Rachel Laine (The Women of Merryton Book 3) (25 page)

“Rachel
Laine.”

I
was barely cognizant that I had answered the phone. My bedside clock read 1:06.
“It’s late, or early, depending on how you look at it,” I grumbled.

“I’m
sorry for calling so late, but after your text message, I thought I should call
you as soon as I could.” He sounded worried.

I
could tell he was driving, and on his Bluetooth. I wasn’t sure if I was annoyed
or touched that he called me as soon as the gala was over. “Why?”

“Because
apparently there’s been a misunderstanding between us.”

I
sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. I needed to be more awake for this
conversation. “And what’s that?”

“How
could you think I was interested in anyone but you?”

“You
were doing a good job of studying Miss Colorado, and the reporters seemed to
think you were ready to hang up your bachelor ways,” I scoffed.

“That
may be true, but not with anyone at the gala. Don’t you think I wanted you
there with me tonight?”

“I
don’t know.” Insecurity laced my response. “You spent the night in fancy
clothes, dancing with insanely gorgeous women. I stayed at home, judging a
burping contest and eating chips and dip in my sweats.”

His
tired laugh echoed in his car. “Who won?”

“Your
son. You’ve taught him well.”

“I
wish I could have been there with you tonight, or had you in my arms on the
dance floor.”

“I
don’t know how to dance.”

“Then
we’ll take dancing lessons.”

“I
don’t own any evening gowns.”

“So,
we’ll go shopping. I know a great designer.”

“I
don’t want, nor can I afford, designer clothing.”

“I
suppose you won’t let me pay for it, either.”

“You
are correct.”

“I
love how independent you are, but allowing me to buy you something isn’t going
to kill you.”

“Maybe
we should go on a date first.”

“I
can’t wait. You know what else I can’t wait for?”

“What?”

“Holding
you in my arms, sweats or no sweats. It’s your choice.”

“You
need to stop it.”

“That’s
the thing. I can’t stop the way I feel about you. No one can. Certainly not Miss
Colorado, who only spoke about the pageant circuit and how she’s voting for my
opponent.”

I
was glad he couldn’t see me smile. “I’m sorry.”

“You
don’t sound that sorry.”

“Will
it make you feel better if I tell I would vote for you if I could?”

“Would
you really?”

“Yes.
As much as I hate politicians, I think you will do a lot of good if elected.”

“That
means a lot coming from you. I’ll try not to let you or Drew down.”

I
sighed. “Are you sure about us?”

“As
sure as I’ve ever been about anything.”

“I’m
worried about what happens when our worlds actually do collide,” I admitted

“That
sounds like fun.”

“I’m
being serious.”

“I
am too.”

“Andrew?”

“You’re
overthinking this. Being a politician isn’t the glamorous life you’re making it
out to be. Events like tonight are few and far between.”

“You
get invited to those things not because of your run for office, but because of
who you are. Our circles are very different.”

“That’s
a good thing.”

“How
do you figure?”

“Because
I could do with some downtime and you need to get out.”

I
probably did, but I was thinking more along the lines of dinner and a movie. I was
pretty sure I was the most boring woman in America. “I’m not like those women
you were dancing with tonight.”

“You
don’t have to be. You just be you.”

“I’ll
do my best.”

“Happy
New Year, beautiful.”

“You,
too.”

“This
is going to be a great year together.”

“Once
we can actually be together.”

“I
know. I keep thinking of ways for us to sneak off together, but my campaign
manager doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He also …” He hesitated. “He doesn’t
want us talking on my personal cell anymore. He thinks we should run any
communication through his.”

“Are
you kidding me?”

“I
wish I was, but it’s probably for the best. The other side is already digging
for any dirt they can find. They’ve already contacted my ex-fiancée hoping she
would give them a story they could spin.”

“Did
she?”

“No.
Despite how things ended with us, we’re still friends and she’s not that kind
of person.”

I
wasn’t sure how to process this new layer, but it didn’t sit well with me.
“What about Drew?”

“I’ll
do my best to keep up regular contact with him and you. I don’t like this any more
than you do, but I don’t want to risk pulling you into the middle of this. Kirk
Anderson’s campaign is willing to hit below the belt. If they find out about
Drew, it will get ugly.”

I
didn’t respond for a moment. I was trying to process this and him. He wasn’t
acting like the guy over Christmas who seemed determined to make sure we saw
each other before March, or the man that talked to me for several hours as he
drove home. I had gotten the impression over Christmas that maybe he was
regretting his choice. He didn’t want to leave us that day, he kept staying and
staying until I made him go. I was afraid he would fall asleep at the wheel. I
had a small glimmer of hope he was going to drop out. But now he sounded more
determined than ever.

“Rachel?”

“Yeah.”

“I
know it’s not ideal, but I want to protect both of you.”

“And
your campaign.”

“That,
too.”

“Okay.”
What else could I say?

“I’ll
have Bryant, my campaign manager, call you later today with the numbers you can
reach me at. You can call me anytime you need anything.”

“What
would we possibly need?” I didn’t want to sound like some stubborn female, but
really, I didn’t need a man to rescue me. We had done all right on our own.

“Well,
I for one will need to hear your voice.”

That
was sweet, but … “Call me when you can, then. I don’t feel comfortable going
through a go between.”

“Rachel.”
I could hear the plea in his voice. “It’s a couple of months. I know I keep
saying this, but I’ll make it up to you and Drew.”

We
shall see.

 “Rachel,
do you think you could be in charge of the advertising again this year?”

I
looked up at the PTA president. I hadn’t really been paying attention during
our spring carnival meeting. I was partially annoyed that we needed a meeting
in the middle of January for an event that we had every year and wasn’t taking
place until May, right before school got out. I put on a fake smile to hide any
irritation. “I would love to.” So maybe love was stretching it a bit. I was out
of sorts. Andrew’s campaign was driving me crazy, and I had barely heard from
him the last couple of weeks.

“Oh,
perfect. You’re the best.” Our PTA president, Janie, was the sweetest lady on
the planet. “Your teacher liaison will be Mr. Kessler.”

I
turned around to look at Eric Kessler, the fifth grade math and science
teacher. He had dated Cheyenne briefly. She had broken it off. Something to do
with the fact that she could hear him chewing.

He
was all smiles and waved at me in acknowledgement. I think he caused quite the
stir at the school with all the single female teachers. He reminded me of a
young Clint Eastwood with his dark, combed back hair and angular facial
features, but he didn’t look as intimidating with his kind, blue eyes.

I
turned back around and tried to pay attention to the rest of the meeting and
who was assigned what. I did a terrible job. I kept tapping my pen against my
pad of paper. Andrew was on my brain. His first town-hall meeting was tonight.
I kept wondering how it was going and if I would hear from him. I was sure it would
be on the news. Normally, state representative’s races didn’t receive so much
attention, but because of who Andrew was and because it was a recall, it
garnered more than its fair share. At least I had his mom’s visit to look
forward to this weekend.

“Rachel,”
I heard my name called.

I
turned back from the exit. I had almost made my escape.

Eric
Kessler was approaching me.

I
waited for him near the door.

“Hey,
I wanted to see if you wanted to come have lunch at the school one of these
days so we can discuss any ideas you have about flyers, and where we can
advertise.” I guess he was planning on being more involved than the last
teachers I had worked with. The previous year’s teachers were happy to let me handle
everything.

“Oh.
Sure.” I was caught off guard by his willingness to be involved.

“Would
next week work for you? I have duty free lunch on Wednesdays. We could meet in
the cafeteria at eleven.”

“I
think that works for me. I’ll try and put together a flyer before then.”

He
touched my upper arm. “Sounds like a plan. I look forward to seeing you.”

“See
you then.” I made my exit.

I
rushed home so I could put Drew to bed. Ashley was watching him for me, but I
hated missing bedtime. I wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to want me to
read to him at night. And I knew once Andrew was fully in the picture, Drew
would be staying at Andrew’s some nights. As much as I felt for Andrew, I was
having a hard time coming to terms with that idea.

I
came home to find Drew showing off all the whistles he and my dad made over
Christmas. He still had to see his pocketknife every day, even if he wasn’t
allowed to use it. I think he was afraid I might dispose of it. His fears
weren’t unwarranted. I had thought about it.

Ashley
was a good sport about it. It probably helped that they had Gage in the house
now. She was used to little brother type things.

“Thank
you, Ashley.” My arrival saved her from any more play by plays.

She
looked relieved. “You’re welcome, Miss Rachel.”

“Drew,
why don’t you head up and get ready for bed.”

“Fine.”
He sulked up the stairs.

I
handed some cash over to Ashley. “How’s Tessa and your mom doing?”

She
smiled, but it was subdued. “Good … but … it’s weird.”

“I
can imagine.”

Her
smile became more genuine. “I love having a new sister, but I’m leaving for
college this year. I won’t get to know her very well.”

“I’m
sure that’s hard. Thank goodness for technology. Have you decided on a school?”

She
sighed and blew out a breath that sent her bangs into flight. “It’s between CU
and UAB.”

“I
loved my time at CU.”

“It
is a good school, but …”

“Too
close to home.”

Her
grin indicated I hit the nail on the head.

“I
remember feeling like that, too. But once I was there, I felt like I had my own
space, but it was close enough to come home and do laundry for free or shop in
my parents’ pantry.”

She
laughed. “That’s true. And they do have a great pre-med program.” She was
planning on following in her dad’s footsteps.

I
didn’t want to be too persuasive, but I knew Taylor wanted her to choose CU, at
least for her undergrad. “And I think it was voted the campus with the best
looking men last year.”

That
got her attention. Her beautiful brown eyes glimmered and she blushed.

“Not
that that’s a reason to pick a school,” I added in.

“Boys
are dumb anyway.”

Poor
thing still wasn’t over Spencer. “Yes, they are.” Unless you counted Drew. His
dad, though, may qualify.

After
Ashley left, I settled in with Drew and Jake on the bed. We were well into the
fourth book in the
Harry Potter
series. I had been reading extra every
night to keep both of our minds off Andrew. Drew was missing him, as was I. I
read until he was nodding off by my side; even the dog had fallen asleep.

I
made my way downstairs and pulled up my laptop to research some flyer ideas.
The PTA voted to do an around-the-world theme for the carnival this year. I
scrolled page after page, but didn’t see anything to my liking. Then I had the crazy
thought that I could make one. I hadn’t sketched anything in forever. There
wasn’t ever any time, it seemed, between my job, Drew, and the invasion of
Andrew.

I
curled up in bed with my remote and sketchbook in hand. I turned on the late
newscast to see if they had reported on the District 43 town hall meeting.
While I listened to the weather and other local Denver news, I began to outline
the Eiffel Tower. I had an idea to draw several famous world landmarks in a circle
around our school mascot and name. I found myself starting over several times.

Halfway
through the newscast, they showed a clip of the meeting. There was Andrew,
sitting down in a casual setting amongst his constituents at the local
community center in Highlands Ranch. He looked good in jeans and a button-down
shirt, with a blazer and no tie. The clip showed one woman ask how he planned
to deal with overcrowding in the schools and teacher raises.

The
smile on Andrew’s face said he knew exactly what to say. “Education and taking
care of our educators is one of my top priorities. My plan to make our area
commercial friendly will bring in more tax dollars, to not only pay for new
schools, but raise the salaries of our current teachers and bring in additional
talented teachers. All without having to strain the pocketbooks of any of us by
raising taxes on homeowners. I also plan to work with city leaders to see where
there is waste so we can funnel that money into the school districts.”

There
was a nice round of applause among the several hundred people that were in
attendance.

That
was really all that was shown. The news reporter added that it seemed like a
success, and that the latest poll numbers had Andrew up by ten points.

From
the sounds of it, I was sure he was pleased with how it all turned out.

I
sketched a rough Eiffel Tower. It turned out okay. I was rusty. I hadn’t
treated my hobby with much care over the last several years, but I liked the
feel of a pencil in my hand and seeing my work come to life. I set down my
rudimentary attempt for the night and turned in.

It
didn’t fail, as soon as I was ready for bed, Andrew seemed to know and always
called. At least I hoped it was him. The phone number of Bryant, his campaign
manager, popped up on my screen. I wasn’t too impressed with the guy. He
sounded like a used car salesman, or worse, Landon Riley.

“Are
you still awake?” Andrew asked.

“I
think the fact I said hello should give you a clue.”

He
laughed. “I’ve been missing your sarcasm.”

“Is
that so?”

“Among
other things I can’t mention.” He was probably around the aforementioned
campaign manager. “Speaking of missing things, why haven’t you returned any of
my texts?”

I
thought back to the texts early in the day telling me he missed Drew and me. “I
told you I don’t feel comfortable texting you on Bryant’s phone. How do I even
know it’s you? Or worse, what if you don’t see it right away?”

“Rachel,
of course it’s me. Give me some credit.”

“This
is weird for me.”

“I
know, and I’m sorry for that. I can’t talk long, we are on our way to have a
late dinner and go over some poll numbers. So tell me how your day went. How’s our
kid?”

“He’s
great. He wants me to sign him up for some karate program they do after school.
I’m thinking about it.”

“Will
it interfere with baseball practice?”

“How
did I know you were going to ask that? And no, it won’t.”

“Sounds
good to me, then.”

“Oh,
really. I suppose you’ll be the one to take him and pick him up?”

“I
wish I could. Anyway, I have to go. I’ll try and call you tomorrow.”

“Okay.
Goodnight.”

I
barely heard a muffled goodbye before the call was ended. I stared at the screen
on my phone. It held a picture of Drew before his front teeth had grown back
in. I looked into those eyes, the ones he inherited from his dad. I was
becoming more and more frustrated at this situation. I was tempted to put off
any contact until this whole election mess was over. We could reevaluate our
feelings then.

~*~

“You
don’t seem like yourself today. Tell me what’s wrong.” Evelyn was perceptive. I
liked that about her, even if I had been doing my best to be cheerful for our
visit.

I
was grateful for the alone time with her while Drew was at the Coles’ for a
bit. Gage, by court order, had to visit his dad in prison, so it had been a
tough week for him. Easton and Taylor wanted to do something special for him,
so they invited several of his friends over for a video game party on their
theater-sized screen, it was a boy haven over there.

I
shrugged my shoulders and thought about what to say in response to my lovely
friend’s concern. “I’m thinking about taking a step back.”

Again,
she was intuitive. She knew what that meant. “I don’t blame you. He hasn’t made
this easy for you.”

“I
don’t think we fit into his life right now. I’m not sure if we ever will.”

Her
blue eyes tried to remain calm, but I could see the worry written in them.

“No
matter what, you’re always welcome to see Drew.” I wanted to put her mind at ease,
if that was what she was concerned about.

She
reached across the back of the couch to where my hand rested. She laid hers on
top of mine and rubbed it. “I know my son can be an idiot. He has this amazing
ability to focus on whatever it is he’s trying to win, whether it’s a game or
an election. That’s what made him a great athlete. But sometimes that marvelous
ability of his ends up being his downfall. He’ll come out of this. He knows what’s
most important.”

“Does
he?”

“He
cares about you and Drew more than anything.”

I’m
sure my eyes were full of skepticism.

She
scooted closer to me and squeezed my hand. “When I saw him last weekend, you
were all he talked about. It’s not easy for him to be away from you, either.
Hang in there. It will get better.”