Catching Fireflies (35 page)

She blinked, though he couldn’t be certain if it was because of his tone or the import of what he’d said.

“You’re falling in love with me,” she echoed softly, looking stunned.

“Yes,” he said, his own tone softening. “Don’t ask me how it happened, because I really thought I was immune.”

“Can you get vaccinated for that?” she asked, her tone lighter.

J.C. chuckled. “Not that I know of, or, believe me, I would have.” He reached for her hand and twined her fingers through his. “I can tell I’ve caught you completely off guard, and it’s not as if I’m asking you to tell me you’re madly in love with me or anything like that. I just wanted you to know, it’s serious for me. More serious than I was expecting.”

With her free hand, she caressed his cheek. “It’s way more serious than I was expecting, too.”

“So we’re both committed to whatever this is?” he asked, wanting to be sure.

Smiling, she nodded. “I’m committed to whatever this is.”

J.C. sat back with a sigh. For the first time in years, he felt an amazing sense of contentment steal over him. Apparently, when the right woman came along, commitment wasn’t half as terrifying as he’d been thinking all this time. If only there weren’t this nagging thought in the back of his mind that even something that felt so right could still end very, very badly.

* * *

Laura was in the middle of a test with her second period class when one of the secretaries from the office came in. “Mrs. Donovan wants to see you right away. I’ll stay here and monitor the class, if that’s okay.”

Laura nodded. “They’re taking a test,” she said, then raised her voice, “so there’s to be no talking.”

“Got it,” Cathy said. “Leave ’em to me.”

Since Laura knew she’d actually been a drill sergeant in the army before retiring to Serenity with her husband, she figured Cathy could control a roomful of teenagers.

In the office, she found Betty with Helen. They were looking at a thick sheaf of papers.

“Uh-oh,” Laura said nervously. “What’s going on?”

“Mariah’s claimed to the school board that you both should be fired,” Helen said, her voice tight. “It’s all ridiculous, of course, but she’s managed to get it on the agenda for this afternoon’s meeting. I think what she really wants is to create such a stir that the board won’t be able to deal with Annabelle’s expulsion. It’s a delaying tactic, nothing more, just the way she managed to wrangle a postponement to get the meeting pushed over to today, rather than yesterday, when Ham originally had scheduled it.”

“But we’ll still have to defend ourselves,” Betty said wearily. “Which will take time.”

Helen shook her head. “Not to worry. I’m all over this. I’ve already spoken to Hamilton Reynolds, who’s fit to be tied. Yes, he can’t afford to sweep this under the rug, but I imagine he can wrap up the discussion in about ten minutes, tops.”

Betty gave her a wry look. “He certainly put me in my place quickly enough when I brought up those charges against Cal several years ago.” She shook her head. “Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You had a few bitter parents who thought Ty Townsend was getting preferential treatment from Cal because he had a relationship with Maddie,” Helen consoled her. “Maybe you went overboard trying to soothe their ruffled feathers, but that’s over and done with. Everyone in town knows you’re a good principal. They also know Laura’s one of the best teachers at the high school. These charges of Mariah’s are nonsense, especially this notion that you two had some kind of vendetta against Annabelle. The suspension of all those boys for bullying pretty much makes mincemeat out of that argument.”

“What do you need from us?” Laura asked.

“Not a thing,” Helen said. “If Mariah wants me to produce all those posts Annabelle put online to prove that she was, in fact, bullying, so be it. They were coming out in court sooner or later, anyway. As a mother, though, I’d have thought she’d prefer later, after tempers in town cool down a bit. The content of those posts doesn’t reflect well on Annabelle or on Mariah’s parenting.”

“This is mostly about the transfer,” Laura guessed. “Remember what Don said, that getting Annabelle into some private boarding school would cost money they don’t have. If Mariah couldn’t find the money, then she’s clearly not one bit happy about having to drag Annabelle over to another district for classes every day. She’s probably grabbing at any straw she can think of to keep her here.”

“Not an option,” Betty said flatly.

Helen confirmed it. “The transfer’s already been approved. Ham put through the paperwork this morning. The Litchfields can choose a different school, but Annabelle won’t be staying here.”

Laura regarded her worriedly. “Without even a public hearing? Could Mr. Reynolds do that on his own?”

“Certain circumstances allow him to act in the best interests of the district,” Helen explained. “And, frankly, he was furious that Mariah managed to get the meeting delayed. He made calls to the other board members after the prosecutor and Chief Rollins explained to him what they felt was in the best interest of the community. Every board member backed him up after what they saw at Saturday’s rally. Every single one of them has privately expressed to me how dismayed they were by what happened. They’ll still take a formal vote this afternoon. That will tidy up any legal loose ends.”

“If I weren’t still so outraged with Annabelle for what she put Misty through, I’d almost feel sorry for her,” Laura said. “She’s just a teenager, and this could change her life.”

“Hopefully for the better,” Helen said, undeterred by any hint of sympathy. “Today’s board meeting is in the auditorium at four o’clock. Can you both be there by 3:30 in case there are any last-minute surprises or details we need to go over?”

“Absolutely,” Betty said. “Are we going to need character witnesses or anything like that?”

“I’ll handle that,” Helen said. “I’ll have a couple of people on standby just in case, but I promise you I don’t think they’re going to be necessary.”

Laura hoped she was right. She’d never in a million years anticipated things going this far just because she’d been trying to protect one student from another’s bullying.

* * *

J.C. had listened quietly as Helen explained why she needed him to attend that afternoon’s emergency school board meeting.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said incredulously when she was finished. “Mariah has actually gone through with this? When the meeting was postponed, I thought she’d had second thoughts.”

Helen shook her head. “She’s not the sort of woman to go down without a fight,” she said wryly. “This is her last-ditch attempt to turn her daughter into the victim of some terrible conspiracy.”

“That’s absurd!”

“Well, of course it is, but it’s hard to ignore someone who’s shouting not only in your ear, but making phone calls to every media contact she has in the region. The school board has no choice but to address these charges and formally take whatever action they feel is warranted.”

“Action? Seriously?” He raked a hand through his hair. “How did this get so completely turned around?”

“Stop fretting,” Helen soothed. “There will be no action, except maybe recognition that Betty and Laura acted totally appropriately. If I were on the board, they’d get an award.”

J.C. nodded. “What kind of testimony do you need from me?”

“Just back up Laura and Betty that this was a serious situation. I’ll only call you if I need to, but we have to be prepared.”

“Oh, I’m prepared,” he said grimly. “Who else are you calling?”

“I’ve spoken to Diana Dawson. She’s eager to speak out. When Misty overheard our conversation, she volunteered. I think she’d be the most compelling witness of all, but I won’t use her unless I absolutely have to. The poor kid’s been through enough.”

“If she wants to do it and you need her, call on her,” J.C. advised. “Every time she has a chance to stand up for herself or someone else, she gets a little stronger.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way,” Helen admitted. “I’ll trust your instincts then. See you this afternoon.”

By the time J.C. walked into the school auditorium, he’d worked up a full head of steam over the absurdity of this entire gathering. Sure, there were a million and one legal reasons things had to be conducted this way, but he considered it a colossal waste of time when the outcome was preordained.

No sooner had he walked in, than Laura caught a glimpse of him. She broke away from the group with whom she was speaking and headed his way, a frown on her face.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’d have been here anyway, but Helen called me,” he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You okay?”

“She says I will be,” she replied, though her hand in his was like ice. “I’m trying to believe her.”

“You can,” J.C. said with confidence. “Nobody’s going to get railroaded here today.”

They were joined by Diana and Misty.

“I’m so sorry you’ve been put in this position,” Diana told Laura.

“Me, too, Ms. Reed,” Misty said. “But don’t worry. We’ve got your back.”

Laura frowned at Misty. “I thought you were coming back to school today, young lady.”

Misty grinned at her mother. “Told you she was going to be ticked.”

Diana flushed guiltily. “After I spoke to Helen about what was happening this afternoon, Les and I decided Misty needed another day away from this atmosphere. Hopefully tempers will have cooled down and things will be back to normal later in the week.”

“I think that was very wise,” J.C. told her approvingly. He nudged Laura in the ribs. “Right?”

Laura smiled weakly. “Of course it was. Sorry, it just makes me so mad that Misty is missing classes because of this.”

“I’ll make up all the work,” Misty promised. “Katie’s bringing over all my assignments later. My grades are not going to suffer, I swear it. Remember what I told you. I’m done letting those jerks mess up my life.”

“Okay, then,” Laura conceded. “I guess I can’t ask for more than that.”

Helen joined them then. “Let’s head down to the front row. I want all of you close by, in case I need to call you up on stage. I still don’t think it will come to that, but I’d like to be prepared.”

As they walked to the front of the auditorium, J.C. kept Laura’s icy hand firmly in his grip. Once they were seated, he leaned closer to whisper, “This is going to turn out okay. Believe that.”

She gave him a surprisingly shaky look. “I want to.”

“Did you not see how much support you have in this room?” he asked incredulously.

She blinked and shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“The place is packed. People are waving signs in support of you and Betty. I detect Liz and Flo’s hand in that. They’re handing them out at the door, and Frances looked to me as if she’s whipping people into a frenzy in the hall outside. Every one of the Sweet Magnolias is out there, too. They have quite a rally going on, in fact.”

“How did I miss all that?” Laura asked.

“I’d like to think it was because you couldn’t take your eyes off me,” J.C. teased, “but I imagine it had more to do with being scared out of your wits.”

“I’m not scared,” she retorted, then sighed. “I’m terrified.”

He lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Don’t be. I’m right here. Just squeeze my hand if you get nervous.”

She gave it a tremulous squeeze.

“There you go,” he said.

“It didn’t make me any less nervous,” she confessed as the microphone on the stage crackled to life.

He leaned closer and sealed his lips over hers, lingering just long enough until he felt a hint of heat in her skin. He smiled as he moved back. “Better?”

“Sure,” she said with a shaky grin. “Now Mariah can come after me on a morals charge.”

J.C. laughed. “Good. Your sense of humor’s intact. I was getting worried.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

“Well, you should have been. You’re a great teacher, and everyone in this room, with the possible exception of Mariah, knows it. By the time we all get through, the board will think you’re a saint.”

“Unless they saw that kiss,” she grumbled, but at least this time her eyes were sparkling.

22

H
amilton Reynolds banged his gavel down so hard, it looked as if it shook the table. The sound drew startled gasps, then silence as the crowd waited for the drama to unfold.

“I see we have a full house,” the board chairman said. “Too bad more of you aren’t here when we conduct our regular business.” He looked pointedly around the auditorium. “Now, it seems we have two issues before us for this emergency session. The formal expulsion of Annabelle Litchfield and countercharges from Mariah Litchfield that principal Betty Donovan and teacher Laura Reed were engaged in some sort of conspiracy against Annabelle.”

He sighed heavily. “I suppose we have to deal with the latter before we can vote on the expulsion.”

He glanced into the audience. “Mariah, do you have legal representation here?”

“No,” she declared in a ringing voice. She stood up, marched up to the stage and turned to face the crowd.

“Address me and the rest of the board,” Ham commanded. “You’re not at some political rally.”

“Oh, don’t get all smug and righteous with me, Ham Reynolds,” she said. “You’re no better than the two of them. I’m considering forcing a recall vote to get you out of office, too.”

“Do your worst, Mariah,” he said calmly. “Now say what’s on your mind. And keep it to facts you can substantiate. I won’t tolerate character assassination of these two fine people.”

Mariah blinked at his words. “So much for impartiality,” she grumbled. “Obviously I’m wasting my breath talking to the likes of you.”

“I told you that you could have your say. Now don’t make me lose patience and change my mind.”

It was obvious to Laura that the crowd was getting restless as the exchange dragged on with no real evidence being laid out for the board to consider. Instead, Mariah was on a rant about adults picking on her sweet little girl who’d never squashed a bug, much less attacked another human being.

“It must be totally obvious to everyone in this town that Annabelle would never do the sort of mean-spirited things she’s been accused of,” Mariah summed up. “She’s a good girl, and her reputation’s being ruined by these two petty people. I’ve a good mind to file a lawsuit for slander once we get through these proceedings.” Despite Ham’s earlier warning, she turned back to the crowd. “I ask you now, are these really the sort of people you want educating your children?”