Front Range Cowboys (5 Book Box Set)

by Evie Nichole

  “Okay, so, I can see your point.” Darren didn’t really have any good solutions though. “What is it you want me to do?”

  “I don’t know.” She sounded helpless. “Your brother is about the most uninvolved, entitled parent I’ve ever come across. He seems to believe that the entire school is basically here for his convenience. If I ask him to speak to his daughter about the fighting, he just tells her that ladies don’t do that sort of thing.”

  Darren rolled his eyes. He couldn’t help it. “God, is he parroting that line? That’s gross. Our mother used to say that to our foster sister all the time. Jesse was a tomboy, but my mother wanted a girly girl. So, she took to telling the poor kid that ladies did not behave that way every other second. It was depressing, actually.”

  “Well, if that’s the parental behavior that was modeled for him, then I’m really not surprised that he’s continued it.” Maggie stood up suddenly. “You played sports, right? I heard that somewhere. Sorry. I didn’t mean to assume.”

  Darren was taken aback. She didn’t know who he was? Of course, she seemed to know him by family connection, but she didn’t realize that she was standing in front of a semi-pro football player? Huh. That was kind of a blow to his ego. Or maybe not. It was sort of refreshing. Sort of.

  “I played football. Yes.”

  “You got a scholarship, right?” Maggie turned to stare at him. “I heard one of the other teachers talking about it at one time.

  “Yes. I got a scholarship.”

  She was now grabbing her hair as though she were totally freaking out. “I can’t believe I’m about to ask you this, but do you think you could maybe help us with the gym class? You know, just substitute teach or something? Maybe if there was a guy around who could scare some manners into the boys, they would stop acting like bullies.”

  “Uh. I don’t know.” Darren realized that he would have to talk to his brother first. “I’m supposed to be working for the family business, you know?”

  “It would just be a few hours a day.” Maggie was actually begging. It had a profound effect on him. Her green eyes were huge. “Couldn’t you tell your brother that you’re doing this for Bella? If you teach some gym classes and put these boys through boot camp, they’re going to idolize you.”

  “You’re giving me a lot of credit,” Darren said drily. He didn’t figure now was the time to tell Maggie that he had a track record of severe disappointment when it came to the usual authority figures in his life.

  “Maybe it’s time you give yourself some credit,” Maggie fired back. “I bet you’ve been to enough sports practices in your life that you could absolutely run a physical fitness program for some elementary-aged kids. I know I could.” She placed her hand on her chest. “And I didn’t play sports at a collegiate level.”

  “Fine.” Darren held up his hands. It wasn’t really him that she had to convince. “But you have to call my brother and make the request so he knows I’m not just bullshitting him.”

  “Damn.” She looked positively green, and this time it had nothing to do with those beautiful eyes. “I hate talking to your brother. He’s an arrogant ass.”

  Darren practically did a double take. “Wow. That was sort of harsh, don’t you think?”

  “The guy won’t listen.” Then suddenly Maggie sighed. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. And I will call him. I suppose I owe you that since I’m foisting those boys off onto you.”

  “Foisting?” Darren frowned. He was trying to imagine just how bad these kids were that their guidance counselor would describe interacting with them in those terms. It seemed far more dramatic than Darren would have expected from a woman like Maggie. He stood up. “I should probably go.” He didn’t want to go, but the clock hanging behind Maggie told Darren that Bella was already way late for her dance class. “I need to get the girl to the last bit of her dance class or both of us will be in trouble with her dad.”

  “Can I get your number?” Maggie asked suddenly, whipping out a pen. Then all at once her expression changed. She looked almost mortified, as if she was suddenly worried that he was going to think she was coming onto him. It was almost—well, it was charming. She flashed a quick grin. “I just wanted to be able to contact you. About the substitute position.”

  “Right.” He nodded. Then he leaned forward, reached out, and plucked the pen right out of her hand. “Here.” He wrote his number down on her desk blotter. “You can call or text anytime.”

  Hmm. Now he sounded like he was coming onto her. Call or text anytime? Sheesh. He had said those words to a million women. Well, maybe not a million, but sometimes it actually felt like a million. It was strange, really. All at once Darren felt very tired. He was tired of the way things were. The football tryouts that led nowhere, the aches and pains in his body that were only getting worse with every game he played, and, most of all, the life of following the games, drinking and popping pills just to make it through his days, and crashing nights with whatever woman was willing to let him share her bed.

  “You know what,” Darren said suddenly. “Screw it.”

  Maggie’s elegant brows shot up in something that looked like disapproval. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am.” Darren actually reached up to touch the brim of a nonexistent hat. It had been years since he had done that. How odd. “I didn’t mean to be rude. I just want to tell you that I would be happy to help you out. I’ll deal with my brother. There’s no need for you to tangle yourself up in that nonsense. I can see how much it bothers you.”

  “Really?” She looked genuinely hopeful, and that gave Darren a high he hadn’t ever experienced before. “Thank you so much. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this.”

  “Do your classes have gym in the morning or the afternoon?”

  “Afternoon.”

  Darren nodded as he stood up. “Then I will be here at noon.”

  “I’ll be”—she stumbled over her words—“that is to say we will be looking forward to it.”

  Maggie beamed at him, and Darren just about tripped on his own two feet trying to walk out of the office. This woman had the power to turn him to jelly. What was that about? She was tall and athletic and pretty, and it wasn’t like those weren’t a dime a dozen in his life. But this one was different. He couldn’t put his finger on it yet, but she was.

  Chapter Four

  “Who was that?”

  Maggie looked up from her desk to see the school’s principal standing in her doorway. Olivia Witherspoon’s expression was more than politely interested in what had sounded like an innocuous question. Of course, what Maggie had learned in her tenure here, at what people in Denver often referred to as the most expensive private school in the area, was that nothing about Olivia Witherspoon was ever innocuous.

  Maggie arranged her face into a pleasant smile. “That was the uncle of one of our students. He was just picking up because the father was still at work.”

  “Oh, I see.” Olivia Witherspoon meandered into Maggie’s office. “I heard there was another bullying incident today.”

  “Yes. I handled it.”

  Maggie didn’t know all that much about Olivia’s personal life, but they had all been secondary witnesses to the woman’s ugly divorce. Now that Olivia Witherspoon was single, she was far more dangerous than she had ever been during her marriage. It felt like the woman had something to prove. There weren’t a lot of single teachers at the school. In fact, Maggie and Olivia were the only two singles on the entire staff, with the exception of the elderly librarian who was a long-time widow with no desire to remarry.

  Olivia gave Maggie a derisive once-over with her dark gaze. “You handled it?”

  “In accordance with the school policies outlined in the handbook and the bylaws. Yes.” Maggie was retreating behind protocol. That wasn’t a good thing. Where was her backbone? Why did this always happen? Sometimes Maggie wondered if she was so non-confrontational that she could have been convinced to throw herself
off a cliff just to avoid the potential of an uncomfortable conversation with someone.

  Olivia’s smirk suggested she knew that Maggie didn’t want to discuss this topic. She tossed her curly dark-brown hair until it settled around her shoulders in a way that framed her attractive round face. She was wearing a lot more makeup than Maggie and probably spent a pretty penny on both her clothing and her makeup. Maggie always felt dowdy and drab beside Olivia. Maggie wore plain clothes because she didn’t feel like she was supposed to be flaunting skin or anything else in front of the kids. That sometimes meant she came to work feeling like she’d picked her outfit out of her grandmother’s closet.

  “School policy, huh?” Olivia pursed her lips and narrowed her gaze. “Just remember that’s where your power ends.”

  “I know my job,” Maggie said quietly. She swallowed. Why couldn’t she speak at least in a strong, firm voice? She sounded like she was apologizing.

  “You realize you were not the school board’s first choice for this position, right?”

  Maggie cleared her throat and focused on the report in front of her. Maybe if she looked busy, Olivia would go away. “Yes. You’ve made that crystal clear. Thank you.”

  “There was a much better candidate who was passed over simply because a few members of the school board were pressured into hiring you by some of the parents.” Olivia’s lip curled as she stared at Maggie. Then she seemed to remember that she was still at work and they were still in a professional setting. She drew herself up and affected a shrug. “But I’m sure you’re qualified.”

  Maggie did not see any benefit in pointing out that it had been Laredo Hernandez to drum up support for her to get hired. It had not been at all personal. Laredo had simply pointed out that her education was more appropriate, as was her experience. He had told everyone in that excessively blunt way of his that she was the best qualified for the job and that they needed a good guidance counselor if the school was going to be productive and competitive in a market where the public schools were more than decent.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you, Principal Witherspoon?” Maybe if Maggie were super nice and helpful, then Olivia would just go away. “I will have this report on your desk before I go home tonight. I can promise you that. I know how you take a personal interest in these bullying incidents.”

  Olivia seemed mollified. “I do have a personal interest. This is my school. Everything that happens under this roof is on me, Ms. Brown. That’s something you can’t possibly understand.”

  “Of course not,” Maggie gushed. “I’m not in your position of authority each and every day.”

  Okay, maybe that was smearing it on a little too thick. Olivia’s brows drew together as though she were getting a bit miffed by the lip service. Then she sniffed and turned to leave.

  “Oh, Principal Witherspoon?” Maggie bit her lip and swallowed. This was going to be uncomfortable. “Have you had any luck finding a gym teacher either for a permanent position or for a temporary substitute position?”

  “That takes time,” Olivia said irritably. “Do you have any idea how busy I am? I don’t have time for that sort of thing.”

  “I know you’re very busy and entirely too put upon by all of those tasks that are just heaped on top of you,” Maggie said hesitantly. “Perhaps you could delegate that search process.”

  “Perhaps for a substitute that would be possible.” Olivia seemed to think that over.

  Maggie knew exactly what was going through Olivia’s mind. She was remembering the last school board meeting where she had been sternly tasked with finding a substitute gym teacher. Olivia was remembering that she had spent most of her time since then setting up her dating profile online and that she hadn’t really done anything but send out a bunch of memos to parents, teachers, and other staff detailing her hypothetical plans to address certain issues in the school. She had plans but no solutions. If she were to be seen as delegating, that would make her look good.

  “We just want to make things easier for you,” Maggie murmured. Her heart was beating out of her chest, and her palms were sweating. Why was she always so nervous having conversations like this?

  “Well, I appreciate that.” Olivia suddenly beamed. “It’s always great to know that people are team players. You know team players that do what they’re asked to do are often given privileges they didn’t initially expect.”

  “Right.” Maggie just wanted the woman to leave. Was that too much to ask?

  Olivia waggled her fingers. “I’m going to go home for the night. I want to see that report in my inbox before the end of the day. And you have yourself a wonderful evening.” The sudden mood swing was making Maggie dizzy. Then Olivia grinned from ear to ear. “I have a date tonight, you know?”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes. You should try Internet dating,” Olivia suddenly suggested. “Even you would have some luck.”

  “Even me?” Maggie wondered what was wrong with her in Olivia’s eyes.

  “Sure.” Olivia’s sage nod was almost more than Maggie could take. “There’s even a button on there for men to push when they like redheads.”

  “Oh. Right.” Maggie sighed. Like she’d never been made fun of for having reddish—and once upon a time it had been very red—hair. “Well, I will think about it. Until then, I hope you find your prince charming.”

  “Oh, I will.”

  Olivia practically pranced out of Maggie’s office, and she was left with the feeling that she had been run over, insulted, put in her decisive place, taken advantage of, and mocked all in one sitting.

  “Oh my God!” Maggie moaned.

  Her forehead hit her desk as she tried to get a hold of her emotions. She hated the way she always did this. How many years had she been trying to be more assertive? She always failed. Always! In the end, it was too great a risk to take. Being assertive came with consequences that Maggie was never quite willing to accept.

  For example. Olivia Witherspoon was the principal of the school. The ultimate hiring and firing decisions came from her. She was on contract with the school board. Maggie was not. Olivia could decide to fire Maggie, and if she could show any kind of minimal reason, she could do it.

  Maggie needed her job. She loved it here. She enjoyed the work. She enjoyed most of the people. She felt like she was actually making a difference. She got to work with kids a lot more than the average school guidance counselor. That was what she enjoyed.

  “Why are you still here?” Rhonda poked her head into Maggie’s office.

  Maggie lifted her face from her desk. She probably looked ridiculous. There was nothing more professional than a certified therapist acting as though she needed an intervention. It was not one of Maggie’s better professional moments.

  “I have to write a report on that bullying incident,” Maggie said in a muffled voice. “I promised Principal Witherspoon that I’d have it on her desk by the end of the day.”

  “She’s gone.” Rhonda’s dry tone suggested that Maggie was going to a lot of trouble for nothing.

  “Her virtual desk,” Maggie clarified. “You know, so she can look at it and then complain that I didn’t handle things the way she would have.”

  “Oh, by saying that boys will be boys and then patting them on the head?” Rhonda snorted. She walked the rest of the way into Maggie’s office. “You realize that woman just lives to torture you. She’s jealous.”

  “I highly doubt that.” Maggie didn’t like it when Rhonda got onto one of her Principal Witherspoon is just a jealous witch rants. “Our principal is back out there dating. She’s got that online profile done.”

  “Oh, geez, that’s great!” Rhonda said sarcastically. “That means she might actually do some work around here!”

  Maggie frowned. She highly doubted that. It would probably be back to Internet shopping. “Now our esteemed principal is planning to delegate the task of finding a gym teacher substitute to the rest of us.”

  “No!” Rhonda moaned. “I do
n’t want that job!”

  “For the record,” Maggie retorted. She even lifted her head off the desk to stare Rhonda right in the face. “You are absolutely qualified to do Olivia Witherspoon’s job, so don’t let me hear you complaining about her. Understand?”

  “Poo!” Rhonda gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “I don’t want that kind of responsibility, which is why I don’t want to have to find a gym teacher either.”

  Maggie could not stop herself from smiling as she thought about the offer she had made to Darren Hernandez. It was perfect. It was the best thing that could have happened, and she had managed to pull it off!

  “What is that smile for?” Rhonda demanded suspiciously. She got right up close to Maggie’s desk and pointed her finger in Maggie’s face. “You look like you have a secret. Spill it. I don’t like secrets!”

  “I think I might have solved the gym teacher problem for now,” Maggie said excitedly. “I don’t want to say more because I’m not sure it’s going to work out.”

  Rhonda reeled back a step. “Oh my God! Did Maggie Brown just get involved in something other than the narrow confines of her job description?”

  “Shut up.” Maggie didn’t appreciate the way that comment made her feel. “Just because I don’t stick my nose in everything does not make me a bad person.”

  “Sweetie, you don’t stick your nose in anything,” Rhonda said sarcastically. “You are the ultimate survivor in the don’t-get-involved game!”

  “It’s not a game,” Maggie insisted. “I just don’t like sticking my nose in other people’s business.”

  “Yeah.” Rhonda sighed and started to leave the office. “I get it. You prefer to remain uninvolved and let people deal with their own problems and find their own solutions. So, while you will listen to people’s problems all day long, you never actually want to own a solution.”

  “Don’t poke at counseling practices!” Maggie felt her face getting red. “A therapist can’t get involved in her client’s lives that way. That isn’t how it works! We listen and offer insight. In the end, all of the decisions and outcomes are someone else’s to deal with. That’s why I don’t get involved. I don’t want to screw something up in someone else’s life!”