Forever With You (Bayou Dreams Book 5) Read online

  Not that she hadn’t noticed the young teacher’s nice butt. She had noticed it way more than she dared admit.

  Leslie figured she was just one in a growing contingent of Gauthier females who had a crush on GEMS’s newest teacher. As far as she was concerned, her little cougar crush was the safest crush in the history of all crushes. Not only was she too old for Gabriel Franklin, but there was also that other fact that could not be overstated. He was her daughter’s teacher. Her. Daughter’s. Teacher.

  Safest crush ever.

  “The Lock-In is our biggest fund-raiser of the year,” Celeste said. “Do you know how tight our budget would be next year if Mr. Franklin canceled it?”

  “And just what makes him think he has the right to cancel it?” Simone asked. “He got here all of two minutes ago and has the nerve to try to change the way we do things? I don’t think so.”

  “I liked him better when he was just a teacher,” Janice said. “It’s when they put him in that assistant principal position that he lost his mind. Give a person a little bit of power and they think they run the place.”

  “You’re right about that,” Celeste said.

  “I see it all the time,” Simone added.

  “Ladies, please.” Leslie held up her hands and spoke as calmly as possible in an attempt to stave off the bevy of complaints being hurled at lightening speed. She waited until the other three ladies seated around the table quieted before continuing. “Everyone feels passionately about this subject, but if we all continue to talk over each other, we’ll never get this figured out.”

  “What’s there to figure out?” This from Celeste. “We all can see what’s going on here. Mr. Franklin has decided that he knows what’s best for our children. Barely a child himself,” she finished with an aggravated huff.

  “That’s what I’m talking about.” Simone pointed her mug at Celeste. “He can’t be more than twenty-five. What makes him think he knows better than the rest of us?”

  “I heard that he taught for a few years in New Orleans before coming to Gauthier,” Leslie said. “He has to be older than twenty-five.”

  “Fine, twenty-six, then,” Simone retorted after taking a sip of tea.

  “I don’t care how old he is or how cute he is,” Janice said. “What I care about is the Lock-In. I’ve personally worked my butt off to make it a success, and I don’t appreciate someone who just moved here thinking he can come in and change the way we’ve been doing things for years. We need to figure out how to handle this problem.”

  “First, we need to make sure there actually is a problem,” Leslie reminded them. “It’s all hearsay at this point.”

  Although, if the news Celeste had shared turned out to be true, they definitely had a problem on their hands. Actually, GEMS’s interim assistant principal was the one with the problem. Threatening the PTO’s major fund-raiser was the equivalent of swinging a bat at a nest of angry hornets.

  “Well, someone needs to approach Mr. Franklin so that we can get to the bottom of this.” Janice pointed to Leslie. “I think you should do it.”

  “Me?” Leslie yelped. “Why me?”

  “Because you’re the PTO president. It’s your job.”

  Great.

  Leslie wouldn’t say she’d been railroaded into the PTO president position, but she had not been the most willing candidate. She’d caved under the mountain of guilt at having missed so many volunteer days last year. She’d accepted the position because, for the most part, being the PTO president at Gauthier Elementary and Middle School was an easy job.

  Until Gabriel Franklin had decided to rile up every parent in the entire school.

  Leslie splayed her fingers over her forehead and massaged her temples.

  “So, when are you going to meet with him?” Simone asked.

  “Yeah, Leslie, when?” Janice piped in. “It needs to be soon, before he decides to change something else.”

  “Exactly!” Celeste pounded on the table for emphasis. “You need to tell Mr. Franklin how we do things around here.”

  There was a light rapping on the wall before Leslie’s sister-in-law, Shayla, peeked around the divider that had been added to the rear section of The Jazzy Bean to create the illusion of a separate meeting room.

  “Excuse me, ladies,” Shayla said softly. “I hate to intrude, but do you mind keeping it down? A few of the college kids are studying. It’s midterms.”

  “We’re sorry,” Leslie said. “Please apologize to them. We promise not to get too loud again.”

  Shayla sent her an understanding smile before going back into the main part of the coffee shop.

  “Look,” Leslie said. “Before I approach Mr. Franklin I will need all the facts surrounding the supposed cancellation of the Lock-In. Nothing official has been sent home with the students.”

  “But Ardina said she heard Mr. Franklin and Mr. Williams talking about it in his office.”

  “We can’t rely on Ardina’s word alone,” Leslie said.

  “Why not?” Celeste asked. “Ardina knows everything that goes on at that school. Nothing gets past her.”

  “I think Leslie is right,” Janice said. “The PTO shouldn’t approach Mr. Franklin with this until there’s some type of official announcement.”

  Finally, someone talking some sense!

  Janice turned to her. “But you can still approach him off the record. Tomorrow night is Parent/Teacher Conference night. You need to take Mr. Franklin aside and find out exactly what he’s up to.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Simone said.

  “Yes, do it,” Celeste added.

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Leslie’s hands went up again. “Didn’t we just agree that we shouldn’t do anything until we’re sure he’s made an attempt to cancel the Lock-In?”

  “You know how these people operate,” Janice said. “He and Mr. Williams are probably scheming behind the scenes this very second, coming up with a bunch of reasons to cancel it. They’re going to just throw it on us at the last minute without giving us a chance to make our case.”

  “I can’t believe Mr. Williams would go along with this,” Celeste said. “He knows how much the money we make from the Lock-In helps with the activities the PTO puts on throughout the year.”

  “I don’t want to sound disrespectful or anything,” Simone said. “But Mr. Williams is getting up there in age. Who knows what kind of fast talk Gabriel Franklin is using on him?” She turned to Leslie. “You need to take care of this.”

  “Why do I have to be the one who approaches Mr. Franklin if it isn’t in an official PTO capacity?” Leslie asked. “Any one of you can do it.”

  “Because you’re better at this than we are,” Simone said.

  If that isn’t the biggest load of bull.

  “And you have to meet with him anyway since Cassidy is in his class,” Janice said.

  “So is Willow,” Leslie pointed out, speaking of Janice’s daughter, who was also one of Cassidy’s best friends.

  “Yeah, but she’s struggling in science. Our conversation will be uncomfortable enough as it is.”

  “Come on. You can do this, Leslie,” Celeste encouraged. “We need the lowdown on his motives.”

  “Yeah, who knows what he’s trying to do. He may be—”

  Leslie put up a hand, cutting off Simone before she could voice whatever nefarious plot had popped into her head. “I think we’ve had enough speculation for one night,” she said. If they weren’t careful, by tomorrow there would be a rumor that Gabriel Franklin was trying to dismantle the entire PTO.

  “I’ll talk to him.” Leslie finally capitulated.

  “While you’re at it, ask him about these drills he’s set up for the fourth-grade class, too,” Janice said. “The kids have enough homework.”

  “That�
�s to help them prepare for the state test,” Leslie said. “You can’t fault him for wanting the kids to be extra prepared.”

  Shayla peered around the dividing wall again.

  “We were just wrapping up,” Leslie told her before she had the chance to speak. “No need to throw us out.”

  “I wasn’t going to throw you all out,” Shayla said with a laugh.

  “You have Zumba tonight, don’t you?”

  The Zumba lessons Shayla began teaching at The Jazzy Bean last year had become so popular that a third night had to be added to meet the huge demand.

  “So maybe I was coming to throw you all out,” her sister-in-law said. “But I also wanted to make sure no one needed anything from the kitchen. Lucinda is shutting down in just a few minutes, so if you have any requests this is your last chance to get them in.”

  “I need to get home and do some cooking of my own,” Simone said. “My boys will be getting in from baseball practice soon, and if the steaks I left defrosting aren’t cooked, they’ll eat ’em raw.”

  “Teenage boys are ridiculous, aren’t they?” Celeste said. “Our monthly grocery bill is almost as much as the mortgage. Be grateful you have girls, Leslie.”

  “My problem is getting my five-year-old to eat anything, but I don’t want your problems, either.”

  Leslie remained seated at the table they’d occupied for the past hour while the other three ladies packed up their things. Once they were gone, she dropped her head on the lightly distressed wood and thumped it several times.

  “Why? Why? Why?” she said over and over again.

  “Aw, you poor thing.” Shayla said. “If the volume of their voices was any indication, it sounds as if things got a bit heated. What’s going on?”

  “GEMS’s new assistant principal is making a nuisance of himself.”

  “I didn’t even know there was a new assistant principal. What happened to Mr. James?”

  “He’s off to Australia. You didn’t hear about that?”

  “No,” Shayla said, taking the seat Celeste had occupied. “When did this happen?”

  “About a month ago. Where have you been?”

  A lazy smile stretched across Shayla’s lips.

  “Never mind.” Leslie laughed. “I know where you’ve been. The honeymoon phase is nice, isn’t it?”

  “Heavenly,” Shalya said. “If I had known married life was so nice I would have tried it years ago. But back to Mr. James. What’s he doing in Australia?”

  “His wife got a huge job promotion but it required her to transfer to Melbourne. Mr. James put in his resignation and they were gone within days. They’ve moved the new science teacher into the assistant principal position for now. He’s doing double duty, because he’s still teaching.”

  And making her life more complicated than necessary.

  “That’s Mr. Franklin, right? Cassidy loves him. She was just telling me about some experiment they did using balloons and empty water bottles.”

  “He’s a great teacher, but he’s not making many friends as an assistant principal. There are rumors that he wants to cancel the school Lock-In,” Leslie explained. “It’s the PTO’s biggest fund-raising event and, needless to say, some parents are not happy about this.”

  “Back up a sec. What’s a lock-in?”

  “You really are out of touch, aren’t you?”

  “I’ve been in the coffee business for the last twenty years. I am completely clueless when it comes to this stuff. Now, what’s this lock-in thing?”

  “It’s an event at the school where students are locked in the gymnasium overnight. There’s food, movies and games. Many of the kids stay up the entire night.”

  Shayla grimaced and scrunched her shoulders in an exaggerated shudder. “Sounds noisy.”

  “It is.” Leslie laughed. “But the kids love it. And they spend lots of money in that twelve-hour period. The money raised from last year’s Lock-In accounted for over half of the PTO’s funds last year.”

  “So why does Mr. Franklin want to cancel it?”

  “I don’t know if he wants to cancel it or not. Until I hear it directly from him it’s still just a rumor. But I need to find out if there is any truth to it.” Leslie sighed and took a sip of her caramel latte. “As president of the PTO, the other members of the board expect me to approach Mr. Franklin.”

  “Ah.” Shalya nodded, then frowned. “How did you become PTO president again?”

  “Don’t ask.”

  Shayla barked out a laugh. “You poor thing. Why don’t you let me treat you to an early dinner? It sounds as if you’ve earned it.”

  “Thanks, but I can’t. The girls’ babysitter asked me to be home by seven.”

  “Oh, how is she working out?”

  “She’s only watched them a couple of times, but Kristi is already in love with her. Cass, on the other hand, misses coming over to her auntie Shayla’s after school.”

  Shayla slapped a hand to her chest. “Don’t. I feel guilty enough as it is that I can no longer watch them after school.”

  “Oh, stop it,” Leslie said. “You know I’m just teasing. You’ll be able to watch them for me tomorrow, though, right? It’s Parent/Teacher Conference night at the school.”

  “Of course,” Shayla said. “Xavier is more excited than I am. He just bought a bunch of board games. He’s going to be so disappointed when all Kristi and Cass want to do is watch YouTube videos of cats doing tricks.”

  Shayla had married Dr. Xavier Wright a few months ago. A transplant from Atlanta, Xavier had settled into life in Gauthier much easier than Leslie had when she’d first moved here. He’d charmed the pants off everyone in town, including her sister-in-law.

  Shayla plopped an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her upturned palm. “Sooooo,” she said, stretching the word out in a singsongy voice. “What’s this I hear about you and Sawyer Robertson chatting after church?”

  “Oh, please don’t start,” Leslie said. She pushed up from the table.

  “I just want to know what was said.” Shayla whined. “Come on, Leslie. This is huge.”

  “No, it’s not. And I hope the nosy, meddling people in this town will just let it go.”

  Shayla caught her wrist, halting her exit. She waited until Leslie turned to face her before she asked, “Is it that you’re just not ready to date yet?”

  Leslie’s eyes fell shut. “I just...” But she didn’t know how to put what she was feeling into words. So she went with the easiest cop-out. “Yes. I want to take my time,” she said. “And I don’t need the pressure of knowing that everyone around here is looking at my every move.”

  “Okay, okay,” Shayla said. “I will put the word out that everyone needs to back off.”

  “Including my well-meaning sister-in-law?”

  “Do I have to?” Shayla pouted. Leslie just stared at her. “Oh, okay,” Shayla grumbled. “No more talk about Sawyer, even though he was at one time considered the biggest catch in Gauthier. Used to drive us girls crazy back in high school. He’s also—”

  “Shayla!”

  “Sorry,” she said. “Anyway, since you won’t allow me to take you out to dinner, at least let me order a pizza so you don’t have to cook tonight.”

  “I can order a pizza.”

  “Can I at least pay for it?”

  Even though their once-stony relationship had vastly improved over the past year, there was one area where she and Shayla still butted heads. Leslie had lost count of the number of times she had to remind her sister-in-law that she and the girls were not her financial responsibility. They both knew that her late husband’s pension from the Army didn’t cover much. And, even though she made decent money as a financial analyst, raising two daughters on her own was an expensive undertaking.

 
But they were not in dire straits. Not even close. She’d saved well over the years, and because they lived in Braylon and Shayla’s childhood home, she didn’t have a mortgage. She could pay for a pizza.

  But she didn’t want to argue with Shayla, and Leslie knew if she turned down her sister-in-law’s offer it would turn into a skirmish.

  “Make sure you order one half with just cheese,” she told her. “Kristi has decided she no longer eats meat.”

  “I love that kid,” Shayla said.

  “And thanks again for putting up with our little impromptu meeting.”

  “You know you all are welcome anytime. Just tell Celeste to use her inside voice next time.”

  Laughing, Leslie hugged her good-night before Shayla retreated behind the counter. Leslie picked up a couple of oatmeal-and-cranberry cookies from The Jazzy Bean’s healthier sampling of baked goods. If they were having pizza tonight she might as well go all out and let the girls have dessert, too.

  Even though she lived within walking distance of Shayla’s coffee shop, she had driven here straight from the office. She backed out of the slanted parking spot and in less than five minutes pulled into the driveway of the house she’d lived in since marrying Braylon eleven years ago. A part of her was happy to have her daughters growing up in their father’s childhood home, but there was another part of her that dreaded walking through the door.

  It had been an ongoing struggle for nearly two years. Being in that house surrounded by memories of a husband who was no longer here, a life that no longer existed, was nothing short of torture. Some nights it took every ounce of strength she possessed just to find the courage to fall asleep in her own bed.

  Which was why Leslie had finally decided to put action to the thoughts that had been swirling in her brain for the past couple of months. She had requested a meeting with her boss and was going to ask for a transfer to the company’s Houston office.

  Leslie closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. “The girls will like Houston,” she said to the empty car.