Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Amber
“W hat were you doing out there?” Teddy asks when we get onto the main road.
“I don’t want to talk about this right now. Can we please not?”
“I’m not going to lecture you if that’s what ya think.” He chuckles. “I’m just curious.”
“He took me out for a ride on the horses to get a better look at the stars.”
“I’m sure it was to get a better look at the stars,” he roars with laughter.
“Don’t be a child about this.” I sigh.
“I’m not being one. I’m just teasing you. I’m thrilled about this.”
“Nothing happened.”
“I can tell when you lie, you know? I also can see that your face is bright red even in the dark of the car. It doesn’t matter if nothing physically happened. The two of you really like each other. I can see it in the way you interact and the way you are around each other.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The last two boyfriends you’ve had asked you to make them a plate of food, and you rolled your eyes and told them they had two legs. You just did it for Derek at the party without even thinking about it.”
I blow out a long breath, not realizing that my brother is this smart.
“He’s not my type. We’re like opposites. He’s all broody, grumpy man, and I’m…not broody. I’m also his daughter’s teacher, so it’s wrong on so many levels.”
“I know…I know he can be rough around the edges, but he’s really a good man. He was always preoccupied with the farm and making it financially sustainable. Maybe he wasn’t as present with Sharon as he could’ve been, or even with the kids, but that’s all changed since she died.”
“Says his best friend.”
“I wouldn’t lie to my little sister.” He laughs.
“Regardless, it doesn’t matter. He was married to Sharon, for cripe’s sake,” I reply lightly. “He can’t be that good of a man.”
“I had my reservations, too.” He smiles back at me.
“Who do you think started the fire? Does he have any enemies?” I ask quickly, trying to get the focus off me.
“Not that I know of. I mean, other than the Livesays being uptight, entitled assholes to him.”
“It’s so crazy to think that someone would try to set it on fire.”
“People are crazy when they’re desperate.”
“Bree and I were at dinner last night. The Livesays were there too. I overheard a conversation about Derek,” I say in one long breath. “They said that Sharon hated Derek as much as they hate him.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never liked her. She was very entitled and could be mean, but…that’s not who she was with Derek. She was a good human with him, a good wife and a good mom too.”
That seems shocking.
Irritation wraps around me, and I try to stifle the urge to roll my eyes. Hearing my brother say Sharon Livesay was a good human makes me want to vomit and rip his hair out at the same time. It’s like a betrayal for him to think she was anything but the bitch that she was.
“Her parents didn’t have anything too nice to say about him.”
“That’s not surprising. They were trying to sell the farm before Sharon met Derek. He was a ranch hand on the farm, and they fell in love. She begged them not to sell and said that she wanted to take over running it with him. They gave in because whatever Sharon wanted, Sharon got,” my brother explains as he shifts in his seat.
“Would they really do something like this to put their own grandkids in danger?”
“They don’t care about those kids,” he chuffs. “They show on social media that they’re the best grandparents in the world, but they’re not. I can’t tell you the last time they actually spent time with them. They maybe see them at Christmas and not much else.”
“But they live five miles down the road.”
“Exactly,” he says.
I sit back in the seat and chew my bottom lip as I run through the night’s events in my head.
What a scary sight to come up and see everything engulfed in flames.
Does it make me a bad person that I can’t stop thinking about Derek kissing me? His world has been upended, and all I want to focus on is how it would feel if he were inside me.
I need to clear him out of my head. I can’t sleep with a student’s dad. I’ve already crossed a line as it is. I need to stay away from him.
* * *
The classroom is quiet after the last bell rings. I’m tidying up, stacking papers, and rearranging chairs when Casey comes trudging into my room. She drags her backpack across the floor, looking at her feet, shoulders slumped. The principal had grabbed me earlier to let me know she’d gotten into a little trouble at recess and would be in detention with me—and Derek had been notified, too. My heart tugs a little at the sight of her.
“Hey, Casey.” I try to keep my voice light. “Rough day?”
She shrugs, a small huff escaping her lips. “Yeah.”
“Normally, I would have you do some homework, but I didn’t give any. Do you want to hang out and talk, or I can find you something to do?”
“Guess I don’t have a choice.” She flops down at the table by the window, pulling out a notebook but not looking at it. There’s an obvious hurt there that’s deeper than just a rough day at school, and it makes my heart squeeze a little. “Got in trouble at recess,” she mutters, almost like it’s a challenge.
“Sounds like a tough afternoon. What happened?”
“Deja just—” She pauses, clearly trying to pick her words carefully. “She’s just so…annoying sometimes. She called me a name and…”
“I thought you two were friends.” I give her a little smile, hoping to lighten her mood, but she just sighs.
“Everything’s just…messed up right now.”
I sit across from her, giving her my full attention. “You want to talk about it?”
She fidgets, fiddling with the corner of her notebook. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Maybe not,” I say softly. “But I’ll listen.”
After a moment, she sighs, like the weight of the world is pressing on her shoulders. “You know about the fire at my house, right?”
“Yes, I heard. I’m so sorry, Casey. That must have been really scary.”
She nods, her voice barely a whisper. “It was. It was bad.” She hesitates, then adds, “Our dogs…they got hurt.”
“I know, sweetie,” I say, leaning forward. “Are they okay?”
I inhale slowly as I sit back quickly. I hope she doesn’t question how I know. How do I explain that to her?
I never should have gone down this road. I can’t lie to her if she asks how I know.
“They’re still at the vet,” she says, and I can see the worry in her eyes, how deeply it runs. “Dad says they’ll be okay, but…” She bites her lip.
“They mean a lot to you, don’t they?” I ask gently.
She nods, her face falling even more. I fight the urge to pull her into a long hug. Her facial expressions are breaking my heart.
“They’re my best friends. Since Mom…” Her voice cracks, and she blinks quickly like she’s fighting off tears. “They’ve been there since she died. When I feel sad or mad, they’re just there. They listen, even if they don’t get it. And now…”
I reach over, placing a hand over hers. “I’m so sorry, Casey. Losing something, even for a short time, that makes you feel safe and loved…it’s hard. Especially when everything else feels upside down.”
She glances up at me, her eyes full of sadness. “I don’t know what I’d do without them,” she whispers.
I squeeze her hand gently, hoping to show her that I understand and am here. “They sound like incredible dogs.”
“They are,” she says, a soft, broken smile pulling at her lips.
“It sounds like they’re not just dogs. They’re family.”
She nods, eyes dropping back to her notebook. “I miss them.”
I wish I could take her pain away, but all I can do is listen. “I bet they miss you too. And I bet they’re being really brave, just like you.”
Casey looks up at me then with a hint of surprise in her gaze. And before I know it, she’s moving, leaning forward, and giving me a quick, tentative hug. It takes me by surprise, but I gently wrap my arms around her, holding her like she needs. For a moment, she just stays there, letting herself feel safe.
Oh, this sweet girl.
My heart melts as I see how this shy little girl is finally opening up to me in ways that I would have never imagined.
When she pulls back, she wipes her eyes quickly. “Thanks,” she says, her voice a little shaky but stronger than before.
“Anytime. You’re always welcome to talk to me, Casey. About anything.”
Just then, the classroom door opens, and Derek steps in. His gaze moves from Casey to me, flicking over her red-rimmed eyes before settling on me with an intensity that makes my stomach do a little flip.
“Hey,” he says, his tone short. He crosses his arms, and I get the sense he’s not exactly thrilled by the sight in front of him.
Is he upset that his daughter is crying? Or is he mad at me?
You know what? It doesn’t matter. I need to take a step back from him. I can’t get in a relationship with a student’s parent. Not only that, but he hasn’t reached out to me since that night, and if he were interested in me, he would have—despite what he has going on.
“Hi, Derek.” I stand, my voice calm. “Casey and I were just catching up.”
“Right.” His eyes don’t soften any, but I can see the tension running through him, a kind of restrained frustration. “Casey, why don’t you go gather your things?”
She nods, her eyes darting to me before she heads to her desk, gathering her bag.
Stay calm. Stay cool and collected, Amber. Don’t let him see any emotions.
Once she’s a little distance away, I turn to Derek. “She’s had a rough day. She’s pretty upset about the fire and the dogs. It seemed like she needed someone to talk to.”
“She sees a counselor for that.” His tone is abrupt, his eyes flicking back to Casey as she zips up her backpack. “I don’t need you getting involved in family matters, Amber.”
Whoa! What the hell? We’re back to this now?
Tears prick my eyes, and my stomach drops a little, but at the same time, I can feel the anger rushing through me.
How dare he?
I raise my chin defiantly as I swallow hard. I clear my throat and fight back the hurt he caused.
He’s having a bad week. Give him some grace.
“Of course. I’m just here to support her however I can.”
“She has that already.”
“How are things at the farm?” I ask, making an effort to keep things light and show him I’m not offended even though I kind of am. “Have the dogs come home yet?”
He hesitates, then glances away, his jaw tense. “We’re picking them up today.”
“That’s great. I’m sure Casey will be happy to see them.”
He looks down, the lines on his face deepening as he finally lets out a sigh. “Yeah. It’s been a hell of a few days.”
“I’m sorry. It must be hard, keeping everything together.”
He looks back at me with something unreadable in his eyes. “We’ll manage. We always do.”
Casey comes over, her bag slung over her shoulder. “Ready, Dad.”
“Good. Let’s go,” he says, his voice softer with her than it was with me. He quickly nods like he’s dismissing me from his thoughts entirely.
I try really hard not to let it get to me, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t hurt a little. I watch them go, grateful that Casey opened up to me, even if her dad might not understand why.
I focus on inhaling and exhaling slowly as I let the hurt of how cold Derek was wash through me. I can’t focus on any of that right now. The last thing I need is to start crying in the middle of my classroom.
As they walk out, I see the strain in Derek’s shoulders from the weight he’s carrying. And I know, as hard as he’s trying to keep it all under control, that there’s a vulnerability there too—one that I’ve seen glimpses of, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.
But none of that matters. His coldness makes me realize that I need to take a definite step back from him and whatever happened between us up there on that ridge.