Playing For Keeps (13 page)

They stepped inside, and Kayla was indeed sitting in front of the television. It looked like a special on dinosaurs.

“Make yourself at home. I’m going to go upstairs and change into something more comfortable.”

Eric nodded and took a seat on the couch. Keirra turned and made her way upstairs. Once she entered her room, she unbuttoned her jeans and sighed. What had she been thinking to wear jeans?

She found a pair of pajama pants and put them on. After pulling her sweater over her head, she tossed it aside and pulled on a T-shirt. She was going for comfort. Relief was what she needed right now. She placed the discarded clothes in the hamper before heading back downstairs. Kayla hadn’t moved an inch, and it looked as though the show had sucked in Eric’s attention.

She took a seat next to Eric. “What did I miss?”

Giving her a brief glance, he shook his head. “Not much.”

It wasn’t long before Keirra found herself drawn into the show. She enjoyed shows like this. All of her sisters did. The documentaries always seemed to be informative, and she felt that knowledge was power. It was two hours before anyone moved, and that was because the show ended.

“Well, that was interesting.”

“Yes, it was.”

Eric stretched and followed it with a yawn. “I had better get going.”

He stood up and held out his hand pulling her up beside him. “Let me run upstairs and put some shoes on.”

She ran upstairs and slipped into her house shoes. When she came back downstairs, Eric was waiting by the door. They stepped outside together, and she shivered at the cool temperature.

“I won’t keep you out here long. If we don’t talk this week, I will be here the same time Thursday morning.”

She stifled a groan. “I will be ready.”

He gave her a brief kiss, and she watched as he ran for his SUV and got in. When he backed out of the driveway, she went back into the house.

“I like him.”

Keirra rolled her eyes. If that wasn’t stating the obvious, she didn’t know what it was.

“Yes, I know you do, and don’t think that you are off the hook. I just happen to be exhausted. I am going to go upstairs and watch a little television before I got to bed instead of mauling you like I want to.”

Keirra shook her head before turning to make her way up the stairs.

She was truly exhausted. Hopefully by tomorrow she would be rested enough to start the week off right. She entered her room and undressed before walking into her bathroom. She took a quick shower. Once she was dressed for bed she crawled under the covers and turned the television on, and then set the timer knowing that she wasn’t going to stay awake long. Within ten minutes the television was watching her.

* * * *

She woke up to her alarm going off. Hitting the Off button, she climbed out of bed and groggily walked downstairs. She prayed Kayla had programmed the coffeemaker last night. As she reached the bottom of the steps, she got the answer to her question. She inhaled appreciatively. After pouring herself a cup, she sat at the kitchen table and drank it slowly. Thankfully it wasn’t a workout day. Seconds later, Kayla came into the kitchen. Keirra looked at her sister over her cup and murmured a good morning and thanks for the coffee.

“Would you like some toast and oatmeal?”

“Yes, please.”

Kayla occupied herself with fixing breakfast. When she finished they ate, and Keirra headed back upstairs to get ready for work. Kayla left a little earlier than she did, but that was fine. They would meet up at Sam’s Café later on tonight since they were going to be too busy on Monday to meet up there. She finally finished getting dressed and made her way back downstairs.

Keirra headed out the door with a smile on her face. Teaching was something she really enjoyed. She pulled up into the parking lot. After gathering her things up, she walked inside the school. She walked to the front office and signed in. She went to her classroom and began to set up. Time flew by, and the bell signaling the end of the day rang before she expected it.

She pulled into an empty space at Sam’s Café. Being the first to arrive she chose their regular table by the window. Kayla and Kristen arrived shortly after. Nadia came right over and took their food and drink orders. She returned to the table with their drinks and sat them down before walking away.

Keirra reached for her soda. “How was everyone’s day?”

Kristen nodded. “Mine was pretty good in spite the amount of sick children I have on my hands at the daycare.”

Kayla sighed heavily. “Mine was okay, but I have a feeling things are going to go downhill.”

Keirra looked at their sister with surprise. “Why?”

Kayla shook her head. “I have a few students looking to pick a fight.”

Keirra could feel her blood pressure rise. If it was one thing she didn’t like, it was a bully. She’d spent most of her life defending people against them.

“What are you going to do about it,” Kristen asked, her voice full of concern.

Kristen shook her head with disappointment. “Well, I have already spoken with their parents once about a prior accident, and for a while, it got better. Now it has started to escalate again. My next step is to call a parent-teacher conference.”

Keirra looked at her sister in puzzlement. “We just had one when school started back.”

Kayla gave her a grim look. “I know, but the parents who needed to show up didn’t. Go figure.”

Kristen frowned. “I assume it’s the same group of girls keeping the trouble going?”

Kayla sighed. “Just like their parent’s did when we were growing up. I guess the saying is true. The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”

Keirra shook her head in disbelief. “Well, I am sure that you will . . . oh my goodness!”

Everyone looked up as Keirra stopped in mid-speech. When they saw she was looking over their shoulders, Kayla and Kristen turned to look.

“Oh my goodness is right,” Kristen murmured.

“Yes, it is,” Kayla agreed as she eyed the very attractive man who had just walked in with his family.

The whole room—at least the female population—seemed to stop, and with reason. James Feldon was sexy as hell.

Keirra couldn’t avoid staring at the man who had caught her sister’s attention, and it was very obvious as to why that was now. The man was absolutely gorgeous.

“Do you remember Mr. Feldon being so good looking?”

“Eww,” Kristen exclaimed. “We are talking about our formal principal. No one should be thinking about his state of attractiveness.”

Keirra ignored Kristen’s outrage and shook her head before answering Kayla’s question. “He wasn’t an unattractive man, but he was nowhere near as good looking as his son is.”

Their food was delivered to their table, probably saving them from embarrassment. Keirra was the first to bring up the subject again once Nadia walked off.

“And you say that I am insane because I don’t attack Eric with crazed passion every time I see him.”

Kayla laughed. “That is different.”

Keirra took a bite of her steak and noodles. “How?”

“His daughter is my student now.”

Kristen jumped in. “There are several teachers that teach their own children. But if it became a big deal, you could always have her transferred out of your class.”

Keirra smiled as she backed up Kristen. “She has you there.”

Kayla shook her head. “If you say so.”

Keirra laughed. “I know if I had a guy who looked as good as James Feldon does, I would be all over him.”

Kristen laughed. “You do. His name is Eric.”

“Where are we going?”

Randy grinned as he looked over at Kristen. He loved her with everything that he had and was glad that he had been given the chance to show her.

“It is a surprise.”

Kristen laughed and settled back into the seat as he drove them into town. He pulled up in front of the jewelry store, and Kristen gave him a quick glance, but she didn’t say anything. He pulled into an empty space and killed the engine, and then he got out of his truck and went around to assist Kristen out.

“What are we doing here?”

He cleared his throat. “We are here to look at rings.”

She gave him a strange look. They hadn’t discussed marriage. Not because he didn’t want to but because it hadn’t come up. Randy led her inside already imaging the rumors that were going to be flying around before the day ended. Not that he cared. As soon as they stepped inside, Nelson greeted them.

“What brings the two of you in?”

Randy smiled in return. “We are looking for an engagement ring.”

Kristen’s mouth fell open. Nelson smiled at her expression, and Randy continued on like he hadn’t stated anything out of the ordinary.

“Well, I have a few rings for you to look at.”

Nelson walked down to another display. Randy followed pulling her behind him. Nelson pulled out a few rings, and Randy had her try them on. His hand had never shaken so badly in his life as he handled the delicate jewelry. Some of the rings were beautiful. By the time they left the store, Kristen looked to be in a daze.

“Which one did you like best?”

She looked up at him in shock and blinked several times before she answered him.

“I liked all of them, but the last two the most.”

Both of them had been a matching engagement ring and band. He liked those the most too. Randy helped her up into his truck.

“Why didn’t you tell me we were coming to look at rings?”

He gave her a hesitant smile. “Because I didn’t know what your response would be.”

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. He stared at her for a moment then closed the passenger door. The trip home was a short but silent one. After they stepped inside the house, Kristen stopped Randy.

“Why did you think I would have a bad reaction to talking about marriage?”

Randy sighed. After my relationship with Lila and even our past, I can’t help having doubts.

She smiled as she cupped his cheek in her hand. “You know that I love you, right?”

“Just as much as I love you,” Randy stated as he pulled Kristen into his arms.

“Even though we haven’t really talked about it, I would love to be your wife.”

Her words sent a surge of happiness through him. A smile spread across his face, and he swept her up into his arms and carried her up the stairs to the room they shared. When he laid her down on the bed the amount of love that reflected in her eyes made his heart swell. He looked forward to the day she became his wife.

* * * *

“The two of you what?”

Kristen laughed at Kayla’s response.

“I was just as shocked as you were,” Kristen stated prior to taking a bite of her blackened chicken.

She chewed slowly before continuing.

“The good thing is we talked about marriage and having more kids.”

Kristen wiggled her eyebrows. “Before and after. We did a little practicing.”

Kayla laughed. “Well, I am happy for the two of you.”

Kristen smiled at Kayla before giving Keirra a look of puzzlement. “You are quiet today, and you haven’t touched a bite of your food. Is everything okay?”

Keirra shrugged her shoulders and pushed her steak around on her plate then put her fork down.

“I don’t know. I guess I am just not hungry.”

Both of her sisters looked at her as if she were severely ill.

“You aren’t hungry? There must be something wrong,” Kristen commented.

Kayla gasped. “Are you pregnant?”

Keirra rolled her eyes skyward, surprised that her sister would suggest something so off the wall.

“
Get real
. There is no way I could keep that a secret.”

Kristen looked at her with concern. “Then what is it?”

Keirra shrugged. The truth was she didn’t know where to start with what was bothering her. One thing was she couldn’t get her mind off Eric no matter what she did. That disturbed her deeply. She didn’t want to fall for him. Right now, their relationship was fun. She liked it that way.

Unfortunately, she felt like she was willing herself to do something inevitable. It was only a matter of time before her heart overruled her head and she got in trouble. She looked up as Kristen wrapped an arm around her.

“Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

Keirra could only laugh. Kristen had no idea how bad it could be, but she gave her sister a slight squeeze anyway.

“Actually, it could be, but I will pretend it isn’t.”

Kayla sighed heavily. “Well, will you at least tell us what it is? Maybe we can help, but we won’t know until you tell us what the issue is.”

Keirra sighed heavily trying to prepare herself for the ribbing that she was getting ready to receive.

“I am falling for Eric.”

Her sisters were silent for so long she had to check to make sure they had heard her.

Kristen was the first to respond. “I am sure you have come up with a million reasons as to why that is a bad thing, but personally I can’t think of one.”

Kayla’s express was just as puzzled. “Please don’t tell me you are still hung up on this cop thing.”

Keirra frowned. Actually, the thought hadn’t crossed her mind in a while, and that worried her. She found herself shaking her head. “No, it isn’t that.”

Both of her sisters’ jaws dropped. “Then what is bothering you?”

Keirra laughed at Kristen’s question. She thought she’d stated the obvious, but clearly she was going to have to spell it out for her sisters.

Kayla gasped. “You are falling in love with him.”

She rolled her eyes at her older sister’s dramatics. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Keirra shrugged. “But I will admit that I am falling for him a little more than I am comfortable with.”

Her sisters were ecstatic at that news.

“That is great,” Kayla responded.

Kristen nodded in agreement. “I can’t think of anybody better for you to fall for.”

Keirra sighed. “Could I get just a little sympathy?”

Kayla shook her head while Kristen attempted to, but the effort was pitiful. Keirra frowned. “Is that all I get? After what I did when Randy almost broke your heart permanently?”

Kristen smiled. “I really appreciate what you did. If you and Eric ever have a fight, I will be by your side supporting you like you supported me.”