Bayview Heights Trilogy (64 page)

Erica listened carefully as Julia spun her
tale. A master storyteller, she didn’t miss a detail—how great Ms.
C looked in her French jeans and chic haircut, how Rad Ransom was
fawning over her as usual, how upset Mr. Taylor was. But she
concentrated on that bastard Lansing. “He looked like hell,” Julia
said, gloating.

“Good.” This from Ashley.

“Maybe he doesn’t even need a spell.” Rachel
was frowning.

“The spell is for Ms. C.” Julia’s tone was
wise. “To give her fortitude.”

“The son of a bitch has his nerve showing his
face in Bayview after what he did to her.” Rachel’s indictment was
diluted by an attack of hiccups.

Julia shook her head. “It gets worse. He’s
here to stay.”

That propelled Erica out of her seat. “No, he
can’t do that to Ms. Caufield.”

“He can, and he is. I followed Ms. C and Rad
Ransom down the hall and listened to them talk. The creep’s opening
that clinic he was trying to get started last year, and he’s moving
here.”

“What happened with him and his wife?”
Shelley wanted to know.

“They split. Again.”

Erica started to pace. “Damn it all. This is
going to be hard on Ms. Caufield. I can’t believe it.”

Ms. C was so-o-o important to her. Erica
thought back to how much the teacher had been a part of her life.
She’d taken Erica under her wing when Erica was just a
freshman…

“It must be hard growing up without your
mother, Erica.” Ms. C had walked her to the door after a health
class where Erica had talked about her mother’s death five years
ago.

Erica had just nodded, embarrassed but
entranced by the kind and sophisticated teacher.

“Well, honey, if you ever need to talk, I’m
here…”

So, for four years Erica had talked. She’d
gotten advice on everything from prom dresses to how to cook
spaghetti to why high-school boys were such dorks. Now she loved
the woman like a mother.

Julia was still giving details. “Then Ms.
Lansing took her out to lunch. Ms. C looked okay by the time they
left.”

“You...waited?” Rachel asked. Hiccups
punctuated her question.

“Uh-huh. Skulking in comers like an Agatha
Christie character. I thought I might have to call out the team to
come to our fearless leader’s aid.”

“Oh, sure.” This from Ashley. “She doesn’t
even know we know what happened.”

“Yes, she does.” Erica faced her friends.
“She figured we knew because we were so mean to Lansing when we
bumped into him and his brother at the pizza parlor that
night.”

“He’s lucky we didn’t burn down his New York
clinic when he left her,” Julia said. “‘Course we could do it to
this new one.”

“Or you could shoot out all the windows,
Erica.”

“Now there’s an idea.” Erica’s father had
insisted she learn how to use the arsenal he housed in a cabinet in
the den, and the girls were always ribbing her about it. Truth be
told, the guns scared her silly.

“Or Julia could make a voodoo doll of
him.”

“Stop. Voodoo’s crank stuff. Wicca’s
real
.”

“Whatever we do, we should keep our contempt
from Ms. C,” Ashley said. “You know how she hates us prying.”

Shelley stood and stretched. “Isn’t it stupid
how teachers think they can keep their personal lives a secret?
Kids know everything.”

“Speaking of which...Evan got some dope on
Mr. Cramer.” Ashley let the teaser hang.

“Creepy Cramer? What?” Julia’s cat eyes shone
with interest.

But Erica tuned out the gossip about the phys
ed teacher’s suspicious behavior with a female student. Instead,
she recalled Ms. Caufield’s caring attitude, not only for
Caufield’s Chicks, but all the kids she taught. She’d been there
for all of them.

Pouring herself another glass of champagne,
Erica hoped the doctor
was
suffering. Big time. He
deserved it.

o0o

ZOE TURNED HER BACK to the scene across the
room because it was too painful to watch Kurt, nestled in one of
the Taylors’ big stuffed chairs, holding Alexandra on his lap and
reading her one of her favorite Tommy de Paolo books. The little
girl cuddled into him, grasping a fistful of his green thermal
shirt as she sucked a finger. It brought to the surface shared
longings that Zoe had forced herself to suppress.

I wanted more kids
, he’d told her as
they’d lounged on her couch once night, watching the waves break
along the bay.

Really?

Elizabeth wouldn’t ruin her figure
again.

How foolish.

He hadn’t said any more, just caressed Zoe’s
stomach gently, kissed it and proceeded to make tender love to her
right there on her glassed-in back porch.

The following week, he’d gone back to his
wife.

She’d just heaped hors d’oeuvres she didn’t
want onto a plate when Zoe saw Seth approach. “Getting enough to
eat?”

“Yes.” She sniffed the blend of Mexican and
Italian aromas appreciatively. “Lacey outdid herself.”

Seth’s eyes literally glowed at the mention
of his wife. It made something inside of Zoe shift. He glanced over
to where Lacey sat with Cassie, each holding one of the twin
birthday boys on her lap. “She amazes me. We have help during the
day, but she still manages to give the little guys a bath and put
them all to bed every night.”

“She’s not working full-time, is she?” Lacey
was the editor of the
Herald
, Bayview’s newspaper. She and
Seth had met when she’d taken over the position from her
grandfather and written some inflammatory articles about the high
school.

“No, Philip has been a big help.” He nodded
at Lacey’s grandfather. “And she’s hired some new people, too.”

Seth beamed at the good fortune in his
life.

Zoe returned the smile.

“How about you?” he asked. “How are you? I
came down to see you this week a couple of times, but you were
busy.”

“First week of school is always hectic.”

“Zoe?” Seth’s earnest blue eyes and the years
of friendship they’d shared made her thaw a little.

“I’m coping, Seth. That’s the most that can
be expected with Kurt in my life again.”

“I’m sorry about how this shook out.”

She watched Kurt throw back his head and
laugh at something Alexandra said.

You’ve got the nicest laugh.

He’d chuckled against her breasts.
Not
exactly what a man wants to hear in bed
.

Her hand had slid beneath the covers.
Hmm, that’s pretty impressive, too
.

“Lacey didn’t want me to invite him today,”
Seth told her.

“Oh, please, don’t let this cause trouble
between you and your wife. I’m already worried about Cassie and
Mitch fighting over my situation.”

“Cassie and Mitch can work through their
differences. And Lacey and I never fight. God, I love that
woman.”

Zoe felt the sting of loss. She scanned the
room to dilute it and saw Philip stand and move toward them. Though
over eighty, there was a spring in his step and a glint in his
eyes. “Nice birthday party for my boys, son,” he said, clasping
Seth on the shoulder. No one would ever guess Philip had been
vehemently opposed to Seth’s relationship with his granddaughter a
few years ago; Philip’s objection had almost kept Lacey and Seth
apart. “Thanks, Philip.”

“Can we talk shop a minute?”

Zoe said, “I’ll go keep the girls
company.”

“No, Zoe, stay.” Philip’s gaze flicked to
Seth. “We got a problem with the board.”

The happiness in Seth’s eyes dimmed “No
kidding. And his name is Jerry Bosco.”

It was still hard to believe that the worst
teacher in the school, whom Seth had coerced into retirement, had
run for and won a seat on the school board.

Philip continued, “Leonard says Bosco’s
making a big stink about Zoe’s courses.” Formerly a strong opponent
of Seth’s policies, board member Leonard Small had done a complete
turnaround and had happily become a member of Philip’s Gray Posse,
a group that had evolved out of the Good Deeds activities at the
high school. It consisted of more than twenty senior citizens who
were now an active force in town politics and school-related
issues.

“My
health
electives?” Zoe
asked.

“Yes. They’re a little too liberal for
Bosco’s taste—not back-to-basics enough. And he’s going after them
on numbers.”

“Numbers? I have a full enrollment.”

“That’s the problem. He thinks the cutoff is
too low. Either more kids should take the courses, or they should
be abolished. Preferably the latter.” Philip scowled. “The jackass
says they’re not cost-effective.”

“With all my other classes, I can’t supervise
more than fifteen students per semester in an intensive program
like this.”

Seth said, “Jerry’s out to get the high
school.”

“Damn.” She faced Philip. “What can we do
about this?”

“I suggest you attend the board meeting
Tuesday night. There’s an open forum for the community and staff,
and Leonard’s sure this will come up.” Philip angled his head
across the room. “And have Lansing come, too. His clinic will play
a vital role in this program.”

Zoe swallowed hard and locked gazes with
Seth.

Seth said, “I’ll go talk to him.”

Philip nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

Both men headed toward Kurt.

Zoe made a beeline for the kitchen; unnoticed
in the doorway, she watched her two best friends at the counter
refilling trays. Zoe smiled at how different they were. Lacey was
slender and small, with delicate features, amber eyes and soft
blond hair. Cassie was tall and big-boned, with wild dark hair
always escaping its braid and large blue-gray eyes. She hadn’t yet
lost all the weight from having a baby six months ago.

“We didn’t have much choice, Cass,” Lacey was
saying.

Attacking a cucumber, Cassie scowled. “Damn
it, it’s bad enough he’s living with us.”

“All right you two.” Zoe said firmly. “Time
for some girl talk!’

Both women looked up with startled gazes.
Even Cassie blushed. “Zoe, we—”

“You guys have to stop this.” Zoe crossed to
the island counter, snagged a carrot stick and popped it into her
mouth. It was cold and crunchy.

Cassie sniffed. “Stop what?”

“This vendetta against Kurt.”

“It isn’t a vendetta,” Cassie said. “We’re
just really pissed off at him.”

Lacey asked, “Aren’t you, Zoe? Still
mad?”

Retrieving a bottle of wine from the fridge,
she poured herself a glass and topped up her friends’.

“Zoe?”

“I never was mad at him, Lace. I was hurt,
but not angry. He made what he thought was the right choice. That
it turned out to be wrong only makes me feel bad for him.”

Zoe and Cassie exchanged worried looks.

“You aren’t thinking of...” Cassie frowned.
“Zoe, you wouldn’t take him back, would you?”

“No, of course not. I could never trust him
again. I couldn’t live with that kind of uncertainty.” She perched
on a stool as did the other two. “The first time Drew and I split,
I succumbed to pressure from my parents to give him another chance
and it was the blackest period in my life.” Both women knew Zoe’s
marriage had ended because of Drew’s infidelity.

“Oh, Zoe.” Lacey’s eyes were
compassionate.

“I was never sure if he was seeing her again,
if he regretted corning back to me. I knew he’d gotten pressure
from his parents, too. Finally I decided it wasn’t worth the grief.
I’d never give Kurt the chance to hurt me like that.”

Just then Mitch came to the doorway; he
leaned against the jamb, hands in the pockets of his slacks, eyeing
his wife. “If I come in, am I going to get something thrown at
me?”

“Of course not,” Lacey said.

“Don’t bet on it, big guy.” Cassie flicked
back her braid and shot him a full-of-temper glare.

Mitch gave an amused grin. “Then I won’t take
any chances. I wanted to know if I should put Camille to bed.”

“Yeah. You can probably handle that.”

“Want to come with me and neck in the
upstairs bedroom?”

That wrung a reluctant grin from Cassie.

“Tell you what,” Zoe said, heading for the
door. “I’ll put Camille to bed, and you two can make up out
here.”

“Good idea,” Lacey said, following her
out.

Mitch grasped Zoe’s arm as she passed him.
The teasing disappeared. “You okay, kid?”

“I’m just great.” She glanced back at Cassie,
who was studying the vegetables as if they were newly discovered
Shakespearean plays. “Go cuddle with your wife.”

Mitch smiled and strode toward the counter as
Zoe and Lacey left.

Out of sight but not earshot, Zoe heard an
ornery groan, then a giggle, then a deep, satisfying sigh come from
the kitchen.

o0o

KURT WAS DRAWN upstairs by some invisible
force; he wasn’t surprised—Zoe had always been a magnet to him,
right from the first day he’d seen her. He was still powerless
against it. And so, when he’d watched her take Camille from Celia,
Philip’s wife, and head up the steps, he’d waited ten minutes, then
followed her.

At the doorway to one of the rooms Seth and
Lacey had added on to their house, Kurt halted. Zoe sat in a rocker
with Camille cradled to her chest. The baby burrowed into the
woman, creating a Madonna-like image. The room smelled like baby
powder. Zoe sang a lullaby in French. It cut him off at the knees.
Of all the things he’d given up in the past year, having another
child ranked right up there as one of the most painful. He sucked
in a breath against the hurt.

His gesture drew her attention. He expected
to see resentment. Maybe revulsion. Instead, she bestowed a warm
smile on him and kissed Camille’s head. “Our godchild’s gotten
big.”

“Yes.”

Would you like to have a baby
someday?