Читать книгу Winning the Teacher's Heart - Jean C. Gordon - Страница 12

Chapter Three

“What was that?” Emily asked.

“What was what?” Becca pulled her beach bag up more firmly on her shoulder.

“You and our town celebrity, Jared. Brendon and him being best buddies. Ari talking about him at Sunday school.”

Becca scanned the beach for a good spot for them to sit and watch the kids swim.

“The current between you and Jared,” Emily prodded.

Becca frowned at her friend. “I ran into him at his grandmother’s house when the kids and I stopped there to drop off something for Edna. Brendon recognized Jared from his magazine and asked him to autograph it. Not to be outdone, Ari insisted Jared read her storybook while I went out to the garden with Edna. That’s all there is to it. This spot look good to you?” Becca slipped her bag from her shoulder and rummaged in it for the blanket she’d packed. She wasn’t going to mention the run-in with Debbie and the Sheriff the next day.

“Ari stayed with him while you went out to the garden. Your Ari? The little girl who insisted you wait on a chair outside her Sunday school room where she could see you for most of last school year? That Ari?”

“She’s getting better.” Becca had been surprised how her daughter had latched on to Jared. She shook the blanket out hard and let it settle on the ground. Unfortunately, Ari was still asking daily when Jared was going to come and read to her. She pressed her lips together. Ari got enough broken promises from her father.

“What’s that sour face about?” Emily dropped to the blanket and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, scanning the kids swimming in the lake.

“Nothing. I was just thinking.”

“About Jared? Not all men are like Matt.”

Mentally, Becca knew that was true. Emotionally, it was another story. She and Matt had dated for most of high school and, except for a short breakup, through college. He’d left her when Brendon was a toddler, and she hadn’t even realized yet that she was expecting Ari.

Becca sat down next to Emily. “Now, my turn for questions. You and Jared were...are friends?”

“Jealous?”

“No. Maybe. Yes. But not how you think. I would have liked to have known him in high school.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. You were too busy being pretty and smart and popular. As a teenager, Jared had too much baggage for you to handle. I’m not sure he ever was a teenager.”

That had been one of the things that had attracted her to Jared as a teen. He seemed more responsible, mature, even though he was a year younger than her crowd. “I wasn’t that superficial.”

Emily shook her head. “You were that untried, sheltered. You’ve lived some now.”

“Thank you, Dr. Stacey. I hadn’t realized you’d given up graphic arts for psychology. And you weren’t sheltered?”

Emily grinned. “Dad certainly tried. But it didn’t carry over to school. Remember, I was the tall, clumsy kid everyone called Jinx. My brother, Neal, is eight years older than I am. He wasn’t around school to shelter me after fourth grade.”

“And you and Jared?”

“Used to talk sometimes about our misfit lives and how we were going to leave Paradox Lake at our first opportunity. Strictly platonic.”

Jared hadn’t struck Becca as a misfit then—and certainly didn’t now.

Becca’s cell phone buzzed that she had a text, giving her a welcome break from the conversation. She checked the screen. Maybe not.

“Go ahead and answer,” Emily said.

“It’s the Sheriff. He recently got a smartphone and has gone text crazy. It’s probably nothing.” She dropped the phone to the blanket.

“Are he and Debbie still dogging your every move?”

Becca sighed. “Almost more so since he got his new phone. I have an unsettled feeling it has something to do with Matt and my custody agreement. Debbie and the Sheriff are planning to move to Florida now that he’s retired. It’s making me a wreck. I’ve prayed, but I can’t seem to find the peace I normally would.”

“I have just the thing. The Singles Group is challenging the Couples Group in ‘Bible Jeopardy’ tomorrow night. I don’t know how peaceful it will be, but we’ll have fellowship, inspiration and food. I’m making my cheesecake brownies. Maybe Connor will bring his big brother.”

Jared’s presence didn’t exactly shout peaceful to Becca. “I can’t.”

“Mom’s watching Isabelle and Ryan. I know she wouldn’t mind watching Ari and Brendon, if that’s the problem. Ari would stay with her, wouldn’t she?”

“Probably, but I have something else going on.”

“With Jared? Are you holding out on me?”

“Not with Jared. I have to go to the Town Zoning Board meeting in Schroon Lake.”

“Why?”

Becca laughed. “The expression on your face. I’m the newest board member.”

“I ask again, why?”

“I was teaching civics and thought I should be more involved. Edna’s husband, Harry, mentioned the opening.”

Emily shook her head. “Will you ever learn? You don’t have to be involved in everything.”

“I know. It seemed like a good idea at the time, even after the Sheriff encouraged me to take the seat.” Becca’s phone rang. She picked it up. “Speaking of the Sheriff, he’s probably calling to find out why I didn’t text him back.”

“I think I’ll walk down to the water and test the temperature.” Emily stood and slipped off her shoes.

“That’s right. Desert me in my time of need.” Becca pressed the phone screen to answer the call. “Hello.”

“Have you read the agenda for the Zoning Board meeting?”

“No.”

“I texted it to you.”

“Ken, I’m working.”

“Then I’ll give you the short version. Your boyfriend wants to build a motocross track on Bert Miller’s property.”

That was what Jared wanted to use Bert’s land for? To build his racetrack? Here in Paradox Lake? She should have made the connection. Her breath caught. A racetrack could be almost as bad as a resort casino. In some ways, worse, considering Brendon’s current obsession with motorcycles.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“No, but I know how much you hate Family Court.” He hung up.

Becca stared at her phone for a moment before touching the text button. She viewed the agenda Ken had photographed and texted her, the sinking feeling in her stomach bottoming out when she reached the fourth bullet point: Jared Donnelly—request for a recreational development zoning exception to construct a motocross track on parcel 87268 on Conifer Road.

“What’s wrong?” Emily had returned and was standing over her.

“It looks like I will be spending tomorrow evening with Jared after all.”

Confusion spread across Emily’s face. “You said the call was from Sheriff Norton.”

“It was. Apparently, Jared wants to build a motocross track on the land he inherited from Bert Miller. And the Sheriff wants me to stop him.”

* * *

Jared climbed from the cab of his pickup truck and stood in the newly paved parking lot, taking in the sprawling two-story, redbrick building with its white-columned entrance. The Schroon Town Hall. He slammed the door shut. The smell of the blacktop made his nose twitch. The last time he’d been here had been for court when he was eighteen, to answer his driving-while-impaired charge. The parking lot had been newly tarred that day, too.

His stomach churned. After his arrest, his dad had made a big show about how he was going to be there for Jared. He didn’t need a lawyer. Jared still had been naive enough to believe him—or at least to want to believe him. Then, when he and his brothers had gotten home from school the day of his court appearance, he’d found their father passed out in the bedroom, an empty vodka bottle on the bed stand. That was the last time he’d believed his father.

That night, Jared had made burgers and fries for his brothers and him for supper. For whatever reason, he remembered that clearly. But he hadn’t been able to choke down more than a bite or two. He’d considered chugging one of the beers his dad had in the refrigerator for courage before remembering that had been what had gotten him in trouble in the first place. Instead, he’d told Josh to help Connor with his homework, and he’d driven illegally to the town hall for court. Keeping his eyes focused forward, he’d walked to the front of the room where court was held, signed in and had taken a seat at the far side, determined to handle whatever happened like a real man. His mother had slipped in beside him just before the public defender had motioned him up to the desk to talk. The scent of the diner lingering on his mother’s uniform had somehow reassured him. She’d had no illusions about Jared’s father coming through for him.

“Jared.”

The sound of his name jerked him back to the present. A light-haired man about his age stepped from a sleek navy blue Mercedes parked near the building.

“Dan, thanks for coming.” Jared strode across the parking lot and shook hands with the Albany lawyer he’d hired. Jinx Stacey’s sister-in-law, Anne Hazard, had recommended him. Her environmental engineering firm had used Dan on several projects.

“I spoke with the town attorney this afternoon,” Dan said. “He saw no problem with your building permit being approved without a public hearing for a variance. It should fall under the recreational development exception to the residential-agriculture zoning classification.”

“Great,” Jared said with more confidence than he felt. It must have been the lingering bad memories. He glanced at the hall. Neither of them had to be here. Tonight was an ordinary meeting of the Zoning Board. He could wait and call the building inspector in the morning. “In that case, it might better be to let the board go ahead and make their decision without us. The less said the better.”

“You don’t get off that easy.” Dan pressed his key fob to lock his car. “As I told you on the phone, it’ll look good to be here to answer any questions the board members may have. The meeting is open, even though it’s not an official public hearing.”

“Let’s get it over with, then.”

The two men went inside and entered the nearly empty main meeting room. Not much had changed since the last time he’d been here. He swallowed. He hoped that wasn’t indicative of today’s outcome. No. This time he wasn’t a kid, and he wasn’t going to let anyone drive him or his project out of town.

“An empty room.” Dan nodded. “Just what I was hoping to see. You’ve done a good job of keeping your plans for building here under the local radar. These things go better when the public doesn’t get involved.”

Jared tensed. “My idea is for the track and school to be a community project, not a secret strike on the town.” He shifted his weight. Dan had come highly recommended by Anne Hazard. From working with Anne and her staff on the environmental studies for the project, he’d found her very open and up-front. He’d assumed Dan was the same.

“Right. Do you know Steve Monti, the town attorney? We went to law school together.”

If the attorney was Dan’s age, it couldn’t be the same attorney who had orchestrated the Driving While Ability Impaired resolution that had pulled his license for six months and required him to pay restitution to Sheriff Norton. His agreement to leave town quietly right after high school graduation had been unstated—at least in the actual plea bargain.

“No, the name isn’t familiar.”

“I’ll introduce you.” Dan raised his hand to catch the attention of a man in a dark suit standing at one end of the dais. He met them halfway across the room.

“Steve Monti. This is Jared Donnelly.”

He and the town attorney shook hands.

The attorney stepped away to the other side of Dan. “I may have spoken too soon this afternoon.” The town attorney said something else in a low voice that Jared didn’t catch.

“The paperwork is all in order.”

Despite Dan’s assertion, Jared’s throat tightened.

“It is, but one of the board members lives near the development site. She’s insisting on a public hearing before the building permit is approved.”

“Becca.”

The other two men looked at Jared. He hadn’t realized he’d spoken his thought. But it couldn’t be. With her job and the kids, she had more than enough to keep her busy. It must be one of the other Conifer Road residents.

“Yes, Becca Norton. She’s new to the board. You know her?” Steve asked.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, but not like we’re close friends or anything.” That sounded lame.

“It might be more to your benefit if she were. She has connections. Her father-in-law was the county Sheriff.”

“Ex-father-in-law.”

Dan silently scrutinized him.

“I know the Sheriff, too.” And he has to be behind this somehow.

“Steve, we’re ready to start.” Jared recognized the man speaking as the owner of the diner where his mother used to work. For a moment, he was eighteen again, alone against the world.

“Time to make our case.” Dan slapped him on the back, reminding him he wasn’t alone. This time, he had a team behind him. A team he’d put together. And the resources to back that team.

Jared turned to Dan. “Did you get a copy of the meeting agenda?”

Since they appeared to be the only permit applicants here, he hoped the board would get to them first. He’d just as soon get this over with and get out of here.

“Yeah.” He grinned. “You are the agenda.”

* * *

“Come on down,” Tom Hill, the chair of the Zoning Board boomed, reminiscent of The Price Is Right. “Take a seat. We’re not formal here.”

Becca kept her gaze lowered as the men approached the dais. She placed the paper she held in her hands on the flat surface in front of her and smoothed it. Anger at herself for caving in to the Sheriff’s demand warred with concern for her kids and the life she was trying to build for them. She flicked the corner of the sheet with her index finger. The uneasiness she felt about Jared’s project wasn’t limited to her. She’d run into one of her two neighbors at the gas station convenience store. When Becca had mentioned that she was on her way to the Zoning Board meeting, he’d asked her what she knew about Jared wanting to build a motocross track on their road and then shared his apprehensions about the potential noise, traffic and strangers. He’d also reminded her how the Conifer Road residents had banded together to oppose the casino if it had been proposed.

“And this is our newest board member, Rebecca Norton,” Tom said.

She looked up into Jared’s deep blue eyes. They darkened, almost as if he’d read her thoughts about the track. But that was ridiculous.

“Hi, Jared.”

“Becca. What a pleasant surprise.”

He wouldn’t think so for long. Her pulse quickened. Or maybe he was being sarcastic and didn’t think that now, either. Although his tone wasn’t sarcastic, she didn’t know him well enough to read the real meaning of his words any more than he’d been reading her thoughts a moment ago.

Tom cleared his throat. “Now that introductions are over, I think we can get this done in quick order.”

Jared relaxed his stance. “We brought updated plans and the preliminary environmental studies from GreenSpaces for you to look over.” He stepped to the dais to hand a cardboard tube holding the plans to the board members.

Tom took the tube and waved him off. “That won’t be necessary tonight. I don’t know what Steve told your guy.” He nodded at Dan. “But Ms. Norton has raised new questions from her and one of the other property owners on Conifer Road. We’ve decided a public hearing is necessary. Your development may not fall under the recreational facility exception, after all—it being a racing school rather than a resort or simply a racetrack open to the public.”

The town attorney shuffled his feet while Jared’s attorney glared at her. But their actions barely registered. She was focused on Jared. He seemed to be looking past her to something on the wall behind the dais. She resisted the urge to turn and see what he was looking at, only to regret that decision. If she had, she would have missed the gut-wrenching hardening of his features. She started to slump in her seat, then straightened and crossed her arms. Even if she felt bad for Jared, who obviously wanted to get started on his project, she had valid reasons for pushing the public hearing. And for him, it could deflect opposition later, after he’d already sunk money into the motocross track.

“The hearing will be two weeks from Tuesday, our usual meeting night,” the board chair said. “Same time as tonight. That’ll let us get the required notices in the Times of Ti. You’ll get a letter in the mail.”

“Thank you,” Jared’s attorney said. “We’ll see you in two weeks.”

Jared jerked a nod in the direction of the board before he strode from the room.

Becca watched him until he reached the doorway. She pulled her shoulder bag from the back of her chair and rose as he disappeared into the hall. “If we’re done, I need to get home. The kids, you know.”

Becca hated to use the kids as an excuse. She rarely did. But she needed to speak with Jared, to explain her concerns about the motocross track. She could only hope that he and his lawyer might be talking outside.

“Sure,” Tom said. “That’s all the business we had for tonight. Glad to have you on board.” He chuckled at his pun and looked to the other members for affirmation. “We need more younger people to be involved in town government.”

She smiled while inwardly chaffing at the extra minute his short speech added to the head start Jared had on her. “Thanks. It’s my community. I want to do what I can.” And not alienate Jared Donnelly doing it.

Becca crossed the room as quickly as she could without looking as though she was running from the hall. Stepping into the warm cloudy night, she scanned the parking lot for Jared. There were four cars besides hers and four board members still in the hall. Her heart sank. He was gone. A cloud passed in front of the full moon casting shadows on the car. Gray shadows. Like her mood.

She unlocked her car and started it. Her concerns about having a motocross track almost in her backyard were real, although the magazine article and Tom Hill had called it a motocross school, not a track. She shouldn’t feel so agitated about having brought those concerns up to the board. She and other people in the community who would be affected by Jared’s proposed project deserved to learn more. Except Jared’s stony expression when Tom had told him about the public hearing kept flashing in her mind. The expression had made Jared look incredibly attractive and threatening at the same time.

Becca slowed the car in front of the Paradox Lake General Store. Brendon had finished the last of the milk at dinner. As she pulled in to stop to get some more, a motorcycle parked in the lot grabbed her attention. She replayed her son’s chatter about Jared’s bike in her head. She tilted her chin down and frowned at the vehicle. Brendon had said Jared’s bike was lime green. This one was dark blue, and the middle-aged man who was walking toward it definitely wasn’t Jared. She went into the store and headed directly to the coolers at the far right where the dairy products were.

Pulling the glass door open with her left hand, she reached in for one of the gallon containers of milk in the back of the cooler, releasing the door to close gently against her so she could bend in far enough to grab it. She sensed someone behind her and stiffened even before she felt the person grasp the door to hold it open for her. Not to be unfriendly, but she hoped it was a helpful tourist rather than anyone she knew. She wasn’t in a mood for idle chat.

“Thanks,” she said without looking as she turned to walk to the checkout.

“No problem,” said the one person she did want to talk to.

Looking back at Jared and his controlled features, she swallowed. Or the one person she’d thought she wanted to talk to.

* * *

Jared’s heart twisted in unison with Becca’s scowl. He should have known things were going too smoothly. Although he’d done all his prep work carefully, he’d expected some opposition to his plans. But Becca Norton wasn’t the person he’d pictured spearheading it.

“Thanks,” she said again, her expression looking more pensive now that she’d turned fully toward him. “I didn’t realize it was you.”

“Like I didn’t realize you were on the Zoning Board.”

Becca’s hint of a smile disappeared. He could have kicked himself for not guarding his words. He needed to woo, not alienate Becca. Woo her in the sense of convincing her of the good his motocross school would do. Any other wooing was out of the question. He studied her heart-shaped face for a moment. As if he, a Donnelly, would have any chance with a woman like Becca. He shook off his pity trip back in time. “That didn’t come out quite right.”

“It’s okay. Do you have a couple of minutes to talk? I’ll check this out.” She raised the gallon of milk she held. “And we can get a cup of coffee or something.”

“Sure. I need to pick up some coffee for the morning, too.” Jared walked to the grocery shelf and grabbed a large can of coffee, then put it back in favor of a smaller bag of a special dark roast. He made his way to the checkout at the front of the store and looked around.

Becca motioned to him from one of the tables in the deli area. “Over here. You did want coffee, right? I have it covered.” A waitress who looked vaguely familiar placed two heavy mugs on the table in front of her.

He ground his teeth. Not that he was a chauvinist. But he was used to being the one who picked up the tab, did for others. What she was earning at the day-care center, or as a high school teacher, for that matter, couldn’t come close to the income from his invested race winnings. His fingers tightened around the bag of coffee. That sounded too much like his money-obsessed brother Josh.

“You remember Lori Lyons.” Becca smiled at the waitress.

“Sure, I do.” Lori had been another one of the untouchables on the cheerleading squad with Becca. “I was sorry to hear about Stan.”

“Thank you,” Lori said. “I appreciated your card.”

Becca knitted her brows in question.

When Jared had heard about Lori’s husband Stan’s death in a NASCAR accident shortly after he’d lost a close friend on the motocross circuit, he’d felt a connection to Lori and had shot her off a sympathy card. “My grandmother told me about Stan’s accident,” he said in explanation.

Becca’s expression turned thoughtful. He’d have to be careful or he’d lose his tough-guy image.

“I’d love to catch up,” Lori said. “But my shift is done and I need to pick the girls up from Stan’s mother’s house. She babysits for me when I have to work during the evening.” She turned to Jared. “I have ten-year-old twins. I usually work days, so I have to get them up early for day care tomorrow.”

Jared scuffed his toe against the table leg. Lori was being a little too friendly for him. They hadn’t been friends in school and, as callous as it sounded, he’d sent her the sympathy card as much as a way to work through his own grief as a true condolence.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Becca,” Lori said. “And why don’t you—” she pointed at Jared “—stop by after the lunch rush some afternoon this week. I’d love to hear about your time on the circuit.” She shot a dazzling smile his way and gave him a flirty wave before walking back behind the counter and into the kitchen.

Yep, way too friendly, which he couldn’t say about Becca, given her dark frown. Unless she was jealous of Lori. They had been rivals in school. He yanked out the chair across the table from Becca. Only in his mind. The source of Becca’s frown more likely could be chalked up to his plans for the racing school and Lori getting in the way of Becca speaking her mind about it.

He slid into the chair and wrapped his hands around the coffee mug. “I take it you want to talk about the track.”

“I do.” The sip of coffee she took sweetened her frown into what could almost be called a smile. “I hope you don’t mind that I ordered your coffee. It’s a regular.” She glanced at the specialty coffee he’d bought. “But maybe you’d like something different.”

He lifted the bag of coffee. “This is for Connor. I’m good with anything black that doesn’t taste like motor oil.”

She took another sip of her coffee and gazed at him over the rim of the cup, her brown eyes colored with apprehension. “The Zoning Board’s decision surprised you.”

He bit his tongue before he said something he’d regret. “Right. The town attorney had told my attorney everything looked like a go. That there wouldn’t be a need for a public hearing.”

“That’s my fault.”

He took a healthy draw of his coffee and waited.

“I didn’t get the agenda for the meeting until yesterday afternoon, and what I got didn’t have a lot of details. With work and the kids, I didn’t have time to do any research. Evidently, the other board members and the town attorney already had discussed it. Tonight was my first board meeting.”

“Yeah. Dan, my attorney, and I had felt out the town building inspector about the project a while ago, before I’d decided on a spot to build it.”

“That spot being my backyard.”

“Not exactly your backyard.” He’d made a tactical error not sounding out the property owners on Conifer Road about his idea when Bert had first written him about his intention to leave him the acreage. But it had seemed like everything was coming together for him. He looked across the table. Until now.

“Close enough for me and some of my neighbors to have some questions.”

“Ask away.” He leaned back in his seat.

“Why? Why come back here when you could go anywhere?”

He worked to maintain his casual pose, while a small blaze lit inside him. From her words, it sounded to him as if she was as opposed to him being in Paradox Lake as she was to him building his racing school here. He’d thought better of her. Correction. He’d thought better of the image of Becca he held in his head from high school. An image that could be all wrong.

“Yes, I could go anywhere. I could build the school and motocross track here and run it from somewhere else. Let me ask you a question. Is it the racing school or me you have a problem with?”

Becca blanched and he slunk down in his chair. What had gotten into him, jumping to a dumb conclusion like that? He knew. He wanted this project to succeed with the same competitive hunger that had made him a champion racer. And the stakes here were greater than any race’s.

“I’m sorry if that’s how I sounded.”

The contrition in her voice tore at him worse than her misinterpreted question.

“I’ll start over. My neighbors and I have some valid concerns about a motocross track near our homes, some of the same concerns we had when Bert Miller was considering selling his property to a syndicate bidding on a state gambling license.”

Becca was equating his racing school for needy kids to a gambling casino? The banked flame in his belly reignited.

“Other people in the community may have issues, too. I thought it would help me if I knew why you wanted to build it here.”

“Understandable. I...”

The ring of her cell phone interrupted him.

She pulled the phone from her pocket and glanced at it. “I have to take it. It could be about the kids.”

Jared finished his coffee while Becca listened to the person at the other end of the call.

“That was Debbie. My daughter’s running a temperature. I have to go.”

“I hope Ari’s okay.”

Becca stood and scooped up her purse. “It’s probably just a summer cold.”

He pushed his chair back. “Let me know if you want to get together to talk about your concerns before the public forum. I can show you the plans and tell you more about them.”

“Okay. I’ll call you at Connor’s. You do understand that it’s not personal.”

“Of course.” He walked her out and they parted at her car. The problem was that it was personal for him—both his reasons for wanting to build the school and track in Paradox Lake and the urge he’d had earlier to pull Becca into his arms and comfort her when she’d blanched at his sharp question.