Chapter 10
SCARE ME AWAY
“How was your weekend?” Cassidy asked Monday at lunch.
Meredith was in her classroom eating and trying to hide her embarrassment over her actions this weekend.
Not that Cassidy knew, but she’d confess because she had to tell someone. Gale was out of the question.
“Horrifying,” she said.
“What happened?” Cassidy said. “Did Fredrick do anything else? You should really talk to the police about this. Your car was the last straw.”
“He said he didn’t do it,” she said. “And the more I thought of it, the more I realized he might not have. Everything he’s done to me has been cause and effect. He’d discover something I did and get back. But everything I’ve done, it’s all out in the open. There isn’t anything else.”
“Unless he finds more glitter in the collar of a work shirt,” Cassidy said, laughing. “That was a good one.”
“He was hung up on that for a bit, but not my problem. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Sorry. I offered to spray paint his car so what you did was much milder. You could have done a lot more damage than what you did. You ruined none of his stuff.”
“His Minecraft game,” she said.
“Stop,” Cassidy said, waving her hand. “He’s thirty. Time to let that shit go. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Shhh. Don’t swear. You don’t know if there are kids around.”
Cassidy shook her head but lowered her voice. “I don’t care. What he did was horrible. You could have told his employers. He might have gotten fired.”
She’d thought of that but wouldn’t be that mean. She’d never want someone to take her job away from her and wouldn’t do it to him.
Embarrassing him in front of his mother, some glitter and a few tight threads in his clothing wasn’t so horrible to her.
“When I called him last week about my car I brought that up. That I could have done a lot worse and I only did it that day. Nothing since. He’s the one lingering with it.
My arts and crafts room. The flowers. Then the dead fish.
I told him we have to be done. It’s ridiculous.
There isn’t anything left on my end. And he swore it wasn’t him. ”
“Do you think he’s telling the truth?”
“We know he’s a liar, but I really don’t see him doing it. I don’t know. But then who did it and when?”
“Maybe it was just kids goofing off in a parking lot,” Cassidy said. “We know that crap happens all the time. Lots of cars get broken into in their driveways too.”
“I guess. I didn’t think of that.”
“So if it wasn’t Fredrick, then why was your weekend so horrible? I thought things were going well with the wedding planning and you were meeting with clients this weekend.”
She sighed. “Everything was going so well until Clay started being Clay and I took offense to that.”
“You’ll have to explain that better,” Cassidy said, reaching over and grabbing a chip out of the small bag she had on her desk.
Her sandwich was gone, so she went for a chip also and crunched loudly while she thought of what to say.
“He’s just really rude. I mean, I thought it was his personality. Even Gale said he was a jerk. But this was different. He was doing it on purpose. Then I baited him.”
“Why?” Cassidy asked.
“Because I can’t control myself. He’s got this rugged sex appeal that blinded my eyes and clouded my thoughts. Have you seen him?” She pulled her phone out and found his picture on his website. If it was in her bookmarks for easy access she’d keep that to herself.
“Holy shit,” Cassidy said. “Is he as big as he looks? And he looks mean there. I bet he never smiles.”
“Not that I’ve seen. But I called him out on being rude. Then the next thing I know he’s flirting.”
“Noooooo. Seriously?”
“I thought it was, but I think it was more about him trying to scare me away. He noticed my car and thought I hit something. He knows my history of falling. I was friends with his sister, so he might have saved me a few times when I was a kid.”
“I need to hear about that.”
“Another time,” she said, waving her hand. “We got talking and I squatted down next to him. I sniffed him. Like snuffed up his essence as if he was the last scent I’d want in my nostrils.”
“Meredith! You didn’t.”
“If you laugh any harder you’re going to pee your pants,” she said.
“I can’t help it. That is so not you.”
“Oh, it gets better. So it’s obvious he knows what I did. I’m sure he could read the attraction in my eyes because I struggle to have any poker face. And then there he is telling me things like he gets excited but doesn’t think I could handle it.”
Cassidy was waving a hand in her face. “That’s kind of sexy in a bad boy way.”
“Not anyone I’ve ever been interested in.
I’m not sure what it is about Clay. Maybe because I remembered him not being as hard as a kid.
Anyway, next thing I know I’m confessing the whole mess about Fredrick to him.
Close your mouth. I know. I can’t believe I did that either, but he was actually nice about it. In his way.”
“Why would he want to know?”
She didn’t want to tell Cassidy about Clay’s background in the Navy or what Gale confessed.
“He wanted to help. I’m not sure what he could do to help, but he got me thinking about things. We had a few drinks since we were alone at the bar.”
“How much is a few? We know you don’t handle alcohol that well.”
“Yeah, well, I needed a bit of liquid courage to confess my sins. I downed one glass, then filled up another. Both were gone in twenty minutes. It hit me hard and fast. One minute I know exactly what I’m saying, the next I can’t focus on anything other than his face and the beard he had growing that wasn’t there the last time I saw him. ”
Talk about rough and hardy. Yes, please!
“Wow. I don’t know what to say about this,” Cassidy said.
“Oh, it’s not over. So hold on so you can save it up all at once.”
“What could possibly be worse? Did you kiss him?”
“I wish.” Cassidy rolled her eyes. “There was no way I could drive home. Everyone was working. The property was crazy busy with customers going on hayrides with kids and all the other activities. I was terrified one of my students or parents might see me. But he loaded me into my SUV and drove me to his house.”
“You went to his house?”
“He lives in a ranch on the property. I remember it was the house their grandmother lived in. Gale said she lived in it for a few years until her grandfather died, then they moved into the big house. It’s Clay’s house now.
” She turned her head to look at the door and make sure no one was around.
“I made some stupid comment about going to his bed.”
“How did he react?”
“I don’t remember. Probably a good thing. He was going to bring me to the guest room, but I remember just flopping on his couch. The next thing I know I’m awake and alone in the house. It’d been like two hours.”
She had opened her eyes, stretched her arms over her head, pointed her toes and realized her shoes were off. She’d worn flats and they were on the floor.
She hadn’t remembered kicking them off and wondered if Clay had removed them.
The thought of his hands on any part of her body still caused unanticipated sweat to break out on her spine.
“He wasn’t in the house?”
“No. I didn’t want to search for him, but I called out his name. I got a glass of water, cleaned the glass, then left. My car was in the driveway.”
“Have you talked to him since?” Cassidy asked.
“I felt I had to apologize. I sent him a text later that night thanking him for his assistance, then apologizing for my behavior and hoped it didn’t reflect poorly on my ability to do a job. I swore I never drank on the job.”
“Sounds like a long text.”
She snorted. “He said I talk too much and it was fine. That was it. I didn’t hear back.”
“Then let it go,” Cassidy said.
“I’m embarrassed. How can I face him again?”
“With a smile on your face and a laugh. Just like you do everything else in your life.”
“You’re right. I’m thinking too much about it. So much has happened in a short time. I’m ready to move on. And speaking of moving on, the kids are coming in from lunch.”
She walked out into the hall to get her kids as they came back from the playground.
Cassidy moved to her room to do the same.
As the children passed by her, they all took their seats. “Who needs to use the bathroom?”
If she didn’t ask, they’d all be squirming after lunch.
Four hands went up. “Me, please,” Mick said. “I need to poop.”
Oh boy. That reminded her of saying she didn’t want to toot in front of Clay.
She couldn’t even say gas. Or fart. Nope. Toot like a toddler.
“Go first, Mick. Can everyone else hold it?”
“I need to pee,” Macy said. Since she was wiggling in her seat, it might cause an accident and she didn’t want that.
After she’d talked to Macy’s grandmother, Rosie, over a week ago, Macy came in with her hair combed and clean. Her clothes were not so great, but at least the child was more presentable.
As the week went on, she knew Macy hadn’t been bathed again, but her hair combed. Better than nothing.
She motioned Macy on and stood in the doorway of her room while Macy ran across the hall to the common bathroom all other grades used. She waved to another girl who also had to go. Meredith could watch from here and monitor her classroom as well.
Macy returned and stopped in front of her. “Phew. That was close.”
She laughed and rested her hand on the little girl’s head, happy Macy felt comfortable enough to be so honest.
Macy’s hair was washed again, not as tame as it was this morning, but after running around at lunch, she expected nothing else.
At least someone was trying in the house.
It’s like she’d told her students all the time. As long as they did their best, their best didn’t have to be perfect.
Meredith just had to remember that applied to her too!