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Emily’s home, a place that had initially seemed chaotic yet warm, now started to close in on him. He needed to escape, to think. To figure out some way to make this work.
Clearing his throat, he asked, “A blank disk?”
Emily didn’t respond.
When he turned, he realized she’d been too shocked to speak. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, her lips trembled.
“I said, do you have a blank disk?” His voice came out harsher than he intended.
She leaned over his shoulder to open the cabinet door.
He barely noticed how close those voluptuous curves were. All he could comprehend was that he was royally screwed.
Emily handed him a floppy disk.
She was silent as he copied the disk, then accepted her copy with a murmured thank-you. She walked him to the door, saying a quiet goodbye.
And when he stopped in the doorway and turned, she didn’t try to conceal the sadness in her deep brown eyes. “I’m sorry, Patrick. It looks like there are going to be a lot of disappointed people. It’ll be a free-for-all for any funds we locate.”
“Yeah, well, you do what you have to do.” He raised his hand in a silent goodbye.
CHAPTER FOUR
EMILY TIPTOED into Ryan’s room and watched him sleep. This was what mattered. Not how much money was missing from the PTO fund and not how many teachers would probably hate her guts.
She recalled Patrick’s frown when he’d suggested she do what she needed to do. It had almost sounded like a threat, except for the tinge of sadness in his voice.
She brushed hair off Ryan’s forehead. He appeared so sweet and angelic when asleep. Faint traces of his red fruit-drink mustache were the only evidence of his night of six-year-old debauchery.
Smiling, she counted her blessings. Her children were precious and she wouldn’t trade them for anything. Not even a spotless, peaceful house.
Tiptoeing from his room, she stopped outside Jason’s door. A thin strip of light shone beneath.
Emily threw back her shoulders and prepared to do battle, when all she really wanted was a hot bath and eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.
She tapped softly and entered, allowing Jason enough time to cover up for modesty if he wasn’t dressed, but not enough time to hide serious mischief—like bomb-making or drugs. Sighing, Emily knew she would have been shocked to find Jason doing something illegal or dangerous. But then again, it was often the parents who were the last to know.
Her gaze swept the room till she located her son slouching on the bed. Fortunately, he was dressed and there were no signs of a felony in progress.
Emily suppressed an urge to grab him by his shirtfront and shake some sense into him. Instead, she perched on the edge of his bed. “We have a rule, Jase, because I think it’s important. You broke that rule tonight.”
“We were only studying.”
Emily mentally counted to ten. Not only was he lying, but by doing so, he implied she was too stupid to comprehend what she’d seen. “What? You were studying Cassie’s tonsils with your tongue?”
“Mom!”
“I thought I could trust you.” His betrayal hurt. She depended on him to take care of the smaller children.
“Really, we were studying. But we started kissing like two seconds before you got home and—”
“Even if I believed that, it means you weren’t watching your brothers during those few seconds. That’s all it takes for a child to drown or start a fire. I expect you to act responsibly when you’re in charge of your brothers.”
“Mark and Ryan are fine.”
“No thanks to you. Which brings me to my second point. A teenage girl and boy home alone together is not a good thing. I don’t care how trustworthy you are—and I like Cassie—but things get out of hand really quickly. I think it’s about time for us to have a refresher talk about pregnancy and STDs.”
His face blanched. “Please, Mom, not that. Can’t you just ground me?”
The irony made Emily want to smile. She was so incredibly uncool and embarrassing to her kids. But a smart mother used it to her advantage. “It’s late. I’ll spare you the safe sex discussion tonight. But we will discuss it. And until then, you’re grounded.”
Relief flashed in Jason’s blue eyes, so reminiscent of his father’s. Oh, how she loved this headstrong child. And how it terrified her that he might do something stupid to derail his life. “Choices, Jase. Every choice you make has the possibility of changing your life, good or bad.”
Jason’s eyes started to glaze over. She could tell he’d escaped to whatever alternate reality he inhabited when she lectured. Sighing, he said, “I’m tired, Mom.”
“Yes, so am I.” Bone tired from nonstop problems and decision-making. “We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Jason?”
“Huh?”
“I love you.”
His frown deepened as if she’d used some horrible curse. She hoped, underneath his tough exterior, that he still enjoyed hearing his mom tell him she loved him. Because she intended to keep at it indefinitely. Some days, that was all she had to give.
When no response was forthcoming, Emily turned to leave.
“Mom?”
She stopped, her hand on the knob. “Yes?” Maybe he’d say those four little words she longed to hear.
I love you, Mom. She could almost see him as a pudgy toddler, handing her a wilted dandelion. What a sweet, sweet child he’d been. Until puberty.
Jason frowned. “What was he doing here?”
“Hm?” For a moment she’d forgotten their visitor. “Mr. Stevens stopped by to copy a disk containing PTO records.”
“He’s not coming back, is he?”
“Not that I know of. Why do you ask?”
“Um, you’re not, like, dating him or anything, are you?”
The horror in Jason’s voice made Emily laugh. The boy had a vivid imagination. “No, Jason, I’m not dating him.”
“WHAT AM I GOING TO DO, Nancy?” Emily almost forgot her problems as she took a bite of double cheeseburger. A large order of french fries beckoned, promising to make her forget her doubts. Two days had gone by since they’d retrieved the disk and Emily was no closer to figuring out a solution.
Nancy speared lettuce and marinated chicken, pausing to say, “I wish I had an easy answer, but I don’t. Looks to me like you have two choices. One, throw up your hands and declare the school year a disaster. Because of Tiffany’s duplicity, nobody would blame you.”
Emily shifted in her seat. She didn’t want to admit defeat.
“Or, two, you start organizing fund-raising campaigns like crazy. It’ll be hard, but at least you can salvage a few of the smaller programs.”
“Yes, you’re right. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a quitter. I’ll need some help, though.”
“You can count on me.” Nancy sipped her iced tea. Blotting her lips with her napkin, she said, “I bet there’s fund-raising information on the Internet.”
“I’ll do some surfing tonight. I’d like to ask one of the previous presidents for some ideas, if I can do it without spilling the beans about Tiffany. Remember, not a word to anyone.”
“Cross my heart. You mentioned Patrick Stevens was at your house?”
“Just to copy the disk.”
“Sure. The disk.”
“It’s the truth.” Emily’s cheeks warmed. “Why is everyone reading more into this than there really is?”
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” Nancy leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “Are you blushing? In the three years we’ve been friends, I’ve never seen you blush.”
“You’re imagining things. Patrick can’t stand me. And I’m not too thrilled about him, either.” Emily felt a twinge of doubt. “But he did say I’m irreverent and voluptuous.”
Nancy grinned. “Aha! I was right. And that’s the perfect description—irreverent and voluptuous.”
“Have you forgotten the whole thing with Jason? Even if he asked me out, do you think I’d really be interested in a man who was so cold to my son?”
“No, I guess not.” She reached across the table to pat Emily’s hand. “Sorry, Em, I just want you to find someone special like Beau.”
“They broke the mold with that Texan.”
“Yes, they certainly did. But we can find you someone just as good in his own way.”
Emily raised her hand, palm outward. “No more fix-ups. I love you like a sister, but no more blind dates.”
“Too bad it didn’t work out with Luke Andrews. He’s so nice and steady, owns his own business.”
“He’s a very nice man. But boring with a capital B. I thought if I had to hear about hardware or plumbing supplies one more minute, I was gonna scream.”
“And I guess Patrick Stevens falls into the boring category, too. Those scientific types usually are. I had a chemistry professor once who talked with this nasal monotone. Put me to sleep every time.”
Emily thought about it for a minute. “Patrick is sanctimonious, bordering on pompous, but he has moments of almost being a real person.”
“Real is good. And he is attractive in an intense way.”
“Why are we even having this discussion?” Emily knew she needed to nip this in the bud or her friend would be in all-out matchmaking mode. “I’ve decided dating isn’t for me. My children are my focus.”
“Aw, Em, I hate to see you give up on having that happily-ever-after. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”
Emily suppressed a twinge of envy. “I’ve never seen a couple that fits together like you and Beau. It’s like you two were made for each other.”
“But I didn’t always think that way, remember? As I recall, a very good friend encouraged me to give him a chance.”
“Beau’s a good man. He just took a few wrong turns on his way to finding you.”
“Maybe Patrick’s taken a few wrong turns, too. Maybe he regrets the whole episode with Jason as much as you do.”
“He hasn’t said anything. He even saw Jason the other night. Although it probably looked to him as if my kids were raised by wolves.” Rolling her eyes, she described their arrival.
Nancy laughed till she had tears in her eyes. “Oh, Em, but that’s the beauty of your home. It’s never boring and there’s always lots of love and laughter.”
Emily grumbled. “Just once, I’d like people to think of me like they thought of Tiffany Bigelow. How together and smart I am.”
“You are together and smart.”
“Till I stick my foot in my mouth. Like with that edible panty distributor who always hounded me for a date. He asked what he could do to increase our order, and I suggested they develop an edible panty that didn’t taste like the fruit chewy snacks I put in my kids’ lunches. I don’t care how much men like the things, women aren’t going to feel sexy if they associate the aroma with sack lunches.”
Nancy sputtered and set down her soda. “You had a valid point.”
“Probably, but the guy never asked me to dinner again. Why couldn’t I just come up with something cute and classy?”
“You actually did the man a favor. You gave him solid feedback on how crummy his product was. Unless, of course, he’s so wrapped up in his work, so to speak, he identified his product with his, um, equipment.”
Emily rolled her eyes. “Oh, great, now I’ve probably left the man impotent for life, when all I was trying to do was help.”
Nancy leaned back in her chair and laughed. “See, Em, you make me laugh. We just need to find a man who understands your sense of humor and isn’t intimidated.”
“Like such a man exists.”
“How about Parents Flying Solo? Any new guys there?”
“No, though I have to admit, I haven’t made many meetings lately. I’ve been too busy. Besides, it’s not the same now that you and Beau aren’t there anymore. Did you hear who was elected president?”
Nancy shook her head.
Emily updated her on the latest happenings at the parenting support group. The next half hour flew by as they moved on to other topics, chatting about their children and Nancy’s real estate business.
Emily was still smiling when she returned to work.
Her smile faded when she saw two police officers in the waiting area.
Olivia immediately came out of her office as if she’d been watching for Emily’s arrival. Good thing she hadn’t taken a long lunch.
“Emily, these officers are here to see you.” Olivia frowned, her eyes warm with concern. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
Emily’s stomach tensed with dread.
The older officer introduced them and got straight to the point. “A report has been filed about certain irregularities in the Elmwood Elementary School PTO account. I spoke with Brad Bigelow this morning. He indicates you went by his house last night and asked for a computer file?”
