“Milo said that several other kids at his table didn’t finish their assignments. Have you been keeping them in during recess?”
“It doesn’t matter what the other kids are doing,” she blustered.
“I beg to differ.” Zoe pointed her finger into the table as she spoke. “You’re singling out my son, and it needs to stop.” She leveled a glare at Jolene, waiting to see how she would respond.
“I would never pick on your son because of our past.” Her hand went up to adjust her hair. “The fact that you would come in and make such an outrageous allegation is ludicrous.”
Zoe just sat there, looking at her.
“What do you want me to do?” Jolene snipped as she began straightening the stacks of papers on her desk.
“For starters, I want you to let Milo go to recess.”
“Are you not at all concerned about your son’s education?” Jolene grunted. “I don’t think you understand the severity of the situation. Sixth grade is the time when we start building the foundation for algebra, geometry, and statistics. Milo is still struggling with fractions and ratios, something the rest of the students learned at the beginning of the year. The county has certain benchmarks. If Milo doesn’t meet—”
Zoe held up a hand. “Hold it,” she ordered, using the same authoritative tone her daddy often used in similar situations.
Jolene clamped her lips shut as she sat back in her seat.
“There are various methods for learning, many of which are much more effective than sitting in a classroom filling out worksheets.” Jolene’s face fell as Zoe rushed on. “Milo will learn all the math he needs to know in due time. If he needs to get caught up, then I can make sure that happens over the summer. My goal for Milo right now is for him to feel comfortable here and to make new friends. And, he can’t do that if he’s stuck in a classroom during recess.”
“Fine,” Jolene snapped. “He can go to recess.” Her expression turned sour as she looked at Zoe. “Does that mean you’re staying here?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what it means.” Why was Jolene acting so hostile? Viewing Zoe as competition? Just like that, understanding dinged in Zoe’s brain as the full picture shifted into focus. Jolene was divorced, giving her a death glare at the bachelor auction. Of course! The more things change the more they stay the same. “This isn’t about Milo or our past. It’s about Briggs.” Zoe knew she was on the right track when Jolene’s face turned ashen.
“That’s ridiculous.” A brittle laugh issued from Jolene’s throat. “You’ve completely lost it.”
Zoe didn’t skip a beat. She spoke the words slowly and succinctly, so as to leave no doubt to her meaning. “Quite the contrary, I haven’t lost anything. In fact, I’m regaining something very valuable to me. Something that I don’t plan to ever let go of again.”
Fury streaked over Jolene’s features. “Will there be anything else?” she growled.
Zoe kept her voice light but firm. “Nope. We’re done here, so long as you can be fair to my son.”
“I’m always fair to my students,” Jolene snipped.
The heavy silence was thick enough to cut. Zoe grabbed her purse as she stood. “Are we clear here?”
“Oh, we’re clear,” Jolene retorted.
“Good. I’ll be keeping a close eye on this situation.” She turned on her heel and marched away. When she reached the door, she turned and looked back over her shoulder, not the least bit surprised to find Jolene eyeing her with malevolence. “About the math, send it home with Milo and I’ll work on it with him. It would be a tragedy for him to fall behind the county benchmarks,” she said dryly before continuing on her way.
“So,” Zoe began, giving Briggs a speculative look, “tell me about you and Jolene Belcher.”
Briggs’ eyes bulged the second before he scratched out a strangled cough. “W—what?” he croaked.
“You and Jolene. Did the two of you date?” She and Briggs were on the couch in the living room. This evening was the second time in a row that Briggs had come over for dinner. Tonight, Zoe insisted on making lasagna, much to Gina’s chagrin. It had felt good to actually prepare a meal, and the fact that Briggs went crazy over it made the situation even sweeter.
Ever since Zoe’s confrontation with Jolene earlier today, Zoe had been stewing over it. The thoughts of Briggs and Jolene together churned Zoe’s gut. Sure, she knew that Briggs had dated a lot of women. He told her as much himself. But still … Jolene?
“Why’re you asking about Jolene?” Briggs began. He caressed her cheek, his voice going seductively soft. “You know I only have eyes for you.” He leaned closer, his gaze moving to her lips.
The sincerity of Briggs’ words nestled around Zoe, easing some of her angst. Desire simmered warm threads through her stomach. For a second, she got lost in the rapture of the moment as she soaked in his rugged features, marveled at the intensity of his electric-blue eyes. She snapped out of her revelry. She couldn’t let him get her off track. She wanted the full scoop. “Did you and Jolene date?” she pressed.
He sighed heavily. “Yes, we’d just started dating when you moved back home.”
Her jaw dropped, an unreasonable anger surging through her. “Seriously? Jolene Belcher! You know how I feel about her.”
Amusement colored his features. “Well, forgive me for not checking in with you first.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be a smart butt.”
“What does me dating Jolene have to do with anything? The two of us had only gone out on a couple of dates. I ended it, and that’s that.”
“I’ll tell you why it matters. Jolene is Milo’s math teacher.”
Concern flicked over his features. “Did something happen?”
She chuckled darkly. “You can say that. She’s been picking on Milo to get back at me.” Zoe’s words rushed out in a jumble as she told Briggs everything that happened.
His face turned several shades darker, his jaw drawing hard lines. “Do you want me to have a talk with Jolene?”
“I hope I took care of it.” Fire burned in her chest. “Jolene had better drop this little vendetta of hers or I’ll go to the principal.”
“You should,” he agreed. He raked a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe Jolene would stoop so low as to take out her frustrations on Milo.”
“I know. It’s pathetic. As if Milo doesn’t have enough to deal with right now,” she emphasized, “with the divorce, moving across country, and now the two of us getting back together.”
Briggs gave her a stricken look. “I thought Milo was coming around.”
“Not hardly,” she fired back.
Briggs looked thoughtful. “He seemed okay at dinner. A little quiet, maybe, but lots of boys that age are quiet.”
“Not Milo. Normally, he’ll talk your ears off. He was sulking tonight. He’s having a hard time with the two of us being together.”
Briggs rubbed a hand over his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too,” Zoe said glumly. “It just burns me up that Jolene has been giving Milo grief because of us.” Her stomach clutched. “I won’t have my son become a casualty of our relationship.”
Compassion and understanding simmered in Briggs’ eyes. “He won’t, Z. You just have to give him time.” He began rubbing her arm. “As soon as the weather clears, I’ll make a point of spending more time with Milo.” He searched her face. “It’ll be okay. I promise.”
She nodded. “Thank you. It would be good for you to spend some time with him.”
“Absolutely.” A reassuring grin curved his lips. “Hey, you should bring the kids to my house, so I can introduce them to Lucy Doo.”
“Lucy Doo?” she asked dubiously.
“My golden retriever.”
Laughter rose in her throat. “You named your dog Lucy Doo?”
“Yep. When you hear her, you’ll know why. She sounds just like Scooby Doo.”
She shook her head, giving him an appraising look. “Only you.�
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He scooped her hands up, cradling them in his. “I promise you. Everything will be fine with Milo.”
A wall of emotion pressed against her eyes as she swallowed. “I hope so,” she said hoarsely.
“I promise,” he assured her.
As Zoe looked into his beautiful eyes, she could tell that he meant every word he said, and she wanted to believe him. Even so, she couldn’t seem to shake off the sliver of apprehension that ran through her. Maybe it was paranoia because of all that she’d been through recently, but Zoe got the depressing feeling that they weren’t out of the woods yet, not by a long shot.
16
By the time Friday rolled around, Zoe was sick of the rain. To make matters worse, it had been storming all day long. She and Briggs had planned to go out this evening, but since the weather was so bad, they decided to order pizza and watch a movie with the kids. Zoe would let Milo pick the movie. She hoped that the four of them spending time together would help Milo feel better about the situation. Daddy was taking Mama to dinner tonight and Jax was going out with some of his buddies. Zoe was looking forward to it just being her, Briggs, and the kids.
Zoe was almost finished with the wood sculpture. Next week, she’d be able to present it to Milo. From what Zoe could gather, things had improved for Milo at school. Of course, getting information from him was as difficult as trying to pull a hen’s tooth. At least Jolene was allowing Milo to go to recess, which was an improvement. Milo hadn’t brought any math home and Zoe questioned him about it, but he said Miss Campbell was helping him with it. Maybe Jolene was going the extra mile because she was worried that Zoe might make good on her threat and talk to the principal. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that because Zoe didn’t wish Jolene any harm, regardless of how nasty she’d been. It was better to let bygones be bygones and move on.
At six o’clock the doorbell rang. A surge of anticipation raced through Zoe as she checked her reflection in the hallway mirror. She fluffed her hair and used her index finger to correct her smudged lipstick. As she opened the door, the first thing she saw was a monstrous bouquet of flowers. “Well, hello,” she chimed. “For me? You shouldn’t have,” laughter trilled from her throat as she reached for the flowers, “but I’m glad you did.”
“Of course. Nothing is too good for the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Zoe’s blood ran chill. “Carl, what’re you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood,” he said in a cavalier tone. He motioned. “May I come in?”
The bouquet of flowers felt heavy in Zoe’s hand. “It’s not a good time.” Panic fluttered like a trapped butterfly in her stomach. Briggs would be arriving any minute.
Carl’s smile fell a notch. “I’d like to see the kids.” He gave her a pleading look. “Zoe, I came all this way.”
“You should’ve let me know you were coming,” she grumbled.
His eyes searched hers. His expression was wistful, hopeful. “What would be the fun in that? It was supposed to be a surprise.”
A thought occurred to Zoe. Carl was dry. The rain had stopped, but the oppressive clouds hovering low threatened of more impending rain … or worse. The air was dank and motionless. Chills popped over Zoe’s flesh. This was tornado weather. When Carl cleared his throat, Zoe turned her focus back to him.
“Everything okay?” Carl asked. “You zoned out there for a minute.”
Had Carl always been this arrogant? Yes, he had. She’d just overlooked his attitude. It was interesting the perspective that having time away from Carl had given Zoe. She could study him more critically, leaving all of the emotion behind. Carl was a handsome man in a pretty-boy way with his expressive eyes and wavy dark hair. Zoe could certainly see why she’d initially fallen for him. However, the lines around his eyes and mouth were deepening, and his jaw was starting to collect extra flesh. Carl exuded an overall feeling of entitlement like it might kill him to go out and do a hard day’s worth of manual labor. Like Daddy said, he was a bit of a cream puff. No, more like a high price-tag sports car that looked great in the showroom but had little under the hood. It struck her that Carl couldn’t hold a candle to Briggs. With his preppy, fraternity-boy aura, Carl seemed starkly out of place here on the ranch.
Zoe heard movement from behind.
“Daddy,” Madison squealed joyously as she ran as fast as her little legs would carry her and bounded into his arms.
“How’s my beautiful girl?” Carl asked, spinning her around.
Madison giggled. “Good,” she said her voice swinging up. “Daddy, you’ve gotta meet my new best friend Roach.”
Carl put Madison back down on her feet as he frowned. “Roach?” He looked to Zoe for an explanation, but she only shook her head, refusing to get drawn into whatever camaraderie circle Carl was attempting to pull her into.
“Roach is my pet chicken,” Madison explained.
“Madison has a pet chicken?” The look of horror on Carl’s face caused a hiccup of laughter to tickle Zoe’s throat. She swallowed to stifle it.
Carl motioned to the open door. “May I come in?” There was a hint of exasperation in his eyes as he looked at Zoe. “Please?” The muscles in his jaw twitched ever so slightly, letting Zoe know Carl was having a difficult time keeping up the nice-guy persona. Sure, he was all repentant and groveling now when he was in the mindset that he would do anything to get Zoe back. But that wouldn’t last. Carl was incapable of feeling true empathy for anyone. She’d learned that from hard, sad experience.
Zoe’s heart skipped a beat when she looked behind Carl and saw Briggs striding up the walkway. Briggs’ gait was so confident, so manly. He didn’t try to put on airs for anyone and was simply himself. His presence was like getting a swallow of clean, fresh air after having been nearly choked to death from pollution.
Briggs’ eyes tightened as he looked at Carl and then back at Zoe. She nodded slightly to answer his question. She could feel Briggs’ disapproval as his gaze went to the flowers she was holding. Even so, he stepped up to her and encircled her waist with his arm as he brushed a kiss against her lips. “Sorry I’m late. One of the mares gave birth to a calf today, and it took me a little longer to get everything wrapped up.”
Zoe’s eyes connected with his. “No worries. Carl showed up unannounced.”
“I hardly think I need an appointment to see my wife and kids,” Carl snapped.
“Your ex-wife and kids,” Zoe corrected. There was a time when the fury flashing in Carl’s eyes would have sent Zoe into a frenzy, trying to appease him. Now, she felt curiously unattached from any of Carl’s emotions.
Carl looked Briggs up and down. “You must be the new boyfriend,” he sneered.
Brigg tightened his hold on Zoe’s waist. “The original boyfriend.” There was a warning edge in Briggs’ tone.
Zoe tensed. A showdown between Briggs and Carl would not be good. No doubt Briggs would wipe the floor with Carl, but that would be devastating to the kids.
Carl’s face went blood red as he shifted into a battle stance. “Zoe, I need to talk to you,” he shot Briggs a scalding look, “alone.”
Zoe’s chest tightened when she saw the concern on Madison’s face. “Hey, sweet pea, why don’t you go on inside?”
Madison’s face folded into itself. “No.” She caught hold of Carl’s hand and peered up at him. “I want you to come in too.”
Carl forced a smile. “I will sweetie, but your mother and I need to have a talk first.”
“You promise you’ll come inside?” Madison whined.
“I promise. No go on in,” Carl urged.
Reluctantly, Madison released his hand. She scuttled across the porch to the door. Zoe handed Madison the flowers. “Would you put these in the kitchen for me?” Madison nodded as she took them. She threw Carl a hopeful look before going inside.
Zoe stepped away from Briggs and closed the door behind Madison. “What do you want, Carl?” Zoe demanded as she stepped next to Briggs who draped an arm
around her shoulders.
Carl grunted. “So that’s how it is, huh? The two of you.”
Zoe straightened to her full height. “Yes, that’s how it is. Now, what did you want to talk to me about? We have plans for this evening, and we want to get on with them.”
A crazed look streaked into Carl’s eyes as he chortled out a laugh. Shaking his head, he balled his fist and cupped it with his other hand. “I won’t have some other man raising my children,” he growled.
“I have no intention of ever trying to take your place,” Briggs said evenly. “You’ll always be Milo and Madison’s father.”
Carl swore before zeroing in on Zoe. “Your little fling with Mr. Ranch Hand is affecting my son, and I won’t have it!”
Zoe about jumped out of her skin as a loud burst of thunder boomed, shaking the porch. “What’re you talking about? My relationship with Briggs hasn’t hurt Milo,” she hissed. “You’re the one who has been manipulating our son to suit your purposes.”
“What about Milo’s math teacher?” Carl shot back, his voice ringing with triumph.
Zoe jerked. “How do you know about that?”
“Milo told me.”
“Milo told you?” Zoe frowned, her brain scrambling to piece everything together. She’d not told Milo about Jolene dating Briggs. Had Jolene told Milo? Surely not! She turned to Briggs who looked just as confused as her.
“Milo overheard you and your little boyfriend talking about it the living room last night,” Carl smirked. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ll not have my son being put in jeopardy because of some sordid love triangle. If this continues, I’ll have no other choice but to take you back to court and get full custody.”
Zoe felt like the porch gave way beneath her as she stumbled slightly.
“That’s ridiculous,” Briggs asserted. “Zoe is a great mom. She went to the school and talked to Milo’s teacher. They got everything worked out.”
“How convenient for you,” Carl taunted, “to have your girlfriends playing nicely.”
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