The school board president addressed the assembly. “Information has been provided that sheds new light on the subject of Miss Owen’s resignation which bears investigation. We appreciate all your comments and will definitely take them under advisement. It needs to be said that while we have no desire to draw negative attention from the media, neither do we condone the victimization of innocent teachers. We will be in touch with Miss Owen to discuss the situation in greater detail and thank you for your attendance tonight.”
With the rest of the meeting and discussion to be conducted in private, the crowd rose and filtered out through the doors.
Cody slid his arms around her and said, “Well, angel, we’ve gone about as public as we can now.”
* * * *
Later that night, Spencer sat with his feet up on the coffee table in the living room with the rest of the guys watching television. At least that’s what they probably looked like they were doing. Spencer could tell that all three of them were focused more on the phone conversation Maizy was currently having with the school board president. She’d paled when her phone had rung and she’d recognized the number calling but Spencer had been confident as she’d answered the call. They’d be crazy not to beg her to come back.
After ending the call, she returned to her spot in Cody’s lap and grinned when Heath turned the television off and they gave her their attention.
“They want me back.”
“What did you tell them?” Heath asked.
“I told them I’d return and complete the school year with them but I wouldn’t commit to stay permanently. I want to explore opportunities that don’t leave me in a vulnerable position in the future. Next year, the kindergarten parents may not be as open-minded and accepting as this year’s batch and that would be true of each successive year. I don’t want to go through this again. He also told me they’ve gotten to the root of the anonymous threat. Mrs. Dumphrey revealed that it was Tabitha Lester who gathered the photos and delivered them with the note to the office. Mrs. Dumphrey offered her apologies to the board and tendered her resignation, stating that she’d allowed her personal feelings to cloud her judgment and that she no longer felt she was fit to sit on the board. She’ll be retiring from teaching at the end of the school year, too.”
Cody grunted and hugged her. “Ace and Kemp will be interested to learn about that.”
“I didn’t tell the school board president that, but I’m all for letting Ace and Kemp handle this.”
Cody nodded and said, “I appreciate the approach that Ace and Kemp are taking. The head of the snake was removed once before, when your ex-sister-in-law was revealed as the culprit in all those online attacks, and the assault on Summer and Discretion. Tabitha evidently just stepped into Elizabeth’s shoes and took over where she left off. They want to make sure that someone else won’t just follow in Tabitha’s footsteps. We can’t ever hope for complete acceptance in the community but we can deal with libel, slander, and assault and make it clear we’ll stand up to bullying. It irks me that up to this point, Tabitha has gone largely unchallenged, but it was necessary.”
Maizy reached up to stroke Cody’s jaw as she said, “Lucy told me that a friend of hers believes that Tabitha Lester has bigger secrets hiding in her closet than any of us.” She looked down and giggled when she noticed that Cody was unbuttoning her blouse. “What are you doing?”
Spencer and Heath smiled and Cody replied, “Checking to see if you’re abiding by the no panty rule.”
“Is that a fact?” she asked in a husky voice as she reached back and unbuttoned her skirt. “I’ll have you know I was a good girl this morning.”
Heath growled in appreciation. “No panties?”
Cody peeled the skirt and blouse off of her, revealing the truth. All she wore was a sexy push-up bra, her black high heels, and the black lace catsuit. Spencer’s eyes were riveted to her as she slowly strutted around the couch and reached for something from her tote bag on the counter. She looked behind her as she worked with the back of the lace bodysuit and then she slipped the plastic headband with kitty ears into her hair and purred.
“Rowr.”
Spencer nearly choked on his beer.
The three of them were mesmerized as she sauntered down the hall toward the master bedroom, casually swinging her long black velvet tail in her hand. She looked over her shoulder, a come-hither look in her eyes, and said, “Pet the pussycat?”
They got up so fast the furniture slid on the living room tile.
In the bedroom, they found her lighting candles. The three of them undressed and Maizy reached for Spencer and said, “I want my bears. All three of you. Now.” She tugged at his hand and whispered, “Lie down for me.”