by Iris Abbott
It was almost midnight. The last song would be playing soon. Then the students would slowly exit to find their ride home and she would be free to go back to her apartment. Caroline spotted Jay and Sarah across the gym. They both waved and sent hardy smiles her way. Caroline laughed and enthusiastically returned a wave and smile. She continued her walk around the gym, noticing several appreciative glances from other teachers and chaperones as she went. She decided it was the dress.
Abigail had given her a hug and thumbs up when she’d dropped Jay and Sarah off at the dance. “I don’t remember seeing that dress before. You look fabulous!”
Caroline had accepted the compliment with good grace. Then the two had chatted a few minutes before Abigail said her goodbyes. Caroline had to admit that the ankle length turquoise colored dress with its halter deep V-neckline, and open back was totally flattering to her figure and coloring. The waist and neckline were accentuated with light blue and silver beads that glistened and glittered. The dress made Caroline feel like a million bucks. Other people thought so too if the looks she’d been getting that night were anything to go by.
The DJ introduced the last song of the night. It was Urgent’s love song Heart’s Desire. Otherwise known in the circle of Montgomery family and friends as Aubrey’s Song. Caroline skirted the edge of the gym to avoid the rush of students headed for the dance floor. She stood on her tiptoes trying to catch a glimpse of Jay and Sarah. It would be cute to see them dance the last dance together. She should have brought her camera to take a few photos for Abigail. Her friend did a fabulous Montgomery family scrapbook every year for all the female members of the Montgomery family. A photo of Jay and Sarah dancing in their formal clothes would have been a great addition to the other family photos.
Caroline turned and collided with a solid chest. Not many males at the school were built like former linebackers with a solid wall of muscles for a chest. Caroline knew before she looked up that she’d be staring into the whiskey colored eyes of Kyle Wakefield. Even though they were in a gym full of people, this was the closest they’d come to a private conversation since they’d learned of each other’s presence in the small town. Sarah had usually been within earshot before.
“Hello Mr. Wakefield,” Caroline greeted him as she would any other parent. It was best to keep things on a professional level especially there on school grounds.
The formal address goaded Kyle to retaliate. “Isn’t Mr. Wakefield a bit formal for the two of us? I seemed to recall that you were very fond of the name Kyle. As a matter of fact I distinctly remember you screaming it on several occasions.”
“Really,” Caroline arched her eyebrows. “If you say so, that was a long time ago.”
“It must not have been that long ago. I still remember.” His normally husky voice deepened even more with that statement.
“If you want to stroll down memory lane find someone else,” she snapped. “I’m here to chaperone the students not socialize with their dads. Please excuse me.” She tried to walk around Kyle, but he stopped her with a light touch to the elbow.
“May I have this dance, Ms. Johnson?”
Caroline tried to pull her arm free from his grasp, but his fingers tightened. She could pull away, but she didn’t want to cause a scene. “I don’t want to dance, especially with you,” she couldn’t help but add. “I’m immune to your charms now, Kyle. I don’t know why you’d bother anyway. You sure couldn’t get rid of me fast enough before and damn the consequences.”
Kyle was so intent on getting Caroline onto the dance floor he didn’t pay any attention to what she was actually saying. If he had been he might’ve thought to ask about those so-called consequences. “Oh come on Caroline. If you’re as immune to me as you say you are, what would one little dance hurt?”
Against her better judgment she let Kyle pull her into his embrace. She tensed her body to maintain a respectable distance between them. She could feel several pairs of eyes on them as she allowed Kyle to lead her around the dance floor. Halfway through the song her body rebelled and of its own accord melted into Kyle. She heard the soft chuckle he emitted next to her ear and tried to pull away.
Kyle tightened his hold on Caroline. She felt so right in his arms. Maybe he’d just been too long between dates. If someone had told him even a month ago that he would be considering rekindling an old flame, he would have laughed, hard. Now he wasn’t laughing at all. He was speechless. He knew this attraction wasn’t going to go away and it was going to be a problem. He couldn’t avoid her entirely, at least not as long as she was still Sarah’s teacher. If he had any sense of self-preservation left he’d let her go and look for Sarah and Jay. Instead he tightened his embrace and held her even closer.
Caroline knew she should pull away, but she didn’t want anyone to know that being this close to Kyle was affecting her normally ice cool persona. She’d suffered much worse. She’d get through this dance with her dignity intact. And Kyle would move on to the next conquest leaving her in peace.
Sarah and Jay spotted Caroline and Kyle at the exact same moment. “Wow,” Jay exclaimed. “I can’t believe Aunt Caroline is dancing with your dad.” My mom gave up trying to set her up months ago.”
Sarah nodded her understanding. “Jay, I have something to tell you. Please don’t be mad at me for not mentioning it sooner. Okay?” Sarah looked at her date with hesitant eyes. She really liked Jay. He was super cool and her first crush.
“Okay,” Jay promised. He really liked Sarah and whatever she had to say couldn’t be that bad.
“Well,” Sarah began her confession. “Ms. Johnson and my dad used to date each other.”
“Really,” Jay sounded as surprised as he felt at the news. He hadn’t heard his mom or aunts mention that fact. Surely they knew about this, they seemed to know everything else.
“Yep,” Sarah confirmed. “About four years ago. My dad’s relationships are very short-lived. I’m sure that has something to do with the divorce from my mom, but anyway,” she continued after a short pause. “My dad was always very careful to keep his love life separate from our family life. I guess his relationship with Caroline lasted a little longer than normal. I met her a couple of times while they were together and trust me when I say that is rare. I’ve never met any of his other women. I really liked her too. She was very nice to me.”
“Now that doesn’t surprise me. The Montgomery family is a tight knit group and Aunt Caroline fit in right away. We all love her. Fair warning, your dad had better tread carefully around Caroline. My mom and aunts are a force to be reckoned with when someone makes them angry. Someone hurting Caroline would make them very angry indeed.”
Sarah shrugged and finished her confession. “Four years ago I really wanted a new mom, and Ms. Johnson was the perfect candidate.” Sarah gave Jay an intent look trying to decide if she should confide in him completely. After a second she took a deep breath. “Now after spending even more time with her, she’s still my ideal, the perfect mom for me and the perfect wife for my dad.”
Jay’s eyes lit up. “Are they seeing each other again?”
“Nope! Up until now they’ve vigorously avoided each other. I talked Ms. Johnson into going dress shopping with me and my dad drove us up to Atlanta. They spent the entire trip basically ignoring each other. While we were dress shopping she wouldn’t talk about my dad. Whenever I brought him up, she immediately changed the subject.”
“Doesn’t that seem odd to you?” Jay had always found Caroline to be very open.
“Not really,” Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “They are both stubborn.” The song ended and they watched as Caroline practically tore herself out of Kyle’s arms and took off in the opposite direction.
“See what I mean,” Sarah pointed toward the quickly fading Caroline. “I think they want to find their way back to each other, but they need a little help. I’m going to be leaving for college soon. I don’t want my dad to be alone. He already works twelve to fourteen hour days. I can’t even ima
gine what will happen to him once I move out of the house. He’ll probably work twenty hour days,” Sarah wailed. “He is going to need a reason to want to go home in the evenings. I think Ms. Johnson could be that reason.” She gave a wicked smile. “Plus it helps that we get along with each other.”
“No wicked step-mother for you,” Jay teased. “You’re right. She’d be as great a step-parent as Mason.” It was Jay’s turn to assess the girl in front of him and decide if he wanted to give away one of his deepest secrets. It only took a second.
“You know, I think I can help you. I’m an excellent matchmaker after all,” the teen boasted. It was my sister Emily and I that helped get our mom and Mason together. We could tell they really liked each other, but neither would budge. Emily and I kept thinking of ways for them to cross paths. I sprained my ankle at a football game once. I knew Mason would feel badly about me getting hurt on school property and visit us at the hospital. It worked too,” the teen said proudly. They went out on a couple of dates after that and got engaged almost immediately.”
“Really?” Sarah gave him her biggest and brightest smile as they exited the gym. She glanced around the parking lot looking for her dad’s car. “Let’s talk more about this at lunch Monday. I don’t want people to know what we’re talking about so we need a codename.”
“That’s probably wise,” Jay agreed. “We don’t want my mom to get wind of what we’re doing either. She might feel obligated to spill the beans to your dad or my Aunt Caroline.”
“There’s my dad’s car and he’s waiting for us.” She dropped her purse and stopped to retrieve the sparkly clutch bag. Jay reached for it at the same time and their heads bumped. Sarah leaned closer so no one else could overhear. “Let’s call it Project Valentine,” Sarah exclaimed. She didn’t wait for a reply. She picked up the pace. She practically bounced her way to the car. She glanced over her shoulder at Jay. “It’s perfect, absolutely perfect!”
Eight
Caroline stood at the front door of Kyle and Sarah’s house. Her finger was paused above the doorbell. She could hear plenty of voices and movement inside. She looked down at the brightly wrapped pink and purple present in her hand. She reminded herself she didn’t want to disappoint Sarah. That was why she was at the teenager’s birthday party. Her presence certainly had nothing to do with Kyle!
She heard a burst of laughter and it spurred her into action. She pressed the lit button, heard the bell chime, and waited for someone to answer the door. She pasted a smile on her face and kept it in place even when she heard footsteps too heavy to belong to Sarah moving toward the door.
Kyle opened the door and was not surprised to see Caroline standing there looking like she wanted to be anywhere else but there. “Hello, Caroline. Come on in. It’s still early and only a handful of guests have arrived.”
“Thanks. So where’s the birthday girl?” The sooner she and Kyle were no longer alone the better she would feel.
Kyle watched her smile brighten momentarily at the mention of Sarah then abruptly die. Evidently she really was fond of his daughter, but not so much him. “She’s in the family room with the other guests. It’s this way,” he turned and headed down the hall toward the noise.
Caroline followed. It was bittersweet being an invited guest in Kyle’s home once again. She found Sarah right away. Jay was with her. That didn’t surprise Caroline at all. The two really seemed to be attached at the hip lately. She’d been to the school cafeteria twice in the month since the homecoming dance. She’d seen them eating lunch together. Their heads pressed together deep in conversation like two master plotters working to reach the ultimate goal. If she didn’t know any better she would swear the two of them were up to no good.
She walked over and gave Sarah and Jay both a hug. “Happy birthday Sarah! I hope it’s an extra special day for you.”
“Thank you! I’m so glad you could make it. I know you weren’t sure when I gave you the invitation.”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you. Not all of your guests will be thrilled to attend a birthday party with a teacher from their school included on the guest list.”
“Aunt Caroline you know all the students like you. They think you’re awesome. Besides it’s Sarah’s party. It only matters that she wants you here.”
“That’s right. It is my party and I’m glad you’re here,” Sarah emphatically promised. Caroline didn’t miss the look that passed between the two teenagers. That clinched it. She knew they were up to something. Whatever it was it was probably harmless. The doorbell chimed through the house. “I shouldn’t keep you from your other guests. It sounds like more people have arrived. She held up the brightly wrapped package. “I’ll just drop this off and mix with the other guests myself.”
Sarah gave her another hug. “Okay and thank you for coming. Don’t forget to say hello to my dad. I’m sure he’d love some adult conversation about now.” Jay discreetly elbowed Sarah as if in warning.
“I’ll do that,” Caroline promised with fingers crossed. She walked toward the table holding a pile of presents. She had no intention of speaking to Kyle again, but there was no need to spoil Sarah’s day by out right refusing her request.
Caroline dropped the flat package on the table. There was another woman standing nearby and Caroline turned to introduce herself. “Hello I’m Caroline Johnson. It’s nice to see another adult here.” That sentiment lasted only as long as it took the woman to turn toward Caroline. Her face was clearly etched into Caroline’s memory. After all she’d inadvertently been a part of the worst day of Caroline’s life. It had been even more horrible than the day her parents had died. The day she had a miscarriage, losing not only her baby but also her last link to Kyle as well.
The woman turned toward Caroline. She stopped, her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a big O. Finally she regained her speech. “Oh did you and Kyle reconcile? Well what a silly question of course you did or you wouldn’t be here at Sarah’s birthday party. I don’t know what got into Kyle that day. I’m glad to see the misunderstanding didn’t keep you two apart. I’m his personal assistant by the way. My name’s Jenna.” She held out her hand toward Caroline.
Caroline turned deathly white. “Personal assistant, the two of you work together?” Caroline’s brows knitted together. A sure sign she was confused and thinking hard. She shook the hand offered to her automatically.
Jenna paused. “You mean you didn’t know? I guess I just assumed he would have explained everything since the two of you are back together. I was in his office discussing his schedule for the week when the receptionist inadvertently announced your presence. The next thing I know his office door is opening and he’s pulling me into his lap. And well,” the woman looked slightly embarrassed, “you know the rest. After you left, he told me you were clingy and refused to let go. The only way he could think to get rid of you was to let you think he had moved on to someone else.”
Caroline shrugged her delicate shoulders and put on her best I don’t give a damn persona. The one she’d been perfecting over the past few years. She felt the blessed numbness creep in and embraced it with both hands. “I guess it worked. Kyle and I are not back together by the way. As fate would have it, I relocated to this area last year and I happen to be Sarah’s science teacher.”
Jenna let out a delightful laugh. “I guess that is no more than Kyle deserves. Karma, it gets you every time.”
Caroline had no desire to spend the rest of the afternoon chatting with Kyle’s personal assistant. “Excuse me,” I just came to say hello to Sarah and drop off her present. I have plans for the rest of the day.” Yeah like grading papers and another evening home alone. Caroline offered Jenna a half smile. She looked around the room and saw that Sarah was busy with a group of friends. Caroline didn’t want to interrupt. She just wanted to go home. She was impressed that she managed to make it out the door without running into Kyle or anyone else for that matter.
Caroline briskly walked to her car. Once she was saf
ely inside with the door locked and the engine running she let out a deep breath. She knew Kyle could be cruel. But to think that the event that had sent her running from his office and right into a miscarriage had been a lie made it that much more unforgivable. The emergency room doctor had told her the miscarriage probably would have happened anyway, just one of those things he’d said. That didn’t stop Caroline from blaming Kyle. She doubled her resolve to have nothing else to do with Kyle Wakefield.
****
Everyone gathered around the present table. This was the best part of the day as far as Sarah was concerned. She excitedly grabbed packages one at the time ripping off the paper to revel the hidden gems underneath. Her friends from school took turns admiring the opened gifts. Jenna the perfect assistant was busy making a list of presents and the name of the gift giver for thank you notes.
Sarah picked up the pretty pink and purple envelope shaped present. She turned it around and shook it a few times. “Okay, this one is from Ms. Johnson,” she announced to everyone gathered around the table. She ripped off the wrapping paper and then stared at the contents in awe. She was silent for so long, everyone jumped when she let out a loud squeal and jumped up and down.
“Oh my God,” she held up the contents for everyone to see. It’s a pair of Urgent tickets and backstage passes for their Atlanta concert.”
All the teenage girls squealed. A few looked like they were going to swoon.
Kyle was stunned. It was the hottest concert ticket around. He had spent countless hours on the phone with various connections trying to get tickets himself, but they had sold out in minutes. He hadn’t had any luck. He looked around, but the luscious redhead was nowhere to be seen. “Where is Caroline?” he finally asked.
