Caroline's Seduction (Montgomery Family and Friends)

by Iris Abbott

  Abigail evaded her however by grabbing a large dish of baked beans and heading for the back door. “Bring your delicious pound cake. All the food is outside on tables by the new water garden we’ve been working on.”

  They walked outside and Caroline stopped to take a deep breath. “Wow! You guys finally finished the pond and water garden. It’s gorgeous, Abigail. It’s so beautiful here. I almost envy you. You’ve got it all,” Caroline wistfully stated. “A gorgeous and successful husband who loves you, two wonderful kids, a fantastic family, and your own backyard paradise, what more could a person ask for?” Secretly Caroline’s heart ached. She’d give anything to have a man look at her the way Mason did Abigail.

  Abigail beamed at her friend. “Well it looks like everyone is here and you’re about to find out the answer to that question,” Abigail mysteriously promised.

  Caroline gave her friend a hard look. She was trying to decipher the meaning of that statement. Before she could ask for more details Mason walked up. He took the beans from his wife and suggested that since everyone had already arrived they should go ahead and make their announcement.

  Kyle had almost refused Abigail Blake’s invitation to the barbeque. Sarah’s pleading had changed his mind. Now he was wishing he hadn’t caved to those big brown eyes so like his own. He knew the exact moment when Caroline joined everyone outside on the cobblestone patio. The skin on the back of his neck prickled in awareness. The air hummed with an electric current that had been absent before her presence. He watched her intense conversation with a blond he guessed was Abigail Montgomery Blake the hostess. Abigail was beautiful, but Kyle only spared her a glance. His eyes returned almost immediately to Caroline. He’d always loved the way the sun turned her hair into burnished strands of gold, bronze and copper. Kyle’s perusal of Caroline was interrupted by another guest at the Barbeque.

  “Hello. I’m Jonathan Chambers,” the man offered his hand in greeting.

  Kyle shook hands. “I’m Kyle Wakefield. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Jonathan agreed. “Well I know you’re not a friend of Annabel’s. So that leaves Aubrey, Matthew, Abigail, or Mason.”

  “My daughter is actually friends with Jay. He invited Sarah and Abigail was kind enough to extend an invitation to me as well,” Kyle explained. He looked away from Jonathan and followed Caroline’s progress around the patio. She was talking to three blond women who he knew could only be the Montgomery sisters. He had to actually make an effort to breathe. Maybe it was the fact she was a redhead amongst so many blondes, because all four women were stunning in their own right, but Caroline absolutely took his breath away.

  Jonathan cleared his throat to get Kyle’s attention. “I don’t want to insult you since we’ve only just met, but I would reconsider. She is emotionally unavailable. She’s been living here for a little over a year, and she still only seems comfortable with my family.”

  “What happened to her,” Kyle wondered out loud.

  Jonathan mistook Kyle’s thought for an actual question. “I think only Abigail knows all the details, but from what my wife Annabel and I can gather a man she dated in college broke her heart. I guess he must have really done a job on her, because according to Annabel, Caroline doesn’t believe in love anymore.”

  Kyle was shocked into silence. This man was implying that Caroline’s cold and brittle shell was his fault? She had been a breath of fresh air when he’d known her before, all trusting soft and warm. Nothing like the emotionless vacuum she lived in now. Her passion had been insatiable. When he first met her she seemed to light up whatever room she occupied. She was still a beautiful woman, but her inner light seemed to have burned out.

  “Excuse me,” he said to Jonathan. I want to introduce myself to the hostess and thank her for the invitation. Her husband answered the door when I arrived and I have yet to meet Abigail.” Before he could approach Abigail to introduce himself, Mason approached the two women. Caroline nodded her head and left to stand with an older woman on the other side of the patio.

  Caroline went to stand next to Joyce Montgomery who just happened to be about as far from Kyle as it was possible to get at the intimate gathering of family and friends. That suited Caroline just fine. The more distance she put between herself, Kyle, and the past, the better off she would be. She greeted the Montgomery matriarch with a warm hug. She felt Kyle’s brown eyes follow her every move, but she ignored him. Lucky for her it wasn’t long before Mason and Abigail stole the show.

  Mason with his arm possessively wrapped around his wife led her to the middle of the circle of family and friends. “About this time last year Abigail and I agreed to turn our friendship into something deeper and embarked on a marriage that has been everything a man could hope for and more.” He glanced over at Joyce and Caroline, who’d been joined by his brother Brian, Aubrey, Matthew, Annabel, and Jonathan. “I married into a wonderful family full of love and passion.” He looked around and made eye contact with each family member including Caroline. “Abigail and I are proud to announce that we’re going to be adding to that family!”

  The crowd broke out in applause and smiles from all corners. Caroline glanced toward Kyle. His brown eyes met her blue eyes straight on and didn’t waver. The thought of Kyle and babies in the same breath was enough to knock her back to that dark place of four years ago. She needed to get out of there and away from Kyle as soon as possible. She waited her turn to hug and congratulate Abigail. “I’m really happy for you and Mason. Both of you are fantastic parents. This baby is going to be so lucky to be a member of such a wonderful family.” She gave Abigail an apologetic look. “I’ve got to go,” she rushed out. “I’ll call you later before the weekend is over!”

  Caroline knew that the Montgomery women and Kyle watched her hurried exit. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered right then was reliving her personal hell in private. Caroline managed to make it back to her apartment before she broke down. Even though it was August in northern Florida, she was chilled to the bone. She changed into a sweat suit and curled into her grandmother’s antique rocking chair. Then she cried. She cried over the loss of a child that might have been, the loss of a one-sided love she couldn’t seem to forget, and the cruel twist of fate that had brought him back into her life after all these years.

  ******

  Caroline looked at the clock on her classroom wall. It was after six-o’clock. She’d spent the past three hours setting up tomorrow’s lab for the biology honors classes. It made for a long day and it was well past time to go home. On her way to the faculty parking lot, Caroline walked past the student loading zone. She noted a lone silhouette and stopped when she realized it was Sarah.

  “Sarah,” she called to get the girl’s attention without startling her. “It’s after six. I can’t believe you’re still here.” Caroline walked over to the curb where Sarah was standing in the vacant parking area.

  “Hi Ms. Johnson, I know what you mean. Volleyball practice ended over thirty minutes ago. I can’t believe my dad’s so late.” The girl stopped suddenly and gave Caroline a guilty look.

  “It’s all right Sarah. He’s your dad. Of course you have to mention him occasionally. I got over it and him a long time ago.” Caroline told the fib with a straight face. There was no need to make her student feel uncomfortable. Sarah couldn’t help who her father was. Also maybe if she said it enough times it would eventually become true.

  Caroline didn’t like the thought of a teenager especially a female being in the parking lot alone this late. “I was on my way home, but there’s no hurry. I think I’ll just sit here with you. That is if it’s all right with you?”

  “Sure,” the girl looked hesitant. “If you don’t mind waiting, I’d be grateful. I can’t believe you’re still here at school this late.”

  Caroline shrugged. “Normally I’m not, but I had a lab to set up. Some take longer than others to prepare.” She changed gears. She didn’t want to talk about Kyle, but she didn’t r
eally have much choice. “Have you tried calling your dad?”

  Sarah gave her a guilty look. “I spent the time between the end of last period and the start of volleyball practice talking to my best friend back in Georgia.” She held up her useless phone. “My battery died.”

  Caroline nodded. It was a typical teenage occurrence. She’d seen it happen several times in the four years she’d been teaching. “Maybe your dad forgot he was supposed to pick you up this evening,” she suggested.

  “Impossible. It’s just the two of us. I’m not old enough to drive and I don’t know anyone else on the team well enough to carpool. He knows he has to pick me up from school everyday.”

  Caroline didn’t know why she was defending Kyle, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. “Well your dad is a busy man. Maybe time just got away from him.” Caroline dug through her purse and pulled out her phone. She offered it to her student. “Why don’t you use my phone?”

  “Would you call him for me? Please,” the girl implored. She wasn’t stupid. Her dad was going to be angry when he found out about her phone’s dead battery.

  Sarah’s eyes looked so much like her dad’s that Caroline felt a sharp stab to her heart. She couldn’t help but wonder if her child would have had those gorgeous brown eyes too. She looked down at the phone she’d offered. “What’s his number?” Caroline couldn’t believe she was doing this, but she couldn’t leave the girl alone in the parking lot. Who knows where Kyle was and it would be dark eventually. Not safe, not safe at all.

  She punched in the number Sarah gave her and waited for Kyle to answer. She rubbed her suddenly damp palm down the front of her skirt. She’d seen him twice in the past several days, first at Parent Night and then the barbeque. They still hadn’t bothered to speak to each other. She was about to disconnect the call when he answered.

  “Kyle Wakefield,” he snapped in way of a greeting. The words were fast and sharp.

  “Hello Kyle. This is Caroline Johnson. I was calling to…”

  Kyle cut her off with a frustrated sigh. He didn’t have time for this right now. “Listen Caroline, I don’t have time to rehash the past right now. The last meeting of the day ran over and I’m late picking up Sarah. I hope we aren’t going to have a problem like we did after I ended our relationship. I don’t have time for multiple phone calls and visits to my office unless of course it directly pertains to Sarah and her performance in your class. And I think it’s a little too early in the school year for you to have problems with her performance.”

  Caroline couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was a wonder he was so successful in the business world, since he never seemed to actually listen to what anyone was trying to say. Or maybe she was the only one cursed enough to have that effect on him. “Listen Kyle,”

  “No you listen,” he demanded in a harsh voice. “I wanted to move Sarah out of your class, but she insisted she wanted to stay.” Kyle knew he was being a first class jerk, but self- preservation made him continue. He’d dated a couple of women the past four years, but he still knew what it felt like to hold Caroline in his arms. As far as he was concerned that was bad news. “I understand you’re very friendly with the superintendent of schools. It probably won’t do any good, but I will file a complaint with the school board if you don’t leave me alone.”

  Caroline held back the tears that fought to be free. She wouldn’t cry, at least not while she was on the phone with Kyle or in front of his daughter. She pushed the end button to disconnect the call. “Your dad’s on his way. He should be here anytime now. His last meeting ran over that’s all, nothing to worry about.”

  A silver luxury sports car pulled into the entrance of the school. Sarah beamed at Caroline. “There he is now. Thanks for calling him.” She waved to her science teacher who was already halfway round the corner. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she called to her retreating teacher’s back.

  Kyle stopped his car next to his daughter. His eyes followed the retreating figure that he knew all too well. “Sorry I’m late. I tried calling you on your mobile several times, but it went straight to voicemail.”

  “I know dad, and I’m sorry. I forgot to charge my phone last night and the battery died while I was talking to Kelsey.”

  Kyle took the apology in stride, but he still had to caution his daughter. “Sarah we’ve been over the reasons you should always have a working phone with you. I don’t make many friends in my line of work. Corporate raider is one of the nicer names I’ve been called. You are my only child and very precious too me. You need to be more careful. If this ever happens again I’m going to have to ground you.”

  “You worry too much, dad. I’m perfectly safe here on the school campus, besides Ms. Johnson was still at school. She waited with me to make sure I was safe, but then you already know that, because she called to remind you that I was still at school waiting for you.”

  Sarah watched her dad closely. The look of surprise that changed to regret only lasted a nanosecond, but she saw it. “She’s a very dedicated teacher. She stayed late to set up a lab for my class tomorrow. But then again she lives alone, so I guess there’s no reason for her to hurry home. Still it was very nice of her to offer to wait with me. Don’t you think so, dad?”

  Regret was not a feeling that Kyle felt often. He was feeling it now and he didn’t like it one bit. He let out a sigh. “Yes it was very nice of her.” That was all he said. What else could he say? Spending too much thought on Caroline Johnson was dangerous to his piece of mind.

  Caroline briskly walked to her car. She drove home on autopilot. If anyone had asked her any details about the trip she wouldn’t have been able to answer them. She recognized the hurt feelings that squeezed her heart like a vice. They were dangerous for her peace of mind. The sooner Kyle was no longer on the periphery of her life, the better off she’d be. She had an uneasy feeling that this was going to be the longest school year in history. She just hoped she survived.

  Well no matter how long the year proved to be she was going to stay away from Kyle Wakefield. And that was a promise she meant to keep! She’d done a good deed for a student and she had been rewarded with hateful rudeness. She was done! She’d have the principal call Kyle if she needed to approach him for professional reasons. As far as personally, he was completely off limits. She didn’t want to set herself up for heartbreak once again. That meant she had to stay far away from Kyle and the temptation to be held in his arms once again.

  Six

  Caroline had literally been begged by the volleyball coach to chaperone the home volleyball game scheduled for that evening. The assigned teacher had called in sick that day. Caroline never minded doing her share, but now she was having second thoughts. She should have guessed that Kyle would show up to support his daughter. His dark hair and impressive six foot three inch frame made him easy to spot in the gymnasium bleachers. Caroline took up residence at the bottom of the bleachers about as far from him as she could get while still standing on the home team’s side. She was too antsy to sit and as a result she paced back and forth in her little corner. She tried hard to keep her focus on the game itself so she could cheer whenever the home team scored a point. Her eyes also darted around the stands looking for potential problems.

  She found her eyes straying Kyle’s way again and was almost punished for the deed. She barely turned in time to catch the wayward ball that was flying toward her as a result of a wild spike. She held the ball out to the nearest referee. He jogged over to retrieve the volleyball, a huge grin on his face.

  Kyle was having a hard time concentrating on the game. His eyes kept straying to Caroline. It was hard not to watch her shapely figure as it moved back and forth in front of the bottom row of bleachers. He focused on the game just in time to see an out of control ball careen right toward Caroline. He held his breath. That ball would probably bruise her delicate skin if it made contact. At the last second Carline seemed to notice the ball and caught it in midair.

  He saw her hold o
ut the ball to someone. One of the refs ran over to retrieve it. It was hard to miss the goofy grin on the younger man’s face. The fathers seated around Kyle perked up! “Oh look at the ridiculous smile on that ref’s face,” the man closest to him remarked. “He’s going to ask her out,” another father added to the commentary. “Wait for it, wait, wait…”

  Kyle looked at the ref. His smile faltered and then disappeared, a look of resignation taking its place. “There it is,” a third parent added to the conversation. “Complete and total rejection, the ice princess is still alive and well.” The four fathers in the group with Kyle all laughed.

  Kyle, who had been holding his breath, let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t laughing. He was too busy basking in Caroline’s rejection of the referee. Then the whistle blew and the game resumed. It was Sarah’s turn to serve. Thank God, Kyle would finally be able to concentrate on the game instead of examining why he felt such intense relief when Caroline turned down the referee. It was none of his business who she spent her time with these days.

  ******

  Caroline looked up from the papers she was correcting. Sarah was patiently standing by her desk waiting to be noticed. Caroline offered a smile. “Just give me a minute Sarah. I’m almost done with this test.”

  Caroline finished the test and set it aside. She turned her attention back to Sarah. “What can I do for you?” She had purposely avoided volleyball games the past month. She didn’t want to unnecessarily cross paths with Kyle. The old adage out of sight out of mind didn’t seem to be working. No matter how hard she tried to forget him he was always in the back of her mind.

  “Well, I need a big favor,” the teen hesitantly replied. “Jay asked me to be his date to the homecoming dance.”

  Caroline wasn’t surprised. The two teens had become fast friends and spent a lot of time together. “That’s fabulous Sarah. If your father needs me to vouch for Jay, I can. His mother and I are best friends as you probably already know. He comes from a fine upstanding family and he’s a wonderful young man.”