Maybe This Time (The Educators Book 3) (4 page)

As they discussed what crossover they could do for the unit, Brie seemed to get more flushed. Thirty minutes had gone by when she bolted up, grabbed the waste basket and heaved into it.

Afterward, she was sheet white and shaky. “Oh, Delaney, I’m so sorry. That was disgusting.”

Standing, Delaney grabbed some napkins from the table, snagged water out of her bag and wet them. “Here, put this on your forehead. I’ll empty the can in the bathroom.”

An unpleasant task, surely, but Delaney had done worse in her life. At one time, she’d been a maid at a hotel and had cleaned up some pretty stinky stuff. When she returned, she found Brie, feet up on a chair, the cloth on her head.

From the entrance to the private space, Delaney said, “Look, if you’re sick, I don’t want to catch it. But really, I’m more concerned about you.”

And, out of the blue, Brie began to giggle. Then she got out, “It isn’t catchy, Delaney, or we’d all be in trouble.”

“Are you…?”

“Pregnant.” More of the girlish giggle. “It happened before we got married, but we’re delighted.”

So was Delaney. Excited and really jealous. “Brie, congratulations. Nick will make a wonderful dad.”

“He will. We can’t wait.” She sat up straighter. “You know, I feel better. Let’s try to finish.”

“First tell me, is it a boy or girl?”

“A boy.” She bit her lip. “We’re going to call him Jared.”

“Oh, Brie. Nick is such a special guy.” Jared was Brie’s first husband and Nick’s best friend.

“He is.” She zeroed in on Delaney. “How about you, honey? Anybody special in your life?”

“I thought there might be,” she confessed, remembering green eyes and mink colored hair. “But I was wrong.” She shrugged. “Maybe next time.”

“I’m sorry. I want everybody to be as happy as me.”

Delaney seconded that, but found it hard to believe she was ever going to have her own happily-ever-after. She guessed they just didn’t exist for people like her.

o0o

The atmosphere in his Lexus was like the inside of a morgue. Stephanie hugged the passenger door as if she was being kidnapped. Gage hid his impatience as best he could. “I wish you’d talk to me.”

“You don’t wanna talk to me. You want to tell me what to do.”

“I have no choice in the matter. You keep getting into trouble. And when you aren’t, you sulk and keep to yourself.”

Part of which was his fault. They’d been close the first seven years of her life, but then he’d taken a high powered job. Even before he moved out of their home in an historic part of Crystal Corners, he worked a ton of hours and didn’t spend enough time with her. “Can’t you help me out here, Steph? I’m trying.”

“Now you are.”

Hell. They arrived at his condo on the outskirts of town. He liked the modern space with its ribbon of windows overlooking a golf course, the high ceilings with oak beams, the state-of-the-art kitchen and bathrooms. Stephanie had accused him of moving to a place totally opposite of where he’d lived with her and her mother—and she was right. He’d wanted to leave the nightmares behind.

Once inside, he held out his hand. “All right. Give me your cell phone.”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“You told a teacher to fuck off. That can’t go unpunished. You’re grounded without the cell to text or talk on. I’m also taking your laptop computer with me to work. And don’t walk anywhere.”

“Geez, Dad, you’re such a sweetie. I can see how much you want to get close to me.”

His temper spiked. “I’m trying to be a good father!”

She said, “Good luck with that,” and bolted up the steps. He watched as she made her way to her room.

After retrieving the laptop he’d bought for her to keep here, Gage drove back to Rochester in a snit. Not all of this was his fault. He wished he could get through to his daughter. He wished he could get her to communicate with him, but she flatly refused. Maybe Delaney could help with that when they met today.

He was glad when he reached the courtroom so he could concentrate on Anderson Dobbins. The guy was a crook, but it was Gage’s job to plead his case. Dobbins had evaded paying taxes with the help of a creative accountant and now Gage had to make a case for leniency. He was not looking forward to it.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a lawyer.

What kind of law do you practice?

Corporate. I was in Legal Aid. Actually, I preferred the variety of that kind of law.

Why don’t you do that again?

As he stared at the judge who seemed as disgusted as Gage felt, he thought of all the mistakes he’d made in his life. Sometimes they overwhelmed him and the notion of changing so much now seemed impossible.

o0o

Delaney opened the door to her apartment and was poleaxed by the sight of Gage. She thought she’d been prepared to see him again, as he was this morning in the crisp blue business suit, light blue shirt and striped tie. But his shoulders filled up the doorway and he seemed taller, more imposing, maybe because he was in her personal space.

Or maybe it was because she wanted to jump his bones.

“Don’t look at me like that, Delaney.”

The low rumble of his voice laced with concern sobered her enough to shut down whatever was in her expression. “Sorry, this is hard for me.”

A male chuckle. “I won’t even go there.”

She stepped aside. He entered and Delaney wondered if he’d recognize the hint of jasmine from the incense she’d burned. She tried to see her decor through his perspective. A big hammock hung between two beams of the loft she’d rented on the top floor of a building on Park Avenue. Stacks of books filled the shelves behind it, with similar bookshelves scattered around the room. Two white couches with big fuchsia flowers took up the center of the huge space, and a chaise longue of the same dark pink unfolded adjacent to them. He wouldn’t be able to see the bedroom because it was behind a couple of six foot long oak screens. The small kitchen was similarly blocked from view on the other side of the one big space in which she lived. The piéce de resistánce, though, was the arched ceiling done completely in strips of oak, with two large fans whirling about. She loved to lie in the hammock and watch them—and daydream.

“Too wild for you?” she asked.

“No. The place is you. Very much so.”

That was sweet and unexpected. In the past, she’d dropped Stephanie off at her mother’s house, where Gage had lived, too. Their home was as old and staid as Delaney’s apartment was contemporary. None of that mattered anymore, but it might have if they’d been able to pursue their relationship.

“Can I get you a drink?” she asked. “I have beer and wine.”

“No thanks.”

When she took a seat on one of the couches, he dropped down in close proximity. His nearness made her heart skip a beat.

“I was going to buy the kind of scotch you ordered in Atlanta, but decided after tonight, I wouldn’t need it.” She didn’t know why she added, “And it would only make me feel bad to see it hanging around unused.”

“Would you, Delaney? Feel bad?”

Uh-oh. Had she read the situation wrong? “Yeah, sure. Um, wouldn’t you?”

“More than I can express.”

“Why do you think that is, Gage? We’re obviously so different. It makes no sense we’d be this attracted to each other this fast.”

“You got me. All I know is I was hoping to get to know you better. Much, much better.” His eyes turned more green; she’d discovered that meant he was aroused…or at least interested. He shook his head. “Enough said. What are we going to do about Stephanie?”

Delaney curled her legs under her. She hadn’t fussed with her appearance. She’d done what she always did when she got home about four--she put on stretchy black pants, a shirt and ballet slippers and did her yoga practice. After she finished, she’d thrown a T-shirt on, which read,
Book Club, Reading Between the Wines.
“How do you think your relationship with your daughter got so bad?”

“We were close at one time. But then I got a bigger job, and we didn’t spend much time together. And right from day one, her mother was lenient, even when she was on her meds. She tried to be Stephanie’s friend. As she got older, I had to be the bad cop. When we broke up, aka, when I left, it got worse.”

“Lots of divorced parents out there in the world. Not all the kids act out like Steph.”

“It was a bad break up. As I said, her mother is bipolar. The disease was controlled all her adult life by medication, though she had mood swings. In one of the few times we had a decent conversation, Stephanie told me that after the divorce, Andrea would be okay one minute, then rant on Stephanie about me the next. Lord knows what Andrea filled her head with.” He glanced away then met Delaney’s gaze again. “Has she told you?”

“No, but if she had, I wouldn’t betray any of her confidences unless she was in danger of hurting herself.”

“I understand. I didn’t read her journal for the same reason when I got it from Speranza, who’s a real peach, by the way.”

Delaney shared his sarcasm. “I wish she could know that side to you, the guy who marched down to a science teacher and demanded the journal back.”

“Don’t give me too much credit. I apologized for her behavior, too. But it wasn’t right he had something so personal of hers.”

“Again, I wish she could know
that
you.”

“Feel free to sing my praises to my daughter any time. Meanwhile, how do I keep her in line without coming off as a complete ogre?”

“My advice would be to keep trying to talk to her. Show your softer side.”

“She’ll eat me alive if I do that.”

“Maybe not.” Delaney stared at him for a bit, wondering if she should ask him something delicate. What the hell, Steph needed help. “Is there any chance she has some of her mother in her?”

His chiseled features turned incredibly sad. “I don’t know. She’s never been on medication. God, I hope she isn’t lie Andrea.”

“I’m sorry. I had to ask.” She moved to her knees, inched over and she touched his hand. He grasped onto hers then linked their fingers. “If she’s shown no signs by now, it’s probably a moot point.”

His gaze remained on their joined hands.

“I’m sorry you’re going through such a hard time. And Steph, of course. I’ll do my best to help both of you.”

“Thanks. That’s all I can ask.” He looked up into her eyes. “I guess I should be going.”

“I guess.”

Suddenly, the air turned electric again. She noticed how his face was shadowed with a beard like he’d gotten the night in Atlanta, how there were little creases around his mouth probably because he was tired and worried. He was so handsome, she had to glance away.

He tugged on her hand and she toppled over into his lap. She was so close she could see the nick on the underside of his jaw. His mouth was inches from hers, his expression intense.

“Gage, we said we wouldn’t.”

“I know. And we won’t.” He tipped her chin. “Not after this. We deserve one goodbye kiss, don’t we?”

Without waiting for her response, he lowered his head. When his lips touched hers, he brushed against them softly, sweetly, as if savoring the taste of her. One arm was around her and he pressed her to him. She fell into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, bringing their chests flush.

She adjusted her position and felt him hard against her bottom. Now his hands were on cupping her cheeks, her hair, the back of her head, bringing her closer to him.

They kissed for a long time. It was Gage who drew back. Delaney’s head was spinning when she opened her eyes. “I’ll really miss this, sweetheart,” he said sincerely.

She rested her forehead against his. “Me, too, Gage. Me, too.”

Chapter 4

“Come on, kid,” Schmooze said after detention on Tuesday. “I’ll give you a ride.”

Stephanie frowned. “My dad said to take the bus right home, but thanks anyway.”

The senior girl looked down her nose, literally, at Stephanie. “Since when do you do everything daddy says?”

“Since he got so pissed about my run-in with Speranza.”

Schmooze’s gray eyes narrowed. They were darkened by a ton of mascara and liner. Her blond hair fell in cool loose curls around her face and onto her shoulders. Ms. Dawson said she was
striking
. “Funny you should mention the asswipe. The girls are meeting today to talk about him.”

“What about him?”

“How we’re going to get revenge. He got you in a shitload of trouble again, he called Catherine’s house about her grades in chemistry which made her father beat the crap out of her. He failed Mitz twice in idiot senior science. Somebody’s gotta stop the fucker in his tracks.”

Stephanie didn’t like the sound of that. Sure, she believed in payback, but Schmooze’s voice was deadly cold. She started to say she couldn’t meet but then Schmooze’s expression turned hard and Steph was scared to object. “You better be in on this, Steph. If you want to hang with us.”

Since she didn’t have any other friends at school—she’d ditched those she’d had in middle school--Stephanie thought maybe she’d better go.

Schmooze drove a sleek yellow Camaro that was brand new. Steph’s father was supposed to buy her a car on her sixteenth birthday, but she doubted she’d be getting wheels now. Well, screw him. Let him pretend he was interested in her. She knew what he was really like and he’d get tired of playing a role soon. Till then, she wasn’t buying into his lies.

Mitzy and Catherine joined them at the car, groused about Steph’s sentence to detention and grounding then they all piled inside. Everybody lit up a cigarette and Schmooze offered her one. Stephanie took it; she was getting used to the taste by now.

They broke the speed limit to Stephanie’s neighborhood, near where Schmooze lived with her mother and step-dad. “We can crash here a while,” Schmooze said, “my ‘rents are outta town.”

“They left you alone?” Stephanie asked.

All the girls laughed at her. They did this a lot, telling her how naïve she was. She tried not to show it was true, compared to them at least. But she forgot to cover up sometimes.