Hard loving man

by Lorraine Heath

  “She was already grounded. You see how well that works.”

  “I can hold her in a cell for the rest of the night. It’s cold, lonely, and damned frightening to be locked up. Might give her some time to reflect on the ramifications of her actions.”

  She shook her head. “No, I need to deal with this situation. I simply want to get her home for now.”

  “All right. Her real driver’s license still shows a Dallas address, so write down your address in town, and I’ll deliver her car to you in the morning.” He passed a pen and a pad of paper to her.

  He watched as she wrote in what he knew was beautiful flowing script. He’d spent hours gazing stupidly at her as she graded papers, while he was supposed to be reading classic literature. Little wonder he’d nearly failed her class.

  He’d been held back once. Along with cutting as many classes as possible, he’d stopped doing homework his sophomore year. An act of rebelliousness. He hadn’t truly believed the teachers would fail him or that the school administration would enforce the state’s mandatory attendance law.

  It was a hard lesson learned. After that, he’d made more of an effort to pass, but still he’d done only enough to ensure he made it to the next grade. He was a year older than the majority of the students at his level. And when Kelley Spencer had walked into that classroom the first day of his senior year, his hormones had reacted with a savage awakening.

  Much as they were doing now, making him acutely aware that he was male and she was female. After everything that had passed between them near the end, he shouldn’t want her now with this powerful intensity that was downright irritating.

  She placed the pad on his desk. “There. Can I take her home now?”

  “Yeah.” He took the pad, tore off the top sheet with her address, scribbled a note on the next page, and handed it to her. “Give this to the young kid who brought you to my office.”

  “ ‘Mike, let her go home’?” she mused aloud as she stood. “Isn’t that a little informal?”

  “She was never technically arrested.”

  “What time will you bring her car by?”

  “What time will you be up?”

  “Around eight.”

  “Still an early riser on the weekends?”

  “Old habits are hard to break,” she said, blushing. “Thank you for handling this situation the way you did.”

  “Sure.”

  He found it difficult watching her walk out of his office, out of his life. Almost as hard as he’d found it nine years ago.

  He’d always heard that in every kid’s life, there was one special teacher. Kelley Spencer had been his. Unfortunately, she’d been a hell of a lot more than that. She’d been the first woman he’d ever loved. The first he’d ever hated.

  Her being back in town was the last thing he wanted.

  Chapter 3

  Jack Morgan is in town. Jack Morgan is in town. Like an irritating song stuck on replay, the unsettling refrain kept running through Kelley’s weary mind. Jack Morgan is in town.

  As she drove through the quiet, tree-lined streets, Kelley knew she needed to focus her attention and energy on dealing with Madison’s disruptive behavior. A confrontation between them hovered on the horizon. With the fine hairs on the back of her neck bristling, she sensed the escalating tension shimmering off Madison as she sulked in the passenger seat and stared out the side window, her arms crossed over her chest, her shoulders curled as though she wanted to draw herself up into an invisible ball.

  But Jack Morgan is in town. Kelley had always worried that he’d end up entangled with the law. But she’d envisioned him having the handcuffs slapped on him, not doing the slapping himself. She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the fact that he was the police chief.

  How had he managed to transform himself from a rebellious youth into someone holding a respected, authoritative position in the community? A position that caused him to cross paths with Madison?

  Madison, who thrived on bucking authority. She was too young to comprehend how quickly and effectively she was slamming shut doors to her future, destroying bridges, cutting off her options. In retrospect, though, Kelley had always assumed Jack was accomplishing the same thing.

  From the moment she’d walked into her classroom that first day, she’d been held hostage by his intense blue gaze. He’d been only a year older than the other boys, but he’d seemed so much older. His eyes held neither innocence nor dreams. He looked at the world as though he didn’t trust it not to hurt him.

  Her heart had gone out to him, and yet, at the same time, she’d wanted to smack him. She’d been incredibly nervous facing her students for the first time, striving to put into practice everything she’d learned while earning her degree and certification.

  While explaining the syllabus, she’d been unable to shake off the sensation that he was mentally undressing her. Button by button. Strap by strap. Piece by piece. That he’d somehow known she wore a lacy black bra and matching bikini panties beneath the navy blue skirt and blazer she’d worn for the express purpose of appearing older, more in charge.

  Only her determination not to fail had prevented her from stammering under his intense scrutiny, even though a flush of heat had caused her skin to prickle, her palms to grow damp.

  Jack Morgan had been a test she’d come close to failing. Throughout the year, his bold glances and sensual grins never reflected happiness but still managed to promise joy. The longer he sat in her classroom, the more time she spent with him, the easier it became for him to lure her into giving into temptation. To be with him the way she wanted to be with him. Forbidden. Reckless. Dangerous.

  Of all the challenges she’d expected to cope with and overcome in her first year of teaching, resisting the longing of her heart had never been one she’d contemplated. She’d never considered falling in love with one of her students, someone younger, someone with whom she should have had so little in common.

  But she’d been young as well, only twenty-two, not much older than Jack’s nineteen. Recently graduated from the University of Texas, she’d been traveling unknown territory, living completely on her own, without the shelter of dorm life and the comfort of college roommates. Working full-time. Beginning her adult life.

  She’d been excited, thrilled, terrified.

  And Jack Morgan had intensified every emotion.

  Just as he had done tonight.

  She’d walked into that police station bracing herself for a confrontation with Madison, trying to determine exactly what was going on in Madison’s mind and how best to handle her. Then she’d stepped into the police chief’s office expecting to see a white-haired, paunchy man—the stereotypical Rod Steiger cop she saw in the movies.

  Instead, there stood Jack Morgan with his whipcord lean body and that same hungry look in his eyes that promised sensual satisfaction beyond a woman’s wildest dreams. His presence had knocked the wind from her sails.

  Then she’d caught sight of Madison dressed as though she expected Halloween to arrive early this year…and it had all been too much.

  Her mind had shut down, because she found it too painful to remember the past, too excruciating to deal with the present. But the present had to be dealt with, and it had to be dealt with here and now.

  She pulled her white Camaro into the closest empty parking slot. Before Kelley turned off the engine, Madison was out the door and running up the stairs to the second-floor apartment. Kelley hurried after her.

  Fortunately, Madison lost precious time unlocking the door. She slipped into the apartment, and Kelley was hot on her heels, closing the door in her wake, praying they weren’t going to get evicted for disturbing the neighbors in the wee hours of a Saturday morning.

  Rushing to Madison’s door, she threw her body against it before Madison could slam it shut and lock it.

  “I hate this town, hate going to school here, hate the kids!” Madison yelled as she threw herself on the bed. She grabbed a pillow, wrapped her arm
s around it as though to shield herself from the reprimand she knew was coming, and glared mutinously at Kelley. “Half of them listen to country music, for God’s sake.”

  “Keep your voice down,” Kelly scolded, finding it difficult to face the hate she saw in Madison’s eyes. How did parents survive their children’s teenage years? Leaning against the door frame, she folded her arms across her chest. “Do you know how lucky you are that Jack ran into you—”

  “Getting arrested is hardly lucky.”

  “Then don’t place yourself in situations where you can get arrested. What were you thinking, Madison?”

  “I was thinking that this town is so totally dull, and I wanted to have some fun.”

  “Fun? Dressing up like a hooker and traipsing into a bar in the middle of the night? Flashing a false ID? Not to mention you did all this without telling me, so you knew it was wrong to begin with.”

  Madison curled her lip. “It wasn’t wrong. I just knew you’d freak.”

  Seething, Kelley stepped away from the door and whispered harshly, “It damn sure was wrong. It was illegal! You were breaking the law.”

  “It’s a stupid law. Even the president’s daughters do it.”

  Kelley groaned at the idiocy of that statement. “And they weren’t immune from getting into trouble, now, were they?”

  “It’s a rite of passage.”

  “No, Madison. It’s not a rite of passage. It’s stupid and dangerous. Jack said some guy was hitting on you.”

  “I wouldn’t have gone to the motel with him,” she responded petulantly. “I was just humoring him because he had the corniest pickup lines.”

  Kelley wanted to screech. “And what if he’d thought you were a tease? What if he’d gotten angry and hurt you?”

  She shrugged. “I had my mace in my purse.”

  “Oh, Madison, you don’t intentionally put yourself into a position where you think you might have to use your mace.”

  “I didn’t do anything really bad. It’s not like I was doing drugs.”

  “You were drinking. What if you were involved in a car accident?”

  “Like that’s going to happen. There’s nobody on the streets after dark. It’s like they’re all afraid of vampires or something.”

  Kelley had to admit it was a quiet town. That was part of its appeal. But she was certain there were things going on if one knew where to look. She and Madison would simply have to explore the opportunities together.

  “I love you, Madison,” she said softly, trying to reach this girl who obviously had no desire to have her defenses breeched.

  “No, you don’t! If you did, you wouldn’t have brought me here.”

  “As I’ve explained time and again, we moved here because you were getting out of hand.”

  “You’re not my mother!”

  Kelley’s chest tightened at the cruel, unintentional reminder. As Madison wiped furiously at her eyes, smearing her makeup, Kelly walked farther into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m not trying to be your mother.”

  “Yes, you are. I need your permission before I can do anything.” She made permission sound like abuse. “I never had to do that before.”

  “Things are different now. I have a greater responsibility for you.”

  “I hate it.” Madison stuck her fingers into her hair, the spikes too stiff to allow much more. “We have to write this stupid paper in English about what we admire most about our mothers. And I don’t have a mother.”

  Tears burning her eyes at Madison’s anguish, Kelley wrapped her arms around Madison and hugged her. So much of tonight’s behavior was beginning to make sense. She’d read several books on grieving. Everyone experienced it differently, but for many the first year was one of numbness. The second year was the hardest.

  “Maybe you could write a memory, a special moment when you were just really glad that Mom was your mother.”

  Madison sniffed. “I guess I could do that. I get mad at her sometimes. I feel like she and Dad just abandoned me. It hurts to feel abandoned.”

  Kelley felt the painful squeezing on her heart. “They didn’t abandon you, Madison. It wasn’t their choice to die. They loved you very much.”

  “It’s not fair. You had them longer than I did.”

  “It doesn’t make losing them hurt any less.”

  Madison worked her way out of Kelley’s embrace. “Their dying sucks.”

  “I know. I’m not trying to replace them, Madison. I’m simply trying to get us back on the right road. Tell me what I can do to make things better.”

  “Move back to Dallas.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve signed a contract with this school district. I have to finish out the school year.” Besides, she truly did believe Madison was safer here. They were simply going through a period of adjustment following the move. Things would settle down.

  “You should have asked me before you made all these plans with my life,” Madison said.

  “You’re a—” She cut herself off.

  “What? Go ahead and say it. You think I’m a child.”

  “Not a child. Young. You’re young, Madison. Too young to make decisions that have such an enormous effect on our lives. You were getting involved with the wrong crowd—”

  “Oh, and you don’t think Podunk has a wrong crowd?”

  She knew it did. Or, at least, nine years ago it had. Jack Morgan had been the ringleader. But she couldn’t envision the kids here making suicide pacts or hooking up with drugs.

  It was the carefully contracted suicide pact she’d found in Madison’s glove compartment when she was replacing her proof of insurance that had scared Kelley so badly. To think Madison would value her life so little…

  “I truly believe there is less opportunity for you to get hurt here,” Kelley admitted. Although Madison was still in contact with her friends, Kelley thought—hoped—phone calls and e-mail provided a buffer against rash behavior.

  Madison rolled her eyes.

  “Two more years, Madison, and you can do whatever the hell you want. But on my watch, you will not go to bars, you will not get drunk, and you will not end up in police stations. If you continue this rebellious, destructive streak, I’m going to take away your car—”

  “You can’t!”

  “I can, and I will. And I’ll paint all this furniture yellow and buy you a bedspread with big daisies on it.” Kelley hated coming down so hard on Madison, and she usually tried to lighten her tone at the end—balancing being a mother against being a sister.

  A corner of Madison’s mouth twitched. “You wouldn’t.”

  “Oh, yes, I would,” she insisted, feeling a little bit of the tension leaving the room. “Worse than that, I’ll replace all these awful red lightbulbs with”—she grinned evilly—“with white ones.”

  “Then I’ll really hate living in this tiny apartment. I can’t even play my music loud. That old goat downstairs complains.”

  Kelley sensed a crumbling in the wall of resentment. She knew Madison could rebuild it quickly, but maybe, if they could reach some sort of compromise…

  “Okay. I think we can fix that problem easily enough. I can dissolve the lease with a thirty-day notice. We’ll go house hunting, find someplace we’ll both be happy with. Together. We’ll look together.”

  “I guess.” Madison pushed her lower lip out into a pout. “I just hate this town so much. Promise me that we’ll go back to Dallas at the end of the year. Let me have my senior year with my friends.”

  “I’ll promise to think about it.” She wrapped her hand around Madison’s. “Sweetie, I’m simply trying to get you through high school. Then you can do whatever you want with your life.”

  “Well, staying in this dump of a town is definitely not what I’m going to do with my life.” Madison scrunched up her face. “He said the same thing, by the way.”

  “Who? What?”

  “The sheriff. About not letting me do anything on his watch. Sounds so military. What�
�s with you and him, anyway?”

  Alarm bells clanged in Kelley’s head, and she focused on the least significant aspect of the question. “He’s not the sheriff. He’s the police chief.”

  “Okay. So, what’s between you and the police chief?”

  “Nothing is between us. As you figured out in his office, he was one of my students. Shortly after he graduated, he got married and went into the army. I didn’t know he was back in town, so I was surprised. That’s all.”

  “He’s hot.”

  Oh, yeah, Kelley thought as the warmth swirled through her, making her flush. Jack Morgan was definitely hot. More so now than he’d been at nineteen, when she’d thought she’d fallen in love with him.

  Tonight, he’d been wearing a black shirt that revealed the breadth of his chest, the narrowness of his waist. His faded jeans had hugged his ass and thighs. He’d filled out in the past nine years, but he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He was a solid wall of mature muscle.

  He wore his black hair shorter, not quite a military cut. It had been longer in high school, curly at the ends. His beard had been heavier than most of the boys’ back then. Tonight, he looked as though he’d gone a day or two without shaving.

  Although she knew it wasn’t possible, she could swear that she still felt the impression of his jaw against her palm. She’d known she shouldn’t touch him, but she’d needed to confirm that he was real. And he was. Warm flesh, rough stubble. Mesmerizing blue eyes that were more powerful, more knowledgeable. But they still managed to form an effective barrier to his inner thoughts and emotions. She wondered what he’d seen in the past nine years that had added the furrows in his brow, the creases at the corners of his eyes.

  Unsettled by the direction of her thoughts, Kelley got up and started turning down the covers, playfully elbowing Madison in the process. “Now, come on, you need to get to bed.”