Least Likely to Fall in Love (8 page)

And just like that, his worst fear was stealing all the air out of the cab of the truck.

Ryan drove carefully home as he tried to figure out what to say. Maddie was silent except for the occasional sniff. When he pulled into the garage, he turned off the ignition and dropped his hands in his lap.

When she said in a broken voice “I thought you were like this great guy, Dad,” he nearly cursed out loud.

Maddie wiped a hand across her eyes. “Did you even apologize?”

Ryan nodded. “Yeah, but…there’s only so much words will do.”

Maddie grabbed her backpack and flung open the door. “You need to keep saying them. And whatever else you can think of, because…” The expression on her face was devastating. She slammed the door. “I’ll be in my room.”

And those were the last full words she spoke to him until Saturday morning. They’d communicated with him asking caring, sensitive, remorseful questions and her responding with ill-tempered grunts. It was like Anna had returned to earth just to make him feel like shit.

When he remembered Maddie’s destroyed expression, he decided he deserved to feel like shit and resolved to power through. He’d thought about marching into Lindy’s office and passing along his anger and frustration. If she hadn’t brought in that damn yearbook, they might never have gotten here.

That morning, before he knocked on Maddie’s door, he congratulated himself on not being a total asshole. Lindy and her yearbook might have sped the process up a bit, but Maddie would have gotten there on her own. She was too damn smart for his own good.

“You coming down to the football field to finish up?”

When she didn’t answer, he stepped back. Her door creaked open, and his beautiful daughter glared at him for a minute before she said, “Of course I am. I’m not going to leave a job undone.” She was wearing old jeans, a crummy T-shirt, and had a short stubby ponytail. He was glad the beret was missing today.

He made an “after you” gesture and said, “I packed us lunches in case there’s no pizza today.”

She trotted down the stairs without answering, and Ryan fought the urge to shiver as he trailed her to the truck. The drive was quiet. They listened to pop music. Letting her control the radio was part of his penance.

As soon as he rolled to a stop, she bounced out of the car, and he didn’t see her again until they took a break for lunch. After nearly three hours, he was starting to get a spasm in his neck from looking around for Lindy. As he chewed his uninspired lunch and ignored Maddie’s careful stare, he tried to tell himself he hadn’t been expecting Lindy.

When Maddie and Eric walked back into the field house, he watched them carefully.

Coach Ford snorted. “That kid didn’t even have detention this week. You may have a suitor on your hands, Myers.”

Ryan scratched his forehead. The very last thing he needed was teenage love to contend with all on his own. But he’d been crazy to expect things to never change.

With a sigh, he picked up a paint brush. This week all the men were scraping and painting the railings on the bleachers. He had less red paint on than he had last week, but this pair of jeans was now officially designated “painter’s jeans.” The bright red slash across the back pocket would make it easy to remember.

They hadn’t done a lot of talking when Coach Ford was around, but when he went inside to check on the locker room progress, Matt Stewart dropped his paintbrush and sat down on the nearest bleacher.

“This work is getting old. Too much for teenage bullshit.”

Ryan straightened slowly and was happy to see that neither Rob nor his dad seemed to pay any attention to his comments. Blake shot anxious looks between Ryan and his father. And Ryan made a mental note not to go too far.

Stewart must have noticed the tense silence. He turned and waved a hand nonchalantly at Ryan. “No offense.”

He could let it go. It was a kind of apology. Not a good one. Not a heartfelt one or one that showed any remorse, but it could count if he just wanted to make it through the day.

Rob’s dad said, “Just get back to work. We’re making good progress.”

Blake’s father snorted. “Don’t see why I should be working. I brought my kid. He’s doing his ‘punishment.’” He made air quotes around the word and everyone turned to face Ryan.

Both Rob and Blake were miserable, as if they’d rather be anywhere else in the world than here. Even Rob’s dad shook his head.

“It’s that principal I blame. Maybe they shouldn’t have picked on your girl, but this is out of bounds.” He spit on the grass.

Ryan set his paint brush down carefully. “Rob, Blake, why don’t you guys head over to the visitor side. We can get it scraped today before we leave.” The two boys shot each other glances. Ryan wished he had a stopwatch to time their retreat.

Carl Daniels did his best to defuse the situation. “The principal’s working with us, keeping the boys on the field.”

Matt Stewart propped his hands on hips. “Okay, but why do we have to be here? Blake’s the only reason that team’s winning this season, and we brought him here to play with Ford for a reason. Shoulda taken a closer look at the academic side. Notice she didn’t show up this week. Probably working on her needlepoint somewhere.”

Rob’s dad just shook his head and went back to work on the railing.

Ryan could do the same. Once an asshole, probably always an asshole. There wasn’t much hope to reason with him.

But then he remembered Maddie’s face. She’d been destroyed at the thought that he hadn’t stopped a bully.

He could do something here.

He straightened to his full height, hitched his ruined jeans up, and crossed over to point down at Matt Stewart. “You’re all talk. You didn’t have a thing to say to her last week. You know how much you owe her. How much your boy owes her for keeping a stupid thing off of his permanent record. But like most cowards, when she’s not around, you want to shoot your mouth off.”

Stewart’s mouth curled up into a sneer. “Just because your little girl can’t handle name-calling doesn’t mean you have to champion every lost cause. Here’s a clue. I’d bet good money that won’t be the last time she’s called a name you don’t like.”

“Dad, just stop.” Blake was absolutely broken. Rob hovered behind him at the edge of the field. Ryan wished they’d stayed out of earshot. “I should never have said that. Rob didn’t even want to mess with her. He just got caught up, I guess. This is my fault.”

Carl Daniels heaved a sigh. “Rob should have stopped you. Just like I should have told Stewart here to shut his damn trap or forced him to do it.” He held out his hand to Ryan. “I’m sorry. Boys are idiots but some of us grow out of it.”

Matt Stewart rolled his eyes. “So I’m an idiot? What about this guy who’s giving up his Saturday to scrape and paint? Keeping an eye on your weird, fragile little girl? And what, she’s got nothing better to do with her time? Mason’ll show her how to needlepoint. My boy’s a leader. I’ve made sure of that. He deserves better than this.”

“What the hell is going on here? Am I going to have to call the cops?” Coach Ford had his game face on. If they’d been any closer, they might have been able to see the spittle fly.

When Ryan spotted Maddie and Eric frozen behind them, he cursed. “Sorry, Coach. My daughter and I are done for the day.”

              Coach Ford studied the two boys on the field and the two fathers left in the bleachers. “Well, what’s wrong with the rest of you? Get back to work.” He marched over and poked Matt Stewart in the chest. “I catch you sitting down like this, and you and your boy will be back here an extra Saturday or I’ll be playing a new starting running back. Hear me?”

Stewart nodded once sharply and grabbed a paint brush before stalking to the far end of the bleachers.

Ryan shot a look at the Eric kid as he wrapped a hand around Maddie’s shoulder.

“What was that all about, Dad?”

He shook his head. “The thing about bullies is that some of them never grow up. Blake’s dad is one of those, and I feel sorry for his kid.”

Maddie didn’t speak again until they were almost home. “I’m glad you grew up.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, but I’m glad I’m not the same asshole I was in high school.” He blew out a breath. “Kids make mistakes. Like Rob, he knows he screwed up. Sometimes making amends is impossible, but that doesn’t change the fact that he regrets what happened, right?”

“Right. I get it.” Maddie punched one of the presets on his radio. The twang of his music filled the space between them for a minute. He massaged the crick in his neck and bit his tongue.

When he glanced in her direction, she was thinking hard about something. He hoped it was a way to let him off the hook. Whatever it was, he’d go for it. Expensive new clothes, hot new gadget, a new beret… He could be persuaded if she’d just give him a smile right now.

She was serious as she said, “I wish there was a way to go back. To change things.”

“Me, too.”

“But we can’t. So, how do we go forward?” She was quiet as she stared out the window. “I’m starting to think dinner might not be a bad idea.”

“What did you have in mind? We can swing through and pick something up if you want.”

She snorted. “No, Dad. Dinner, like a nice dinner between you and Principal Mason. She needs…closure.”

Closure? His daughter was talking to him about closure? He blamed television.

“I bet I could talk her into a dinner with the three of us.” She winked. “And then I could just, you know, fade away.” She motioned with her hands like she’d blow away on the breeze.

“You weren’t too excited about my asking out Principal Mason.”

Maddie’s face reflected massive amounts of pity as she patted his hand. “Dad, if you can manage to dig yourself out of this hole and convince Principal Mason to go on a real date with you, then you deserve the chance.”

When she giggled at his grimace, he turned his hand over and squeezed hers. No matter how bad the odds were, he was glad to have an accomplice. If he could convince his little girl, the most precious person in his world, that he’d grown up and deserved a chance to prove it, then he was ready to give talking Lindy Mason around to his way of thinking a concentrated effort.

“What did you do to your neck?”

He thought about brushing off the question, but in light of the most recent turn of events, he grimaced and said, “I spent too much time today looking over my shoulder.”

“How come? Too much time with the dads out there?” Maddie frowned. “You don’t think they’d hurt you, do you?”

“Nah.” He rolled his eyes. “I was hunting for Principal Mason.”

Maddie snorted. “Oh, yeah? Good.” She winked. “A wise woman told me that all it takes to be a good flirt is practice. Go ahead and start working on that in your head. I’m about to get you a date with Principal Mason.”

When he surveyed her determined chin, he mentally sighed. Ready or not, his date was looming on the horizon. He’d be smart to take Maddie’s advice. He’d been out of the game for so long. He definitely needed time to warm up.

When Maddie’s next appointment rolled around, Lindy had carefully coached herself through what she would say. She had no intention of throwing Ryan under any bus, but she wasn’t going to lie either. By now, Maddie had pieced together most of the story, no doubt. Lindy dried sweaty palms on her pants when the intercom buzzed. “Boss, Maddie Myers and her posse are here.”

Lindy paused as she tried to imagine what Maddie’s posse might look like. And Sue, the school secretary responsible for guarding the principal’s door, throwing around the word was enough to stump her for a minute. She shook her head as she said, “Go ahead and send them in.”

When Maddie opened the door and stuck her head inside, Lindy was glad to see that while the beret had returned, the eyeliner had not. “Um, Principal Mason, I brought some friends along. Is it okay if they come in?”

Lindy nodded and Maddie led a small group, perhaps a posse, into her office. Rob and Eric followed her and Lindy was surprised when Sarah Bradley closed the door behind them. She hadn’t known Sarah and Maddie were friends.

“Rob, please grab those two chairs and drag them over.”

When all four teenagers were seated in front of her desk, Lindy rocked back in her chair. “So, what’s up?”

Maddie cleared her throat as she straightened in her chair. She took her role as spokesperson seriously. “Well, Principal Mason, I’ve been thinking a lot the last week about what you said to me about brainstorming ways to help prevent bullying here at Lincoln. And then, after talking with my dad and with Rob, I got an idea about other pieces of the question. I mean, being a target is hard, but what about the kids who either intentionally or unintentionally end up being the bully? For some, it won’t matter much, but for others, that’s something they’ll have to live with, too, you know?”

Maddie glanced over at Rob, and he gave a quick jerking nod.

Lindy traced a pattern on the desk. At some point, this was going to end badly for her. There was going to be an apology and an “I forgive you” in her future. She ought to be happy for the opportunity to grow. Instead, she was embarrassed that a fifteen-year-old was set to show her the way.

“That’s pretty solid logic, Maddie.” As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn’t pretend it wasn’t.

Maddie’s huge smile said that Lindy’s sacrifice was worth it. “So I’ve been talking with Rob and Eric this week—”

“And me. Don’t forget me.” Sarah bounced up from her chair and pushed her glasses up on her nose. She was so active and determined that other students watched her cautiously and even teachers wondered what to do with her. Sarah Bradley was an excellent student. She could use some help learning to work with people. Lindy imagined she’d have some personal experience to add to the anti-bullying campaign, on both sides of the issue.

“Maddie approached me with this idea to work together to build some kind of program about bullying. So, I did some research. Principal Mason, did you know that the estimates for high school kids being bullied range from twenty to thirty percent or even higher? Bullied kids are more likely to be depressed and drop out. And the bullies themselves are more likely to abuse alcohol.” She motioned wildly as she delivered facts she’d researched carefully.

Maddie and Rob both appeared resigned, as if they’d already seen this particular demonstration already.

When Sarah completed her march around the office and landed back in front of her chair, Lindy said, “Thank you, Sarah. I’m glad to see that you are researching to understand how big a problem this is.”

Lindy picked up a pen and a notepad to take some notes. “So, a program? A speech or a dramatic skit or something like that?” Every face across from her showed horror. Abject terror on four faces at one simple question.

“No, Principal Mason,” Maddie said firmly. “Posters. A short pamphlet. Rob’s dad is a graphic artist. We’re going to get some pictures…”

Eric cleared his throat and said hoarsely, “Uh, I work on the yearbook. Doing photography. I can help with that.”

His face was brilliant red. And that sort of answered the question about
what
he was doing in the group, if not why. She couldn’t remember any case of Eric being involved in any incident. Other than smoking in the bathroom, but she was pretty sure that was about getting the attention from his father, not any real desire to light up or impress anyone.

When Eric flashed a small smile at Maddie and she returned it with an even smaller one, Lindy understood the why of his participation today.

Lindy scribbled notes. “So, Sarah’s the researcher and writer. Rob’s got the layout. Maddie will do artwork. And Eric will provide photos.” She nodded. “All right. Who’s going to print these?”

Maddie waved a hand. “I’m sure I can get my dad to help with that. He wants to be involved.”

One corner of Lindy’s mouth curled as she calculated the chances that Ryan had any idea that this was going on. “Well, I like the initiative. But you know the government’s got resources, so does the state. We’ve seen other programs come through—”

“Yeah, we remember the school assembly. But it didn’t work.” Maddie shrugged. “A personal connection will make a difference. What could it hurt?”

She had a point. “How are you going to distribute these pamphlets?”

Maddie wrinkled her nose. “We haven’t made it that far. Hand them out?” Nobody was thrilled at that but they all agreed.

“Or the teachers can hand them out in homeroom and go over them.” Lindy had been trying to think up ways to get the teachers more involved. This was exactly what she needed. “Okay, here’s how this will work.” She tapped her finger on the desk to get their attention. “You’re going to run everything by me first. All copy, all artwork, all photography, and the final layout for the pamphlet and the posters. Nothing prints without my approval. Got it?” When four heads nodded in return, Lindy smiled. “I want to thank each of you for volunteering to put this together. Maybe Maddie’s shared with you why I take this seriously, but if not, I know what it’s like to be targeted and I don’t want that for anyone. I appreciate you all for trying to make Lincoln a safer place.

“Now, get to work. I want to talk to Rob and Maddie for just one minute.” When Eric and Sarah filed out and shut the door, Lindy clicked her pen. “I don’t know how you are planning to handle examples, but I don’t want any names included.”

Rob glanced up to meet her eyes quickly before he looked away. “I don’t mind, Principal Mason. I should never have been involved anyway. I did something dumb. The least I can do is try to help here.”

Maddie scooted forward to perch on the edge of her seat. “Principal Mason, Rob and I’ve talked. He explained a little and I wouldn’t…” She motioned with her head like she was urging him to say something.

Rob tugged the neck of his T-shirt. “I just… Sometimes it’s easier to do things to fit in than do the right thing, you know?”

“Is everything okay with Coach Ford, Rob?” Maybe something the new football coach had said or done made Rob think he could or should pick on others.

“Yeah, he’s pretty pissed…” Rob coughed and then said, “I mean, he’s not happy. There’s no place for bullies on his team. Nobody else gets another shot.” He shrugged. “At least, that’s what he’s been hammering into our heads at the end of every practice when the whole team has to run extra sprints.”

Lindy winced. “Guess the whole team hates that.”

Rob nodded. “Yeah, but most of them are too scared of being off the team to complain. Might look like bullying, you know?”

Wow. That is a good plan.
Her admiration for Coach Ford jumped up several notches.

“Of course, Blake’s ready to plot a mutiny and…” Rob met her stare for one split second before he slid out of his chair. As he was moving the extra chairs back to their normal spots, he said, “Whatever I can do, Principal Mason, even if it’s be a bad example. I already told my parents we were going to do it, and my dad seemed cool with it.”

Lindy shook her head. “No names. You can include stories. But I don’t want any names listed.” She added a note to request another meeting with Blake and his father. He’d transferred into Lincoln after Coach Ford’s hire was announced. He was captain of the team. His influence would be huge.

Knowing his father, a meeting with Blake alone would accomplish more.

“Do we have an agreement? I approve every step. No names.” Maddie and Rob nodded. No matter how long she was principal, nothing would feel as good as thinking she’d made even a small difference. Rob and Maddie both had been changed, hopefully for the better.

“All right. Rob, you can go.” When he waved one hand awkwardly and scrambled for the door, Lindy leaned back in her chair.

Maddie didn’t say anything, just fidgeted nervously and waited for Lindy to start.

“How are things at home?”

Maddie brushed off her concern. “Good. Great. No worries.”

Lindy didn’t believe her for a minute. She desperately wanted to. Instead, she said, “Are you sure? Last week you were pretty upset when you left.”

Maddie wiped her hands on her jeans. “Well, I didn’t ask for details, if that’s what you’re asking. I am smart enough to figure out my dad was part of your problem in high school. And I hate that.”

Lindy opened her mouth to say something. She wasn’t absolutely sure of what, but she didn’t want Maddie to be disappointed in her father. He was all she had.

“But he hates it, too. He’s not one of those people who are oblivious, Principal Mason. He’s pretty clear about what he did and wishes he could change it. After I talked with him and with Rob, it’s like this light bulb went off that there’s more than one side to this story.”

Lindy heaved a disgusted sigh. This was where she knew they’d been heading. Now that they’d arrived, she had to figure out what to say. “Maddie, thanks to you, I understand that better. Rob and Blake are going to grow up and they need some grace. None of us make it through to adulthood without making mistakes. But applying that to my own situation seemed impossible.”

Lindy slapped her hands on her desk. “So, what I’m going to do is follow you out to the car, so that I can talk to your dad for just a minute. He’s apologized. I need to tell him I’m working on letting stuff go.” She pursed her lips. “But I’m going to be working on it for a while.”

Maddie pasted an angelic smile on her face. “I have a better idea. I’d like for you to come to dinner at our house tomorrow night. Will you do that? I want to thank you for helping me through all this. I’ll make my famous chocolate cake. Dad can grill something. Please?”

Her beautiful, eyeliner-free face was pleading. She gripped both hands together and waved them back and forth under her chin. Her sincerity was hard to doubt.

Lindy tried to surrender with good grace. “Fine. Tell me what time, and I’ll be there.”

Maddie jumped up and down once. “How about seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

“Great! Principal Mason, you won’t be sorry!” Maddie yanked up her backpack and ran out of the office with a clatter. When Lindy closed her eyes against the bright sunshine coming in through her dingy window, she had a bad feeling Maddie might be wrong. Everything about this screamed that she was going to be sorry. Very, very sorry. Ryan would be charming. Maddie would be sweet. She would be awkward. And the old high school doubts would come rushing in.

But she owed it to Maddie. And to Ryan. Good or bad, she was committed. She’d be sitting down with the Myers family sooner rather than never.

A shopping trip was clearly required at this point. She might tell herself that she was old enough, mature enough, now that his opinion didn’t count, but there was no way in hell that she was going to show up looking anything less than spectacular for dinner with Ryan Myers. The high school girl that lived inside would accept nothing less.

***

When Lindy reached the front door of the two-story traditional home at the end of the cul-de-sac about half a mile from the school, she closed her eyes and tried to reason with the panicky voice in her head that yelled loudly she should scram before anyone knew she was there.

She looked good and that gave her the confidence to shove the high school girl back inside her box. It was hard to figure out what to wear for dinner with a man and his teenage daughter. Thank goodness this was not about seduction.

As she’d shopped, she’d picked up and discarded several choices that would make Ryan’s eyes spin. But they might make Maddie’s head spin. So she’d gone safe and stylish with slim black jeans, high-heeled boots, and a nice gray sweater. Bor-r-ring but solid armor anyway. The boots alone could take out anyone who gave her a hard time. Lindy tossed her hair, squared her shoulders, and pushed the doorbell.

Half a second later, Maddie yanked the door open. “Welcome, welcome! Come in, come in, Principal Mason.”

Lindy raised an eyebrow but didn’t address the whole “saying everything twice” or the title. At some point, “Principal Mason” was going to get old but a good alternative stumped her.

“Thanks, Maddie.” Lindy stepped around her and followed the beautiful dark wood floor into a large family room.

Just as she’d figured out the right way to compliment the cavernous and almost empty room, Ryan stuck his head around the corner. “Hey.”