Count on Me (Bayview Heights Trilogy) (4 page)

“He’s back. I got a peek at him in Mr. Taylor’s office when I was doing money stuff for the drama club.”

“Oh, no, poor Ms. C.” Ashley frowned.

“She was there, too,” Julia continued.

Though Ms. Caufield was big on propriety—she wouldn’t even let them call her Zoe—and tried to keep her private life private, the girls had made a point to find out what was happening with her and the doctor. Mostly through overhearing Ms. Lansing and Mr. Taylor talking when they thought no one was listening, and from what Ms. C let slip, they’d pieced together that Lansing had dropped her to go back to his ex. The jerk!

Shelley let loose a very unladylike curse. “Spill it, Jules. Don’t leave anything out.”

Erica listened carefully as Julia spun her tale. A master storyteller, she didn’t miss a detail—how great Ms. C looked in her French jeans and chic haircut, how Rad Ransom was fawning over her as usual, how upset Mr. Taylor was. But she concentrated on that bastard Lansing. “He looked like hell,” Julia said, gloating.

“Good.” This from Ashley.

“Maybe he doesn’t even need a spell.” Rachel was frowning.

“The spell is for Ms. C.” Julia’s tone was wise. “To give her fortitude.”

“The son of a bitch has his nerve showing his face in Bayview after what he did to her.” Rachel’s indictment was diluted by an attack of hiccups.

Julia shook her head. “It gets worse. He’s here to stay.”

That propelled Erica out of her seat. “No, he can’t do that to Ms. Caufield.”

“He can, and he is. I followed Ms. C and Rad Ransom down the hall and listened to them talk. The creep’s opening that clinic he was trying to get started last year, and he’s moving here.”

“What happened with him and his wife?” Shelley wanted to know.

“They split. Again.”

Erica started to pace. “Damn it all. This is going to be hard on Ms. Caufield. I can’t believe it.”

Ms. C was so-o-o important to her. Erica thought back to how much the teacher had been a part of her life. She’d taken Erica under her wing when Erica was just a freshman…

“It must be hard growing up without your mother, Erica.” Ms. C had walked her to the door after a health class where Erica had talked about her mother’s death five years ago.

Erica had just nodded, embarrassed but entranced by the kind and sophisticated teacher.

“Well, honey, if you ever need to talk, I’m here…”

So, for four years Erica had talked. She’d gotten advice on everything from prom dresses to how to cook spaghetti to why high-school boys were such dorks. Now she loved the woman like a mother.

Julia was still giving details. “Then Ms. Lansing took her out to lunch. Ms. C looked okay by the time they left.”

“You...waited?” Rachel asked. Hiccups punctuated her question.

“Uh-huh. Skulking in comers like an Agatha Christie character. I thought I might have to call out the team to come to our fearless leader’s aid.”

“Oh, sure.” This from Ashley. “She doesn’t even know we know what happened.”

“Yes, she does.” Erica faced her friends. “She figured we knew because we were so mean to Lansing when we bumped into him and his brother at the pizza parlor that night.”

“He’s lucky we didn’t burn down his New York clinic when he left her,” Julia said. “‘Course we could do it to this new one.”

“Or you could shoot out all the windows, Erica.”

“Now there’s an idea.” Erica’s father had insisted she learn how to use the arsenal he housed in a cabinet in the den, and the girls were always ribbing her about it. Truth be told, the guns scared her silly.

“Or Julia could make a voodoo doll of him.”

“Stop. Voodoo’s crank stuff. Wicca’s
real
.”

“Whatever we do, we should keep our contempt from Ms. C,” Ashley said. “You know how she hates us prying.”

Shelley stood and stretched. “Isn’t it stupid how teachers think they can keep their personal lives a secret? Kids know everything.”

“Speaking of which...Evan got some dope on Mr. Cramer.” Ashley let the teaser hang.

“Creepy Cramer? What?” Julia’s cat eyes shone with interest.

But Erica tuned out the gossip about the phys ed teacher’s suspicious behavior with a female student. Instead, she recalled Ms. Caufield’s caring attitude, not only for Caufield’s Chicks, but all the kids she taught. She’d been there for all of them.

Pouring herself another glass of champagne, Erica hoped the doctor
was
suffering. Big time. He deserved it.

o0o

ZOE TURNED HER BACK to the scene across the room because it was too painful to watch Kurt, nestled in one of the Taylors’ big stuffed chairs, holding Alexandra on his lap and reading her one of her favorite Tommy de Paolo books. The little girl cuddled into him, grasping a fistful of his green thermal shirt as she sucked a finger. It brought to the surface shared longings that Zoe had forced herself to suppress.

 I wanted more kids
, he’d told her as they’d lounged on her couch once night, watching the waves break along the bay.

 Really?

Elizabeth wouldn’t ruin her figure again.

How foolish.

He hadn’t said any more, just caressed Zoe’s stomach gently, kissed it and proceeded to make tender love to her right there on her glassed-in back porch.

The following week, he’d gone back to his wife.

She’d just heaped hors d’oeuvres she didn’t want onto a plate when Zoe saw Seth approach. “Getting enough to eat?”

“Yes.” She sniffed the blend of Mexican and Italian aromas appreciatively. “Lacey outdid herself.”

Seth’s eyes literally glowed at the mention of his wife. It made something inside of Zoe shift. He glanced over to where Lacey sat with Cassie, each holding one of the twin birthday boys on her lap. “She amazes me. We have help during the day, but she still manages to give the little guys a bath and put them all to bed every night.”

“She’s not working full-time, is she?” Lacey was the editor of the
Herald
, Bayview’s newspaper. She and Seth had met when she’d taken over the position from her grandfather and written some inflammatory articles about the high school.

“No, Philip has been a big help.” He nodded at Lacey’s grandfather. “And she’s hired some new people, too.”

Seth beamed at the good fortune in his life.

Zoe returned the smile.

“How about you?” he asked. “How are you? I came down to see you this week a couple of times, but you were busy.”

“First week of school is always hectic.”

“Zoe?” Seth’s earnest blue eyes and the years of friendship they’d shared made her thaw a little.

“I’m coping, Seth. That’s the most that can be expected with Kurt in my life again.”

“I’m sorry about how this shook out.”

She watched Kurt throw back his head and laugh at something Alexandra said.

 You’ve got the nicest laugh.

He’d chuckled against her breasts.
Not exactly what a man wants to hear in bed
.

Her hand had slid beneath the covers.
Hmm, that’s pretty impressive, too
.

“Lacey didn’t want me to invite him today,” Seth told her.

“Oh, please, don’t let this cause trouble between you and your wife. I’m already worried about Cassie and Mitch fighting over my situation.”

“Cassie and Mitch can work through their differences. And Lacey and I never fight. God, I love that woman.”

Zoe felt the sting of loss. She scanned the room to dilute it and saw Philip stand and move toward them. Though over eighty, there was a spring in his step and a glint in his eyes. “Nice birthday party for my boys, son,” he said, clasping Seth on the shoulder. No one would ever guess Philip had been vehemently opposed to Seth’s relationship with his granddaughter a few years ago; Philip’s objection had almost kept Lacey and Seth apart. “Thanks, Philip.”

“Can we talk shop a minute?”

Zoe said, “I’ll go keep the girls company.”

“No, Zoe, stay.” Philip’s gaze flicked to Seth. “We got a problem with the board.”

The happiness in Seth’s eyes dimmed “No kidding. And his name is Jerry Bosco.”

It was still hard to believe that the worst teacher in the school, whom Seth had coerced into retirement, had run for and won a seat on the school board.

Philip continued, “Leonard says Bosco’s making a big stink about Zoe’s courses.” Formerly a strong opponent of Seth’s policies, board member Leonard Small had done a complete turnaround and had happily become a member of Philip’s Gray Posse, a group that had evolved out of the Good Deeds activities at the high school. It consisted of more than twenty senior citizens who were now an active force in town politics and school-related issues.

“My
health
electives?” Zoe asked.

“Yes. They’re a little too liberal for Bosco’s taste—not back-to-basics enough. And he’s going after them on numbers.”

“Numbers? I have a full enrollment.”

“That’s the problem. He thinks the cutoff is too low. Either more kids should take the courses, or they should be abolished. Preferably the latter.” Philip scowled. “The jackass says they’re not cost-effective.”

“With all my other classes, I can’t supervise more than fifteen students per semester in an intensive program like this.”

Seth said, “Jerry’s out to get the high school.”

“Damn.” She faced Philip. “What can we do about this?”

“I suggest you attend the board meeting Tuesday night. There’s an open forum for the community and staff, and Leonard’s sure this will come up.” Philip angled his head across the room. “And have Lansing come, too. His clinic will play a vital role in this program.”

Zoe swallowed hard and locked gazes with Seth.

Seth said, “I’ll go talk to him.”

Philip nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

Both men headed toward Kurt.

Zoe made a beeline for the kitchen; unnoticed in the doorway, she watched her two best friends at the counter refilling trays. Zoe smiled at how different they were. Lacey was slender and small, with delicate features, amber eyes and soft blond hair. Cassie was tall and big-boned, with wild dark hair always escaping its braid and large blue-gray eyes. She hadn’t yet lost all the weight from having a baby six months ago.

“We didn’t have much choice, Cass,” Lacey was saying.

Attacking a cucumber, Cassie scowled. “Damn it, it’s bad enough he’s living with us.”

“All right you two.” Zoe said firmly. “Time for some girl talk!’

Both women looked up with startled gazes. Even Cassie blushed. “Zoe, we—”

“You guys have to stop this.” Zoe crossed to the island counter, snagged a carrot stick and popped it into her mouth. It was cold and crunchy.

Cassie sniffed. “Stop what?”

“This vendetta against Kurt.”

“It isn’t a vendetta,” Cassie said. “We’re just really pissed off at him.”

Lacey asked, “Aren’t you, Zoe? Still mad?”

Retrieving a bottle of wine from the fridge, she poured herself a glass and topped up her friends’.

“Zoe?”

“I never was mad at him, Lace. I was hurt, but not angry. He made what he thought was the right choice. That it turned out to be wrong only makes me feel bad for him.”

Zoe and Cassie exchanged worried looks.

“You aren’t thinking of...” Cassie frowned. “Zoe, you wouldn’t take him back, would you?”

“No, of course not. I could never trust him again. I couldn’t live with that kind of uncertainty.” She perched on a stool as did the other two. “The first time Drew and I split, I succumbed to pressure from my parents to give him another chance and it was the blackest period in my life.” Both women knew Zoe’s marriage had ended because of Drew’s infidelity.

“Oh, Zoe.” Lacey’s eyes were compassionate.

“I was never sure if he was seeing her again, if he regretted corning back to me. I knew he’d gotten pressure from his parents, too. Finally I decided it wasn’t worth the grief. I’d never give Kurt the chance to hurt me like that.”

Just then Mitch came to the doorway; he leaned against the jamb, hands in the pockets of his slacks, eyeing his wife. “If I come in, am I going to get something thrown at me?”

“Of course not,” Lacey said.

“Don’t bet on it, big guy.” Cassie flicked back her braid and shot him a full-of-temper glare.

Mitch gave an amused grin. “Then I won’t take any chances. I wanted to know if I should put Camille to bed.”

“Yeah. You can probably handle that.”

“Want to come with me and neck in the upstairs bedroom?”

That wrung a reluctant grin from Cassie.

“Tell you what,” Zoe said, heading for the door. “I’ll put Camille to bed, and you two can make up out here.”

“Good idea,” Lacey said, following her out.

Mitch grasped Zoe’s arm as she passed him. The teasing disappeared. “You okay, kid?”

“I’m just great.” She glanced back at Cassie, who was studying the vegetables as if they were newly discovered Shakespearean plays. “Go cuddle with your wife.”

Mitch smiled and strode toward the counter as Zoe and Lacey left.

Out of sight but not earshot, Zoe heard an ornery groan, then a giggle, then a deep, satisfying sigh come from the kitchen.

o0o

KURT WAS DRAWN upstairs by some invisible force; he wasn’t surprised—Zoe had always been a magnet to him, right from the first day he’d seen her. He was still powerless against it. And so, when he’d watched her take Camille from Celia, Philip’s wife, and head up the steps, he’d waited ten minutes, then followed her.

At the doorway to one of the rooms Seth and Lacey had added on to their house, Kurt halted. Zoe sat in a rocker with Camille cradled to her chest. The baby burrowed into the woman, creating a Madonna-like image. The room smelled like baby powder. Zoe sang a lullaby in French. It cut him off at the knees. Of all the things he’d given up in the past year, having another child ranked right up there as one of the most painful. He sucked in a breath against the hurt.

His gesture drew her attention. He expected to see resentment. Maybe revulsion. Instead, she bestowed a warm smile on him and kissed Camille’s head. “Our godchild’s gotten big.”

“Yes.”