Forever Fall (12 page)

Mandy glanced down the hall leading from the kitchen to make certain she wouldn’t be overheard. The last thing she needed was Catherine, Shannon or Luc listening to her end of the conversation with Becky about Catherine’s illegitimate daughter’s whereabouts.

“We haven’t found anything definitive yet,” Becky went on, “but I have some pretty strong leads from the info you gave me. It’s gonna take a while, Mandy. It’s only been a few days, and you know as well as I do that you can’t rush this.”

Mandy turned to gaze wistfully out the window at the moonlit lake. “I know. I guess I’m a little anxious. I’d love to be able to do this for Catherine.”

“I know, and so would I, but you need to be patient. And don’t forget, the daughter will be in her early fifties. She probably has a family and a life, and she may not even want to know about her birth mother.”

“I understand all that, and, if she doesn’t want to meet her birth mother, then we won’t tell Catherine that we found Hope. But if she does, then I want to give her that opportunity and Catherine, too.”

The sound of a slightly impatient exhale came through the phone from Becky’s end. “I’ll keep trying to find her, but in the meantime, you need to give me the time to do the digging. Now, try enjoying your time off for a change and stop worrying.” A pause.

Enjoy her time off? How could she do that with Shannon and Joey to worry about, not to mention the failure or success if this project, and on top of that, now she had a totally unwanted attraction to a man who was quickly becoming the center of her emotional life.

“Mandy? You hear me?”

Mandy sighed. “Yes, I hear you. I suppose if Catherine has waited this long, I can, too,” she finally said, completely jumping over the
enjoy your time off
part.

“Hey, Becky! You still on the phone?” Nick’s voice rang out in the background.

“That’s my girl. Nick’s calling. I need to run. We’re having a late dinner on the patio, and my food’s getting cold. Night.”

“Night, and, Becky
 . . .
thanks.” Mandy hung up the phone.

“What’s Catherine waiting for?”

Mandy froze. She turned very slowly. Luc stood in the kitchen doorway, a crushed beer can in his hand. How long had he been there? How much had he heard?

“Well, what’s she waiting for?”

“I
 . . .
uh
 . . .
” She looked at the floor and floundered around in her head for something, anything to cover for what she and Becky had really been talking about.

“Let me help you. Can it be finding her daughter?”

Her gaze jumped to his. The anger in the straight line of his mouth and the pulsing muscle in his jaw told her he had heard far too much and had taken it the wrong way.

“I—”

He held up his hand. “Don’t bother explaining. I’ve heard enough to get the basics. You’re using Catherine’s daughter to butter her up so you can win this
 . . .
this
 . . .
whatever you want to call it.”

“That’s not true. You’re making assumptions from hearing one end of a private conversation.” How could he think she was so underhanded that she’d do this for any reason but to see Catherine reunited with a child she’d lost fifty some years ago?

He stalked to the trash and threw the beer can into the container with undue force, then turned on her. “I’m not stupid. Don’t you think I know that if you find her daughter that that’s a point for you
 . . .
a big point?”

Her own anger came to s simmering edge. “I didn’t know we were earning points in this. And what about you? What’s going on between you and Asa Watkins?”

His mouth fell open.

“I thought I had it figured out, and your reaction just confirms my suspicions, so there’s no sense denying it. I remember how he looked to you for confirmation at the school board meeting, and how quickly you deferred to his opinions. I also know he’s your boss and has a lot of pull with the school board. All that adds up. He’s threatened your job, hasn’t he?” She glared at him. “No need to answer that. I’m not stupid either, Luc.”

Luc didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing, neither confirming nor denying her assertion. They glared at each other like a couple of alley cats ready to do battle over a piece of fish. Neither said anything, but the look she cast his way spoke volumes. The silence stretched out into minutes.

She had indeed figured it out, and pretty accurately at that. How could he deny it? And she probably wouldn’t believe him if he told her that he wasn’t so certain about allowing Asa to use him as his pawn any longer. He chose diversion.

“You’re changing the subject.” He flung open the refrigerator, extracted another beer and popped the top, not because he wanted another beer, but it gave him more time to think. After slamming the refrigerator door, he turned back to Mandy, his mouth open for another retort. Thankfully, he was rescued from having to further this discussion.

With a frown knitting her brows, Catherine stepped into the kitchen and threw both of them a disapproving glare. “What on earth are you two yelling about? I’m sure they can hear you on the other side of the lake.”

Luc snapped his mouth shut and glanced at Mandy. She sent him a pleading look, then turned away and began rinsing a few dirty dishes that had been left on the counter and putting them in the dishwasher. Did she really think he’d spill everything to Catherine? She may think him low, but she couldn’t think he was that bad. Still, she’d left him with the task of making some kind of explanation to Catherine.

A loud cheer coming from the TV in the den gave him an idea. “It’s nothing, really. Mandy doesn’t think the Yankees have a chance at the World Series, and I do.” He forced a lopsided grin. “You know how us guys can get when it comes to our team.”

Catherine shook her head. “No, I’m afraid I don’t. My husband never followed team sports. His passion centered strictly around sailing. The one sporting event that worked him into a state of extreme excitement was the America’s Cup Race.” She picked up her purse off the table, then walked toward the door and stopped. “I’ll pick Shannon up right after lunch tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

“That’s fine,” Mandy said without turning around.

Catherine threw one last questioning look at Luc, then Mandy, then shook her head and left the room. Luc glanced at Mandy’s stiff back and followed Catherine down the hall as far as the den. But even after he’d seated himself in front of the TV, he couldn’t get his mind off what had happened in the kitchen.

Mandy had guessed his role in this experiment, and sooner or later he’d have to admit to it. Given her reaction without proof, he could just imagine what it would be when he confirmed her suspicions. Asa Watkins had not only managed to involve Luc in his scheming, he’d also managed to drive a wedge between Luc and the only woman he’d felt anything for in years.

Luc left the house
early the next morning. He had no desire to face Mandy across the breakfast table. Besides, he had things he could be doing in his office, and he wanted to pick up and deliver the papers for Alyce Walker to apply for her GED courses. As he drove toward town, he thought about his outburst the evening before when he’d overheard Mandy’s phone conversation. Now that he could reflect on his rash reaction, he had to admit that she’d been right. It had been grossly unfair of him to judge her motives as the result of hearing one end of a conversation.

And now, in the clear light of day, he had to wonder if his own sense of guilt had been reaching for a way to vilify Mandy’s intentions and perhaps whitewash his own. If he’d given her time to explain why she was looking for Hope, and he’d had time to think about it, he knew that, unlike his own, her motives were probably honorable and compassionate.

He’d accused her of buttering up Catherine to win. But in the end, if this experiment was not successful, and the simulators did not get incorporated in the Family Planning classes, neither he nor Mandy would be the losers. His students, the ones he cared deeply about, both male and female, would lose.

The more he hashed it over in his mind, the worse he felt. By the time he reached the school parking lot, his self-evaluation had sunk to a disturbing low. Slowly, he grabbed his briefcase, climbed from his car, locked it and headed inside.

However, instead of diving into his work, he sat at his desk and stared out the window at the athletic field, a constant reminder of Asa Watkins’ priorities. As Luc stared at the bright yellow goal post at the end of the field, he saw not a championship football team, but the face of Alyce Walker and her baby staring back at him. When extracurricular activities took precedence over the moral welfare and future well-being of his students, Luc saw clearly what his choice had to be and what he had to do. Once the decision was made, the weight on his shoulders lessened. Unfortunately, it did not ease entirely, and his voluntary destruction of a life he’d worked very hard to establish still dogged him.

He spent the remainder of the morning and part of the afternoon catching up on the paperwork that had accumulated in his absence. The distraction proved helpful in releasing some of the tension that had gripped his neck and shoulder muscles over the past few days.

When he’d completed his work, he gathered the paperwork Alyce would need to apply and start earning her GED and left his office. As he approached his car, he heard the unmistakably, familiar purr of a high-powered car coming in his direction. His nerves instantly tightened into little knots of apprehension. Turning toward the sound, he spotted Asa Watkins’ low-slung, silver Jaguar XJ pull into the space beside Luc’s old, blue Toyota. The contrast between the two cars further underlined the difference between him and Asa.

The last person he wanted to see or talk to right now was the superintendent. Luc waited while Asa opened his door and unfolded his thick body from the slick leather driver’s seat. He took his time closing the door, then adjusting the lapels of his expensive suit jacket, before striding toward Luc with his usual self-assured gait.

“Luc, my boy.” He extended his hand.

Luc ignored the proffered hand. “Asa.” The greeting emerged stiff and unfriendly. “What brings you here?”

“Well, if you’d answer your phone, I wouldn’t be forced to chase you down in a parking lot.” He smiled, but it didn’t soften the reprimand, or that he knew Luc was avoiding him.

“I don’t understand why you even thought you had to
chase me down
.”

Again, Asa flashed that smarmy smile. “Now, Luc, do I really have to explain why I wanted to talk to you?” A predatory grimace replaced the smile. “So how are things going?”

“Exactly which
things
are you referring to?” Luc was not about to make this easy for Asa.

Asa shook his head and made a
tsking
sound. “Luc, if you insist on being difficult and evasive, I’ll have to assume our
 . . .
little understanding is null and void. That being the case
 . . . .
Well, you’ll leave me no choice, my boy.”

Luc felt like the rope in a tug-o-war. He had to break away from one side or the other before his nerves snapped. It seemed to have come down to a choice between this overbearing jerk and the students. Anger, guilt, the bad taste in his mouth just talking to this man gave birth to or just human decency pushed Luc over the edge. For Luc, the choice was clear.

“You know what, Asa? Assume whatever you want. This test will proceed without interference from anyone. Not from you, and certainly not from me. And the results will be whatever they will be.” He opened his car door and threw his briefcase into the back seat. “Now, I have an appointment.”

Before Asa could say another word, Luc got in, started the car, and backed out of the space, leaving the School Superintendent with his mouth agape in the middle of the parking lot, languishing in a cloud of exhaust fumes. As Luc reached the end of the parking lot, his cell phone rang. He opened it, glanced at the caller ID and mumbled, “Asa,” then shook his head in disbelief. Snapping it shut, he tossed it onto the passenger’s seat.

Luc arrived at Alyce Walker’s
house twenty minutes later. After removing the GED instruction sheet from his briefcase, along with a note telling her where to go and the schedule, Luc climbed the steps and knocked on the door. Seconds later, it swung open, and he came face to face with Granny Jo Hawks.

“Granny Jo. Nice to see you again.”

“Well, hello, Luc. What brings you here?’ She glanced behind him as though looking for something or someone. “Mandy’s not with you?”

“No, ma’am. I just came from the school.” He held out the sheaf of papers. “I brought these by for Alyce. It’s the application to apply for her GED.”

“She’s at work, but I’ll be happy to give them to her.” Then she laughed. “Pardon my bad manners. Come on in, and sit a spell.”

For a moment, Luc considered turning down the invitation, but then he thought about going back to face Mandy. He wasn’t ready for that yet. “Thanks. I’d love to.”

He stepped through the door into the clean, but sparsely furnished room. The house was quiet. The baby must be sleeping. A partially-finished, crocheted afghan lay beside a worn, pine rocking chair and a wicker basket containing several balls of colorful yarn. Taking a seat on the sofa, he leaned back, feeling more relaxed than he had all day.

“So, you best explain this to me so I can tell Alyce when she gets home.” Granny Jo motioned to the papers she’d placed on the coffee table.

Briefly, Luc explained that Alyce would have to apply to see if she was qualified to take the course and then the test to earn her GED. The course would be taught and the tests given at the high school.