by Jaci Burton
If he was worrying about money—which the kid shouldn’t have to—then it was going to affect his schoolwork—and football.
He needed to find a way to motivate him without making it a negative thing.
He took his seat, and the conversation around him centered on the football game, but Zach’s head wasn’t in it.
Josie laid her hand on his arm. “You’re worried about Paul.”
He looked over at her. “Yeah.”
“I saw you talking to Luke over by the garage, and I assume that’s who it was about. Is it family problems?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed. “A screwed-up family life can really drag a kid down.”
“He’s a good football player and has amazing potential. But if he has to step up and take on more responsibility because a parent isn’t doing his job, then it’s going to negatively affect everything in his world.”
“I know exactly what you mean. It can destroy self-esteem, dig into his concentration, and screw up his future if he lets it. Parents can really do a number on a kid even if they’re not directly involved with that child.”
“Have you seen that with some of your students?”
“Something like that.”
He wondered what she meant by that. Was she thinking of a student? Or maybe she’d experienced something personally.
He needed to get to know Josie beyond just the surface of the “Hey, this woman is hot” kind of getting to know her. Because there was a lot going on.
And he was interested.
Chapter 6
* * *
JOSIE WAS GLAD she’d gotten up early this morning to grade papers, because reading narrative story evaluations took a few hours. She knew it was going to be a busy day. She cleaned the house and spent some time chasing Tumbles around because he really enjoyed playing and she wanted to give him a lot of attention. Then she did laundry, though folding towels was something Tumbles enjoyed as well. She’d fold a towel and he’d attack it, and when all the towels were folded, he jumped in the basket and burrowed into it, causing her to have to fold them all again.
But as long as Tumbles had fun, it was worth the extra work. Plus, he was very entertaining and made her laugh.
When she had put away the laundry, she went to the grocery store to get the ingredients to make her watermelon salsa for tonight’s party at Loretta and Deacon’s house.
She was in the middle of chopping onions when her phone rang. She wiped her hands on the towel and swiped to answer Jillian’s call.
“Hey, Jillian. What’s up?”
“Making a pumpkin hummus for tonight. How about you?”
“Oh my God, that sounds incredible. I’m making watermelon salsa.”
“I am so hungry right now.”
Josie laughed. “Me, too. They’ll be lucky if any of this dip makes its way to Deacon and Loretta’s house tonight.”
“Ditto. The drawback of making food we actually like to eat.”
“So true. Oh, and speaking of the party tonight, Jillian, what are you wearing?”
“I got these new red-and-yellow-flowered capris and extremely cute new red sandals, and a short-sleeved black top that would look amazing with it.”
“Sounds awesome. I’ll bet you look fantastic in it.”
“Thanks. I know it’s fall weather, but I love the sandals. Plus, the weather tonight is supposed to be mild, so I’m wearing them.”
“You should definitely go for it.”
“I intend to. What about you?”
“I don’t know. I have a black-and-white checked dress that I haven’t worn yet.”
“Is it one of those vintage dress things you like?” Jillian asked.
“Yes.”
“Then wear it. You always look adorable in them.”
Josie considered it. “Like … cute adorable or hot adorable?”
“Well, I think you look cute adorable, but honey, I’m not trying to have sex with you, so I would imagine Zach Powers thinks you look hot no matter what you’re wearing.”
Josie laughed. “Point taken. Okay, I’ll wear it.”
“Awesome. I’ll see you over there at six thirty.”
“Later, Jillian.”
She hung up, finished making the salsa, then decided to bake cookies. She knew Megan would make some outstanding confection since she owned the bakery in town, but still, it never hurt to have extra goodies, and her sugar cookies were easy enough to make.
After the cookies came out of the oven, she packaged them up in a plastic container and went to take a shower. Having short hair didn’t mean it took less time to get ready. In fact, she often thought about letting her hair grow out. It had to be easier in some ways to have longer hair. Short hair was a lot of work sometimes. She still had to flat iron or curl it to get just the right look or put a curl just right.
Pain in the butt.
She did makeup, then put on the dress. She stared at herself in the full-length mirror, trying to decide how she felt about the dress. She loved vintage clothing, and this dress especially. It was black with tiny white squares sprinkled throughout. If she was going to be dancing, she’d wear ballet flats or even heels to dress up the outfit. But since it was September and this was going to be a backyard deck party, that meant casual. She put on her red slip-on tennis shoes, and a couple of wide bracelets to finish off the look.
Now she felt good.
Tumbles was currently batting at one of his toys when she walked into the kitchen. She crouched down, and he came over to her, purring. She ran her hand over his head to scratch him behind the ears.
“I’ll be back soon. You watch at the window for me, okay?”
He lifted his head against her hand, making her heart squeeze. Funny how it was so easy to fall in love with an animal and so hard to trust a human with your heart. Maybe it was because with animals, there was no hidden agenda, no second-guessing what was on their minds. There was always unconditional love.
She sighed, grabbed the food and put it in a bag, then walked out the front door and got in her car.
When Loretta Simmons had moved back to Hope a couple of years ago, she’d bought some property and a big ranch house. Then her daughter, Hazel, had decided she wanted a dog.
Loretta had ended up with a huge Great Dane named Otis who was just the cutest and sweetest dog Josie had ever met. She wished she had the space for a large dog, but she didn’t. While she had a nice-sized yard, a dog that large needed room to run.
Deacon and Loretta, however, had so much acreage, it was perfect for a big loping dog like Otis. And as she pulled onto their property and parked, Otis came running, his deep bark a deterrent to someone who didn’t know what a big affectionate baby he was.
She got out of the car and immediately grabbed his face, which reached to her waist. “Hi, Otis. How are you today? Have you been chasing things outside?”
“He saw a rabbit, and I had to run after him.”
Josie lifted her gaze to Loretta’s nine-year-old daughter, Hazel. “He did, huh?”
“Yeah. He’s pretty fast, but the rabbit disappeared into the woods, and Deacon’s been training him not to go in there without permission, so he stopped.”
Josie patted Otis on the head. “You stopped, huh? What a good boy you are.”
Otis’s tail thumped back and forth.
“Can I help you with anything, Josie?”
“Thanks, Hazel. That would be great.” She handed the cookie container to Hazel, then grabbed the bag containing everything else from the backseat of her car.
“Everyone’s out back on the new deck,” Hazel said as she led Josie in the front door. “Which, by the way, is so cool. It’s big, and you can get there from the kitchen and Mama and Deacon’s room. Oh, and you can put the cold stuff in the fridge here in the kitchen or in one of the coolers, and the cookies can go on the table.”
Now that they were in the light, Josie noticed Hazel’s outfit. “You’re wearing a dress.”
/> Hazel never wore dresses. Her father, Loretta’s ex-husband, had always insisted she dress up. After the divorce, Loretta swore she’d allow Hazel to dress however she wanted to. Since then, Hazel had shown a preference for jeans or shorts and T-shirts and baseball caps.
Tonight, her silken blond hair was combed out and lay across her shoulders, and she wore a pink-and-white sundress and sandals. She looked so nice.
Hazel shrugged. “Yeah, I thought I’d wear a dress tonight. No reason or anything. So anyway, everyone’s out back. Come on.”
“Hazel?”
The little girl paused. “Yeah?”
“You look very pretty in your dress.”
Hazel grinned. “Thanks, Josie.”
Josie followed Hazel outside. She was right. The deck had turned out beautifully. It was huge, wrapped around the side of the house all the way to the bedroom, and stretched out nearly to where the woods started. There were stairs leading down to the yard, and underneath the deck was a covered patio area with a nice seating spot.
Twinkling white lights were strung along the railing and above the deck. When it got dark, it would be beautiful.
Josie found Loretta and Deacon, who were standing over toward the front of the deck, near the new grill Loretta had told her Deacon had bought the other day.
She came over and hugged Loretta. “Congratulations on finishing the deck.”
“Thanks,” Loretta said. “But save those congrats for Deacon—and for Reid. They did all the work. All I did was nod and smile and tell them everything looked amazing, which of course it does.”
“It does look wonderful, Deacon.”
Deacon beamed a proud smile. “Thanks. I’m pretty happy with the end result. And that I managed to convince Loretta to wrap the deck around to the master bedroom and add the French doors there.”
“I was dubious at first,” Loretta said, “but I have to admit it will be nice to walk out from the bedroom at night or in the morning and sit out on the deck.”
“I agree,” Josie said. “You have a lovely view out here. I can already picture you having coffee out here in the morning.”
“Or the last glass of wine at night,” Deacon said.
“Plenty of room for a hot tub just outside the master bedroom,” Reid McCormack said, coming over to give Josie a hug. “Very romantic.”
Reid’s wife, Samantha, came over. “Always thinking of romance, aren’t you?”
Reid put his arm around Sam. “That’s why you married me, isn’t it?”
“That and the fact you built me a house.”
Josie laughed.
“Did you get something to drink yet, Josie?” Loretta asked.
“Not yet. I wanted to come out here and say hello first.”
“Well, come on, I’ll go with you.”
Josie went into the kitchen with Loretta.
“White or red?” Loretta asked.
“White, please.”
“Dry or sweet?”
“Oh, I’m fine with either.”
Loretta pulled a bottle from the wine fridge and uncorked it. “This one is already open.”
She poured a glass for Josie and handed it to her.
“You’re not having a glass?” Josie asked.
“Uh, I already have one … somewhere.” Loretta laughed. “It’s probably outside on the table.”
“Which is beautiful, by the way.” Josie had forgotten to mention the long pine table in the center of the deck that had obviously been handcrafted.
“Thank you. It’s my favorite part of the deck. Deacon made it as a surprise.”
“It’s lovely, Loretta. And, by the way, you look beautiful tonight. No one told me we were supposed to dress up.”
Loretta had on the most amazing sundress that fit her as if it had been made just for her. It was a dusky rose with a lace overlay. And she was wearing a flower in her hair.
“Oh, it’s not dress up. I just bought this new dress, and since we’re christening the deck and all, I thought I’d spruce up for the occasion.”
“I see.”
She’d also noticed Deacon was wearing dark slacks and a white button-down long-sleeved shirt. It was warm out tonight. Most of the guys were wearing shorts or jeans and T-shirts.
Something was up, but since Loretta was already making her way out the door toward the deck, Josie couldn’t ask.
Josie found Jillian, who was wearing the cute outfit she’d described earlier.
“You look perfect,” she said to Jillian.
“You think so?” She looked down at herself. “I thought the capris might be too loud.”
The black capris had huge red and yellow flowers, but they were totally cute. Of course, everything looked adorable on Jillian, who had one of those figures where you could drape curtains on her and people would still say she looked hot. She had hips, boobs, and stunning legs, with everything all in the right places. Plus, she had perfectly styled chin-length brown hair and mesmerizing green eyes. And yet she complained that no guys wanted to go out with her.
Josie didn’t get it.
“I totally think that outfit is perfect and makes your ass look great.” Josie frowned. “Should I be saying that to you if I’m not dating you?”
Jillian laughed. “I’ll take the compliment, no matter who says it.”
“Who says what?” Zach asked.
He’d walked over with Dr. Jeff Armstrong.
“I mentioned that Jillian’s outfit was stunning and made her ass look outstanding.”
Jeff peered around behind Jillian. “I concur.”
Jillian’s cheeks darkened. “Uh, thanks, Jeff.”
“Hey, anytime you want an opinion on what outfit makes your butt look good, feel free to give me a holler.”
Josie looked over at Zach, who raised both hands. “I’m abstaining.”
She was kind of glad about that, but wow, the looks being exchanged between Jillian and Jeff were incendiary.
Unfortunately, Jeff’s phone buzzed. Timing sucked sometimes.
“This is the clinic,” Jeff said. “Excuse me.”
Since Jeff was a doctor and had opened up an emergency clinic recently, she knew he had to be on call all the time. She also noticed that before he walked away, Jeff gave Jillian what Josie would consider a very promising smile.
Huh. Josie shot Zach a look. Fortunately, he grabbed a clue that she wanted to talk alone with Jillian.
“I’m going to hunt down another beer,” Zach said. “Be right back.”
Josie grabbed Jillian’s arm and dragged her into the house. She led her into the living room since no one was in there and sat her on the sofa.
“What is going on between you and Jeff Armstrong?”
“Between Jeff and me? Nothing. Why?”
“Oh my God, Jillian. The way he looked at you? The way he looked at your butt?”
“How could he not look at my butt considering the comment you made. Anyone would have looked.”
Josie shook her head. “Zach didn’t look.”
Jillian laughed. “Zach didn’t look because he’s way more interested in your butt than mine.”
“He is not.”
Jillian rolled her eyes. “Girlfriend. Please. When are you going to stop denying what’s happening between the two of you?”
“So far nothing is happening between us. We’re just friends.”
“Yeah, friends who are hot for each other. You know he wants you.”
“Maybe.”
“So what’s holding you back?”
A lengthy list that she really didn’t want to discuss with anyone. “I don’t know. I’m just … hesitant. I’ve got the new job at the high school. We work together. That’s a huge complication.”
“And you’ve already told me there is nothing in your contract that states you can’t date a fellow teacher.”
“True.”
“So, again, what’s holding you back?”
“This is my first year at Hope High, Jillia
n. The last thing I need or want is to give the administration any reason to not want me back next year. I’m trying to build a home here. A future. Having a hot fling with the football coach and a fellow teacher and being the cause of gossip aren’t going to endear me to the administrators.”
Jillian sighed. “Okay, I can see your point and why you might be wary. But you could be discreet about it.”
She leaned against the back of the chair. “You mean sneak around.”
“For a while. Besides, that would make it even more exciting, wouldn’t it?”
Would it? Just being with Zach was exciting. Then something occurred to her, and she slanted a look at Jillian.
“You totally got me off the topic of you and Jeff.”
“There is no Jeff and me. Nothing’s happening.”
“But you want something to happen, right?”
“I don’t—” Jillian let the sentence trail off.
“Oh, come on, Jillian. There’s no way you were going to deny it, right?”
“Fine. He is hot in that Clark Kent kind of way. That thick dark hair, those dark-rimmed glasses he wears. Plus, he’s so smart. And funny. And kind of sexy. He stops in the library all the time, and he gives me goose bumps whenever he talks to me.”
“Mmm-hmm. So maybe you change the no to yes?”
Jillian frowned. “And maybe you start thinking of a certain teacher-slash-coach as more than just a friend.”
“I’ll think about starting to think about it.”
Jillian rolled her eyes and was about to say something, but then Loretta opened the door. “There you both are. Could you come outside?”
Josie stood. “Sure. You need us to help with anything?”
“Uh … maybe?” Loretta gave them both a wide smile. “I’ll see you outside.”
Loretta shut the door.
Josie looked over at Jillian, who shrugged. “No clue.”