Her Every Fantasy

by Stephanie Morris

  Her Every Fantasy

  Copyright © September 2009, Stephanie Morris

  Cover art by Amira Press © September 2009

  Amira Press

  Baltimore, MD 21216

  www.amirapress.com

  ISBN: 978-1-935348-66-5

  No part of this e-book may be reproduced or shared by any electronic or mechanical means, including but not limited to printing, file sharing, and e-mail, without prior written permission from Amira Press.

  Dedication

  To everyone that has supported me along this journey, thank you and I love you.

  Chapter One

  Kayla sighed as she walked into her house. It had been a long day at work, and her students had nearly driven her insane. She was starting to wonder if teaching high school was a mistake. After sitting her bag down, she slid her shoes off. It was just stress talking. Teaching was her passion, and even after rough days like this, she knew it was something that she would never turn away from. She had a few students in her class that were driving her insane. The Christmas break hadn’t done anything to cut down on the chaos as she’d hoped. In fact, it seemed that things had gotten worse. That was the reason she’d sent letters home with five of her students asking for a parent–teacher conference on Friday, less than three weeks after returning to school.

  Sighing, she walked into the kitchen. She would confer with her sisters and get their opinion for Friday. She had run the idea of the parent conference by them last night at their weekly get together at Sam’s Café. It had yet to be determined why it was called a café when it was more of a restaurant, but either way, it didn’t matter. It was a place they had loved since they were little girls.

  Kayla and her sisters were close, which was why it was hard now that Kristen and Keirra had moved out of the home that they had shared. Now she had the house to herself. Kristen and Keirra had decided that the house would go to her. It would be worse if her sisters moved out of Baxley. At least they were still within a comfortable distance of each other. She was happy that her sisters had found wonderful men. Hopefully, she would find hers. She’d thought that it would be James Feldon, but he’d been avoiding her like the plague since she met him, although she might not be sane when that time rolled around. Student related issues at work were wearing her out.

  She opened the refrigerator and began to rummage for something to eat. She decided to keep it simple and light. Nothing sounded more appealing to her right now than her favorite snack. A short time later, she had a bowl of peaches and cottage cheese. She headed into the living room and settled on the couch. The couch barely accepted her weight before she had the remote in her hand and turned the television on. This was a very bad habit of hers. The only thing that kept her from feeling bad about watching television was the fact that she watched shows of content. She was hooked on The History Channel and the Discovery Channel. Kayla took a bite of her dinner and flipped to The History Channel.

  Seeing that a documentary about the Civil War was on, she set the remote down and began to watch the show. She smiled to herself and wondered if her sisters were watching. They all would be planted in front of the television if her sisters were still living in the house. She was willing to admit that she was more addicted to television than her sisters, especially when it came to educational programs and documentaries. Having two identical sisters was interesting to say the least. She was the oldest of the trio by three minutes over Keirra and four minutes older than Kristen. There had been times when they had participated in the switching trick. They didn’t do it often because, as much as they looked alike, that is where most of their similarity ended. Personality-wise, they had quite a few differences.

  Kayla was the perfectionist, and because of that, on occasion, she was a control freak, but she always tried to exhibit a certain amount of rationale. Kristen was the shy, quiet one. She was very feminine and the peacemaker. When things got heated, leave it to Kristen to calm the situation down. Keirra was the athletic one. She was the one who you didn’t ask a question that you didn’t want the truth to. Keirra was going to give you her opinion, and it was going to being an honest one. She was very outspoken, yet she tried to hide the fact that she had a softer side. Thanks to Eric, it was getting harder and harder for her sister to hide. Keirra had just moved out after Christmas and had moved in with her boyfriend Eric. Eric wasn’t from Baxley. He was from Atlanta, Georgia and made the move to Baxley to be a deputy because he’d grown tired of the fast-paced life of the city. Now that Eric was in her life, Keirra couldn’t stop smiling or keep the love that she felt for Eric hidden, nor could he. To Kayla, it was a good thing that she and her sisters had the different qualities that they did. Over the years, it had come in handy.

  One time, she had to complete an activity course for P.E. to pass the class, and Keirra had taken it for her. Then there had been the time when she’d come through for Kristen, when she’d been required to give a speech in front of the entire class. There was also the time when Kristen had helped Keirra out when Keirra had been running late to basketball practice. Throughout the years, the times that they pulled a switching routine were memorable, but it was not something that they had done often. They hated the dishonesty that came along with switching. It had only been used in emergencies for the most part. She loved her sisters just as much as they loved her. They would do anything for each other.

  She flinched as a bloody scene flashed across the screen. If there was one thing that she liked it, was history. That was probably why she taught it. She taught history for the ninth through the twelfth grade levels. Her focus was mainly on American History because she loved it, but she also added a lot of World History into her lesson plans. She flinched again as another reenactment soldier lost another limb.

  It amazed her how many valuable lives were lost in battles like Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, but she realized the fact that there weren’t a lot of other options at the time. Still she would love the opportunity to sit down next to General Burnside, General Ulysses S. Grant, and General Lee to find out what was going through their minds during the war. The show was ending when the phone rang. She reached over and grabbed the cordless extension off the end table.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi, Kayla.”

  She smiled at the sound of her youngest sister’s voice. “Hey, Kristen.” She sat back down on the couch. “How are you?”

  She heard Kristen laugh. “I am good, just calling to see how the request for parent–teacher conference went.”

  Kayla laughed in response. “Call me on Friday, and I will have a detailed answer for you, but we both know that this is going to be interesting.”

  “You have a point. Although, I think it is very interesting that some children grow up to take the same path that their parents took.”

  Kayla sighed heavily. “I think that it is awful, especially when the parents haven’t changed themselves.”

  It was awful. People were supposed to learn from their pasts. Not repeat it. She and her sisters had never really experienced any of the conflict that occurred during high school, probably because it was three of them. They had been popular because they were triplets. There had always been something in the paper about them, whether it was the school paper or the town paper.

  They had graduated from high school one, two, and three in their senior class. It had probably been a combination of all those things that had put them in the “in crowd.” They had never taken advantage of the situation unless it was for good. A lot of their efforts had been spent taking up for those who didn’t have enough self-confidence to speak up for themselves. One of her biggest pet peeves was people who bullied others.

  “So how do you plan on going about handling t
he conference?”

  “In the Keirra fashion.”

  They both laughed at the comment, but it was very possible. All three of them could get mean if needed, or if they were pushed to the limit. This was a situation that that could have had a very negative outcome based on her experiences with these parents. However, that was the last thing that she wanted it to come to.

  “But seriously, Kristen, I’m not sure how I am going to handle this situation.”

  Her sister’s voice was soft and sincere when she responded. “Well, no matter how you handle it, I know that you will solve the problem. You always do.”

  Kayla sighed heavily wishing that she had the ability to solve conflict like Kristen did. Maybe she could get Kristen to switch places with her for the conference. She laughed at the thought. They hadn’t pulled the switching routine since high school. Shaking her head, she tried to clear it of the dreadful thoughts that the parent conference was dredging up. She had to be positive.

  “Enough talk about that. How was your day?”

  She could hear the smile in her younger sister’s voice. “It was good. Very unusual, yet good.”

  Kristen went on to explain some of the interesting antics of the children that attended her childcare center.

  It was ironic that they were all in occupations that dealt with children or students, but it wasn’t a surprise to most. The passion of working with children had started in college. It had only grown from there. She and her sisters had attended University of Georgia together. They had always wanted to go into teaching in some capacity. Kristen had even gone as far as to work two jobs to save up enough money to add to what she’d already received in grants to start her childcare center. She could have used some of her money from their father’s pension, but Kristen hadn’t wanted to use the money. She accomplished her goal on her own the way that she wanted to.

  “It is good to know that everything is going well.”

  Kayla grinned. “How is the love life?”

  Kristen laughed. “It’s wonderful, of course. Randy is wonderful.”

  She scoffed at her sister’s comment. “Of course he is. You are in love with him.”

  Kristen chuckled. “It is more than that.”

  Kayla found herself nodding. Kristen and Randy had fallen in love years ago but had broken up over a misunderstanding. When she and her sisters had moved back to Baxley, it hadn’t taken Randy and Kristen long to reconnect. Randy and Kristen were meant to be. From the first date that he’d asked Kristen out on to the time that he asked her to move in with him had been eventful. The good thing was that Randy was a good man. She’d considered taking him out the times that he’d made Kristen cry. One thing that she didn’t like to see her sisters do was cry. She didn’t like to cry herself. The only time that any of them cried was when there was extreme emotion good or bad, but mainly bad.

  “Well I am glad that you are happy.”

  Kristen laughed. “If I were any happier, I would be floating, but I think that Keirra is actually flying right now.”

  The corners of Kayla’s mouth curved upward at the thought of how happy her sisters were. “You might be right. I am so glad that Eric wouldn’t give up on our sister. She has never been happier in her life.”

  “I know. She does have a glow about her now.”

  Eric was responsible for that, and she knew it. The holidays had proved that. Showing up to Eric’s house during Christmas had been a shocker. The first was that Keirra had looked beautiful in a gypsy skirt and camisole number. The second was meeting Eric’s family. They were lively and lovely, and she and her sisters fit in perfectly with them. More important, the Brookses loved Keirra. Her younger sister couldn’t have found a better man to get involved with. After their lively dinner with the Brookses, they had gone over to the Randy’s parents’ home for another one. For the first time in a long time, she and her sisters felt as if they had a family again.

  It had been even more special because their grandparents had been there as well. Now that her sisters were settling down, their father’s parents were making plans to settle down in Baxley, something that up until now they had only been talking about. The possibility of impending weddings and great-grandchildren was just the motivation that they needed. So overall, the holidays had gone better than expected, and now she had to run an extra day a week for all the food that she’d eaten. Never had she thought that she could literally gain five pounds in one day, but she had. Too bad, it was not as easy for her to take it off as it was for her to put it on.

  “And those wings go very well with those bags that she has under her eyes.”

  “You know that Eric is playing his injury up,” Kristen scoffed.

  Kayla shook her head. “I am sure of it.”

  Eric had been shot in the shoulder about a month and a half ago. He and Keirra had been in Atlanta visiting his family for Thanksgiving. They’d gone to the coffee store for his mother, and an irate ex-boyfriend of one of the store employees had come in waving a gun. Eric’s police instincts had taken over, and without concern for himself, he’d stepped in front of a bullet. It had been touch and go for a while, but he was recovering nicely. Keirra was doting on him, and he was taking complete advantage of it.

  Kayla could hear Randy’s son, Wade come into the room with Kristen. He spoke to her in a hushed tone. A short time later, Kristen came back on the line. “I have to run. Wade just informed me that he is ready for bed, and it is my turn to tuck him in.”

  “Well, I won’t keep you. Give Wade and Randy a hug and kiss for me.”

  Kristen promised that she would, and they disconnected the call after bidding each other a good night. Kayla stood and carried her empty bowl back to the kitchen. She hoped that her sisters were aware of how lucky they were to have good men. Kristen had been lucky enough to land two. Wade was a sweetheart, and he loved Kristen as much as Kristen loved him.

  Hopefully, she would find at least one. It was too bad that things didn’t seem as if they were going to work out with James Feldon. He was one man whom she wouldn’t mind being involved with. She’d always liked the thought of getting married and having children. After rinsing the bowl out, she set it in the sink. When Mr. Right did come along, she would be sure to embrace him with open arms. Hopefully, he would come along soon.

  She made her way back into the living room and turned off the television. She hoped that he would come along quickly because it was getting lonely. After a lifetime of constant companionship with her sisters, it was not hard to imagine why. Walking up the stairs, she headed to her bedroom. She was going to take a shower then go to bed. There she would think about Mr. Right and what he would look like.

  Chapter Two

  Kayla took a deep breath prior to walking into the conference room. She’d been rehearsing what she was going to say all day. All thoughts left her head as she entered the room. A lesser woman would have been intimidated by Dan and Trish Goodman’s glares or by Gary and Michelle Jones’ eye rolling and folded arms. Margaret and Tim Radcliffe were frowning, and Brigette Holbrock was fidgeting nervously. James Feldon overshadowed all of those distractions. He was standing in the corner of the room looking out of the window. The man was even sexier up close and personal. Every time she saw him, she fell harder for him. He could double for Orlando Bloom. He was tall and ruggedly built with thick, wavy black hair that she was dying to run her fingers through.

  He had smooth, lightly tanned skin that was accentuated by straight white teeth, but it was his eyes that always captivated her. He had an angular face with eyes as blue as the sky, expressive light blue eyes that she could get lost in. She studied his face—high cheekbones, a straight nose, square jaw, and full lips. He had a mustache that connected to a goatee, and both were neatly trimmed. He was a well-groomed man. She liked men that took care in their appearance. His stance gave her the opportunity to follow his broad shoulders down to a lean and tapered waistline. He looked to stand at least four inches over six feet because she h
ad to look up at him, something that was a rarity for her, considering she was just under six feet without shoes.

  Simply put the man was sexy as hell, and he was definitely a heartbreaker. It was written all over him. She tried to get her thoughts back on track before she embarrassed herself. She walked over to the table and set her briefcase down. Her attention went to the students that were the cause of this meeting. Holly, Laurie, and Violet were sitting at one table with expressions and body language matching their parents. Somer and Jamie sat at another table, Jamie with a comforting arm around Somer, a gesture that Kayla was used to seeing now. Clearing her throat, she began the conference. She pulled a stack of papers out of her briefcase and began to explain why she’d called the parent–teacher conference. She handed one to each parent and student. The information on the paper pertained to how many altercations and disruptions had occurred in her class. It also reflected the number of detentions that had been assigned to them because of the disturbances.

  The information only went back to November because that’s when the conflict had started to reach a breaking point. She began to explain to the parents what her concerns were and what she planned to do to put a halt to any future disruptions.

  Michelle interrupted her. “Is there really a need for all of this? They are teenage girls just having a little fun.”

  “If you ask me, those two are just upset because they aren’t as popular as our daughters,” Trish added.

  Kayla had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something very inappropriate to Trish. Instead, she addressed her students. There were going to be some very unpleasant things said, and she didn’t want the students to hear any of it. The last thing that they needed was more points of attack.

  Standing she opened the door and called them out into the hallway. Daring any of their parents to object, she looked them all in the eye.

  “Stand out here. Don’t move, and don’t make a sound, or you will be in detention and suspended from all school functions for the rest of the school year.” Their eyes widened, and she knew that she had their attention. Satisfied, she stepped back into the conference room and hoped that things didn’t get too loud. “First of all, nothing like that will be said, especially in front of the students.”