A Little Bit of Déjà Vu (6 page)

For almost two decades, he’d dreamt of this day and rehearsed over and over in his head what he’d say to her. Now that she stood in front of him, the words wouldn’t come. All he could think about was the way every one of those dreams ended—with her squirming naked beneath him, begging him to take her.

He leaned his elbows on the cool glass top of the cashier’s counter, searching for something to talk about that wouldn’t stir up a beehive of emotions in him.

The weather. That was always a nice safe topic. “Can you believe how warm it’s been this year?” he asked. “I’m glad it finally cooled off a little, today.”

“Me, too. I can’t believe I’m paying for air conditioning already. I’ve wanted to open my windows at night to save on the electric bill, but Emma’s been complaining so much about being hot—” Maggie closed her eyes. “Which the bomb they dropped tonight explains.” Her voice was calm and collected, but the way she avoided his gaze indicated she wasn’t as composed as she would have him think.

He rolled his eyes. This was ridiculous. “So,”—he smiled—“how did Barbara talk you into moving here?”

“I was desperate to get out of Houston. Even though the FAA cleared Dan of any pilot error, the families who’d lost loved ones still acted as if he’d been at fault.”

“You weren’t worried about Emma changing schools her senior year?”

“Of course I was, but she was depressed and insisted she wanted out of Texas. Barb pointed out a town with a sign that says
Welcome to Redemption—A stone’s throw from New Hope and less than two hours to Paradise
would be a great place to get away from our memories.”

His chuckle warped into a cynical snort. “Instead, you ended up with your worst memory teaching your daughter—and his kid dating her.”

“I wouldn’t call you my
worst
memory. My ruptured appendix five years ago ranks pretty high on things I’d like to forget.”

“Thanks.”

“And as for worrying about Emma, it wasn’t as if we’d never moved before. Dan accepted transfers every year or two.”

“That’s really tough on a kid.” He offered her a mint from the bowl on the counter. “So it seems you didn’t end up going to medical school after all.”

She shook her head, refusing the nugget of peppermint. “That was my mother’s dream, not mine. I’m a reading specialist at the middle school.”

“You mentioned it on the phone once.”

“I thought we were going to discuss what to do about our kids’ situation?”

Obviously, she didn’t want to get into their past anymore than he did. “I think that should wait another fifteen minutes until we get to my house where there’ll be no distractions.”

“Unlike you, I’m having a little more trouble staying composed. Right now, I’d like to castrate your son.”

“You mean I’m not on your hit list, too?”

“Oh, did I fail to mention you’re at the top of it?”

“Believe me, I’m as upset as you are. I simply think it’ll be more productive to wait to hash this out at my place when we can devote our full attention to the problem.”

She nodded her agreement, but the tension in her spine suggested she’d rather face the gallows than step foot in his home.

Their common ground as teachers was the perfect topic to fill the time together without pushing each other’s hot buttons. “I guess since you only see a few select students each year you probably aren’t familiar with one of the eighth-graders I’m interested in.”

“I might be.” She shrugged offhandedly. “I also teach two sections of reading enrichment to the main student body. The course is aimed at improving their reading speed and comprehension in order to bolster their study skills before they move up to the high school.”

He raised his eyebrows and popped one of the mints into his mouth. “Do you by any chance have Simon Newberry in one of those classes?”

“I wish I did. I’m sorry to say, he’s part of my select few group. By rights, he should be going into his junior year, except he was held back in sixth grade. I’d like to retain him again, but Mrs. Newberry’s concerned he’ll feel out of place because of his age and size. She’s insisting she wants her son pushed ahead.”

“Good.” Jake chuckled and plucked a fifty out of his wallet to give to the cashier. “With my son graduating, I need the kid. The Pop Warner coach invited me to see Simon play last fall. He’s nearly as fast as Alex was in eighth grade. And he’s got a hell of an arm.”

She expelled a giant huff. “Don’t you think it’s more important for him to be able to read than throw a stinking football?”

So much for not pushing her buttons. “Of course. I was kidding. How bad is his reading? I played with lots of guys in college who weren’t all that literate, but they muddled through with extra help.”

“A fourth grader can read better than Simon.”

“Oooh.” Jake sucked a breath through his teeth. “That
is
bad. What about tutoring this summer?”

“His mother is a single parent, earning only a little more than minimum wage. I told her I’d tutor Simon for free, but it seems as if she and the kid have both given up. Neither of them will accept that, no matter how well Simon does in football, he has no shot at the NFL unless he gets into a decent college.”

That certainly wouldn’t happen if the kid was still reading
Green Eggs and Ham

After Jake received his change, he followed Maggie to her light blue Camry. He reached to open the driver’s door for her, and their wrists collided. Time seemed to stand still for a split second before she yanked her hand back as if he’d spilled hydrochloric acid on it.

“Sorry,” he muttered and swung open the door. As she slid behind the wheel, her short skirt hiked up, exposing nearly the full length of her thigh. He’d forgotten how incredible her legs were, which was unusual on someone so tiny.

At his age, it generally took a lot more than the sight of a woman’s legs to turn him on. His gaze insisted on making the journey north just as she yanked down her hem. Damn. Did she still wear those prissy white cotton schoolgirl panties, or had she graduated to silk and lace?

He had to get a grip on himself, or the next thing he knew, his imagination would have him shoving her against the car and banging her right there.

After nineteen years of obsessing over Maggie, he should have learned that entertaining fantasies like that would only make him want her more. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to visualize the high school’s estrogen-challenged gym teacher naked. The mental image of Miss Hutchins’ muscle-bound birthday suit never failed to cool his passion. Until now.

Strolling around to the passenger side of the car, he glanced at the far end of the parking lot as he slid into the warm bucket seat. Alex’s convertible still sat there with its top down. His son was much too busy swabbing Emma’s tonsils to be doing any talking.

Jake jerked his head toward the Aston Martin and smirked at Maggie. “So, what do you think of the ride my son’s taking your daughter on? Rather scenic, wouldn’t you say?”

Maggie turned toward Alex’s sports car and gasped. “After what they just told us, I can’t believe those brats have the audacity to make out in public where we can’t help but see them. It’s as if they’re thumbing their noses at us.”

“I doubt that was their intention. In fact, I’m sure they’re not thinking about us at all.”

“At least they can’t get into too much trouble in a busy parking lot.”

How the hell much more trouble did she think they could get into than they already had? “I hope you’re not deluding yourself that the only time my son has been intimate with your daughter was the night he got her pregnant.”

There wasn’t a doubt in his mind Alex was enjoying the freedom of not having to close the barn door since the whole herd had already gotten out.

A wrinkle creased Maggie’s forehead. “You think they’re having sex regularly?”

“O-kaaay....” A cynical snort escaped him. “That tells me how much you know about the relationship between eighteen-year-old boys and their joysticks.”

“And why would I know anything about that? Remember? My mother never let me near any teenage boys—let alone their willies. As you may recall, yours was the first.”

As if he could ever forget the look of awe on her face when he’d taken her innocence or the shock and guilt he’d felt the next morning on discovering how young she’d actually been.

“Thanks for reminding me. I might have forgotten if you hadn’t. Allow me to educate you. At twenty-three, I had the restraint of a saint compared to a guy Alex’s age. I guarantee my son’s taking advantage of every opportunity he can to get Emma naked.”

Maggie glanced over at their kids. Her mouth twisted in a derisive smile as she started the engine. “If he’s anything like you, I don’t doubt it. But I wouldn’t lay all the responsibility for their behavior at Alex’s door. My daughter doesn’t appear to be lacking enthusiasm.”

“Do me a favor and pull into the space next to theirs so I can give them hell.” Jake lowered the window while she drove across the lot. Alex and Emma were so caught up in their heavy breathing session, they didn’t notice when the Toyota parked parallel to them.

Jake cleared his throat loudly. “That’s some talk you’re having with Emma, Son.”

The kids sprung apart like two magnets with opposite polarity.

“Maybe I ought to sell tickets.” He raised a disapproving eyebrow. “It could help support you when the school board denies my tenure after they hear their Marriage and Family teacher can’t even get his own son to keep his fly zipped.”

Emma scooted back over the console into the passenger seat as Alex turned a deep shade of pink and glared at him.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Jake said. “On one hand, you’re trying to convince us you’re mature enough to take on marriage and a baby, and then you turn around and pull a stunt like this. Adults don’t make out in parking lots in broad daylight—especially with the convertible top down.” He nodded toward Emma. “If you love Em as much as you claim, you should respect her enough to refrain from swapping spit in public.”

“Thank you for defending her, Jake,” Maggie glared past him at her daughter. “But she’s just as guilty as your son. Emma should have enough respect for herself to insist they wait until they’re alone.”

Alex glanced over at Emma and then turned back to Jake, his eyes downcast. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I lost my head.”

“That doesn’t cut it. From what I’m seeing, getting married is the least of your worries. Neither of you is showing enough maturity to raise a baby. And believe me, if I don’t see some before your child is born, Emma’s mom and I will petition the court for custody of our grandchild until you two grow up.”

Horror played across his son’s face as the gravity of what Jake had threatened sunk in.

“Drive carefully and be home by eleven.”

Alex’s mouth hung open for a split second. “But, Da-ad, it’s Friday night.”

Jake slapped his own face in mock surprise. “Gee, so it is. I guess that makes tomorrow, Saturday, huh? I’d think a responsible guy who’s about to have a pile of doctor bills rolling in would be out early in the morning, pounding the pavement.”

Even to his own ears his sarcasm seemed a bit extreme. But the kid needed a wake-up call, and Jake wouldn’t be doing his son any favors by making things easy for him.

Huffing, Alex started the Vantage and gunned the four hundred and twenty horsepower engine. “
Whatever
.”

Which loosely translated meant—
Bug off. Hasta la vista, Baby. We’re outta here
.

Jake shook his head. If that was the most articulate response a National Merit Scholar could come up with, the country was in big, big trouble.

~~~

Margie pulled out of the parking lot in the opposite direction from Alex, torn between fury and admiration for the way Jake had handled the kids and the dry wit he’d used to make his point. Although, she doubted Alex shared her opinion of his father’s direct, no-nonsense approach.

She glanced at Jake and smiled. “I wouldn’t have known what to say. You were great.”

“I don’t know about that. My ex-wife would tell you my flair for sarcasm is my least attractive trait. But in this case, I’m hoping it’ll light a fire under my kid’s butt and inspire him to make me wrong.”

She stepped on the brake as the traffic signal changed to red. “You mentioned something about the board letting you go. Don’t you already have tenure?”

“Nope. I just started teaching in this district three years ago. I’m eligible this coming year, but the board has been dragging their heels on my contract for the next term.”

“I’m sure they’ll offer you one. I’ve heard wonderful things about you from other parents.” The light switched to green, and she stepped on the gas. “And after seeing you in action with our kids, I understand why your classes are overfilled.”

“I think that has more to do with the fact we discuss sex openly.” He laughed. “That’s part of the problem with my tenure. You know Howard Carmichael, the school board president?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” She shuddered, recalling her meeting with the pervert chiropractor. “His younger son, Kevin, is in my reading enrichment class. Last fall, Dr. Carmichael and his wife separated for a while.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard about that.”

“It was just for a few months.” Margie shrugged. “But he attended the parent/teacher conference alone and spent the entire time coming on to me.”

“You should’ve lodged a complaint with the superintendent.”

“That would’ve been tough since seeing Carmichael’s lewd expression was vital to catching the meaning of his veiled remarks. Except when he actually asked me to dinner on his way out of the classroom. He patted his fly and assured me he had a whole
lot
to offer a lonely young widow like me.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope.” Margie shook her head. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear about this. A group of parents in the hallway overheard us. They spread the story afterward about how I humiliated him.”

“I can’t wait to hear your answer.”

“I simply smiled sweetly and said, ‘Thanks anyway, but I’m allergic to penicillin, so I’ll have to pass.’”