Trouble Me: A Rosewood Novel (42 page)

J
ADE’S CELLPHONE
was in her hand by the time she rushed out of Dr. Myszkiewicz’s office and into the late-afternoon sun. She pressed the
ON
button, having turned the phone off earlier to avoid any interruption during her meeting with TM.

The phone came on with a message on the screen. Ted Guerra had called—twice—and he’d also left a voice mail.

When she listened to it, the principal’s tone was brusque. “Jade, I need to speak with you. It’s about an important matter. Please come to my office. I’ll be here until five-thirty.”

She glanced at the iPhone’s clock. It was just twenty minutes past four now. She was amazed to realize she’d been talking to Dr. Myszkiewicz for only an hour. She scrolled through her address book until she reached Rob’s home number and selected it.

Please answer
, she thought, listening to the rings. Instead, the machine switched on, with Hayley’s voice instructing her to speak after the beep.

Closing her eyes as a wave of disappointment washed over her, she hung up. She couldn’t leave a message. Hayley would recognize her voice, and that would lead to awkward questions for Rob. She didn’t have Rob’s cell number in her contacts and there was no way she could bring herself to call the police station, not with the way things stood between Rob and her.

God, she’d been such an idiot to freeze him out. She’d try him again later. Hopefully she’d be able to fix things between them, repair the hurt she’d caused. She might as well drive back to school and deal with whatever Ted Guerra needed to see her about. Perhaps by then Rob would be home and picking up.

Jade’s steps echoed in the now-deserted elementary school. But as she neared Ted Guerra’s office, she saw that the door was open and a rectangle of light spilled onto the buffed linoleum floor. Knocking on the glass inset of the door, she called, “Hello? Ted, it’s me, Jade. I got your message.”

“Jade. Come in,” came the reply.

Ted was behind his desk. He rose when she entered but didn’t come around to greet her, and his expression lacked its customary friendliness. “Please take a seat.”

“What’s wrong, has something happened? Is it something to do with Eugene?” She tried to think of anything else that might be amiss but came up blank. Granted, she wasn’t firing on all cylinders. It had been a hell of an afternoon, and she was exhausted.

He didn’t answer her question, saying instead, “I had a visitor to my office this afternoon, Jade, who brought to my attention one of your activities in college, of which I had been previously unaware. I was told that you wrote a column for your school newspaper. After the meeting I checked the résumé you submitted to us. It says that you were on the school newspaper’s staff, but there’s no mention of your having penned a column. Is that because your column was devoted to the topic of sex?”

She’d guessed what was coming the second Ted pronounced the words
activities in college
, but still, when he finally asked about the specific nature of the column she’d written for two years, it felt like a brick had been slammed into her chest.

She was left stunned, unable to draw a breath.

It was happening again. Blair Hood was setting out to annihilate her, but this time with a single, lethal blow. She was going to be sacked from a job she loved and was pretty good at. Once this was in her personal file, it would be highly unlikely another school would ever hire her; she’d be lucky to get an interview.

That wasn’t the only repercussion. As the scandal got out and word spread, and gossip distorted, there’d be parents who would rather see hell freeze over than enroll their children in her riding program.

But worst of all was what Rob would think of her. If he hadn’t started to have doubts about whether there could be a future for them, this scandal would clinch it. Jade knew she wasn’t exaggerating in dubbing it a scandal. She’d starred in enough of them in Warburg. Moreover, she knew exactly how fast word would spread in this small town. Her past sins would be resurrected and made even more lurid with each retelling.…

“Jade? I’d like an answer.”

“Yes.” Her voice came out a hoarse whisper. “I wrote a biweekly column. To label it a sex column, though, is a gross exaggeration. It was more an advice column—”

“An advice column pertaining to sex—”

“Sexual
relationships
,” she retorted. “Sexual relationships between two individuals of the age of consent.”

“Which by many would be considered an inappropriate topic for an elementary-school teacher to address.”

“Only if they were uptight idiots,” she said defensively. “Moreover, I adopted a pseudonym in order to keep my identity private. What I wrote for the college paper was intended for my peers and separate from my actions as Jade Radcliffe. You’ve yet to read a single piece I wrote and already you’re condemning me, Ted.”

“Believe me, I will read them.” He rubbed the side of his face tiredly. “Listen, Jade. I’m not one of those uptight
idiots, but I am this school’s principal. I don’t want to be having this fight with you. I like you, and you’ve been doing a fantastic job in the classroom, and I think you could have a great future as a teacher. But in my official capacity I have no choice but to report your college activities to the school board. They’ll decide whether to allow you to continue to work in the classroom. If, after reading your articles, I can support you in good conscience, I’ll do so fully. I promise you. Given the personalities involved, I believe there’ll be a push to meet on the issue quickly. But until the board makes its decision, I’d like you to take a leave of absence. I’ve already arranged for a new substitute. Sue Wilson will contact you about your lesson plans.”

As they had throughout Jade’s past crises, her sisters gathered around her, offering their unwavering support. Jade hated that once again she had to watch Margot pace with the protective energy of a lioness and witness Jordan’s quiet distress as she worked her rings around and around her slender fingers.

The weather reflected the gloomy mood inside the cottage. The temperature had plummeted and the wind howled angrily outside the windows. When she’d started shivering, Jordan had found an extra blanket for her in the linen closet, wrapped it around her, and then gone off to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate. Jade couldn’t drink it, her stomach going queasy at the thought, but at least holding the cup warmed her hands.

“I was stupid,” she said dully, so tired of repeating a worn truth. Even with her hands wrapped around the mug and her body enshrouded in sky-blue wool, she continued to shiver. “I should have known that the column made me ineligible to teach.”

“Don’t say that, Jade. You’re a wonderful teacher. Everyone’s been coming up to me and telling me so.”

Too exhausted to hold it upright, she rested her head against the back of the sofa. “Jordan, that’s because people
like
you. Of course they’re going to say nice things to you—though you should prepare yourself for a long, dry spell in that regard. We’re back to being Warburg’s principal source for scuttlebutt. You know, one of the things that was going through my head when I drove to school was how wonderful it was that Mom was trying to fix her problems, because, after finding her diary, I’d felt a fair amount of contempt for her as a human being. Now I guess I’m the sole screwup of the family. Sorry.” She closed her eyes.

Ugh. She was indulging in a major self-pity fest, but losing a job and a future with a great, upstanding, non-screwup of a guy could do that to a girl.

Margot’s voice had her opening her eyes.

“There’s nothing to apologize for, but I can tell you who’s gonna be super-sorry: the Harrisons, the Hoods, and all their kin.” Margot was still in full storm mode, taking yet another lap around the living room. Jade closed her eyes again so she wouldn’t have to look; she was growing dizzy.

“Don’t, Margot. I’m sick of trying to get back at them. Besides, it doesn’t work; it only makes them more vicious. I’ll be fine working at the farm as a full-time rider—if you’ll put me on the payroll. It’s too bad about the ponies, though.”

She heard Margot stop in her tracks. “What do you mean, it’s too bad about the ponies? And don’t be silly, of course you can train and ride full-time—though that’s not going to happen, because you are
not
going to be fired.”

“Jade, you don’t really intend to give up the ponies,” Jordan said.

With a sigh, she opened her eyes and pulled the blanket around her tighter. “I’ll have to if parents don’t sign
their kids up for lessons.” At their blank looks, she shook her head. “You guys don’t think that this latest mess of mine won’t spill over into the riding program like so much toxic sludge? It will, and I can’t shoulder the expense of maintaining four ponies.”

“We’ll help you—”

“No, you won’t, Margot. The ponies are my responsibility and thus something I have to deal with.”

“Some of your students will remain loyal, Jade. The Donovans, the Ferrises, and then there’s Hayley. Rob—”

“I’m not seeing Rob anymore, so that’s the only silver lining in this freakin’ massive dark cloud right now. At least there won’t be the awkwardness of having to interact with him.”

“You broke up?” Margot asked, astonishment causing her jaw to go slack.

“Yeah.”

“Oh, no, Jade. When did this happen?” Jordan sank down onto the sofa next to her.

“Yesterday. We had a fight.” The room suddenly seemed even colder. Jade huddled miserably under the blanket. “I got a call from Greg Hammond, and when Rob asked me about him, I got defensive and angry. I knew if I told Rob that Greg was a PI I’d hired and what he was doing for me, he’d try to stop me. So I told Rob I didn’t want to see him anymore, that we were finished. Who’d have known it was for the best?”

“Oh, Jade, I am so sorry.” Jordan wrapped her arm about Jade’s blanketed shoulder, squeezing it tight.

Margot came over and sat down on Jade’s other side, making of their little group a sandwich of sisterly concern. “Call him and explain everything, sweetie.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Jade, are you in love with him?” Jordan asked.

A big clump of pain abruptly took up residence in Jade’s throat. “Yeah, I pretty much am, which is why
I’m
not
going to ruin his life by trying to get back into it. I don’t want him or Hayley to be a part of the three-ring circus that’s about to open in Warburg. Don’t worry, I’ll get over it.”

Even with the comforting support of her sisters beside her, all Jade wanted was to pull the blanket over her head and cry until her tears were spent.

Not even Miriam’s calling out as she opened the front door with a ringing “Hey, I’ve come to lend moral support” buoyed her spirits. Heading straight for her favorite armchair, Miriam dropped into it and propped her feet on the ottoman. “Okay, here’s the plan. I say we storm the elementary school and stage a protest. This is a major attack on freedom of speech.”

When Jade only managed a weak smile in response, Miriam said sadly, “This is so effin’ unbelievably lousy, Jade. You’ve been working so hard with these kids. Since my first idea was a bust, how about I pull out the Whirley Popper and pop us some popcorn and we have a movie fest? We could start with
Titanic
and then move on to
Armageddon
. But maybe you’re more in the mood for
Contagion
?”

“A movie fest. What a great idea!” Jordan exclaimed, jumping up from the sofa so quickly, she batted Jade on the head. “Oh, sorry, Jade! But, really, a night of movies and popcorn is just the thing to take your mind off your troubles. That, and some girlfriend talk. I’d stay, but I have to run in to town to pick up some groceries—”

“Gosh, I have to go too.” Margot sprang to her feet as well. “Ellie needs rescuing from Georgiana and Will. I’ll be back in a little while, though—maybe in time for the second movie?”

Jade had no idea why they were making such a production about leaving. They’d been with her from the moment she walked into the main barn, shell-shocked by the events of the day. They hadn’t even had a chance
to absorb everything she’d discovered about her mom and Dr. Myszkiewicz, because then she’d told them about Ted Guerra and started shaking and crying.

“Yeah, sure. Okay.” She made an effort to inject some energy into her voice but from Margot’s worried expression figured she’d failed.

“It’ll be all right, Jade, I promise.”

Where Margot got her fierce optimism, Jade hadn’t a clue.

“Yeah, I know.” That was a real whopper. Unlike Margot, Jade was a realist. She knew better than to think anything would be all right for a very long time.

At Emma’s call of “All right, last set of clap push-ups in three, two, one—go!” Rob grunted and lowered himself from his plank position until his nose was an inch away from the gym’s black rubber matting. Then he pushed himself off the ground as rapidly and high as possible, clapped his hands and put them back down, and lowered his body again. By the eighth rep of this final set, his muscles were straining, screaming, and sweat poured in rivulets from his shoulders and face. He continued, welcoming the fatigue, driving himself past the pain even when Scott, working out beside him, collapsed to the ground.

“Son of a bitch, Em, you’re a sadist,” Scott panted.

“Damn straight. Come on, you wuss, you have five more seconds. Go!”

With another curse, his brother heaved himself back into position and pulled off a few more push-ups while Emma counted down the seconds. “Okay, time’s up.”

Both Rob and Scott shifted back onto their hands and knees, gasping for breath. From above came Emma’s evil chortle. “This is such a satisfying sight. I only wish Aaron were here to make the picture complete. The Cooper boys laid low.” She snickered again.

Scott lifted his head. “You’re skating on real thin ice, kid,” he warned.

“Yeah, yeah.” Their baby sister was unfazed. “So, you guys ready to call it quits and crawl on home? Or should we end the workout on a high note and finish with some burpees and then some Russian twists?”