Page 12 of Single Teddy (Mayberry Protectors #6)

ELEVEN

TEDDY

I didn’t know what to think.

Wesley didn’t strike me as someone who did drugs or distributed them, but appearances could be deceiving. I wasn’t going to let Wesley’s easygoing smile and my idea of him as someone kind overrule the safety of my kid and all the others in his class.

I couldn’t help but tap my foot while waiting for him to leave the house, anxious for any sign that I was misinterpreting things or that this was something else entirely.

“You know the guy?” Joey asked from the passenger seat, and I nodded.

It turned out Autumn had been right. All it took was a simple Google search and I’d learned that not only had Joey been cleared of his stepfather’s murder, but they’d caught the person who’d done it, and he’d confessed.

So Joey was in the clear. It still surprised me that the news wasn’t much more widespread around the base.

It was unfair to Joey, who’d gone way too long being an outcast.

But he’d turned his life around in so many ways. He was the head chef at The Outpost, married to a local journalist, and a cat dad of four. A complete one-eighty from the troublemaker who loved explosives a little too much.

“He’s Bear’s teacher,” I said and passed him a napkin for the doughnuts I’d brought along.

Chapssaltteok was good, if not addictive, but it was such hard work to get off my teeth, so I’d resolved to buy some more traditional Western stakeout pastries from the Happy Witch Café. An odd name, but it more than made up with its delicious offerings.

“Oh crap,” Joey said and reached for another sugary doughnut. “What are you going to do?”

I shrugged.

“I honestly don’t—” I started, when Wesley emerged from the house looking half as tall as when he’d walked in.

He fiddled with his fingers as he walked to his yellow car, which stood out like a buoy in the sea of dark vehicles along the street and when he got in, the resident of 68 Aster Lane appeared and glared him down.

“That…doesn’t look friendly,” Joey said.

I didn’t say anything. I just turned the car on and followed Wesley because I needed answers, and I needed them now.

To my surprise, he turned into the driveway of my dream home. The little green paradise that smelled of lavender and peace, and I hated to admit it, but it made sense. It seemed so him, even though I didn’t know him that well.

And that would explain the lavender scent that seemed to follow him everywhere.

I came to a screeching stop right behind him and rushed out of the car to get to him. I needed to know how he was involved with the house on Aster Lane, and I needed to know now.

I knocked on his window, and he stabbed it with something thin and small that bent as soon as it touched the glass.

“What did the window do to you?” I asked before he’d even rolled it down.

“It’s you. Thank fu—god,” he said, clutching his chest with a heavy sigh.

“Wh-who did you think it was?”

Wesley took a deep breath and dismissed my question.

“How can I help you, Teddy?” he asked, forcing a smile.

I leaned forward and looked him straight in the eyes, my nostrils filling with that lavender scent that was unmistakably him.

“What were you doing in that house?”

He frowned.

“What house?” he asked.

“The house on Aster Lane. What were you doing there?”

He narrowed his eyes and grimaced before he said, “Are you following me?”

“That depends,” I said.

“On what?”

“On what you were doing there,” I said.

“I was paying a visit to a student’s house. Why do you care?”

“Is that all?” I asked.

“Ye-yeah,” he answered, but I could tell he wasn’t being entirely honest.

He ran a hand over his face and recomposed himself as I connected the dots and recognized the still-present fear in his body language, even though we were miles away from that house.

“Are you okay? You look terrified?”

“You mean more terrified than I should be with a parent shouting in my face for no reason?”

“I didn’t shout at you.”

Had I?

“I…I wasn’t talking about you.”

“Oh.”

He must be talking about the man on Aster Lane.

He was a parent?

I hadn’t seen any kids around the house, but then again, I’d only done a few stakeouts, and those had been during school hours.

“What happened?”

Wesley shook his head, took his seatbelt off, and opened the door.

I stepped aside to allow him to exit as Joey approached us.

“It’s nothing. Wh-what is this?” Wesley asked when he saw Joey. “What are you doing here? What were you doing on Aster Lane?”

“You’re Mac’s teacher, aren’t you?” Joey asked without missing a beat or softening his hardened expression.

“Was. Not this year,” Wesley answered. “Do I know you?”

“This is Joey Fowler. An old teammate,” I said.

“Joey? The burger Joey?” Wesley asked.

Joey moved his head from side to side, looking unsure about his nickname but not debating it either.

“I love your burgers, but that still doesn’t answer my questions,” Wesley said. “What do you want from me?”

Joey crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow when he said, “To tell us what you were doing in that house.”

“As I told your friend here,” he started and jabbed Joey’s chest with his finger, “I was visiting a student’s home because I was concerned about their absences. And their dad practically kicked me out, so if you don’t mind, I need to figure out what to do now.”

“Wait. He kicked you out?” I asked.

“Well…yeah. He was a total brute. And wasted as all hell. I’m sure the twins are unsafe with him, so I need to contact child protective services. Probably,” he replied.

“Oh fuck,” I said, and Wesley glanced at me with an inquisitive expression.

“What?” he asked.

I exchanged a glance with Joey, and he nodded before I spoke up.

“I think we need to talk. Can we come in?”

Wesley studied us for a moment or two before he relented and ushered us into his home.

It was such a thrill to walk up the porch between the decadent lavender bushes, and when he opened the door, it put a smile on my face because it looked pretty much as one would expect. Like a gorgeous greenhouse with plants and flowers everywhere the eye could reach.

“So, you’re telling me this man is a drug dealer, you’ve been watching him for months, and no one thought to do something about the kids?” he asked after we’d sat at his dining table and told him why we’d followed him.

“You’re not mad that we thought you might be involved?” I asked, and he grimaced.

“Fuck no. I don’t care about that. It’s a natural assumption to make. I’m just shocked this has been going on for so long and no one thought about the boys.”

I put my hands up and leaned back in my chair.

“To be fair, I didn’t know he had kids.”

Wesley offered the most discreet of smiles before he turned to Joey.

“I’ve been busy with work. I’ve not done many shifts,” he said, mimicking my actions and putting his hands up in surrender.

Instead of smiling at Joey like he’d done with me, his expression hardened.

“But you’re not denying you knew,” he hummed.

“It’s been slow because we didn’t want to put them in danger. Especially since we don’t know if it’s still a stash house or if that Barnes guy is involved.”

Wesley pursed his lips and stared Joey down before he turned to me.

“Okay, so what are we going to do?” Wesley asked.

“You’re not doing anything. We are.”

Wesley rolled his eyes.

“Yeah right. No offense, Teddy, you’ve only just gotten here, but your friends here have done fuck-all all this time. So, yes, my question still stands. What are we going to do?”

“Like I said, we don’t know if he’s part of the criminal network,” Joey said.

“But we know he’s a drunk who doesn’t care about his kids’ education, so if you’re not going to do anything, then I will.”

“You can’t,” I said and put my hand over his, though I had no idea what drove me to even touch him.

Whatever it was, it was nagging at the back of my head and the pit of my stomach. As if it couldn’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to Wesley.

Which wasn’t such an unfamiliar feeling in my line of work, but still, this was…this was too strong and too visceral.

“And why the hell not?” he asked in a defiant tone that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

“Because,” I started, but I had to stop and swallow before I continued, “You’ll be putting a Grade-A target on your back. And if he’s connected like we think he is, it won’t end well.”

His lips twitched between frustration and fear, and I squeezed his hand tighter to offer some comfort, if any.

“And what do you propose we do? Nothing? I can’t do that. I can’t pretend those boys aren’t in danger.”

“And we’re not asking you to. We just need to think about our next steps very carefully. For everyone’s sake,” Joey said, and Wesley’s only reply was a deep, understanding sigh.

“All right. Then let’s put our heads together and figure this shit out now. I don’t want those boys to spend any more nights at that house than they have to.”

Joey looked at me, and I looked at Wesley.

“What?” he asked. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. And if you’re about to use the whole Navy SEAL superhuman excuse, you can shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

It was my turn to smile at him.

Even though I hated that he was involved now. Even though it wasn’t safe for him and he couldn’t protect himself the same way Joey and I could. Even though it was bad, I couldn’t stop smiling.

This was the kind of teacher I wanted to have fighting for my nephew. Always.

Yeah, that was why. That was why there was a tightening in my stomach and my throat was so dry I felt parched. And that was why my chest felt so warm it could just about explode.

It was just Wesley being a good teacher and a good person.

Yeah.

That was all it was. No doubt.