Bayview Heights Trilogy (45 page)

Linc McKenna seemed pretty interested in
getting to know you
, Seth had told her.

Furious with her inability to get Seth out of
her mind, she stood. She had to forget him, forget the kiss, forget
how right his arms felt around her.

She
would
. She glanced at the clock.
It was too early to call Linc back, but she’d do it as soon as she
could. She’d go out with Linc McKenna, maybe let him kiss her.

Staring at the answering machine, she vowed
she’d do whatever it took to forget about last night. And what it
felt like to be in Seth’s arms. For her grandfather’s sake. For
Kevin’s. For them all.

o0o

MOVIETOWN, the new theater complex, was
crowded with high-school students, kids home from college and
adults in a holiday mood. It was the talk of the town with its
stadium seating, eight screens and fast-food restaurants inside the
building.

Lacey preceded Linc into the huge foyer,
determined to enjoy herself. The traditional smell of popcorn
pervaded the area and the sound of people bustling to their seats
or getting refreshments was familiar.

“Hungry?” Linc asked as he took her
elbow.

“I wouldn’t mind some chocolate,” she said.
Chocolate would help
.

“What kind?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just so long as it’s
chocolate.”

He grinned at her. “Wait here, I’ll be right
back.”

Lacey leaned against a glittery silver post
watching him thread his way through the crowd. Linc was a nice man,
interesting and attractive if you liked dark hair, dark eyes and
the body of a weight lifter. Lacey struggled not to let herself
speculate on a long, lean runner’s body. She turned to stare at a
poster of Andy Garcia.

“Lacey?”

She startled at Seth’s voice.

“What a coincidence.” This was from Joey.

Numbly, Lacey turned, her body braced as if
for attack. “Hello, Joey,” she managed to say. She faced Seth.
“Hi.”

His eyes looked sad. They roamed her
face...hungrily.

“Which movie are you seeing?” Joey asked.

Tearing her gaze away from Seth, Lacey had to
think, movie, which movie? “Oh, the George Clooney film.”

“Us, too.”

Seth still hadn’t said more than her name.
But he looked her up and down, noting her tailored khaki pants and
the soft maroon turtleneck under her coat. The coat he’d slipped
his hands into.

Linc returned, laden with boxes of candy.
“Oh, hi guys.”

“Hi. Mr. McKenna,” Joey said
enthusiastically, extending his hand. “Nice to see you again.”

“You too, Joe. How’s school?”

“Terrific.” He glanced at the candy. “Looks
like you’re hungry.”

Linc smiled at Lacey. “I bought a lot because
I didn’t know which kind you liked.”

Woodenly she smiled back; out of the corner
of her eye, she saw Seth’s jaw tighten.

“Well, I’d ask you guys to sit with us,” Linc
said good-naturedly, sliding his arm round her, “but I finally got
Lacey to myself and I don’t want to share her.”

Seth stared hard at Linc’s hand caressing her
shoulder.

Joey laughed.

Seth didn’t. Instead, he turned his piercing
blue eyes on Lacey. Now they were snapping with anger. “Enjoy the
show.” His words were clipped, curt.

Lacey only nodded.

Seth tried to calm himself all the way to his
seat. Once there, he tried not to look for Lacey and Linc, but he
devoured the sight of her when the two came into the theater. Thank
God they sat behind him and he didn’t have to watch McKenna touch
her all night.

Seth could still summon the feel of her under
his
hands,
his
lips. He could still smell her,
taste her...

He’d had a rough twenty-four hours. After
Lacey left, he’d gotten in his car and followed her at a distance
to make sure she made the trip safely.

She did.

Then when he’d returned home, he’d prowled
the house, upset and angry and more frustrated than he’d been in
his whole life. Turning in early had been a mistake. He’d torn the
covers off the bed thinking about her.

He hadn’t slept long enough to dream, thank
God. But he’d gone running at the school this morning, hoping she’d
be there. She wasn’t.

“Dad? Don’t you think so?”

Preoccupied, he’d missed his son’s question.
“What?”

“That Mr. McKenna and Ms. Cartwright make a
cute couple?”

Seth swallowed his first reaction, which was
a word Seth had taught Joey never to use. “Sure, I guess.”

“He’s a neat guy. All the kids think he’s the
best guidance counselor in the school. Does he still coach the
track team?”

“Yes.” Seth had forgotten that tidbit.

“The girls were always drooling over him.
Some of them went out for track just because…” The lights
dimmed.

“Shh,” Seth said abruptly.

He was grateful when the previews began so he
wouldn’t have to hear any more McKenna accolades. He sat through
two coming attractions, staring blindly at the screen. But when the
third preview came on, he paid attention. And felt his gut twist. A
new superhero movie was due out this summer. On the screen, a blond
woman—strongly resembling Lacey—embraced the hero.

In his peripheral vision, Seth saw someone
hurrying down the stairs, going out into the lobby. Lacey. He
watched her for all of twenty seconds, then leaned over and said to
his son, “I’ll be right back. I’m going to the men’s room.”

He caught up with her just as she reached the
door to the ladies’ room. He grabbed her arm before she could go
inside. “Wait, Lacey…”

She whirled around, then jerked her arm. “Let
me go.”

“I can’t.”

“Hey, Mr. Taylor,” someone called from behind
him.

Releasing Lacey, Seth turned to find that
three Bayview Heights students had come up to him “Oh, hi, Jack,
Suzy. Patty.” He made some small talk, trying desperately to think
of a way to get Lacey alone.

There was a corridor to his right. As soon as
the kids left, he practically dragged her down it. A deserted nook
gave him hope that he might be able to talk to her privately.

She didn’t say anything, just leaned against
the wall and closed her eyes.

Remembering how McKenna had touched her, Seth
felt jealousy stab through him once again. “Twenty-four hours ago,
you came apart in my arms,” he told her, unable to stifle the fury
and hurt he felt. “How could you go out with some other man
tonight?”

Opening her eyes, she stared at him with such
anguish that he cursed his knee-jerk reaction. She raised her hand
to his mouth and brushed her fingers across it. “It’s
because
I came apart in your arms, Seth.”

At her touch, and her words, his heart trip
hammered in his chest. He said recklessly, “Maybe there’s a
way...maybe we can…”

Staring at him with the bleakest eyes he’d
ever seen, she drew back her hand. “No, there’s no way. Please,
Seth, don’t do this.” Her lips trembled. “There is
no
way.”

He swallowed hard, knowing he had to make
this easier for her somehow. She was hurting badly, and he needed
to make the pain stop. So he drew back, too, and took a deep
breath. “You’re right. I’ve got to accept that.” He glanced up at
the ceiling, then back to her. “But I can’t bear the thought of you
with...of him... Just promise me you won’t let him touch you. Not
tonight, at least. I’ll go crazy thinking of—” his gaze dropped to
her lips “—you, with him.”

She shook her head, sending golden waves
around her face, onto her shoulders. “No, I won’t promise you
anything. We can’t make promises like that. This connection between
us has to stop.”

She tried to sidle around him. When he
grasped her arm, she said, “Let me go, Seth. For good.”

The desperation in her voice halted his
protest. He stepped back. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll let you
go.”

As she walked away, he vowed to himself,
I’ll do it, too, even if it kills me. I can’t cause her—that
family—any more pain. I just can’t.

o0o

SETH FELT he had a handle on things until he
stood in the doorway of the Franklin Street Day Care toddler room
on Monday afternoon and saw Lacey with Josh. The boy had just
fallen off the jungle gym. Lacey knelt down and dragged Josh onto
her lap, cooing to him. Dressed in a soft grass green sweater and
skirt, with a flowered scarf, she looked feminine and fragile
again.

“Shh, sweetheart, it’s okay. Just a little
scrape.” Slowly, she rubbed Josh’s arm.

“Lacey’s great with him, isn’t she?” Mary
Jarrett had come up next to Seth.

Jamming his hands into his pockets, Seth
nodded to the day-care director. “Yeah.”

“Do you know her very well?”

“Well enough. Why?”

Mary motioned Seth out into the corridor.
Lacey and Josh were still in his line of vision.

“She’s been here three times since last
Monday.”

Surprised, Seth faced Mary. “Really?
Why?”

“A few days after you were here together, she
came back on business for the paper—or so she said. She wants to do
an article on us for the
Herald
.”

“That would be good, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, sure. But I think she really came to
see Josh. She asked if it would be all right if she spent some time
with him, then when she left, she asked if she could come
back.”

Seth smiled at the pair he and Mary were
watching. Josh grabbed Lacey’s scarf and draped it over her head
like a veil. The boy babbled, “Ace, Ace.” She laughed aloud as she
peeked out from under the scarf. The sound went straight to Seth’s
groin. “Isn’t it all right if she visits him?” he asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“Josh is here temporarily. His grandmother
has custody of him. Apparently his mother died in a car crash out
in Oklahoma, and the father is unknown. The baby was shipped back
here because there were no other relatives.”

“The poor kid.”

“It gets worse. Mrs. Cornwall is seventy, and
she recently fell and hurt her hip. Now she can’t take care of Josh
by herself, which is why he’s in day care. The county’s providing
some help at night. As soon as they find someone to take him, he’s
going into foster care.”

Seth frowned, studying Lacey. She stood
gracefully, picked up Josh and headed for the paint table. “I’m
afraid that happens all too often these days,” he said. “I deal
with foster-care agencies all the time.”

“Then you know chances are he won’t stay in
Bayview Heights. There just isn’t much good foster care here.”

He turned to Mary. “And?”

“I don’t want Ms. Cartwright
or
Josh
to get too attached, Seth. It’s not good for either of them.”

His eyes narrowed, Seth watched Lacey guide
Josh’s hands as he dipped them in finger paint. She seemed
unconcerned about the expensive outfit she wore, though she’d taken
the time to fit Josh into a smock.

“I see your point, Mary.”
It’s not good
to get too attached to someone you can’t have
. He took a deep
breath. “I’ll talk to her.”

o0o

“LET’S WRAP THINGS UP before we leave.” His
suit coat off, his tie loosened, his white shirt accenting the
breadth of his shoulders, Seth looked exhausted, but so sexy, Lacey
felt her reaction to him straight to her toes—and other parts of
her body.

“Tonight we reached consensus on these
plans.” He pointed to the chalkboard. “First, the community
committee will investigate getting speakers for special assemblies
on aggression and stress. They’ll also get some recommendations for
youth-services workshops to be given at the high school on an
ongoing basis. Finally, they’ll determine what programs are
available to parents who have trouble controlling their own
aggression. The faculty committee will explore how to approach the
staff about being more visible in problem areas of the school until
we can get additional monitors and security. They’ll also look at
developing curriculum for all classes on anger control, problem
solving and conflict resolution.”

Bosco sat forward, scowling. “I didn’t agree
to the last point, so you don’t have consensus. I won’t teach any
of those things in biology class.”

Lacey could see Seth’s temper rise. When had
she come to know that the slight tensing of his jaw and a telltale
flush on his neck meant he was very angry?

She faced the teacher. “I thought we were
talking about what we’ve decided to
investigate
, Mr.
Bosco,” she said calmly. “It was my impression the faculty would
determine as a group which options are viable. We’re going to get
more information on these ideas and
approach
the
faculty.”

“It wasn’t a consensus.” Bosco’s face flushed
and his tone was whiny.

“We’re quibbling over words,” Mitch said.
“Let’s finish up here.”

Seth turned back to the board. “The student
subcommittee will work out a plan for setting up anger control
groups, Helping Hands groups and a student court to go along with
our current peer mediation program.” He looked at the school
psychologist, Barbara Sherman, and Linc McKenna. “You two will work
with us on that.” Lacey detected no trace of the animosity he
seemed to feel toward Linc two nights ago.

Seth smiled at the group. “We’ll meet once
more in subcommittees to solidify these plans, present them to the
whole task force and then formulate a report right on schedule—just
in time for Christmas.” He scanned the room. “Any questions?”

When there were none, he smiled. “Thanks for
all the work you’ve done. I think we’ve really got something here.
See you all two weeks from now. I’d like to meet with my committee
and Barbara and Linc for a minute.”

Everyone else filed out and Lacey glimpsed
Monica Matthews trying to catch Seth’s eye. She didn’t. Instead, he
focused on the group gathered before him. Lacey noticed Nick sidle
in close to Darcy. The girl stepped away from him immediately.