Chapter 2
You’re So Vain – Carly Simon
Cassidy
Opening my classroom door, the last person I wanted to see was Gunner Miller heading toward me, carrying baked goods. At least he came bearing gifts. Still, Lily Miller would feel my wrath next time I saw her.
“Gunner.” I held out my hands for the plastic boxes, but as I went to take them, his fingers grazed mine, lingering a fraction too long. The jolt that zipped up my arm was immediate, stupid, and completely out of line. I snatched the boxes faster than I meant to, causing one to tilt precariously.
“Careful now,” he drawled, steadying the top with his thumb. His touch brushed mine again. Brief, but enough to make my pulse lurch.
“Tell Lily thank you, and I’ll be calling her.” I ground out, my voice tight, my chest even tighter.
“Don’t I get a thank you for bringing them?” His tongue flicked slowly over his bottom lip as he folded his arms across his chest, making his biceps strain against his white T-shirt. It shouldn’t have made my stomach flip, but it did. And why wasn’t he cold? It wasn’t exactly balmy outside.
“Thank you, Gunner.” My tone was tight, my chest even tighter. Being near him always did that to me. Made breathing harder.
“My pleasure, Cassidy.” His gaze skimmed over me. “Looking very demure today.”
I knew what he was getting at. He’d mocked my clothes a couple of weeks back, and I’d ‘accidentally’ spilled a strawberry milkshake all over him. We hadn’t crossed paths since, and I preferred it that way.
“I’m thrilled you’re satisfied with my attire. Now,” I said with a sigh, mirroring his stance, “if that’s everything...”
“Not quite.” He turned to leave, then swiveled back around. “I forgot something.”
“What now?”
His grin was wicked. “That stick up your ass.”
I slammed the door harder than I intended once he was gone, instantly regretting the sound echoing down the empty hallway.
I leaned my forehead against the wood and closed my eyes.
The sound of his laughter lingered behind him.
Too smug, too sure. But it was the look he’d had in his eyes that stuck; like he saw something in me that no one else had noticed.
That smirk. Why did I let it get under my skin so easily?
And why was his arrogance so annoyingly attractive?
It had been a long day even before Gunner’s ambush.
Two of the boys in my class had decided to settle a football argument with their fists during lunch break.
In trying to split them up, I took a glancing blow to my side.
Not hard, because how much force could a ten-year-old manage?
Still, it smarted. And it embarrassed the hell out of me when both boys burst into tears afterward, each blaming himself.
The rest of the day had passed without further drama but now came the next hurdle: parent pick-up.
Jordan’s mom showed up, heard what had happened, and grounded him right there on the sidewalk. But Lucas’ mom? Nowhere to be seen.
I watched Lucas out of the corner of my eye. He sat on the bench by the lockers, methodically unpacking and repacking his backpack, over and over. Waiting. Hoping.
“Everything okay, Lucas?” I asked, keeping my tone casual.
He shrugged but didn’t meet my eyes. “Mom said she’d try to come early today.”
The way he said ‘try’, my heart ached.
“I’m sure she just got held up,” I said gently.
“Yeah. Work, probably.” His voice was small.
“That’s a good reason,” I said, ruffling his hair lightly. “Want to read for a while until she gets here?”
He nodded, pulling a book from his bag and curling up in the reading corner like it was his own little island.
When Mrs. Keller finally arrived, she barely glanced at me, mumbling something about traffic. Lucas followed her silently out the door.
I exhaled slowly, locking up my classroom and heading to the office for the meeting Mrs. Wright had scheduled.
Mrs. Wright, Silver Peaks Elementary’s principal, pinched the bridge of her nose as I finished explaining the fight. “Have you seen any bruises or signs of... anything worrying on Lucas?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “We had PE on Monday, I would’ve noticed. But... his lunches aren’t great, sometimes he wears the same clothes all week. And this isn’t the first time he’s been late getting picked up.”
Mrs. Wright sighed. “Any similar issues with Jordan?”
“No. His mom’s very involved. She was mortified.”
“It’s not usual behavior from either of them,” she stated.
“No, it isn’t. It was just a dumb argument about who the best Bronco ever was,” I said, trying to inject some light into the heavy.
Mrs. Wright chuckled. “Who were the contenders?” She opened her drawer and pulled out a Tupperware box of cookies and pushed it toward me. “Gunner dropped them off for me, from Lily.”
I bristled. “How kind of him,” I ground out. Seemed he’d been quite the girl scout today. “Von Miller and Champ Bailey.” Taking a bite of the cookie I’d taken, they were so good I almost forgave Lily for sending Gunner with them.
She laughed. “Please. John Elway. Kids are so na?ve.”
The laugh burst out of my mouth along with a smattering of cookie crumbs. “God, sorry. I didn’t mean to…” Leaning forward I brushed clean the pile of papers on her desk.
“It’s fine. Okay,” she said, serious again. “Let’s call Mrs. Keller in for a formal meeting. See if there’s something going on. If we’re still concerned afterward, we’ll escalate to CPS.”
“Agreed,” I said.
I stood to leave, but she stopped me.
“Cassidy, you fostered kids, right?”
My chest tightened. “My mom was,” I said carefully. “After she passed, I kept the certification active for a while...helped transition some of the kids we were fostering. But I haven’t taken a placement ever.”
“If it came to it,” Mrs. Wright said, “would you consider fostering again? There’s a shortage here. If Lucas had to go into care, he’d be sent out of town and then move school.”
I swallowed the lump rising in my throat.
“I don’t think it’ll come to that,” I said quickly. “And I’m not sure I could...”
“Just think about it,” she said gently.
I nodded, fleeing the office before the pressure building inside me could explode. Before I agreed to something I wasn’t sure I wanted.
Outside, the late afternoon air was cool and heavy with the scent of spring rain, and my skin still buzzed from the accidental brush of Gunner’s hand when he passed me the cookies. It was nothing. It was barely a second. So why did it feel like he’d let something loose in me?
Trying to ignore the thought, I dug out my phone and called Lily as I walked toward my car.
“Hey, did you get your cookies this morning?” she asked, laughter in her voice.
“Mmm, yeah,” I muttered. “Delivered by the spawn of Satan.”
She laughed louder. “You two really need to get over yourselves.”
“Unlikely.” I blew out a long breath. “Can you meet me at Downtown tonight?”
“Tonight? I promised Bertie we’d watch Singing in the Rain.”
“She’s finally moved on from Seven Brides?”
“We’re expanding her horizons,” Lily said. “Why don’t you come over instead? Bring wine. Stay over if you want.”
“Will he be there?” I asked, knowing the answer already.
“I’m not answering that,” she said. “Bring the wine. Wear pajamas. Prepare for Bertie commentary.”
She hung up before I could argue.
I smiled despite myself, the heaviness in my chest easing just a little.
Meddlesome woman.