Maizy the Bear Charmer [Divine Creek Ranch 16] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 39
“Do you know much about your biological mother?”
“Not much. Jean had a friend who helped me do some research a few years ago when I got curious. We gathered a little information from hospital records. I know my mother was really young, fifteen, and in the report it’s mentioned that they suspected she was a victim of domestic abuse. She delivered me and someone picked her up from the hospital during a shift change. There’s no other records of the name she gave so it most likely was a fake name.”
“If you’d like to pursue it sometime, I’d be happy to help you, or Heath and Spencer. It’s important to know your roots.”
“Thank you, angel. It used to bother me to think of her coming into the hospital to have me and being all bruised up and battered. I used to blame myself for it. I’d wonder and worry about what happened to her. I think all three of us worry about that sometimes. It’s probably why we’re all so protective of women. But whatever happened is long in the past. Life may have been hard at times but we managed, and we had Jean. She was good to us and taught us a lot.”
“Think you ever want to be a father some day?”
He smiled down at her and stroked the underside of her breasts, raising goose bumps on her flesh. “I know I do, angel. When you’re ready.”
“I think the three of you would make great dads. I can imagine a little boy with your dark eyes and your smile, and another with Heath’s personality and his green eyes, and a serious little boy who takes after Spencer and melts girl’s hearts with one look from his golden eyes.”
“Now who’s waxing poetic, angel?” he said with a smile. He could envision them just the way she described them. “What about little girls? I want a little girl with her mommy’s wild curly hair and sweet brown eyes the color of molasses. She’ll probably give her daddies fits.”
“Just wait until the boys take interest in her when she’s a teenager.”
“Can you imagine the reign of terror we’ll have on all her boyfriends?” He gleefully imagined the three of them meeting the boy foolish enough to ask their daughter out, on the front porch, ready to have a “little talk.”
“And what if we have all girls?”
“I feel gray hairs sprouting at the thought. I’d rather focus on just you for right now. We’ll deal with the babies when they come.”
She kissed him and giggled as he kept imagining the future and said, “You’re thinking of buying a shotgun, aren’t you?”
“It pays to be prepared.”
Sighing happily, she snuggled up in his arms again. It was a fanciful notion but it really did seem as though the future was laid out before them. He laid his head beside hers and they drifted until it was too cool to stay outside any longer. She shivered when he moved around her but didn’t wake as he carried her inside, snagging her garments on the way in. It was later than he’d thought when he glanced at the clock, so he tucked her into the bed and turned down the lights for when the guys arrived home from work.
Chapter Thirty
A week later, Maizy frowned when her friends, Lucy, Grace, Jayne, and Rachel prodded her in through the doors at the main offices for the Divine Independent School District, located just down the road from the elementary school. The parking lot was full of cars and as Rachel held the door open she could hear many voices inside the central meeting room. Maizy didn’t want to be there.
“Why am I here?” Maizy groused to Lucy as they kept her moving forward. She was relieved when she saw Cody, Heath, and Spencer there, and then worried. As they came to her, Maizy asked, “I thought you were all working tonight. What’s this all about?”
Cody kissed Maizy’s forehead and said, “Lucy called us and asked us if there was any way we could get at least part of the evening off. We rearranged the schedule with a couple of the guys and they’re covering for us. I don’t know what’s going on.” Heath and Spencer both shook their heads and shrugged before kissing her forehead, too.
Grabbing Lucy’s arm, Maizy pulled her close and said, “Come on, sis. Confession time. What did you do?”
Lucy grinned like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland and said, “I didn’t do…much. When I found out what was happening after we got back from our honeymoon, I just made a few calls.”
“I didn’t know about any of that. You were doing that while I was still teaching?”
“Sneaky, I know, but it was necessary. I called some parents and grandparents and we found out when the next school board meeting was. I’ve never been involved with a school before now, but with PJ in kindergarten, I felt like it was time to become active. If women like Tabitha Lester, who doesn’t even have a child in this school district can have as much influence as she does, someone needs to get involved, stand up, and call her on her bullshit. Grace, Jayne, and Rachel are here for moral support, since they have kids, too.” The girls all nodded when she turned to look at them. “Teresa said she would’ve been here, too, but little Isabella has a respiratory infection and she didn’t want to leave her.”
Maizy nodded in understanding. “Poor baby. That happens when they have older siblings in school. But why are we here?” she asked as Lucy motioned her to one of the back rows where there were still seats available.
Several of the attendees turned, and when they saw her, they came to greet her. Many of the people she spoke to were the parents of kids she’d taught in years past or in the current year, but none of them would tell her what was going on.
The president of the school board called the meeting to order and that was when Maizy noticed Beverly Dumphrey, still looking frail, being accompanied to her seat on the board by her husband.
Maizy let out a deep breath and took a sip from the sweet creamy coffee Heath had handed to her moments before. She smiled when she tasted it and blew him a kiss. It was perfect and such a small thing was a big comfort.
Several minutes passed, with various school district business being handled. Then the school board president acknowledged the high attendance that night and opened the meeting to comments from the floor, after reminding the attendees to be brief if possible.
Lucy rose from her seat and walked to the front. She identified herself as the parent of a student in kindergarten and mentioned that she was also related to Maizy through marriage.
She shared her experience with Maizy as PJ’s teacher and then said, “We have lost an excellent teacher because of an anonymous threat, delivered by a gutless jackal. Maizy was forced to resign because of personal decisions she’s made that had no bearing on this school or her students, when she was faced with the threat of defaming pictures being sent to the national news networks. She resigned her position to save Divine, and this school district, from being dragged through the mud. Ladies and gentlemen, what Maizy does consensually in the privacy of her home is no one’s business but Maizy’s. I strongly protest the resignation of Maizy Owen and ask the board to do something about this situation.”
Maizy sat in stunned silence. She’d never imagined that someone would stand up for her publicly, especially when the issue at hand involved an alternative lifestyle that wasn’t widely understood or accepted outside their circle. She waited for the frowns, the questioning stares from members of the audience.
Amber’s grandfather, Rudy, took the podium next. Normally so soft-spoken and congenial, he leveled his gaze on each of the board members and said, “Instead of expecting our hardworking teachers to cower under such threats, we should be working diligently to find the culprit behind this anonymous threat that cost my granddaughter her beloved teacher. I must protest this resignation that was given under duress. Divine, Texas, is better than this.”
Jasmine’s mother stood before the board, obviously nervous as her voice and hands shook, and explained that Maizy had taken extra time to tutor her daughter the year before. The sweet memory tugged at Maizy’s heart as she recalled the morning Jasmine had read her first sentence all on her own. A light had entered her eyes along with the knowledge of what she’d done, a
nd her struggles to read had turned the corner and she’d gone on to be one of the best readers in the class.
“Jasmine is now thriving as a reader in Ms. Gaylord’s first grade class. How can you so easily let a dedicated teacher go? How can you not defend her against such victimization? I hate that Miss Owen has resigned but understand that she must follow her heart. I don’t see why she can’t have both the love of her heart and the job she loves. I respectfully request that she be reinstated as kindergarten teacher.”
Woody Porter stood to all six and a half feet of his white-haired glory, a mild smile on his face, and walked slowly, with dignity, to the podium as though he was about to give an inaugural address. He’d even dressed in his stately black Western suit for the occasion.
“Many things are wrong with this world, folks, and it’s no secret that it’s trickled down to our institutions of learning. Schools with metal detectors and security guards. Babies having babies. Violence. Drugs.” He paused, letting his words settle, gazed at each board member, and then scanned the crowd, seeming to enjoy the way some of the attendees squirmed under his attention before he continued.
“But it’s a damned crying shame when a quality teacher who is widely admired by her peers is forced to quit her job because some anonymous person doesn’t like how she expresses love, or who she loves. Miss Owen thought more of her elementary school than she thought of the years she spent earning her master’s degree, or the time that she spent learning how to teach young children, or the time, and money, and effort, and heart she put into her job every day. She was the first teacher my granddaughter Ruby ever had and she was wonderful. Ruby told me every day how much she loved being in Miss Owen’s class.
“Having known Miss Owen myself for quite some time,” he said as he turned and looked right at Maizy with a smile on his aged-but-still-handsome face before looking back at the board members. “I can tell you this young woman has a special and unique gift for teaching children. If we let her go, she’ll still teach elsewhere because it’s the work she was called to do. Her talent is God-given. It shouldn’t be squelched from its best expression, in a classroom full of young minds ready to learn, because of fear of anonymous reprisal.”
The last two words were practically shouted and several school board members seemed to shrink under his scrutiny, while others nodded in agreement. The crowd broke into conversation until the president called the room back to order. Doug Woodworth got the president’s attention and he recognized Doug and welcomed him to speak.
“Can someone please tell me the specific circumstances that are under question? I know Miss Owen resigned but didn’t know the issues involved. I understand, from whispers up here, that there was an anonymous threat and that there were incriminating photos taken on private property. What did she do that was so bad to warrant this action?”
Heat filled Maizy’s cheeks and she prayed the floor tiles would split wide and swallow her up. The last thing she wanted was for her love life to be discussed in a school board meeting.
Woody looked at Doug, leaned toward the microphone, and said, “She fell in love.”
Doug blinked. “She fell in love, Woody?”
Woody nodded. “Evidently falling in love is a crime when it suits some people, who prefer to remain anonymous.”
Doug leaned his elbow on his desk and rubbed his forehead. “Is she married? Are we talking about adultery?”
“No, sir.”
At his wit’s end, Doug finally said, “Can someone please tell me why this is an issue at all?”
Cody, Spencer, and Heath all stood and Doug squinted at the three of them and said, “Woody, do these men have something to do with this issue?”
Woody turned and looked at them, grinned, and said, “Ah, there they are. The root of our dilemma.” Cody laid his hand on Maizy’s shoulder and stroked her, obviously aware of her nervousness.
Growing exasperated, Doug said, “What? Are they fighting over her? Causing problems?”
Maizy jumped from her seat. She couldn’t allow them to take the brunt of everyone’s scrutiny alone. “They love me! And I love them. We’re committed to each other. Engaged. That’s all.”
Doug’s eyebrows rose a bit. “This is over a ménage?”
Woody cleared his throat and chuckled. “Crazy, ain’t it? Can we put a stop to this silliness and ask this young lady if she’d like to be reinstated?” Several attendees clapped and voiced approval while others turned curious looks to the four of them. A few looked a little disgruntled.
Beverly Dumphrey got Doug’s attention and he put his hand over his microphone. They talked for a minute while the audience waited. Maizy heard her ex-sister-in-law Elizabeth mentioned, along with the words “local church secretary,” and “breach of confidence.” The only troublemaking church secretary she knew of was Tabitha Lester.
Mrs. Dumphrey paled as she spoke and looked quite ill by the time she was done. Several board members kept glancing at the audience and it was obvious that more was being said than needed to be shared in a public meeting. It was possible that some of the board members were drawing the same conclusions that her friends Ace and Kemp were drawing in their investigation. That Tabitha Lester had taken it up on herself to rid Divine of one of a growing number of ménages, without success, and had cost them a devoted teacher in the process. The din of voices grew until the meeting was called to order again.
The school board president addressed the assembly. “Information has been provided that sheds new light on the subject of Miss Owen’s resignation which bears investigation. We appreciate all your comments and will definitely take them under advisement. It needs to be said that while we have no desire to draw negative attention from the media, neither do we condone the victimization of innocent teachers. We will be in touch with Miss Owen to discuss the situation in greater detail and thank you for your attendance tonight.”
With the rest of the meeting and discussion to be conducted in private, the crowd rose and filtered out through the doors.
Cody slid his arms around her and said, “Well, angel, we’ve gone about as public as we can now.”
* * * *
Later that night, Spencer sat with his feet up on the coffee table in the living room with the rest of the guys watching television. At least that’s what they probably looked like they were doing. Spencer could tell that all three of them were focused more on the phone conversation Maizy was currently having with the school board president. She’d paled when her phone had rung and she’d recognized the number calling but Spencer had been confident as she’d answered the call. They’d be crazy not to beg her to come back.
After ending the call, she returned to her spot in Cody’s lap and grinned when Heath turned the television off and they gave her their attention.
“They want me back.”
“What did you tell them?” Heath asked.
“I told them I’d return and complete the school year with them but I wouldn’t commit to stay permanently. I want to explore opportunities that don’t leave me in a vulnerable position in the future. Next year, the kindergarten parents may not be as open-minded and accepting as this year’s batch and that would be true of each successive year. I don’t want to go through this again. He also told me they’ve gotten to the root of the anonymous threat. Mrs. Dumphrey revealed that it was Tabitha Lester who gathered the photos and delivered them with the note to the office. Mrs. Dumphrey offered her apologies to the board and tendered her resignation, stating that she’d allowed her personal feelings to cloud her judgment and that she no longer felt she was fit to sit on the board. She’ll be retiring from teaching at the end of the school year, too.”
Cody grunted and hugged her. “Ace and Kemp will be interested to learn about that.”
“I didn’t tell the school board president that, but I’m all for letting Ace and Kemp handle this.”
Cody nodded and said, “I appreciate the approach that Ace and Kemp are taking. The head of the snake was
removed once before, when your ex-sister-in-law was revealed as the culprit in all those online attacks, and the assault on Summer and Discretion. Tabitha evidently just stepped into Elizabeth’s shoes and took over where she left off. They want to make sure that someone else won’t just follow in Tabitha’s footsteps. We can’t ever hope for complete acceptance in the community but we can deal with libel, slander, and assault and make it clear we’ll stand up to bullying. It irks me that up to this point, Tabitha has gone largely unchallenged, but it was necessary.”
Maizy reached up to stroke Cody’s jaw as she said, “Lucy told me that a friend of hers believes that Tabitha Lester has bigger secrets hiding in her closet than any of us.” She looked down and giggled when she noticed that Cody was unbuttoning her blouse. “What are you doing?”
Spencer and Heath smiled and Cody replied, “Checking to see if you’re abiding by the no panty rule.”
“Is that a fact?” she asked in a husky voice as she reached back and unbuttoned her skirt. “I’ll have you know I was a good girl this morning.”
Heath growled in appreciation. “No panties?”
Cody peeled the skirt and blouse off of her, revealing the truth. All she wore was a sexy push-up bra, her black high heels, and the black lace catsuit. Spencer’s eyes were riveted to her as she slowly strutted around the couch and reached for something from her tote bag on the counter. She looked behind her as she worked with the back of the lace bodysuit and then she slipped the plastic headband with kitty ears into her hair and purred.
“Rowr.”
Spencer nearly choked on his beer.
The three of them were mesmerized as she sauntered down the hall toward the master bedroom, casually swinging her long black velvet tail in her hand. She looked over her shoulder, a come-hither look in her eyes, and said, “Pet the pussycat?”
They got up so fast the furniture slid on the living room tile.
In the bedroom, they found her lighting candles. The three of them undressed and Maizy reached for Spencer and said, “I want my bears. All three of you. Now.” She tugged at his hand and whispered, “Lie down for me.”