The "What If" Guy (19 page)

“Want some help?” I took off my jacket.

She blew at her bangs. “Sure. Cody, give the woman a broom.”

I took the broom and started sweeping. “I take it the night was a success?’

Cody nodded. “The kids had a great time, and the Service Club earned their costs back—and then some.” He gave me the thumbs up, then brushed some pink confetti out of Holly’s hair.

“That’s wonderful.”

Nearby, Elliott and Tabitha shared an iPod and giggled. I gave Holly a look. “I see they had a nice time.”

Holly covered her mouth to hide a chuckle. “Mm-hmm.”

“I checked the basement, everyone’s out.”

At the sound of that voice, all of the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned to see Henry walking through the back entry, a garbage bag in hand. Had he volunteered to chaperone the dance? Was there anything Henry didn’t
do? I was suddenly filled with anticipation, though it was muddled with resentment because of
Lay-a-lot
.

Henry stopped in his tracks. “Hello.”

I frowned. “Hey.”

Holly raised an eyebrow at me. “Thanks, Henry. Can you take that garbage to the dumpster?”

He nodded and ducked out the exit.

“Could you take this out, too?” She asked me, gesturing at a bag on the floor.

Muttering to myself, I scooped up the bag and stomped towards the door. I didn’t want to talk to Henry. I wanted to kick him in the crotch. I followed him to the dumpsters in silence, trying my best to appear cool and aloof.

“I was hoping I’d see you tonight.”

I ignored him, even though my arms twitched, longing to reach out and hold him.

“Something wrong?” he asked, propping open the dumpster lid.

“No.”

“How was your Valentine’s Day?”

I shot him an icy glare. “Not as good as yours, apparently.”

Henry’s smile flattened. “What do you mean?”

I turned to leave. “Nothing. It’s not important.”

He gently grasped my arm and turned me around. “Come on. You look like you’re ready to punch me.”

I glanced away. “Maybe I am ready to punch you.”

“Why?” He smiled, appearing amused by my anger.

I didn’t return his smile. “It’s late. I’ve got to get Elliott home.”

Henry scrunched his face. “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”

My eyes flashed. “Layla said you came over to see her hot tub.”

It was dark out, but I was pretty sure he blushed. “It’s not what you think.”

“That’s original,” I scoffed.

“I went over with Howie Warner. He was fixing the heater in Layla’s hot tub and she wanted to talk to me about the Service Club,” he explained. “She asked me to help out tonight, and then asked me to volunteer for the Flag Day celebration this summer.”

“So you’re not dating?”

“Not hardly.”

“I—” My cheeks heated.

His brow furrowed. “Why does it matter to you, anyway? You said you weren’t interested in dating anyone in town.”

“You said the same thing.”

“Why do you care who I spend time with?”

“I don’t.” I shivered in the cold night air. “I just don’t want you catching syphilis in Layla’s hot tub, that’s all. I’m…” My stomach tightened. “Being a good friend.”

He shook his head. “A good friend?”

“Uh huh.” I nodded shakily.

Henry stepped closer and removed his knotty gray scarf. He wound it around my neck, then slid his hands across my shoulders and down my arms. “A good friend.” He sounded as if he were saying it more to himself than me.

I would have moved away, but my feet were cemented in place. He leaned in, his hands gliding up to cup my face, his thumb grazing across my lips. I was glad I couldn’t move. I opened my mouth to speak, but lost all my words when Henry’s lips brushed against mine like a whisper. A sudden burst of heat shot from my stomach to the top of my head.
Please don’t stop.
Alas…he did.

Henry pulled back, then adjusted the scarf on my neck. “Thanks for being a good
friend
. Happy Valentine’s Day.”

He pulled his keys out of his pocket, turned, and strode behind the building to his truck. He fired up the truck’s engine, backed out of his parking space, and drove away.

I stood, immobilized by yet another one of his kisses.

Chapter Thirteen

“He’s been out of town, you know,” Ramona said, as she checked my groceries in Fisk’s a few weeks later.

“Who?” I pretended to be clueless.

Ramona smiled conspiratorially. “Henry. I saw you strolling past his house the other night.”

Of course she did. Ramona knew about our past. It was a freaking miracle she hadn’t managed to see us kissing yet, with the way she watched everyone.

“Out of town?” I asked.

“Heard he had to go to California for some divorce thing.” She put a pint of ice cream into my bag. “Heard his wife is taking him for all he’s got.”

I shook my head. “That’s too bad.”

“He’ll be home soon, my dear.” She handed me my change.

I gave her a half-hearted wave, then walked out the door.

I’d not laid eyes on Henry since Valentine’s Day. I’d waited to hear from him, but no call had come. Eventually, I’d given up waiting and started walking the long way home. I’d planned to catch him at home, strike up a conversation, then land myself a date. Unfortunately, Henry was M.I.A., and I hadn’t gotten the chance. But I had been spotted by the town crier, Ramona Fisk.

Great.

So, Henry was in California for divorce proceedings. Happiness swelled in my chest as I loaded groceries into my car. Maybe now he would stop running away from me every time we kissed. Now we could date. Having his divorce finalized would keep Henry from holding back, I hoped.

A week later, the phone rang at my dad’s house. “Autumn?” Henry said.

I gasped—yes, I realized how pathetic I was. “Henry?”

There was a pause. A good pause, or a bad pause, I didn’t know.

I instinctively checked my hair in the reflection from the side of the toaster while I waited.

“You need to come to the school immediately,” he said.

“To the school? What’s wrong? Is Elliott okay?”

“Elliott got into a fight.” Henry’s tone was serious. “Mr. Purdell is out for the day. I’m his substitute. Elliott’s in the office right now, nursing a bloody nose.”

“A bloody nose?” I hollered. “What the hell happened? El doesn’t fight.”

Henry sighed. “He did today.”

I leaned against the kitchen counter, stunned.

“I called the pharmacy first,” Henry said. “Doris said that you have the day off. There’s a mandatory one day suspension for fighting. You need to come pick him up.”

“Yes. Of course. I’ll be there shortly.”

The drive to Palouse Plains took forever. Why had Elliott gotten into a fight? He wasn’t a fighter. A vision him with a bloody face and broken glasses flashed through my mind, and my stomach flip-flopped. I pressed on the gas pedal, breaking the speed limit on the country roads.

I bypassed Miss Price and headed straight into the office where El sat with a bloody wad of tissue pressed beneath his nose. His hair was sticking up, and a splatter of blood stained his collar.

“What happened?” I bolted towards him, dropping my purse on the floor, then pulling him into a tight hug. “Are you all right? Where does it hurt?”

“I’m fine, Mom,” he said. “Chill.”

“Autumn.” Henry’s voice startled me. And despite how much I didn’t want them to, my toes curled.

“Henry.” I stood and faced him as he entered the office.

I could tell that he was in teacher mode—shirt tucked in, corduroy jacket rumpled, eyebrows pulled together sternly.

“I’ve spoken to Elliott and the other boy.” He crossed the room to Mr. Purdell’s desk.

I glared down at Elliott. “What were you thinking?”

Elliott didn’t look at me. He just shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Both boys received a day of suspension. They’ve agreed to write apology letters to each other, and the lunchroom staff.” Henry’s gaze shifted from my face to Elliott’s, then back.

I nudged Elliott’s foot. “You’re in big trouble.”

He scowled. “You don’t understand.”

“Well then, enlighten me.” I splayed my hands, exasperated, and waited for him to start talking. We stared each other down for a few moments, then I turned back to Henry. “Would you
like to explain what happened? I thought that this bullying thing was over. Do I have to worry about some redneck punk messing with my son again?”

Henry shook his head. “The boys shook hands. They’ve worked out their differences.”

“So you think.” I wasn’t sure whether I was more ticked off about the fight, or Henry’s complacency. “You didn’t go to this school as a kid. I did. The kids will make nice in front of the teacher, and then get even later. It happens all the time in these little schools. The teachers turn a blind eye, and—”

“There will be no blind eyes here, I assure you,” Henry said. “I’m confident that this matter is resolved.”

“You don’t understand what it’s like.” I crossed my arms.

“I work here,” he said, his tone all business. “I know what it’s like. It’s important to remember that I grew up in a school with three thousand students. You could get your butt kicked and lie behind the bleachers with a dislocated jaw for an hour before anybody even noticed you were missing.”

Elliott raised his head. “Did that happen to you, Mr. T?”

Henry’s eyes tightened. “Maybe.”

“Holy crap.” El’s reddened eyes widened.

“Elliott, go wait in the car,” I said. “I need to have a word with Hen—Mr. Tobler.”

Elliott trudged out of the room with his head down.

I sat in a chair across the desk from Henry. “Listen, can we put our differences aside for a minute?”

Henry’s jaw flexed. “All right.”

“I need to know how bad this bullying situation has gotten.” I thumped my pointed finger on the desktop. “There’s no excuse for Elliott fighting, and I stand behind your decision to punish him. But the other kid must have really been tormenting Elliott to get him to fight back. I mean, look at him. His nose was bloody, there’s blood on his shirt. I think he’s going to have a black eye tomorrow—”

“Steak.” Henry said.

“Excuse me?”

“Steak. Slap a raw steak on it when you get home, and it won’t swell.”

“Henry, focus. I want to know how bad this situation is.”

He laughed. “You should see the other kid.”

“Elliott must be terrified. What?”

“You should see Nick. The other boy. He left with a fat lip and
two
black eyes.”

“Elliott gave him a fat lip and
two
black eyes?”

“Yes. Elliott said that his grandpa’s been teaching him moves since November, but that he promised not to tell you.”

“My father taught him to fight?”

“Yes.”

“I’m gonna kill them both.”

He laughed again. “Your dad was just trying to help.”

“But I don’t condone fighting. I don’t want my son beating kids up, no matter what the reason.”

“I agree. Which is why Elliott is being punished.”

“He’d better have a damn good explanation for acting so barbaric.”

Henry stood and walked around the desk. “Don’t be too hard on him.”

“Because fighting is a rite of passage?”

“No,” he said patiently. “Because he was defending a girl.”

I looked up at him. “Who?”

Henry took a deep breath. “Nick was harassing Tabitha Judd, and Elliott told him to stop. When he didn’t, Elliott asked an aide to make him stop. The aide didn’t come over to deal with the situation quickly enough, and Nick smashed Tabitha’s sandwich. Tabitha started to cry, so…” He swung his fist. “Elliott punched him.”

I covered my mouth in shock. “You’re kidding.”

Henry shook his head, smiling. “Nope. Not kidding. Nick went down like a sack of potatoes. By the time I got there, he’d gotten in a couple of swings, but El was on top of him, hammering him. About half the kids in the lunchroom saw the fight and vouched for Elliott. Nick picks on a lot of kids, so El’s being hailed as a hero.”

A smile spread across my face. “El’s a hero?”

Henry nodded, and I thought I saw a hint of pride in his eyes. “I had to reprimand him. Any student who fights on school grounds gets the same punishment. I had no choice.”

“I understand. Thank you for handling the situation.” My stomach tightened, and I looked away from him. Henry was so close that our knees almost touched. My pulse raced.

Henry cleared his throat and quietly pushed the office door shut. “So. How’s life?”

My belly warmed. “Fine.”

“That’s good.” He looked down. “Are you…dating anyone?”

I shook my head.
Come on.
Ask me out.

Henry leveled his gaze on me. “Good.”

I shifted in my seat. “Are you seeing Layla?”

“For the second time, there’s nothing going on between me and Layla.”

“Mark my words, she’s after you. And she’s got a body that stops traffic.”

“What does Layla Deberaux’s body have anything to do with this?”

“It has everything to do with it.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Yes, it does. Look at her.”

“I’ve seen her. I don’t want to date her.” Henry turned the tables on me. “You keep asking me about my love life. What about yours? You said you don’t want to date anyone in town. Have you changed your mind?”

My cheeks heated. “I need to socialize. I’d like to make more friends, go out occasionally. Maybe dating wouldn’t hurt.”

Please pick up on the hint and ask me to dinner. Please.
I watched Henry expectantly, praying that my cheeks would cool down to a normal shade.

His eyes sparked, the corner of his mouth tugging upward. “It’s good to see you’re finally accepting Fairfield as your hometown. I would love to introduce you to more people. Maybe Holly and Cody could double-date with us sometime.”

My heart thrummed and I grinned. “Yeah. Maybe.”

“I’ll bet we could set up a barbeque once the weather gets nicer. Cody keeps bragging about his grilling skills.”

“Are you asking me out?”

Henry gazed at me for a moment. Outside the door, Miss Price answered the phone, but all else was quiet. Finally, he grinned. “Yeah, I guess I am.”