Valentine Wishes (Baxter Academy Book 1)

by Jane Charles

  “I want it to last,” he whispers.

  “Me too.” My eyes mist, which is so not like me but I think he’s a bit teary eyed too. This is what happens when two souls meet.

  He thrusts deeps and hold him there, wishing to suspend time, but we can’t make it last. My body won’t allow it and I’m fairly certain his won’t either. Once again Brett brushes against my clit and the little jolts of a pending orgasm spike through me. I raise and then move down, his thumb working against me as I take him in over and over. He thickens and just as I’m about to explode, he thrusts deep as he sends me over the edge yet again. Totally spent, I fall against him and Brett rubs his hand up and down my back.

  “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” he whispers into my hair.

  Jackie and I have hung out every day and night. I really can’t stay away from her. But, that’s all about to end soon since I return to my job the day after tomorrow. But, I did manage to find a house, finally!

  It’s a rental, for a year, and available for immediate move in. I’m not ready for a mortgage yet, but I really need my own place. As great as Jackie’s office is, her grandmother has been complaining that we spend too much time up there, then gives me what I’ve decided is the stink eye. If I hadn’t been raised to respect my elders, or been a Scout most of my life, I would have asked her where she expected us to hang out alone and have sex. That would have probably pissed her off, and embarrassed Jackie. Geez. It’s not like we are kids. We are both consenting adults. But, I get that Mrs. Baxter’s old fashioned and since we won’t be anywhere near Baxter most of the time, she doesn’t need to know how much of it is spent in my new house.

  Jackie’s relaxed since Theo hasn’t really said anything to make her worried. Just going about his business and planning the school. She started online classes and has to go into the city two times a week. It’s a long train ride but it’s better than her living there. I’d never see her then.

  Today, I’m moving in. My uncle and aunt are helping, as is Jackie and Theo. I don’t have that much furniture, yet, but I did go buy a bed. Hey, I’ve got to sleep somewhere. It’s not a big place, but I’ve got a couple of spare rooms, large kitchen and roomy living room. I’m living alone and don’t need all that much. The only other person who will be here is Jackie. Though, I did make sure there was a spare bedroom, and it has furniture too, and then wrote to my sister. It’s my turn to take her in, if she’s ready to move on. It’s been over a year. She’s got to be getting better and she needs to work.

  Not that I’ll push Claire, but she can’t just keep going from my family member to another for the rest of her life.

  “Well, that’s it.” My uncle Brett brushes his hands together and looks around. “Furniture is put together and in it’s place. Nothing left to do unless you want help unpacking boxes.”

  “I’ve got it.” I’m ready for them to leave. Especially since Jackie is busy making the bed upstairs. “Thanks for all of your help, Uncle Quinn, Aunt Helen and Theo.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to fix up your kitchen?”

  I’d think my aunt was serious if Uncle Quinn wasn’t biting his lower lip. They know I want everyone the hell out of here so I can be alone with Jackie. “That’s okay. I got this,” I assure her. “Besides, don’t you have a small army you need to get home to?”

  “I just hope the house is still standing,” Uncle Quinn grumbles affectionately. He loves those kids. Every last one of them. The adopted as much as his own son. I wouldn’t be surprised if more weren’t adopted in the future. Some people bring home stray kittens and puppies. My aunt and uncle bring home stray children.

  “Tell Grams that I’ll be back tomorrow for the meeting, but I’m going to stay and get Brett settled.”

  “That’s what your generation is calling it?” he teases, which Jackie does not appreciate if the anger that flashes in her eyes is any indication.

  “Theo…” she warns.

  “Fine.” He rolls his eyes. “Just make sure you are there on time. I’m counting on your vote.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Finally, they are all out the door and I can close it. I flip the lock. “So they don’t come back in.” Then open my arms to Jackie.

  “How does it feel to finally have your own place again?”

  “It will feel better once it’s christened properly.” Then I toss her over my shoulder and head down the hall. “Starting with the bedroom.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Brett doesn’t have a vote, but he’s here for moral support. He was at the last family gathering which was a picnic and meeting combined and he should be at this one. Besides, he’s a part of me. Or, at least it’s beginning to feel that way.

  We’ve eaten and the large picnic table cleaned off. Theo has placed the diorama the architect designed in the middle of the table and Gram has passed out the reports listing the costs, needs, plans and where the money is going to come from. She’s asking a lot and we all know it. Theo is pacing behind her, but it’s Gram who will speak. The family won’t be so quick to dismiss her.

  I’m barely listening to her. Instead I’m watching the faces, trying to get a feel for their thoughts. Besides, I already know the plans. They are good, solid and costly.

  “I don’t know, Mom,” my Uncle Charles finally says. “This will be year round, more students, and so many guidelines and rules we must follow. I’m not sure we can.”

  “Of course we can,” she comes back. “If I didn’t think we could I wouldn’t have done all of this work.”

  Their eyes shift to Theo. I can almost hear what they are thinking. She’s coddling him again and not making wise decisions.

  “I can’t make a decision today. It’s going to take time for me to go through everything,” my Uncle Robert insists.

  “Who would we even get to run the place?” demanded my Aunt Cheryl.

  “Jackie,” grandmother answers with confidence.

  “She’s not even done with school and has no experience.”

  This is one question I am prepared for. “By the time the school is finished, I will have gotten my Masters. I’ll have some teaching behind me.”

  “You already turned down one job. When are you going to get experience?” My Aunt Susan asks and I’m a bit offended.

  “I’m taking classes now. I didn’t think it was wise to work during my first semester while I was getting a feel for how the courses were going to be.”

  Her eyes shift to Theo and then she practically rolls them. Since when has my family not been supportive of Theo? This is starting to piss me off.

  “I get the reasons for not making Theo finish school,” my Uncle Charles begins calmly. “And, that we aren’t going to force him to go to college to get his portion of the trust.”

  Theo narrows his eyes on them.

  “But this is a pipe dream, his dream, and it could ruin us.”

  Theo stiffens and he clenches his fist. When did my family become a bunch of jerks? Were they always this way? Were they just being selfish with the money? It would cost them all, but they’ll still have a couple of fucking million in the bank.

  “I’m not even sure we have the money to start this project. At least not until spring, but by then, we’ll be spending it for the camp.”

  “Not if you are building. There won’t be a camp,” Theo reminds them.

  “So, you want to get rid of my father’s dream for yours. What are those kids supposed to do next summer, and the one after that, until the school is built?”

  “I don’t know, but the school is more than a camp that these kids get to attend a few weeks out of every year.”

  “It’s a lot, Theo. These kids need a lot of help. I’m not sure we are equipped to take on their education, mental and physical health. The liabilities alone, the insurance we would need, could cripple us financially,” Uncle Robert points out.

  “So, that’s it. You are all more worried about the money than the kids Grandpa
wanted to help. Of having a little less, while these kids have fucking nothing.”

  “Language!” Aunt Cheryl warns.

  “It’s not just about the money,” Uncle Robert cajoles. “It’s everything. Too big for us.”

  “Some people thought the camp was too big,” Grandma says. “But my husband did it anyway. Someone said the Living History, for free, was too much, but your grandfather did it anyway. Some said that helping support the town during the Depression was impossible and would ruin the family, but they did it anyway. What is wrong with you? Nothing is ever too big or too much for a Baxter.”

  My grandmother doesn’t need to be getting excited. She’s still recovering from surgery and her heart isn’t as strong as it used to be.

  Brett comes close and leans in. He’s been standing in the back, not saying anything until now. “I’m going to go up to the house and get your grandmother’s meds, just in case.”

  I just nod. She had an attack last time we met and that meeting went a lot better than this one was at the moment, yet my boyfriend seems to be the only other person worried about upsetting her.

  “Mark, you haven’t said anything. What do you think?” Grams says.

  I try not to hold my breath but I do. Uncle Mark is the one who runs the camp, with his wife, Emily. They are both social workers within the school district in New York; that’s how they met.

  “I think it’s an excellent idea.”

  His comment stuns everyone into silence.

  “I’ve worked with these kids. Emily has worked with these kids. Our summers are spent here and the rest of the time we are in New York, helping all kinds of kids just like the ones who come here. I wish we could make the school twice the size, but I get that we should start small.” He looks up at Theo. “You have the full support of me and Emily and we will do whatever you need to make this happen.”

  “But the cost,” Uncle Charles starts again.

  “Is nothing compared to these kids’ lives.” Uncle Mark cuts him off. “We are not going to go broke, if that is what you are worried about. Since when does a Baxter concern themselves with money anyway? We are blessed which is why it is required that we give, not that anyone one of us has been forced to write a check. We’ve done it willingly because that’s what’s expected of us and what we expect of ourselves.” I knew Uncle Mark was passionate about his work, but I didn’t realize how strongly until now. “We take risks. This is a risk. And if you had spent half the time at the camp as Emily and I do, you would realize how necessary this is. If I didn’t think father wouldn’t be the first to vote yes, I’d hold back, but he would want this us much as Theo. To not make the camp an even better place, let it evolve into a school, is a discredit to his memory.”

  The rest of my family seem to sink back into themselves. Maybe they had forgotten the purpose of Baxter and Grandfather’s dreams. Grandpa always wanted to make the lives better for those who needed it and damn the cost. I think they are all beginning to remember that now.

  “Let me look over the reports. I can’t make a decision sitting here,” Uncle Robert finally says.

  “I’ll do the same.” Uncle Charles blows out a sigh.

  “Julie? Lisa?” Grandmother asks. They are the two youngest daughters and haven’t said anything yet. Finally Lisa shrugs. “We’ll go along with whatever.”

  “Dad would have liked the idea,” Julie says.

  Those two have never really committed to much of anything other than huge fundraisers. But since they manage to bring a shit load of money into the foundation every quarter, nobody really makes them do or say anything.

  “I’d like to look at the reports before I decide though,” Aunt Julie adds.

  Since when did Aunt Julie have an opinion on anything? Hopefully Uncle Mark can sway her. The more bothersome something becomes the more she will just want someone to deal with it. Maybe he can convince her to just give him her proxy vote so she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.

  Uncle Robert stands. “We’ll meet next Sunday for further discussion and ask questions if we have any and then vote.”

  Grandmother just nods her head, though her lips are tight.

  Brett pulls back down the lane and Grandmother marches to his car and opens the door without a goodbye to anyone.

  The others take their reports, gather up their dishes and kids and head home, leaving me and Theo standing with Uncle Mark and Aunt Emily. They come up to us.

  “You do have my full support, Theo. I will do whatever I can to make this happen. I’ll even leave my job to work there, if that is what it takes.”

  Beside him Emily is nodding her head.

  I just hope they can convince the others of go along with it too. If the school is voted down, I don’t know what will happen to Theo. The very idea scares the hell out of me.

  “Thanks, it means a lot. It really does,” Theo finally says then walks away. His head is down and his hands are shoved in his front pockets. He can’t give up. I won’t let him.

  Mrs. Baxter is venting from the moment she sits in my car and until I escort her into the house. I think she’s going to stomp into her room, but she goes into the kitchen and grabs a bottle of Scotch out of a top cupboard. The bottle is pretty dusty, but I don’t think Scotch gets old, as in going bad old. Though, a half empty bottle might be different than an unopened cask.

  She drops ice into two glasses and then pours.

  “Should you be drinking that?”

  “I don’t give a damn right now.”

  Okay then. I had no idea the old-fashioned, respectable Mrs. Baxter had a cussing and drinking side to her.

  “My husband would be so disappointed in them. It makes me sick.” She takes a drink.

  “Not all of them,” I remind her.

  “True, but enough. Since when did my family start seeing dollar signs before problems? We raised them better than this. What happened?”

  “I’m sure they are just concerned that it’s done right.” I’m really not sure what to say to her. And, is it even my place?

  “That’s part of it, but they also like money in the bank. A lot of it. The Foundation could survive ten years without a deposit and they’d all be fine.”

  As I have no idea how much it costs to run the art camp, I have no clue to how much money she’s talking about.

  “Of course the school would deplete some of those funds, but it’s worth that risk, and nobody would starve.”

  “Maybe when they have time to think about it, they’ll come around. It’s a big project.”

  “They’ve had time to think about it. I haven’t exactly been secretive about what I’m working on.”

  “Time,” I suggest again and take a drink. The scotch is like butter over my tongue with just a little burn as it goes down my throat. Smooth. Very smooth.

  “Well.” She practically slams her glass on the table. “They’ve all forgotten one thing.”

  “That is?”

  “I hold the majority on any Foundation business. 51% and they split the rest. If I decide we are going to have a school and I want to spend every last dime, I will and there isn’t a damn thing they can do about it but go along.”

  “Then why the vote?”

  “It’s important that everyone take part in all discussions and votes, and think through the issues. I had hoped they’d learn something by now.”

  “Don’t get yourself worked up, Grandma,” Theo says as he’s coming in the back door. Jackie is right behind him. “It will all work out.”

  She frowns at him. “I know it will. I’m just disappointed in my kids.”

  Theo just shrugs. “It’ll be fine.” He bends and kisses her one the cheek. “Thanks for trying.”

  “Where are you going?” Jackie asks a bit alarmed when Theo starts sauntering from the kitchen.

  He turns and rolls his eyes. “A headache is coming on. I’m going to take something and go to bed.”

  “Are you okay?” The worry is deep in Jackie’s eye
s.

  “I’m fine. Really. Disappointed, but it will work out as it should.”

  “What does he mean by that?” Jackie finally asks after he’s gone.

  “That he’s more positive than you right now,” her grandmother says.

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Theo’s been in bed since Sunday. This is Thursday and I hope he manages to get out of bed today. Since the meeting he’s been under the covers and the curtains drawn. I’ve checked on him twice as much as I usually do, much to his irritation, but I had to make sure he was okay. It was one of the debilitating ones, where he can’t function and the pain makes him throw up. All I can assume is the stress of the Sunday meeting brought it on. When Theo gets stressed, he gets headaches, so we need to limit the stressors in his life. How to do that, I have no clue. Three days is a long time and we are going on four, assuming he doesn’t make an appearance downstairs. The longest one he ever suffered from was a week. Grandma had been about to finally call an ambulance when he finally emerged from his room. All he can do at times like this is not move and sleep and try to get through what Theo calls another migraine from hell.

  Even though it’s not unusual for him to be in bed for a few days like this, I still skipped my Tuesday class, emailing an excuse to my instructor. I can’t leave him. Not now. Not until the vote on Sunday. If it doesn’t go his way, Theo may lose it and I have to be here for him.

  I’ve taken over helping Grandma with the plans for the school. She intends to go ahead whether the family agrees or not, though she is really hoping they do. Uncle Mark and Aunt Emily have been emailing almost constantly what they know about private schools, schools for gifted artists, schools for kids who have been in trouble, schools for kids with mental health problems, and the list goes on and on. We’re making lists of what they all have in common, that makes them successful, the guidelines that we need to reach for the state of New York to be accredited, the classes that must be taught, the ones we can skip because of the type of school, the number of students we think we can take on, types of dorms, diets, the number of therapists per student ratio.