by EMILIE ROSE
She’d underestimated him.
“I want you to meet my boss’s children. Her daughter is your age, and her son’s a couple of years younger. Anna and Tyler have been attending the private school we visited, but Anna’s transferring to the public high school next year. She might be able to help you decide where you’d like to go.”
“Why couldn’t we go another weekend? We were just there, and it’s a long ride.”
“Because my boss is off this weekend.”
Making love with Matt had been a huge mistake. He’d called during his lunch period today, and she’d cowardly let voice mail pick up. She wasn’t proud of that, but it wasn’t fair to risk his future mayoral career or Chastity’s future by giving him false hopes. She’d have to avoid him.
“You need to decide which school you want to attend, so I can get you registered and have your transcripts sent as soon as we close on the house and have a permanent address.”
“But it’ll be midnight when we get to your apartment, and your neighborhood’s creepy after dark.”
“We’ll be fine. I would never, ever intentionally put you in danger.”
Chastity made a face. “I wish you’d gone by yourself.”
“Don’t you want to see the house again?”
An eye and shoulder roll combo was her only response.
“And I thought you wanted to help me choose a car. I’m going shopping for one after we meet Marcia’s family tomorrow. The rental’s getting too expensive to keep.”
More silence greeted her reply. Then Chastity emitted a labored sigh. “Okay. But no minivans. They are not cool.”
“Agreed.” Disaster averted, Rachel glanced at her daughter, and her heart swelled with love. She couldn’t have Matt, but she could have the next best thing—his child. Then Chastity dug into her purse and pulled out Hope’s phone. “What are you doing with your mother’s phone?”
“I need a phone, and Mom’s works. I can keep it, right?”
“I don’t know why it still works. I haven’t found a bill for it. Her provider should have shut it off.”
“It goes on her credit card automatically.”
“There weren’t any credit card bills in the paperwork the lawyer gave me.”
“Duh. Mom was going green. No paper bills. All email.”
Rachel hadn’t gone through Hope’s wallet to look for credit cards or anything else. That was apparently something she couldn’t avoid any longer. “Do you know her email password?”
“Of course.”
“When we get home I’m going to need it. I’m supposed to notify any of her creditors of her...passing.”
“So can I keep the phone?”
“Only until I close the account. But when you start high school, I’ll add you to my plan and get you your own phone.”
“Yes!” She fiddled with Hope’s phone. “The messages have been erased.”
Uneasiness filled Rachel. “Yes.”
“I left a lot of messages the day she—” Chastity ducked her head. “I was really mad at her for being late.”
Rachel reached across the car and captured Chastity’s hand.
“Aunt Rachel, did...did Mom kill herself?”
“What!” Shocked, Rachel swung to face Chastity, accidentally swerving the car over the white line. Heart in her throat, she corrected her path. “Wh-why would you even ask that?”
Chastity picked at the seam of her shorts. “Today one of the guys at school said she probably got tired of being a Goody Two-shoes and did it to escape.”
The fear in Chastity’s voice shredded Rachel. “Baby, your mom had too much to live for. She never would have left you voluntarily. You were the most important part of her life. She loved you more than anything.”
Chastity squirmed. “I haven’t been the perfect daughter lately. We’d been fighting. A lot before...you know.”
“About what?”
“Well...you, for one. I wanted to see you, and she said no.”
The arrow found its mark. “I would have loved seeing you, too. What else?”
“She hated my hair and makeup.”
Rachel had not commented on Chastity’s tarty look, and over the past few weeks the teen had toned it down. “You have beautiful skin, and you were covering it up. And when you don’t tease your hair, it’s thick and shiny.”
“Like yours.”
“You and I take after the Bishop side of the family. What else did you fight about?”
“She wouldn’t let me date. Or play video games. Or have a phone or even cable TV. She was making me a freak at school. Like I needed that.”
Rachel took a deep breath, stalling while she searched for the right answers. “I know all those rules seem rigid and ridiculous, but they’re meant to protect you. Some of the things I see at work and when I’m volunteering downtown—like school shootings, gang activity and kids who exercise nothing but their thumbs—I believe some of those problems come from too much electronic interaction and not enough physical or social activity. Kids don’t talk to each other anymore. They text. They don’t play together except video games over the internet. And because of that they don’t learn how to work out their differences. And the violence... I think we’re becoming desensitized to it.”
“That’s what Mom always said.”
“I will always do what I think is best for you, Chastity. Sometimes you might not like my rules. But try to remember, they’re because I want to keep you safe, and I love you.”
Brown eyes flashed her way. “Yeah. Ditto.”
“And, Chastity, I appreciate you not punching that boy in the mouth for saying that about your mom. I’m sure you wanted to. I would have.”
“I really did. But I didn’t want to clean the guys’ locker room.” Chastity reached for the radio knob, cranking up the volume.
Great way to avoid conversation. She’d have to thank Matt. His threatened punishment had been an effective deterrent.
Parenthood was nothing like Rachel had always dreamed. It was harder, and she sucked at it. But she was getting less sucky every day. She’d have to settle for slow but steady progress.
* * *
“CHASTITY’S A NATURAL, and it looks like she’s going to be as horse-crazy as Anna,” Marcia said as she and Rachel watched Chastity take her first horseback riding lesson.
Rachel made a conscious effort to unclench her fists. She hadn’t realized being a mother involved repeated doses of fear. “How do you watch?”
“I trust the instructor, the horse and, most of the time, my daughter. You’ll get used to it. Wait until Chastity starts jumping. Then you’ll really be a nervous wreck.”
“I had hoped the girls would become friends, but I didn’t expect it to happen instantly.”
The girls had hit if off immediately this morning. When they’d arrived at the stable, Anna had asked Chastity to help her groom the mare and prepare for the lesson. Chastity, who hadn’t been around horses since that birthday party Rachel had planned years ago, had quickly caught on. Then when the instructor had asked Chastity if she’d like to try riding, Anna had encouraged her.
Marcia nodded. “They have a lot in common. Cheerleading, choir, starting a new school in the fall and now horses.”
“Anna did a great job of explaining the pros and cons of each school on the ride over here. Since it sounds like she’s convinced Chastity to attend the public school, I should have money for riding lessons.”
“I’m eager for you to move Chastity down here and not just because we miss you at work.”
Guilt rushed Rachel. “I’m sorry. I know I’m inconveniencing everyone.”
“Don’t be. Family comes first. I’d do the same. Anyone on the team would. Chastity seems like a good kid.”
Rachel won
dered if Marcia would have said that if Chastity had reverted to her rebellious attire for the visit.
“I close on the house on the nineteenth. I’m hoping to be back at work soon after that. If you have any recommendations for movers, I’d appreciate that.” She didn’t want Matt and Brad to help. As generous as Pam’s offer had been, memories of Matt in their new home would be too hard to handle.
“I’ll ask at work Monday.”
Rachel’s cell phone rang before she could express her thanks. The ringtone spooked Chastity’s horse. It sidestepped a few strides, terrifying Rachel, but Chastity held on and even grinned once the mare settled.
Keeping her eye on her daughter, Rachel answered the phone without checking the number first. “Hello.”
“You ran.”
Matt. Her heart danced as wildly as the horse had. She held up a give-me-a-moment finger to Marcia and quickly walked away from the riding ring.
“You conned your sister into getting Chastity out of the house for the weekend.”
“Jess would have enjoyed Chastity’s company at the beach. And I wanted to spend time with you.”
She gave him points for not denying his involvement. “If you’d asked me, I would have told you Chastity and I had things to do here to get ready for the move. It’s only a few weeks away,” she pointed out, reminding him as much as herself that their affair was temporary.
“You couldn’t have waited until we talked about...us.”
Rachel’s mouth went dry. Her heart hip-hopped. “Matt, I told you, there can’t be an ‘us’ beyond camp.”
“Rachel, if you want something bad enough, you find a way. If not—”
“Chastity and I have to finalize the school choice and get the transfer paperwork started. And I want to buy a car.”
“Have you ever bought a car before?”
“No.”
“Wait until you get home. I’ll take you to a dealer I know and trust. Salesmen pull all kinds of tricks to make a buck.”
She appreciated his offer, but she couldn’t become dependent on him. “Thanks, but it makes sense to buy here where I’ll be having it serviced.” Another less than subtle reminder.
She glanced over her shoulder at the riding ring and saw Chastity taking another lap, this time at a slow trot. She stared hard at Rachel as she passed. “I have to go. Chastity’s riding a horse for the first time, and I’m missing it. Bye, Matt.”
She turned off the phone and shoved it into her pocket. The sooner she cut all ties with Matt Johnston, the better. Because wishing he could be here to see this was not an option.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
MATT DETOURED DOWN Rachel’s street on his way home from his men’s group Sunday evening. At almost nine, it was too late to drop by uninvited, but he needed to know she’d made it back safely.
Rachel believed she could walk away again. He couldn’t let that happen. Not only was their chemistry more potent than before, but the bracelet incident had demonstrated she would always put Chastity’s welfare first. So, convincing Rachel that Chastity would be better off in Johnstonville with her friends, her church and his family as a support network was priority number one.
All he had to do was keep reminding Rachel how good it was between them and show her that his family could become hers and Chastity’s. And he had to do it before she closed on the house.
A life with Rachel—marrying her—meant becoming an instant father to a thirteen-year-old girl. A ready-made family. The thought hit him with pregame jitters. He’d seen enough of Jake’s and Brad’s struggles to know fatherhood wasn’t easy, even if you had slow and steady training. And none of their children rebelled the way Chastity had recently.
But he could handle it. He’d been the underdog on the field before and beat the odds. In fact, he relished it because when everyone expected you to fail, you often exceeded their expectations. With his family—his home-team crowd—behind him, he could go all the way to becoming the father Chastity needed.
Rachel had also proved she cared for him by mistakenly trying to protect him from his youthful mistake. After she’d left he’d checked the statutes. They had nothing to fear about her age fourteen years ago. It bothered him that she’d been under eighteen. But at least she’d been over sixteen—the legal age of consent in the state. Otherwise their four-year age gap could have spelled trouble. But the worst they faced now was talk—if anyone cared enough to do the math.
But before he went any further with his plans, he would have to tell her about his aborted NFL career before someone else did. He didn’t want any secrets between them. And when she was ready, he would tell her he’d fallen in love with the strong, giving woman she’d become.
He spotted an unfamiliar red Toyota RAV4 in her driveway and turned in behind it. The cardboard new-car tag confirmed she had bought the small SUV even after he’d offered to help with her car purchase. That bothered him. He wanted to be there for her. If she’d been taken advantage of by an unscrupulous salesman he was going to head south and raise hell on her behalf whether she liked it or not. He climbed from his truck and headed toward the front porch.
Chastity responded to his knock. “Hey, Coach. Late for a visit, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Is Rachel here?”
“She’s cooking dinner. We just got home.” She remained planted in his path, a slightly defiant expression on her face.
The kid didn’t want him here. That sobered him. He’d been thinking about what a good father he would be to her, and she didn’t want to let him in the house. Rachel had warned him, but he hadn’t taken the threat seriously. Time to rethink his strategy.
“We missed you in church this morning,” he ventured.
“We went with my friend Anna in Atlanta. Her church is huge. Like a thousand times bigger than ours. The youth group has a praise band and its own sanctuary and everything.”
Not a point in his favor. He definitely needed to go back to the playbook. “May I come in?”
She hesitated.
“Who is it, Chastity?” Rachel called from the back of the house.
“Coach Johnston,” Chastity shouted back without budging.
He heard a bang like a pot against the counter, then Rachel hustled into view. “Matt. What are you doing here?”
Her face was flushed and her voice breathy. She looked so good in shorts that showed off her legs and a T-shirt that hugged her curves. Hunger blitzed him. Even with the kid glaring at him.
“I saw a strange car and wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“That’s our new car,” Chastity pointed out. “I helped pick it out. And we went by our new house today, too. When the owners saw us, they invited us in. I got to take pictures and everything.” She pulled a cell phone from her pocket. He recognized Hope’s Serenity Prayer phone case. “I can’t wait until we move.”
That shot down part of his plan.
“Have you texted the pictures to Jess?” He didn’t feel a speck of guilt over reminding her of who she’d lose if she moved.
Chastity dropped her chin and mumbled, “Not yet.” Then she turned to Rachel. “You’re not burning dinner, are you?”
“No, kiddo. I left it warming. Matt, we’re short on time. Did you need something?”
Rachel was trying to get rid of him. “No. Glad you made it home. Want to show me your car?”
“Another time.”
Not getting her outside alone meant no kiss good-night. He tackled his disappointment, waved and headed for his truck, shaking his head over the failure of his offensive rush. He’d been shut down in the first quarter. Chastity had played a good defense, then Rachel had offered an assist. But the game wasn’t over yet.
* * *
THE MAIN OFFICE was bedlam. It always was at this time of year. Parents, teachers, stude
nts and staff swarmed around like agitated bees. Matt wove his way through them intent on grabbing the file he needed, then getting out. He had a highly touted sophomore transferring in next year, and he wanted to call the boy’s current coach and get the scoop on the punter’s personality off the field.
He spotted a familiar head of glossy dark hair and stopped in his tracks. Rachel. He hadn’t expected to see her today. She stood in the long line leading through the office door with her back to him.
Nodding to people he knew, he made his way to her. He ached to touch her. “Rachel.”
She startled and pivoted to face him, her eyes going wide and lips parting. She jerked a thumb to indicate the sign hanging by the door. “‘Do it now: Register for fall classes, sports physicals, summer school and driver’s education.’ Wouldn’t it be more efficient to spread those out or enroll online rather than do everything in-house simultaneously?”
He shrugged. “It probably would be, but it’s always been done this way.”
“Yeah, that’s what the other people in line told me. I see Johnstonville’s refusal to adapt to the current decade hasn’t changed.”
Not a point in his favor, but inarguably true. The citizens of his hometown preferred doing things the old-fashioned way. “Did you need something?”
She hesitated. “I need to have Chastity’s transcripts faxed to her new school so the counselor can put together a schedule for her. I guess I picked the wrong day, huh?”
Progress. In the wrong direction. “If you need the secretary or counselor’s help, yes. If you’ll let me help you, no.”
A half-dozen heartbeats passed before she said, “I don’t want to bother you.”
“We have seven days of class remaining. The office will be this chaotic for the duration. Then the entire staff takes a much-deserved two week vacation. If you can wait until the last week of June—” Her shaking head stopped him.
“I guess I need your help. I don’t want Chastity to miss out on her first choice electives.”
“No problem. I’ve done it for my transferring athletes before. Wait over there on the bench.” Mentally kicking himself for his vanity at sending her to sit by the trophy case where she’d see his team’s successes, Matt headed into the office. He’d decided five years ago that if he couldn’t be the best player the town ever produced, he would be the best coach. In doing so he would enable his players to fulfill the dreams he’d blown and succeed where he’d failed.