31. Chapter 31
Chapter thirty-one
“He broke your chair?”
Wes was leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee when Cassandra walked into the kitchen. “Look at you all, raring to go.”
He smiled. “I don’t think I slept at all last night.” He finished his coffee and set the cup in the sink. “Let’s go do this.”
“I need to tell you something before we go see Ryan.”
“What?”
“He and I…dated.”
“You dated?”
“Not dated per se. One date. One really bad date.”
“When?”
“About four years ago.”
Wes smiled. “So, not last week?”
“No.” She moved closer and hugged him. “He might say something because that’s the kind of guy he is.”
“I’m a little surprised. But I don’t have a problem with it.”
“I guess I temporarily lost my mind.”
“Honey, you don’t need to explain it to me. I’ve been on a few bad dates myself.”
“No, I need to explain so you don’t think I’m crazy or desperate.”
“I don’t think either of those things, but go ahead.”
“It had been a while since I’d done anything with anyone other than Bailey. I needed some adult time. After he asked me multiple times, I finally said yes. Thirty minutes into the date, I was sorry I went.”
“As Stu said, he’s kind of an asshole.”
“Yes, he is.”
“You didn’t sleep with him?”
She took a step back. “Of course not. It was a first date.”
Wes grinned. “You slept with me on our first date.”
“That was different. We were young and impulsive, and you were incredibly cute. I couldn’t help myself.”
“Okay. Any more confessions?”
“I think that’s it.”
“Then let’s go kick the asshole out of my office.”
Wes insisted on taking the Wagoneer, so everyone would see it in his space once Ryan vacated it.
When they drove into the lot and passed Ryan’s BMW, Wes scowled. “I know he doesn’t earn enough money to make the payments on that thing.”
“Maybe he has a rich daddy.” Cassandra parked a few spaces down, and they left the car. When they went into the office, Polly came around the counter and hugged Wes.
She stepped back. “Sorry. I’m just really glad you’re back. You are back, right?”
“I’m back.” He looked at his office door for a moment. “Excuse me.” He walked to the door with Cassandra right behind him, then opened it without knocking.
Ryan was on the phone and stopped talking mid-sentence when he saw Wes. “Um…I’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone, then smiled. “What can I do for you, Wes?”
“For starters, you can get out of my chair.”
“I wasn’t aware it was your chair again.”
“It is. You’ll be hearing from Stu soon.”
Ryan remained seated. “Well, until I do…”
Wes walked up to the desk. “Ryan, it’s time to go.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“No. Of course not. Currently, I’m asking you nicely.”
Ryan laughed. “Hmm. Well, I was hired by the district to replace you, with a very strong hint of it being a permanent position. Seems you can’t keep track of ten kids on an island. Keeping you in charge of two hundred would be reckless at this point.”
“I voluntarily walked out of the office. Now, I’m reclaiming it with the backing of the superintendent, the staff, and the student body. So, quit being a dick and get out of my office.”
Ryan got abruptly to his feet and rested his hands on the desk, leaning toward Wes. “There’s only one dick in this room, and it’s not me.”
Cassandra came up to the desk. “Okay, guys. Let’s take a breath and act like the mature educators that we are.”
Ryan relaxed his stance and folded his arms across his chest, while Wes took a step back from the desk.
Cassandra reached for the phone. “Let’s give Stu a call, shall we?”
Wes took the phone from her and dialed the superintendent’s office. “Morning, Stu.”
“Wes, I was about to call Ryan. Are you at the office yet?”
“Yeah. I’m here with Ryan.”
“How’s that going?”
“About how you’d expect.”
“Put him on.”
Wes handed the phone to Ryan. “Superintendent Morrow wants to talk to you.”
Ryan took the phone. “Morning, sir.” He glanced at Wes.
“Right. But....” He scowled. “That’s not what I was promised.
” He turned his back to Wes and Cassandra.
“Sir. What about… Of course. I’ll be there in an hour.
” He ended the call, then turned back around and hung up the receiver.
“Having friends won’t save you forever, Buchanan. You’ll screw up again.”
“I’ll just take it one day at a time, then.”
Ryan looked at Cassandra. “Are you sure this is the horse you want to back? He’ll just take you down with him.” He cocked his head, then looked at Wes. “Oh, I get it. You’re sleeping with him.”
Wes took a step forward, and Cassandra put a hand on his arm. “Time to go, Ryan.”
Ryan picked up his briefcase. “This isn’t over.” He walked past her and went out the door.
Wes smiled as the door closed hard behind Ryan. “It’s so over, asshole.”
Cassandra turned to Wes. “What happened to my level-headed guy who always does the right thing?”
“Sorry. The image of him sitting across the table from you at some pretentious restaurant flashed into my head and… I guess the terrible date thing bothered me more than I thought.” He sat down in his chair, and the armrest lifted off in his hand.
Cassandra shook her head. “He broke your chair?”
“No, that was me on the day I left. It was sort of an accident. An anger-fueled burst of strength. Kind of like the one that just fueled my desire to strangle him.”
“I see.”
“He could’ve had it fixed for me, though.”
Polly came to the door and smiled at the armrest in Wes’ hand. “I’ll have Roland come fix that for you.”
“Ryan didn’t ask you to call him last week?”
“Oh, no, he did. Roland was just incredibly busy last week.”
“Right. Thank you, Polly.”
“First period has started. Would you like to say a few words?”
“Yeah. I think I can actually think now. I’ll be right out.”
He stood and went to Cassandra. “Thank you for getting me back here.”
“I had a lot of help.”
“Yeah, but I can’t kiss everyone.” He pulled her close and kissed her. “So, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now go out there and let the kids know that you’re back. Then I’ll go park the Wagoneer where it belongs.”
Wes spent his first day back cleaning up the mess Ryan had made of his office. By 4:30 he was ready to leave, and he went to Cassandra’s office. The door was open a few inches, and he pushed it a few more.
“Are you ready to get out of here?”
She smiled. “Very.”
“Can we go get some dinner, or do you need to get home?”
“Bailey has practice for the fall showcase until 5:30.”
“Plenty of time to eat. You should have her come meet us when she’s done.”
“Are you ready for that? Family time?”
“I am.”
“Okay, I’ll text her. Where are we going?” She cocked her head. “Oh, right, Rocco’s. Because we didn’t get enough pizza last night.”
“I didn’t get any pizza. I kept getting interrupted.”
“Rocco’s it is. Do you ever eat anywhere else in town?”
“Burgers from Molly’s once in a while. I feel like I’m cheating on my brothers if I go anywhere else.”
Cassandra took his arm. “I’m sure you do. Let’s just hope that after last night, they still have ingredients left to make pizzas.”
“I imagine they sent Luke on an emergency supply run to White City this morning.”
When they arrived at Rocco’s, the parking lot was empty. Inside, Gentry and Abe were deep cleaning the kitchen, while Maggie filled the red pepper and Parmesan shakers on the tables. They all looked up expectantly when the bell rang over the door.
Abe sighed. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Wow.”
“Sorry, it’s been dead all day. Thought we might have a customer.”
“I’ll pay for our pizza if that will help.”
Gentry walked out and shook Wes’ hand. “Ignore him. After yesterday, a no customer day is welcome as far as I’m concerned.”
Cassandra raised an eyebrow. “No customers?”
“We had a few for lunch, but it’s been empty since two.”
Maggie walked over. “They made more last night than they do in a week, so no complaints really.”
Wes smiled. “You’re welcome.”
Maggie hugged Cassandra. “I believe the thanks go to you.”
“I may have had a hand in getting them here. But they came for him.”
Gentry waved toward the tables. “Have a seat. I’ll get started on your pizza.”
Maggie followed them to a table. “Something to drink?”
Wes sighed. “I think I need a beer. How about you, Cass?”
“Iced tea.”
“We’re supposed to be celebrating.”
“I’ll celebrate with pizza. I’ve been drinking way too much beer lately, and my figure is showing it.”
Wes shrugged. “It works for me.”
Maggie took a step back from the table. “I’ll go get those drinks.”
Cassandra laughed. “I think you embarrassed Maggie.”
“She’s about to marry Abe. I doubt it.”
“Does the fact that I had a hand in securing your job mean I’ll have a job next year?”
Wes took a moment to answer her. “I suppose you’ve earned some goodwill.”
“Wes.”
“I’ll let the district office know we’ll be extending your contract. How many guaranteed years would you like?”
“How about until I retire?”
He smiled. “That works for me. As long as you don’t mind working under your husband.”
“Husband, huh? I’ll tell you what. You finish the boat, and we’ll get married.”
“I’ll get right on it.”
Cassandra’s phone vibrated, and she looked at the message. “Bailey got out early and is on her way.”
“Good. She’ll get here while the pizza is still hot.”
Bailey arrived right after the pizza did, and she sat in the booth next to Cassandra. “Thanks for inviting me.”
Wes nodded. “I thought it was about time we started including you, Bailey.”
She glanced at Cassandra. “Because this is getting serious?”
“Yeah.”
Cassandra turned to her. “How do you feel about that?”
She smiled. “A few months ago, I wanted him to be my real dad, Mom. I’m okay with it.”
Wes picked up a piece of pizza. “Good. We’re all on the same page.”
On Tuesday, Wes drove himself to work and parked in his spot. After getting out of the Wagoneer, he wiped a piece of dirt from the ‘Don’t even think about parking in Mr. B’s spot’ sign, then headed for the office.
It was still early, and only a few cars sat in the parent drop-off lane. As he passed the car at the front of the line, three girls got out and waved at him.
“Good morning, ladies.”
“Morning, Mr. B. Welcome back.”
“Thank you.” He went into the office and stopped at the counter. Polly handed him a stack of phone messages and a cup of coffee. He smiled. “Good morning, Polly.”
“Good morning, sir.”
He went to the office and sat down behind his desk. The chair had been fixed, and he patted the arm. “Thank you, Roland.” He switched on his computer and waited for it to warm up. “Here we go.”
Five Months Later
Cassandra snuggled closer to Wes as he tucked the wool blanket they were sharing around them. “Are you warm enough?”
She smiled up at him. “You could’ve delayed finishing the boat until spring.”
The sun was bright overhead, but the temperature on the lake was around forty degrees. The red mainsail fluttered in the light breeze, catching just enough wind to keep them moving slowly across the water.
“I didn’t want to wait another minute to marry you.”
“We have waited a very long time for this.”
“Too damn long.”
“I think we should do this every year on our anniversary. Or maybe our half-anniversary. September would be so much warmer than February.”
“How about we go every summer?”
“That works, too.” She looked at the luggage they’d brought. “You’ve been very secretive about this trip. Are we really going to spend our honeymoon night in that tiny berth down below?”
“We could. Or we could spend it in the cabin I rented.”
She turned to him. “You rented a cabin?”
“See those trees over there?”
“Yes.”
“About a hundred yards up from the lake, nestled in those pines, is a cabin only accessible by boat.”
“So isolated and private?”
“And romantic.”
“How long will it take us to get there?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“You should’ve put a motor on this thing.”
“That would’ve totally ruined the aesthetics and historical purpose of a sailboat. Why the rush to get off the lake?”
“I want to make love to my new husband in the romantic cabin.”
“Damn. I should’ve put a motor on this thing.”
Cassandra hugged him. “Is this cabin well built?”
“I assume so.”
“Because the last cabin we stayed in, the roof fell in on me.”
“I believe the chances of that happening are similar to getting struck by lightning, getting bit by a shark, or the odds I would’ve given to us ending up on our honeymoon back in August when Stu dropped the ‘Dr. Cassandra Jordan is your new guidance counselor’ bomb on me.”
“It’s not that big of a surprise to me.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s always been you, Wes.”
“Hmm.” He kissed her on the temple. “It’s always been you, too. It just took me a while to figure that out.”
“I know.”
“You did not.”
“I did. Otherwise, you would be married to one of those forever hopeful bakers of muffin moms.”
Wes laughed. “I do miss Mrs. Whitfield’s muffins. And Mrs. Henderson’s chocolate chip cookies are…I don’t know, she adds something to them that—”
“Wes, stop drooling over some other woman’s baked goods.”
“Sorry. Are you ever going to make me muffins?”
“I’ll gladly pick some up for you from the bakery from time to time.”
“I can live with that.” He turned the boat into the wind, and the sail filled out as it picked up speed. “Looks like Mother Nature wants us to get to the cabin a little sooner.”
“Good. I’ve got a few moves that will make you forget all about Mrs. Henderson’s cookies.”
“Mrs. Who?”
When Milo began teaching, he vowed to never date the mother of one of his students, past or present. He had since broken the past part of that vow. It was a small town. Sometimes you need to make exceptions. But the mother of a current student was off-limits.
Willa came to Bridgeport seeking a fresh start with her son, Caleb, who hadn’t spoken a word since his father's death. She hoped a new town, a new school, and a new teacher would be the key to giving her son his voice back.
Caleb is enrolled in Milo’s kindergarten class and instantly bonds with him, giving her hope. As Milo grows closer to the family, he considers breaking his no-dating-a-parent rule. But Willa isn’t ready to move on. Fortunately, Milo is a very patient man.
Teacher’s Pet is book 7 in the Mercy Ranch – The Buchanan Brothers series.