Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1)

by R. T. Wolfe

  Brie woke to a dreamless morning. It was a good sign for a new day, a fresh start to a new semester. She felt worn from poor sleep, but relieved she'd woken with a blank mind. She called out to her dog even before lacing her running shoes. She tied her hair back in two quick twists as she walked from the bathroom and down the stairs to grab her yellow fleece jacket. Snatching her dog's leash from its hook, she went into the garage and pushed the button to open the door.

  "Damn," she said out loud. "Damn, damn, damn it."

  Punching the garage door button with more force this time, she went back in to schedule a cab ride to Bloom Elementary. If someone was trying to scare her, all they were really doing was pissing her off.

  As she ran, she considered who might have a grudge against her. A parent of one of her students? The Gradys never missed a chance to tell her she had ruined their son's academic career for having him repeat first grade. Poor kid. He had moved from school to school and could hardly write his name when he had started in her class two years before in the middle of the term.

  Hmm. Confidentiality would keep Mr. Babb from knowing who reported his abuse to the authorities.

  She rounded the corner as Nathan's dog came running down the drive. This time, Macey completely ignored Brie's command to heel and yanked the leash out of her hand, dragging it through Nathan's yard.

  Nathan meandered down his drive to greet her.

  "I'm sorry, Nathan," Brie said impatiently, "but I don't have time to talk. I have a new student coming today, my car broke down and I need to get back to catch a cab to work. Please help me get the dogs."

  "I'm afraid I can't have you taking a cab. I'll drive you. You have a new student? To train for landscaping? In January?"

  "No, in my classroom. Macey, come!"

  "Classroom? You teach landscaping?"

  "No," she said, picking up Macey's leash and wrapping it around the palm of her hand. "I teach over at Bloom on Millcreek and Prairie. Landscaping and holiday decorating are a side job. I have a cab coming. Thank you. I need to get going." She turned to take a step.

  "Wait." Nathan grabbed her arm. "Duncan and Andy are starting today at Bloom. First and third grades."

  Chapter 9

  Without fully turning, Brie stopped. Her mind did a fast-motioned circle through several possibilities.

  There was a mistake.

  She knew Andy was six.

  There was no Andy starting in first grade at Bloom. She would know that kind of thing.

  She assumed they were starting at a private school next week with the rest of the private schools. Nothing really to think about there.

  Back to there-is-a-mistake.

  She turned to face him. "Have you registered them yet?"

  "Yes. They have Mrs. Whittier and Miss Chap... oh." he said as his eyes wandered up and to the side.

  "I'm Miss Chapman." Brie dropped the leash, not noticing her dog running off again. "There is only a Sylvester registered to start in my class today."

  "Well." A large smile filled Nathan's face now. "Sylvester Andrew Reed. It's my father's name. You can see why my brother chose to go with the middle name."

  Brie felt sick and started pacing back and forth in a short path. "Oh," she said with legs shaking. "No, no, no, no. This cannot happen." Her mind did another circle.

  She'd kissed him.

  Kissed a parent of one of her students.

  In front of her colleagues.

  She'd kissed him in front of her boss.

  This was beyond wrong. She pressed her fingers against her temples while continuing to carve a path in the snow.

  "I can fix this," she said aloud as she stopped and put her hands out, palms down. "I'll go right to my boss and expl—"

  "You mean that judgmental fish you said was your boss is the principal of my boys' school? Huh. So... just asking, don't you check last names and addresses of your new students?" he asked still smiling from ear to ear.

  "No." She went back to pacing. "Research shows if teachers know the social and economic backgrounds of their students, they may make preconceived judgments of the student's... oh, never mind. This is unprofessional. Backward. I don't kiss parents of my students." She started pacing again. "And, ohhh, Sandy saw me kiss you. Sneered at me. Even made the jab that you're 'not quite the firefighter.' I can fix this. I can get him moved to another class."

  Nathan stepped in her path trying to slow her down. He framed her panicked face with his hands. "Slow down. Where is the wrong here? Andy likes you already. He'll be happy. I'm happy." His eyebrows dropped when Brie didn't soften her expression. "We didn't do anything worthy of a scandal." Not that he wasn't thinking about it. "No wrong. I'll take you to work. I'll bring the boys when it's time. They'll have a great first day at school. Andy is very well behaved, so his other teachers told me." He didn't let go of her face but pulled his head back some. "Firefighter? So, GI Joe is an old boyfriend."

  Brie sighed deeply. "Nathan. I can't do this. I can't have you drive me to work like we just had some steamy night of sex before dropping off your nephew in my classroom. It's too late to have him switch rooms. I have to figure out how to patch this over with my boss. With the teachers that saw... us. And I have to change all of the places in my room that say 'Sylvester' to read 'Andy.'"

  He had a hard time listening after the comment about the steamy night of sex, but he tried to smooth over the situation. "Okay. You take a cab. Leave your back door unlocked. I'll catch up with your dog and get her back home for you."

  Brie took off the way she'd come. He rocked back on his heels and shook his head. He hadn't even made the connection with her last name, he berated himself. Southern hospitality my ass. Dumb ass was more like it.

  * * *

  His image of Brie had been pretty well set. Small business woman. Works with her hands. Seems to enjoy living alone. Outdoorsy. Not the overly flirty Barbie-type. He stood in the doorway of her classroom studying her. She was dressed in low-heeled pumps, gray slacks and a white blouse with her hair bundled up on her head. He thought she was just as pretty as she'd been in her silver jumpsuit.

  This was a side of Brie he enjoyed watching. She didn't speak down to the kids like many adults did. She was warm and approachable, and... attentive. Cleverly, she kept a close proximity to Andy, letting him feel safe but not obviously so. He seemed comfortable, for the first day, and remembered to call her "Miss Chapman" like he'd been told a hundred times on the drive to the school. It occurred to him that this was the first time he had seen her really smile. Nathan didn't stay long, and he respected Duncan's wishes to steer clear of his class. He drove home and thought of the parts of him that were awakening, parts that had been asleep for a very long time.

  * * *

  Nathan stopped at the end of his long drive and pulled yesterday's mail from his rusty box. Walking back to his pickup, he flipped through the few envelopes. Damn it, he thought. They've found me already. He tossed the mail on the passenger seat and drove the rest of the way to his house.

  When he opened his garage door, the dogs jumped out. He'd have to get that child cover for the mudroom doorknob after all. Grabbing hold of Brie's dog, he snapped on a leash. There was no sense trying to keep Houdini back, so he put one on Goldie, too.

  Steering clear of the creek, he led the two of them on a walk in the snowy street around to Brie's house. He realized he'd never seen the front of it in the daylight. The drive was cleanly shoveled and the yard had neatly scattered, snow-topped bushes of brown and dark green. As he walked around to the back, he noticed clusters of different kinds of dormant plants and bushes sticking up from the snow around the perimeter of her home. Every inch of her yard was littered with footprints, animal and human alike. Her brick patio was a perfect, large circle and had been shoveled and swept clean. Three-quarter height windows lined the basement and under her deck. He walked on the brick to reach the deck stairs.

  She had remembered to leave the door unlocked. The house was spotless. It
was hard for him not to snoop, but he'd come with a purpose and not just to return her dog. Walking to the garage, he wondered if she spent any time in the house at all.

  He froze when he opened the door. "What the fucking fuck?"

  He looked at her old-model pickup, just starting to show spots of rust. It sat in the middle of her garage with all four tires flat from gaping slashes. He reached for the phone. If this was what she called a broken-down car, she would just have to deal with him prying into what the hell was going on.

  Dave was working and answered on the second ring. "Officer Nolan."

  "It's Nathan." He went through the story of the psycho-slashed tires and mentioned the fact that Brie lived in a peaceful, tucked-away cul-de-sac with mostly retired neighbors. After giving her name and address, he hung up and waited. Paced. Opened the garage door and paced some more.

  Dave wasn't long. He came in, ducking as he walked under the door. He walked around looking at the car, around the garage, at all the doors. "Nothing's been tampered with inside?"

  "I don't know. Not that I can tell, not like that."

  "It looks like whomever did this either has a key to the door leading out back or is a professional. There's no evidence of a picked lock as far as I can see. I ran Brie's name through the system on the way over."

  "You son-of-a-bitch. I asked for your help. That's bullshit."

  "Touchy. I'd say we're looking at more than just a spunky neighbor. She's had her windows shot out at work twice since September. There's more. Not saying it's connected. Any of it. Just saying what I found."

  "Go on."

  "There's an open case involving her. An arson six years back. She made it out. Her parents didn't. You sure you want to be involved with this woman? Seems like a lot of baggage if you ask me."

  "Just do some more digging, would you? Let me know. I need to think."

  "Can't call this in unless it's her that does the calling. No crime in having a car with flat tires in your own garage."

  They stopped talking at the sound of footsteps crunching the snow in the street. Up the drive walked a short redhead with chipmunk cheeks. She walked with quick steps but kept her distance.

  "Is there a problem officer? My name's Amanda Piper. I live across the street."

  "No, ma'am. Just helping out an old friend," Dave answered.

  "Can I ask what you're doing in this garage in front of the owner's car with... flat tires?" She craned her head, leaving room between her and them.

  "I'm Nathan Reed. I moved in on the other side of the creek. Came by to help. Brie's at work. You're Clifford Piper's granddaughter? My kids stayed at his place New Year's Eve."

  "Oh." Her posture softened. "I didn't make it back in time for that. Yes, I'm his granddaughter. I guess I'll head back then. Uh... thanks for helping." She turned and left with the same, quick steps as when she'd come.

  * * *

  Nathan was right, Brie thought, Andy was delightful. She decided to sit him next to Aaron Babb. They'd both moved into new situations recently; Andy into a new state and Aaron into his new foster home. Maybe they could find a common thread. She was able to test him on his reading and math skills. They were a concern, other than his spatial sense—which topped the scales.

  This might not be so bad, she thought. She could keep her distance from Nathan. She understood that when you lived in the school district you taught in, you might have a neighbor in your class.

  Then, she found the message in her office box. "Miss Chapman: See me before you leave." Great. Her boss never called her "Miss Chapman" unless it was bad.

  She picked up her room and quickly laid out her things for the next day. Liz was giving her a ride home and needed to get to her sitter's to pick up the kids on time. Sandy's door was open, but Brie knocked anyway.

  "Come in and shut the door, Brianna." Sandy leaned back, placed her elbows on the arms of her tall-backed chair and folded her hands in her front of her. She wore her usual tailored, pinstriped suit, complete with designer pumps Brie couldn't see but knew were tucked under the desk. This had to be either Sandy's way of intimidating those who entered her office or making herself feel more important. History would prove it was probably both.

  "You have a new student."

  Here we go. "Yes. He'll need help with numerical sense and reading fluency, but excels in geometrical concepts." She knew Sandy didn't care about any of that.

  "This is the son of the man you were with at the staff gathering in your home. I saw him here this morning dropping off his two boys."

  "I'm not sure what you mean by with. Do I need union representation?"

  "That's your right. What you do in your personal time is also your right. I called you in here to let you know I don't appreciate you meeting with the assistant superintendent without my notification, and that I consider it unprofessional to socialize intimately with parents of your students." She steepled her fingers together.

  Brie reminded herself she knew this was coming. Well, part of it, anyway. As far as informing her boss about her plans with Dr. Tyman, she wasn't prepared for that part of the conversation. She decided less was more and that she wouldn't play into the "intimate" comment.

  "I'll keep that in mind. Is there anything else?"

  Sandy stood, opened the door and smirked. "Yes. I want you to consider why someone would want to vandalize your windows... twice."

  * * *

  Brie tried to explain the Nathan Reed situation to Liz on the way home, but her sister laughed so hard tears dripped from the corners of her eyes. The only way she could stop laughing was to tell her what their boss had said about it.

  Liz quieted. "That sounds like 'better watch your back.'"

  "I thought so, too. I can handle her."

  "Pretend to listen to me, Brie, just this once. You've been working at Bloom for six years. Moved up the ladder fast, kept your nose clean. You're keynote speaker at conferences, some of which other teachers from our building attend. A few are teachers you had when we went here. You're rubbing noses with the assistant super. It doesn't sit as easy with people like Sandy Finley, who need to look the best and get the most attention.

  "I'm not telling you to stop what you're doing to appease insecure colleagues or Sandy, just be careful. Principals can make your life... difficult."

  Liz pulled into the drive, pressing on the brakes without putting her car into park. "Good luck with the car. Are you sure you don't want me to have Tim take a look at it?" she asked, shifting the gear into reverse.

  And see the tires? I don't think so. "No, I've got it." She shut the door behind her and said her thanks loud enough for Liz to hear through the window.

  As she made her way to her front door, she lifted one hand to wave goodbye to her sister and juggled her keys to find the right one with the other. Checking the knob, she realized the door wasn't locked. She stopped and saw something move across the frosty side lites of the door. A figure. A person. She turned to gesture at her sister, but Liz was already down the drive.

  Chapter 10

  When Brie heard the happy noise her dog made on the other side of the door, she relaxed. Still a little breathless, she opened it to Macey dancing around with her regular end-of-the-day greeting and Nathan Reed standing in her foyer with his thumbs in his pockets. It wasn't hard to see he was angry.

  She took a deep breath, lifting her chin as she hung up her coat and dropped her bag. "Thank you for getting my dog back, but what are you still doing here? Where are the boys?" she asked while trying to think of what needed to be said here.

  "My mom's with them. Why didn't you tell me your tires were slashed? In your garage? With the door closed and locked?"

  "Listen, I appreciate you getting my dog back and your worry, but I can take care of myself and... I hardly know you. You hardly know me." The bottoms of her low-heeled pumps clicked as she made her way across the hardwood and onto the ceramic of the kitchen floor.

  "We need to take a step back here, Nathan. Not o
nly do I not kiss the parents of my students, I don't entertain them in my house. We're going to need to set some boundaries if I am going to continue to be Andy's teacher."

  Red filled his face. He jammed his hands firmly in his pockets. "I'm not talking about you and me, although I have my own ideas about that. I'm talking about some nut-case putting at least a half-dozen slashes in each of your tires in your locked garage. And I don't care for you threatening me with Andy."

  "I'm not above doing that. You should know that. I can take care of my own car." She turned as she thought of just how she was going to do that, and reached up to pull out a single tea bag and mug. "And there is no you and me. It was just a kiss. Now, we have to move backward for Andy's sake." And mine, she thought.

  He made his way to her in three long strides, picked her up by the shoulders and plopped her on the kitchen counter, smashing his mouth to hers. Framing the side of her face with one hand, Nathan laced his fingers in her pinned up hair with the other.

  She couldn't think and for the first time in her life let go. Slipping away from her blessed control, she blocked out the possible consequences and surrendered to the now. Her skin nearly ignited from the feel of his body as she pulled him in closer. She held onto his lanky back, his strong arms, feeling his rough hands on her face, in her hair. His mouth and his tongue emptied her mind. She clamped her eyes shut and wanted to stay right there.

  As he'd done at the midnight hour in her basement, he pulled away as quickly as he took her.