Her Every Fantasy (2 page)

Kayla could hear Randy’s son, Wade come into the room with Kristen. He spoke to her in a hushed tone. A short time later, Kristen came back on the line. “I have to run. Wade just informed me that he is ready for bed, and it is my turn to tuck him in.”

“Well, I won’t keep you. Give Wade and Randy a hug and kiss for me.”

Kristen promised that she would, and they disconnected the call after bidding each other a good night. Kayla stood and carried her empty bowl back to the kitchen. She hoped that her sisters were aware of how lucky they were to have good men. Kristen had been lucky enough to land two. Wade was a sweetheart, and he loved Kristen as much as Kristen loved him.

Hopefully, she would find at least one. It was too bad that things didn’t seem as if they were going to work out with James Feldon. He was one man whom she wouldn’t mind being involved with. She’d always liked the thought of getting married and having children. After rinsing the bowl out, she set it in the sink. When Mr. Right did come along, she would be sure to embrace him with open arms. Hopefully, he would come along soon.

She made her way back into the living room and turned off the television. She hoped that he would come along quickly because it was getting lonely. After a lifetime of constant companionship with her sisters, it was not hard to imagine why. Walking up the stairs, she headed to her bedroom. She was going to take a shower then go to bed. There she would think about Mr. Right and what he would look like.

Kayla took a deep breath prior to walking into the conference room. She’d been rehearsing what she was going to say all day. All thoughts left her head as she entered the room. A lesser woman would have been intimidated by Dan and Trish Goodman’s glares or by Gary and Michelle Jones’ eye rolling and folded arms. Margaret and Tim Radcliffe were frowning, and Brigette Holbrock was fidgeting nervously. James Feldon overshadowed all of those distractions. He was standing in the corner of the room looking out of the window. The man was even sexier up close and personal. Every time she saw him, she fell harder for him. He could double for Orlando Bloom. He was tall and ruggedly built with thick, wavy black hair that she was dying to run her fingers through.

He had smooth, lightly tanned skin that was accentuated by straight white teeth, but it was his eyes that always captivated her. He had an angular face with eyes as blue as the sky, expressive light blue eyes that she could get lost in. She studied his face—high cheekbones, a straight nose, square jaw, and full lips. He had a mustache that connected to a goatee, and both were neatly trimmed. He was a well-groomed man. She liked men that took care in their appearance. His stance gave her the opportunity to follow his broad shoulders down to a lean and tapered waistline. He looked to stand at least four inches over six feet because she had to look up at him, something that was a rarity for her, considering she was just under six feet without shoes.

Simply put the man was sexy as hell, and he was definitely a heartbreaker. It was written all over him. She tried to get her thoughts back on track before she embarrassed herself. She walked over to the table and set her briefcase down. Her attention went to the students that were the cause of this meeting. Holly, Laurie, and Violet were sitting at one table with expressions and body language matching their parents. Somer and Jamie sat at another table, Jamie with a comforting arm around Somer, a gesture that Kayla was used to seeing now. Clearing her throat, she began the conference. She pulled a stack of papers out of her briefcase and began to explain why she’d called the parent–teacher conference. She handed one to each parent and student. The information on the paper pertained to how many altercations and disruptions had occurred in her class. It also reflected the number of detentions that had been assigned to them because of the disturbances.

The information only went back to November because that’s when the conflict had started to reach a breaking point. She began to explain to the parents what her concerns were and what she planned to do to put a halt to any future disruptions.

Michelle interrupted her. “Is there really a need for all of this? They are teenage girls just having a little fun.”

“If you ask me, those two are just upset because they aren’t as popular as our daughters,” Trish added.

Kayla had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something very inappropriate to Trish. Instead, she addressed her students. There were going to be some very unpleasant things said, and she didn’t want the students to hear any of it. The last thing that they needed was more points of attack.

Standing she opened the door and called them out into the hallway. Daring any of their parents to object, she looked them all in the eye.

“Stand out here. Don’t move, and don’t make a sound, or you will be in detention and suspended from all school functions for the rest of the school year.” Their eyes widened, and she knew that she had their attention. Satisfied, she stepped back into the conference room and hoped that things didn’t get too loud. “First of all, nothing like that will be said, especially in front of the students.”

Trish shrugged with indifference. “The truth hurts sometimes.”

Kayla sighed heavily and shook her head. This was not going well at all, but she had never really expected it to. “That is your opinion, Trish, and you are entitled to it, but I would ask that you refrain from saying it out loud.”

Trish scoffed. “It doesn’t need to be said out loud. Everyone knows that Brigette is a doormat, and so is her daughter.”

Trish turned and looked at James. “I don’t know you personally, but I have heard from a very reliable source that you couldn’t provide the things that you were supposed to in your marriage, so your poor wife took up drinking and killed herself.”

“
Trish
,” Kayla called out in outrage. She had to give James credit. He didn’t even flinch at the comment, but she saw his eyes darken threateningly, and his hands curled into tight fists. She sent up a silent prayer that this would not turn into a brawl.

Margaret scoffed. “Give me a break, Kayla. You and your sister always did take up for the losers.”

Kayla could feel the heat start to travel up her neck. That was the first sign that she was starting to lose her temper. “No, Margaret, we don’t. My sisters and I never take up for any of you.”

She stood up and leaned over the desk before going down the line. The first thing that she pointed out was that Trish, Michelle, and Margaret all had daughters in high school in spite of them all being the age of thirty-two. Michelle had the decency to blush and look away. Kayla looked over at Trish and informed her that she should know about not being able to provide what was needed in a marriage. She was married to the son of an alcoholic, and she went on to point out that from Dan’s bloodshot eyes, the trait had been passed down.

Margaret was her last point of attack. Kayla admitted that Margaret should know what a loser was since Tim had only married her once he was certain that he would get money out of the deal and not because she was pregnant. The room was quiet, and Brigette stopped fidgeting. Instead, there was a slight smile on her face. Kayla sighed heavily. She knew that she’d gotten her point across. Not in the civil way that she’d wanted to, but it worked.

“We could go back and forth like this all day. Truth is it wouldn’t solve anything.” Kayla retook her seat, making eye contact with the three women that were still wreaking havoc as they had when they were younger.

“You know it is parents like you who cause the violence that occurs in schools these days. I refuse to stand by and watch it happen here. This problem will be solved with your cooperation or without it.” She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. “So what will it be?”

Michelle was the first to break, and it was not all that surprising. Out of the trio, she was probably the weakest link. Margaret was next to cave in, admitting that Violet was getting out of control and that she didn’t know what to do. Looking over at Trish, Kayla knew that she was going to be the hardest one to get to agree. They sat there in silence, and finally, Dan spoke up.

“You will have our full cooperation as well.”

He looked directly at Trish as he spoke. “Kayla is right. I have been hitting the bottle pretty hard, and it is because of you and Holly.”

Trish’s mouth dropped open, but she didn’t say anything. Kayla nodded knowing that she had their cooperation. She asked Brigette and James if she had their cooperation, and both said that she did. “Okay then, I will bring the girls back in.”

She rose and went out into the hallway to get the girls. They were still standing there quietly as she’d requested. “Come back in, ladies.”

The teenage girls filed back into the room, and when she went back in, she noticed that the expression of all the parents had changed, with the exception of Trish’s. Once Kayla’s students were seated, she exhaled softly.

“Okay, ladies, your parents and I have decided that we need to help you resolve the conflict going on among you, since none of you seem to be in a rush to do so yourselves.”

Their parents murmured their agreement. Each parent went down the line to tell their child what the consequence would be if they didn’t participate in the conflict resolution plan. There were threats of everything from not being able to try out for the cheerleading squad to taking away a cell phone for a year. With those consequences in mind, the girls reluctantly agreed to arrangement.

Kayla told them of her plan to put them together for the next project coming up. They would have to work on the project and report to her each day who was doing what, so that she could make sure they were sharing the work equally. The paper would be their final exam grade. All of the girls groaned, but they consented. With that plan agreed upon, Kayla dismissed the meeting. Everyone slowly began to file out. Kayla gathered her things and placed them in her briefcase.

“Kayla.”

She looked up and saw Brigette standing there. The corners of her mouth tilted upward. Brigette really was a nice woman. It was horrible that she’d been picked on during their high school years. There had been nothing wrong with Brigette. Just the fact that her family had been poor made her the butt of jokes. She could remember when Brigette had become pregnant her sophomore year in high school. That had come as a shock to everyone. Brigette became more of a social outcast overnight. Then Trish had come up pregnant, followed by Margaret and then Michelle.

People started joking that there must have been something in the water, but there had been more to the story than that. After picking up her briefcase, Kayla stepped around the table. She took Brigette’s arm under hers. “How have you been?”

Brigette shrugged her shoulders slowly. “The same as usual, but I think that things will improve.”

Kayla smiled. “I am glad.”

Brigette nodded. “So am I.”

Kayla locked up the conference room, and they headed down the hall. She let Tom, the
janitor,
know that they were finished so that he could lock up the building.

“Maybe things will get better now.”

Kayla looked down at Brigette. “What do you mean?”

Brigette gave her a worried look. “Just the other day, Somer and I had an argument about this. Some pretty mean things were said by the both of us.”

She gave Brigette an understanding look. “Well, I am very certain that this plan will go great as long as everyone keeps her commitment, and you should apologize to Somer for the things that you think were wrong for you to say. Somer being the smart girl that she is will probably apologize as well.”

They were silent as they exited the building. After a moment, Kayla cleared her throat. “Brigette, I hope it is not too forward for me to say this, but maybe after this school year, you should send Somer to her father for the summer.”

Brigette laughed. “I would love to do that, but Trish would have a fit.”

Kayla stumbled before righting herself. She’d definitely misheard Brigette. A quick glance told her that she hadn’t. “Excuse me?”

Brigette smiled at her reaction. “You heard me correctly. Dan is Somer’s father. It happened during a weak moment for the both of us.”

Kayla looked at Brigette in amazement. All these years Somer’s father was right here in town. “Does
Somer
know?”

Brigette’s eyes widened. “No, of course not, and Holly doesn’t know either. Dan tells me that Trish has no idea, although I always thought that she suspects since she treats me like crap all the time.”

Kayla shook her head. “No, Trish is just a mean person. You weren’t the only one who felt her wrath.”

They continued on to their cars, Kayla still in shock over what had just been revealed to her. She paused in mid-step. “Does Keirra know this?”

Brigette sighed. “No, she doesn’t. The only people who knew up until now were Dan and
myself
.”

Kayla digested the information prior to speaking. “Do you ever plan on telling Somer?”

“Yes, we do, but with these incidents that have been occurring lately, it seems as if I should wait a little while.”

Kayla nodded. Right now might not be a good time to inform the girls that they were related. “But you will tell them?”

Brigette sighed heavily.
“We will tell them. We don’t have too much of a choice.”

They came upon Brigette’s car first. Somer was sitting in the car buckled in, and there was clear relief on her face. Kayla gave Brigette a brief hug.