Page 38 of Tempt (Peachwood Falls #1)

M egan

“How are things going?” Maggie asks.

I put her on speaker and set the phone on the ottoman. “It’s going great. I think we’ve found a rhythm.” No pun intended .

“Is Kennedy behaving herself?”

“You know she is,” I say, folding a blanket left on the couch this morning. “I haven’t had any trouble with her at all. You painted her out to be this wild animal, and she’s been nothing but an angel for me.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. I’ve been checking in with Chase, and he’s been giving me good reports, but I thought it was time to check in with you and get your side of things.”

“No complaints here. How is Lonnie? Are you enjoying yourselves?”

Maggie laughs. “It's so much fun being with my daughter after spending every day with my rotten boys. Kate wants to shop, read books, and paint the dining room. I’m used to finding fishing worms in my refrigerator and mud tracked through the house.”

I laugh too.

“Kate got some great news today,” Maggie says. “She’s being sent to a workshop in Miami and then transferred closer to home.”

“Oh, wow . Maggie, that’s great. I bet she’s excited to be closer to you guys.”

“She is, but not as excited as we are. I think Lonnie might burst at the seams.”

I pluck a water bottle from between the couch cushions. Then a quart of blueberries. Really, Kennedy?

“So on that note,” Maggie says hesitantly. “Lonnie and I have decided to head back home early.”

My stomach falls to the floor. What?

“Kate will have to pack because she leaves for Miami on Monday. When she gets home, she will have a lot to do for the move.” She giggles. “I can’t believe I just said that. Kate’s moving home .”

I can’t believe you just said that either, Maggie.

The blueberries fall from my hand and smack the floor. Tiny berries scatter across the hardwood, rolling under the furniture. Shit .

“When will you be back?” I ask, getting on my hands and knees to gather the fruit.

“We’ll hit the road in a little while. If I can keep Lonnie from stopping every mile, we should be home tomorrow afternoon sometime.”

“ Oh . Okay.”

“I’ll see you soon, sweetie.”

I blink back tears. “Yeah. See you soon.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye.”

I roll onto my back and stare at the ceiling. Breathe, Megan .

What does this mean? Will Maggie come home and I’ll need to go? Why would I stay at Chase’s house with no good reason?

What happens between us now? Will reality settle in, and we’ll acknowledge this was a lustfest? Or will we manage to figure something out?

I put a hand on my chest and practice breathing evenly.

“It’ll be okay. Don’t panic. He’s given you no reason to think things will blow up in your face … like everything always does .”

I groan and roll back over and continue my berry search.

“No. Nope. This will be fine,” I say aloud. “Everything has been going so well. There’s no need to …”

My voice trails off as my phone begins to ring. A number I don’t know flashes across the screen. Huh .

“Hello?” I say, sitting on my knees.

“Yes, is this Megan Kramer?”

“It is.”

“Hi, Ms. Kramer. This is Principal Walding at Peachwood Hills Schools. We have a situation with Kennedy Marshall, and you are listed as the point of contact. Is that correct?”

Oh shit .

I get to my feet, the blueberries forgotten. “Is she all right?”

“I need you to confirm you’re the point of contact, please.”

“Yes. I’m the point of contact. Is she all right?”

He sighs. “She is. But we’ll need you or her father or grandmother—I believe they are the other two on the list—to come to my office. We have a few things we need to discuss.”

My mind spins. What do I do? “Okay. Well, I can be there in twenty minutes. Is that okay?”

“That’ll be fine. Just let the secretary know I’m waiting for you.”

“I’ll see you shortly.”

“Goodbye, Ms. Kramer.”

I end the call. “ Fuck .”

Holding my head, I pace back and forth. “What do I do? Do I call Chase? Do I call Maggie back?” I stop moving. “No, Chase asked you to take care of things. You don’t even know what the situation is yet. It could be silly, and there’s no need to worry him.”

I groan, looking at the ceiling. I consider calling Gavin but quickly decide against it. Chase never insinuated that I should do that if something arose.

“Mom swears you’re the right person to help with Ken, and honestly …” A grin twitches against his lips. “I might not disagree.”

“You might not, huh?”

“Well, in your favor, you seem like it’ll be hard for Kennedy to steamroll.”

I laugh. “That, I assure you.”

“So we have a plan then?”

I race upstairs to put on clean clothes.

It looks like I have an appointment with the principal.

“Hi. I’m Megan Kramer here to see … the principal.” I forgot his name . “He called me a little while ago.”

“Yes, Ms. Kramer. Have a seat, and I’ll let him know you’re here.”

She eyes me over the top of black-rimmed glasses like I’m a stranger coming in off the street. Nice.

I sit under an oversized picture of Principal Walding and his big toothy grin.

My nerves have been frayed since I hung up the phone. I’ve gone back and forth over whether to call Chase. If it’s an emergency, I’ll have to let him know. But, in the end, it makes the most sense just to let him get his job finished so he can come home. He’ll be home tonight, anyway.

Besides, he put me on the call list so I could take care of things.

This is things .

A door squeaks to my right, and the same man in the picture above me stands behind me, minus a few strands of hair.

“Come in, Ms. Kramer,” he says, ushering me into his office.

Kennedy sits in a pleather chair with her arms crossed over her chest. Next to her is a woman in her forties with perfect hair and a button-down top tucked into a pleated skirt.

I make a point not to look at my jeans and T-shirt. At least I found a blazer to throw on over my shirt.

Principal Walding pulls in a chair from the waiting room for me to use. I sit next to Kennedy. When I look at her, she rolls her eyes and huffs.

Fabulous .

“Ms. Kramer, I’m Principal Walding, and this is Mrs. Falconbury. Kennedy is in her Health and Wellness class.”

I fold my hands on my lap. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“We’ve had a few situations lately where Kennedy decided to skip class,” he says. “I’m sure you can understand why that’s unacceptable.”

“Yes. If she’s not there, I can see why that’s a problem.”

I glance at Kennedy out of the corner of my eye. She glares at me.

“Here’s the thing,” Kennedy says, hands on her hips. “I was there. I didn’t skip class.”

“Ken, please. Don’t lie to me.”

Her jaw drops. “I was there, Dad. I mean it. I was as shocked as you are when I got that today.”

“After this exact conversation last week, I find that hard to believe.”

“Dad.”

“I thought we were getting somewhere. I thought you were going to do better.”

“I am doing better. Why don’t you believe me?”

The principal takes off his glasses and places them on his desk. “She’s had no fewer than seven detentions already this year.”

“That feels excessive,” I say.

“It is excessive,” Mrs. Falconbury says from across the room. “And totally unnecessary. If she just showed up, I wouldn’t have to punish her.”

Kennedy’s eyes are trained on the floor.

“What happened today?” I ask. “Did she miss class again today?”

“No,” the principal says. “Today, Kennedy chose to have a verbal altercation with Mrs. Falconbury.”

Kennedy springs up in her seat. “That’s not true.”

“I’ve already heard enough from you today, young lady,” her teacher says.

“But I didn’t choose to have any altercation with you. You chose it. You started saying?—”

“Kennedy, lower your voice,” Mrs. Falconbury says.

The principal holds up a hand. “Enough, Kennedy.”

What the fuck?

“Well, I guess I should’ve skipped class today then,” Kennedy says. “It would’ve been better than to have to go through this.”

The principal sighs and looks at me. “Kennedy has been suspended for three days.”

Kennedy glares at me. Again.

“Okay,” I say, giving her a look to settle down. “I understand something occurred today, and you’re sending her home. But I haven’t heard her side of the story.”

“Backtalking a teacher is never justified, Ms. Kramer,” he says. “She’s been on her third strike for quite a few strikes. This is the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.” He looks at Kennedy. “Maybe you can go home, cool off, and return with a new attitude.”

“Let’s back up,” I say, clearing my throat. “She backtalked a teacher. I got it. But that means we don’t need to hear what started all of this?”

“Her attitude started all of this,” Mrs. Falconbury snorts.

I turn to her slowly. “Considering I’ve been very polite, and you’ve dismissed me like a child, I sense that maybe Kennedy isn’t the only one with an attitude problem. Respectfully, of course.”

Kennedy’s eyes go wide.

“Ms. Kramer,” Mrs. Falconbury says, clearly placating me and doing her best not to lose her cool. “This is an ongoing issue with Kennedy. We’d like you to take her home and talk to her about her behavior. Someone needs to get through to that child.”

I laugh, anger bubbling up inside me. “ Again , I’d like to hear her side of the story.”

Mrs. Falconbury sighs and throws up her hands.

“Kennedy,” I say, looking at her and ignoring her teacher’s antics. “What happened?”

“I got suspended for three days. That’s what happened.”

“Why?”

She just stares at me.

“Ken, level with me here,” I say. “ Tell me what happened .”

“You’re just wasting our time,” Mrs. Falconbury says.

That’s it. I’ve had enough.

I slide my attention to the woman beside Kennedy. “Right now, you are wasting my time. I’m trying to get to the root of the problem, and you keep interrupting me. I’m starting to wonder if you don’t want her side of the story told.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It is, isn’t it?” I ask, piercing her with my stare. “Now, Kennedy, what happened ? Ignore everyone else in the room and talk to me.”