“I don’t want to do this any more.”
What the hell did that mean? His chest clenched and he had to work hard so that he didn’t fall into a panic.
“You don’t?” he asked, keeping his emotions at bay--but only barely.
“I don’t,” she insisted, her voice soft and quiet, the vulnerability making her seem so much younger. “I don’t want to work for the school any more. I don’t want to do this. I want to be in a place of structure and mutual respect, not a place that puts the safety of the kids second to keeping a lecherous supervisor’s secrets to themselves. That little boy could have been killed, or many more kids could have been hurt. I can’t do this job with any integrity if I keep putting them secondary to my job security. There’s no loyalty there any more, or maybe I just duped myself into thinking there was. I guess it is a comfortable fantasy to imagine people care.”
“I care,” Keith told Jan softly. “I care about your mental and emotional health. I care about the patients I see. I care about you, Jan.”
“You’re a rare guy,” she said softly.
“Not as rare as you might think. I’m just perceptive, maybe.”
“Is that all it is?’ she asked, her voice quavering. “I’m terrified of it all. Not me, exactly, but what will happen to the school, and the kids.”
“Not your responsibility.” Keith knew he had to be firm here or risk that she would take the entire burden on herself. “Everyone makes life choices. His were bad. Your coworkers were just as bad though. Nobody should have let this happen at all. I understand the worries that you had, Jan, but you know just as well as I do that this has to end here, today. Being the whistleblower is no fun, but it is very necessary. Let’s talk to your parents.”
“Let’s,” she agreed too quickly.
Keith got out of the car and joined Jan as they ascended the front steps, the house looking welcoming and warm. Keith hoped it would stay that way for him.
He let Jan rap on the door, and stepped back when Lisa opened it and pulled Jan into a tight hug, mom and daughter rocking. Despite his closeness to the family, this seemed to be an intimate moment that made him feel like an outsider and he looked away, trying to be invisible.
“Keith, come in, honey,” Lisa said. Her normal sunny disposition was gone, her expression grim, her countenance sad. This was her little girl, and she needed to protect her. That was something they had in common.
“Thanks, Lis,” he said, pulling the redhead into his arms. The threads of gray in her hair just gave her a more approachable look. He remembered when Jimmy had first met her, the look of utter astonishment on his buddy’s face when Jim realized he’d found the one. It was a random meeting that had sent them into a passionate love affair, their only child loved and cared for so well. Jan was the heart of them, and it was one of the many reasons Keith had stayed close to the family all this time. Hell, after all this time, they were family, even if not related by blood, or the bonds of…
He gasped, that realization rocketing him back to reality with a snap. Was he seriously considering marrying his best friend’s kid.
“You okay?” Lisa asked and Keith nodded. “Just need more coffee.” They’d drunk theirs on the ride over, so it seemed like a safe enough comment.
“Jimmy is in the kitchen. Get comfortable. Go on ahead, I need a little time with my baby girl.”
“You got it.” Keith strode into the kitchen, trying manfully to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and the panic that kept trying to claw its way out.
“Hey, Jim,” he said in the moment he was engulfed in a bear hug. His friend damn near squeezed the life out of Keith before letting him go and sitting down the table. Keith sank into a seat beside him, squeezing Jim’s arm.
“How is she?”
“Coping. Lisa and she are taking a few minutes together. How are you, James?” He only used his friend’s full first name in very serious circumstances, and this was one of the most serious they’d run across in a long time.
“Pissed,” James muttered, running a hand through his hair. “They’re going to hang her out to dry, aren’t they?”
“Not if we have anything to say about it,” Keith retorted grimly. “Jim, she did nothing wrong. There’s another situation that cropped up, but it isn’t my story to tell. She’ll have to explain it to you.”
“Okay.” Jim gave Keith a shrewd look. “What was she doing at your place last night?”
“Sleeping,” Keith replied smoothly. Jim locked eyes on Keith and suddenly Keith felt as if he was a specimen being examined under a microscope. Jimmy knew or suspected something.