moms and how the whole thing had blown up in the middle of the hallway. “I guess Cynthia has decided something like that isn’t going to happen again.”
“Doesn’t that seem a bit extreme, though? If situations like that came up every school year, then that might be different.”
“I agree.” Maggie shrugged. “But the board of directors voted the policy through. There’s not a lot the rest of us can do about it.” She studied Serenity. “I hate to see it get in the way of a good thing.” She lowered her voice. “You and the Music Man have chemistry. Everyone can see it.”
Fantastic. She needed to stay off the radar and if everyone could tell that there was something possibly going on between them now, well, that wasn’t a good thing. Her chest tight, she went through the motions for the rest of the day, eager to escape the confines of the school.
~
Aaron flopped onto the couch, a loud groan escaping as he stretched out. He’d been on his feet most of the day and the few times he had been able to sit down — primarily at meals — the conversation was emotionally taxing enough to add to his exhaustion.
It was almost ten and he hesitated to call Serenity. But she’d made him promise. He caught a glimpse of her twice while at work and even managed to wave once, but hearing her voice would be the highlight.
“Hey, Music Man. Did you survive the day?”
The sound of her voice, lovely and melodic, flowed over him.
“Barely. I’m glad to be home again.” He laid an arm over his eyes, blocking out the light fixture above him. “It could have been worse. They were both on their best behavior. And now that’s done for another year.”
It sounded like Serenity took a drink of something. “Do you see them any other time of the year?”
He shrugged, even though she couldn’t possibly see the movement. “A Christmas here and there, but not normally. I’m okay with that.” She was silent for a few moments. “Are you still there?”
A sigh came over the receiver. “Yeah. I’m sorry. I guess I’m just dragging tonight.”
“Did your day go all right?” There was no answer. “Serenity?”
“Everything went fine. Gideon had a great day at school and Letty told me he never complained about his head.”
“That’s good to hear. When do his stitches come out again?”
“A week from today. But my Grams’ birthday party is Sunday and we’re going to Kitner for the weekend. My sister will probably remove them for us.”
“I didn’t realize you were going back home. That’ll be nice for you to get to see everyone.”
“I’m looking forward to it. The Chandler get-togethers are always interesting.” Humor colored her voice.
Aaron imagined the way her lips tilted up at the corners when she smiled.
Was she lounging on her couch like him? Or was she sitting at her kitchen table? Right now, he wished he could reach out and hold her hand. “It sounds like fun. I’ll miss you.”
She paused. “I should probably go. Gideon was up several times last night. If he does that again …”
He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something in her voice. If she’d been up so much with Gideon, hopefully she was just tired. “You don’t have to say another word. Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow.”
They said goodnight and he hung up the phone.
The next morning, he went to work thankful for a normal day. All morning, he counted down the hours until lunch. Serenity greeted him at their table with a bright smile, but it didn’t take long to realize the hesitation he felt last night was still there.
She seemed less talkative. And when he asked if she was all right, she insisted she was. But her gaze remained fixed on her food or other activity in the breakroom.
By the time lunch was over, Aaron’s gut told him something was going on and clearly Serenity wasn’t going to talk about it at work.
A knock at his classroom brought his attention to Zane. “I have a moment and wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“Oh?”
Zane came into the room and rolled his shoulders before leaning against the wall. “Cynthia summoned Serenity to her office yesterday. Word has it she made sure Serenity read the new policy. Then Cynthia quizzed her on why you went to the ER Friday.”
Aaron groaned, sinking to the corner of his desk. No doubt that was what caused her to be so standoffish today.
“You never discussed the guidelines?”
Aaron shook his head. “I kept meaning to, but things didn’t really go beyond a friendship level until Friday.” He kicked at the chair leg. Stupid! If she hadn’t known about them, did she think he was trying to hide them from her? “I meant to bring them up over the weekend and didn’t.” That was going to come back to haunt him.
Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) Page 10