She blinked, though he couldn’t be certain if it was because of his tone or the import of what he’d said.
“You’re falling in love with me,” she echoed softly, looking stunned.
“Yes,” he said, his own tone softening. “Don’t ask me how it happened, because I really thought I was immune.”
“Can you get vaccinated for that?” she asked, her tone lighter.
J.C. chuckled. “Not that I know of, or, believe me, I would have.” He reached for her hand and twined her fingers through his. “I can tell I’ve caught you completely off guard, and it’s not as if I’m asking you to tell me you’re madly in love with me or anything like that. I just wanted you to know, it’s serious for me. More serious than I was expecting.”
With her free hand, she caressed his cheek. “It’s way more serious than I was expecting, too.”
“So we’re both committed to whatever this is?” he asked, wanting to be sure.
Smiling, she nodded. “I’m committed to whatever this is.”
J.C. sat back with a sigh. For the first time in years, he felt an amazing sense of contentment steal over him. Apparently, when the right woman came along, commitment wasn’t half as terrifying as he’d been thinking all this time. If only there weren’t this nagging thought in the back of his mind that even something that felt so right could still end very, very badly.
Laura was in the middle of a test with her second period class when one of the secretaries from the office came in. “Mrs. Donovan wants to see you right away. I’ll stay here and monitor the class, if that’s okay.”
Laura nodded. “They’re taking a test,” she said, then raised her voice, “so there’s to be no talking.”
“Got it,” Cathy said. “Leave ’em to me.”
Since Laura knew she’d actually been a drill sergeant in the army before retiring to Serenity with her husband, she figured Cathy could control a roomful of teenagers.
In the office, she found Betty with Helen. They were looking at a thick sheaf of papers.
“Uh-oh,” Laura said nervously. “What’s going on?”
“Mariah’s claimed to the school board that you both should be fired,” Helen said, her voice tight. “It’s all ridiculous, of course, but she’s managed to get it on the agenda for this afternoon’s meeting. I think what she really wants is to create such a stir that the board won’t be able to deal with Annabelle’s expulsion. It’s a delaying tactic, nothing more, just the way she managed to wrangle a postponement to get the meeting pushed over to today, rather than yesterday, when Ham originally had scheduled it.”
“But we’ll still have to defend ourselves,” Betty said wearily. “Which will take time.”
Helen shook her head. “Not to worry. I’m all over this. I’ve already spoken to Hamilton Reynolds, who’s fit to be tied. Yes, he can’t afford to sweep this under the rug, but I imagine he can wrap up the discussion in about ten minutes, tops.”
Betty gave her a wry look. “He certainly put me in my place quickly enough when I brought up those charges against Cal several years ago.” She shook her head. “Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You had a few bitter parents who thought Ty Townsend was getting preferential treatment from Cal because he had a relationship with Maddie,” Helen consoled her. “Maybe you went overboard trying to soothe their ruffled feathers, but that’s over and done with. Everyone in town knows you’re a good principal. They also know Laura’s one of the best teachers at the high school. These charges of Mariah’s are nonsense, especially this notion that you two had some kind of vendetta against Annabelle. The suspension of all those boys for bullying pretty much makes mincemeat out of that argument.”
“What do you need from us?” Laura asked.
“Not a thing,” Helen said. “If Mariah wants me to produce all those posts Annabelle put online to prove that she was, in fact, bullying, so be it. They were coming out in court sooner or later, anyway. As a mother, though, I’d have thought she’d prefer later, after tempers in town cool down a bit. The content of those posts doesn’t reflect well on Annabelle or on Mariah’s parenting.”
“This is mostly about the transfer,” Laura guessed. “Remember what Don said, that getting Annabelle into some private boarding school would cost money they don’t have. If Mariah couldn’t find the money, then she’s clearly not one bit happy about having to drag Annabelle over to another district for classes every day. She’s probably grabbing at any straw she can think of to keep her here.”