24. Chapter 24
Chapter twenty-four
“Is my cat still alive?”
The engine noise and the car's motion had lulled Wes to sleep. So when it changed, he sat up straight. “Was I asleep?” Cassandra pulled into her driveway, and Wes squinted in the afternoon sun. “I slept the whole way?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry.” He rubbed his face and stifled a yawn.
“It’s fine. You probably didn’t sleep too well last night. I realized that you can’t drive yourself home, so Bailey will follow us to your house in her car.”
“Oh, right. I didn’t think about that.”
“We’ll put our stuff in the house real quick.”
“Take your time.” He turned to Bailey. “Why don’t you take the guitar for a while? Get a feel for it. See how you like it?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
“I have the perfect teacher for you, too. My brother Milo. He’s a hell of a musician and has the patience of Job.”
“He wouldn’t mind giving me lessons?”
“Not at all.”
“Cool.”
She took her bags and the guitar and headed for the house. Cassandra turned to Wes, then kissed him on the cheek.
“I’m glad she wants to learn.”
“Does the offer to help me buy one for her still stand?”
“Of course, anytime.” He put his hand behind her neck and pulled her close for a kiss. “I’m going to miss seeing you every day.”
“You’re going to see me at school.”
“Right. Not quite the same, though.” He kissed her again, then let her go. She left the car and carried her things into the house. She and Bailey came back out together. Bailey went to her car, while Cassandra got back in next to Wes and started driving.
“Are you worried at all about the board meeting?”
“Nah.” She glanced at him, and he smiled. “Maybe a little.”
“I’ll back you up one hundred percent.”
“I know.”
When they pulled up to Wes’ house, Bailey got out of her car to help Cassandra gather Wes’ things. As they helped Wes out of the car, the front door opened, and Luke stepped out, immediately catching Bailey’s attention.
“Who’s that?”
“That would be my baby brother, Luke.”
“Not really a baby.”
“Yeah, yeah, he’s cute. I know.”
Bailey fingered the strings from the hood of her sweatshirt, then stuck her hands in her pockets. Cassandra laughed. “I can’t say I don’t agree with that.”
Wes took the crutches and adjusted them. “He’s too old for Bailey and too young for you.”
“Don’t worry, we’re just looking, right, Bailey?”
Bailey looked away. “Whatever.”
Luke walked up, and Wes asked, “Is my cat still alive?”
“Frank is fine.”
Cassandra smiled. “Hi, Luke.”
“Cassandra.” Luke turned back to Wes. “Why are you on crutches?”
“Well...”
“Rough week?”
“I’ve had better.” He looked at Bailey. “This is Bailey, Cassandra’s daughter.”
“How are you doing, Bailey?”
“Hi.” She stared at the ground for a moment, then glanced at Cassandra. “I’ll be in the car. I hope you feel better, Mr. B.”
“Thank you. You, too.”
Cassandra handed Wes’ things to Luke, then hugged Wes. “Call me later.”
“I will.” He watched Cassandra walk away and get into Bailey’s car, then drive away.
Luke slung the backpack over his shoulder. “Seems it wasn’t all bad.”
Wes sighed. “We will no longer be referring to Cassandra as the Wicked Ex of the West.”
“Got it.”
They went inside, and Wes sat down on the dark gray couch. He groaned as he put his leg up on the matching ottoman and rubbed his thigh.
Luke took the bag and backpack to the bedroom, then returned to the living room. “Have you seen a doctor?”
“Just happened last night.”
“What did you do?”
“I stepped on a mossy rock and twisted it on the way down. Feels like the meniscus again.”
“Damn. You should still see a doctor.”
“I’ll see how it is tomorrow. I can’t really miss any more school.”
“If you don’t take care of it, you’ll end up missing more.”
Wes looked at him. “Thank you, Mother, but a doctor is just going to tell me to keep it elevated and put ice on it for the swelling.”
“Just trying to help. I need to go work a couple of hours at Rocco’s. Do you want me to make you something to eat before I go?”
“Will you just start a pot of coffee? I’ll rummage around and find something to eat in a bit. You left me some food, right?”
“Yes. I went to the store today, actually.”
“Thank you.”
Luke went to the kitchen and started the coffeemaker, then returned to the living room. “Alright. I’m out of here.”
“Thanks for watching the place and keeping Frank and…my plant is still alive too, right?”
“Yes.” Luke sat on the arm of the chair. “Actually, I need to hear more about you and Cassandra.”
“We’ve come to an understanding.”
“Which is?”
“We’re…dating.”
“Ah. Okay.” He stood. “No surprise.”
“How so?”
“We all saw it coming from the first day of school.”
“Bull.”
“It’s true, man. Let me know if you need anything tomorrow.”
“I’m just going to sit here and veg out.”
“And think about Cassandra?”
“I might.”
Luke grinned. “See you, big brother.”
Luke left, and Wes laid his head back and closed his eyes. “It was good to be home.” The smell of coffee drew his attention to the kitchen, and he reached for the crutches and got to his feet.
He hobbled to the kitchen, poured himself a cup of coffee, then looked in the refrigerator. There was half a rotisserie chicken, so he took it to the table and sat down with his coffee. That would hold him for a while.
He was almost done with the chicken when Frank came skulking out of the pantry and padded across the tile floor.
“Hey, buddy.”
Frank meowed, then walked under the table, made a pass at Wes’ pant leg, then went to lie down in front of the sink on his favorite rug. That was as affectionate as Frank got.
“I missed you too, Frank.”
The plant sat on the counter, looking just as green as it had when he left. On Monday, he’d take it back to school. He thought about Cassandra’s suggestion to name the plant. “Nope. That’s not happening.”
After a lazy Sunday and several phone calls with Cassandra, Monday morning arrived. Since he still couldn’t drive, Cassandra offered to pick him up. He wouldn’t arrive quite as early as he liked, but that was fine. He’d have a few minutes alone with Cassandra on the drive.
When he got into the car, Cassandra smiled. “Hey there, handsome.”
“Morning.”
“Are you ready to be back?”
“Always.” He leaned toward her and kissed her. “We should get at least one of those in before we get to school.”
She kissed him back. “One or two.” She nodded toward the plant. “Still alive.”
“I know how to take care of a plant.”
“My mistake.”
When they arrived at school, Wes told her to park in his space. “The perks of being the principal.”
“I’m so jealous.”
Wes got out of the car and grabbed his briefcase, then his crutches, while Cassandra took her things and the plant.
On the short walk between the parking space and the office door, several kids and three teachers stopped to ask why he was on crutches.
Cassandra held the door open for him, and Polly came around the counter when she saw them come in.
“My goodness, Mr. Buchanan. What happened?”
“A slight mishap with a trout. I’ll be better in no time.”
Cassandra shook her head. “More like four to six weeks.”
“Nah. I’m a fast healer.”
“We have a fresh batch of cookies from Mrs. Davis and a dozen muffins from Mrs. Whitfield.”
“I could go for a muffin.”
Cassandra took one from the basket. “Let me help you with that.”
They went to his office, and he sat behind the desk, propping the crutches against the wall behind him. He exhaled slowly as he rubbed his hands over the smooth surface of his desk. A stack of pink phone message slips sat beside another small stack of files. “It’s good to be back.”
“Back where you belong.”
She set the plant and the muffin on the desk. “Have you named the plant yet?”
“No.”
“Well, she’s doing fine, regardless.”
“Thus making the naming thing unnecessary.”
“Do you mind if I give her a name?”
“I guess not, if you insist.”
Cassandra studied the plant for a moment. “Geraldine.”
“Wow.”
“You can’t judge. You didn’t want to name her.”
“Fine. Whatever. Geraldine, it is.”
Cassandra smiled. “I guess I should get to my office.
“Meet back here for lunch?”
“It’s a date.”
“Did you bring some lunch?”
“No. Did you?”
Wes laughed. “No.”
She shook her head. “We’re not very good at this having lunch in your office thing.”
“I’ll have Polly order us something.”
“We’ll get better, right?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll let you get to work.”
He picked up a few of the pink slips. “Looks like I have a million phone calls to make.”
“You need a secretary.”
“Are you applying for the job?”
She scowled. “I have my own phone calls to make.”
“Best get to it, then.”
She took a few steps toward the door, then stopped and turned back to him.
He motioned toward her. “Just a couple more steps. You can do it.”
She moved to the door. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
“In the meantime, you know where to find me.”
She smiled. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Go already.”
“I’m going.” She blew him a kiss, then went out the door and closed it behind her.
Wes leaned back in his chair and sighed as he looked at the plant. Geraldine? He picked up the muffin and took a bite. “Okay, where do I start?” He picked up a slip of paper that read, ‘Call Superintendent Morrow first thing.’ “I guess I’ll start there.” He dialed Stu’s number.
“Hello.”
“Stu, it’s Wes.”
“Back at work?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Pete West has been raising hell about the berry incident.”