Bad Girlfriend (First & Last #4) (8 page)

"Of course I'm okay, Brooke."

"All right.
  You just seem kind of nervous...or something."  I took a bite of a warm chocolate chip cookie and closed my eyes.  Pure heaven.  When I opened my eyes, Adam was looking at me with the same heated look in his eyes.  I licked the crumbs off my bottom lip, and his eyes dropped to my mouth, following the path my tongue traced.

"What would I have to be nervous about?  Although there is something I wanted to talk to you about."

Uh huh.  I knew it.  I wrenched my eyes from Adam's and turned to Gram.

"Okay, Gram. 
Spill."

With her back to me, Gram poured three glasses of milk.  "You know I'm not getting any younger, Brooke.  And the winter weather here is really hard on my arthritis.  This big old house has so many steps..." she trailed off as she brought the milk glasses to the table.

"What are you saying, Gram?  Do you want to sell the house?"

She took my hand.  "No, I don't want to sell it.  But I don't want to live here anymore."

Not understanding where she was going with this, I scrunched my eyebrows together.  "I don't understand."

She sighed.  "My sister, Irene, has
that condo down in Florida.  It's in an old folks community.  You know I’ve been there to visit the past three winters…and Brooke, I think it's time I moved down there.  Permanently."

"You're leaving me here?"
I whispered.  Hearing that she wanted to move wasn't a total surprise to me.  Gram had mentioned it over the years, but I never thought she would actually do it.  Part of me understood that she had given up her older years to raise me when my mother couldn't.  That part knew she deserved to relax, move somewhere warm and not have to take care of a big one hundred year old house.  But the part of me that was scared at being on my own, alone, reared its ugly head.

"What will I do wit
hout you?  Where will I live?" I said, near panic mode now.  I felt Adam's hand on my knee, squeezing reassuringly.

"Brooke, honey, you'll live here.  The house is paid off, and I will transfer the deed to your name.  With the rental income from
the apartment along with your job, you should be in very good shape."

Logically it made sense.  Financially it made sense. 
But emotionally?  It made no sense.  I was being abandoned by yet another person that claimed to care about me.  First my mother and father, whoever he was, then the hordes of guys I had dated. Now Gram.  In reality, she should never be lumped into that category, but in that moment all I could feel was fear.

Pushing my chair away from the table, I hurried out the back door to where I always felt free like I did as a child.  Sitting on the swing, I buried my face in my hands and let a few tears
slip out.

A moment later, I heard the grass crunching as footsteps approached me.  Adam came up behind me and put his hands on the rope on either side of my head.

"Do you want a push?"

Sniffling, I nodded and put my hands just under his on the rope.  He pulled the swing back and let it go, sending me flying forward.  Each time I swung back, Adam gave a gentle but firm push on my lower back.  I don't know how long I was swinging, but he stayed with me the
whole time, pushing me higher.

Finally
, when the sun had set and the stars were out, I dragged my feet along the ground to slow myself down.  When I was almost stopped, Adam grabbed the ropes and brought the swing to a standstill.  Taking my hand he helped me stand up.  With my heels on he was still quite a bit taller than me, and I had to tilt my head back to look at him.

"You okay?" h
e asked quietly, brushing his fingers through the hair at my temple and tucking it behind my ear.

"I will be.  I know she deserves this.  She's taken care of me for twenty
-three years and her own kids before that.  It’s time for her to think about herself for once.  And it's time for me to take care of myself."  I bit my lip and looked up.  "It's just really scary for me to think about being alone."

Adam placed his hands on my bare shoulders, and the warm touch made me wish his hands were other places.  "You're not alone, Brooke.  You have your friends, and you have me.  I'm not very handy around the house, but I
can wield a lawnmower like nobody else."

I smiled.  "Thanks."  I wanted to take one step forward and be in his arms, but I held back.  "You're probably really sorry you moved in here."

Adam's thumbs rubbed over the tops of my shoulders, sending little wisps of heat down my arms.  "Not at all," he murmured.

I had to close my eyes and step back before I did something stupid.  Something even stupider than having a drunken one night stand with my tenant - repeating said one night stand.

"I should go talk to Gram," I said.

"Okay.  I'll see you around," Adam said as he walked backwards toward the garage.  When he reached his door, he gave a wave and ducked inside his apartment.

Gram was right where I had left her at the kitchen table.  For the first time ever she looked every bit of her seventy-one years.  God, was she really seventy-one?  Forcing a smile onto my face for her sake, I sat down beside her.

"Gram, I think it's a really great idea.  I'm sorry I had a spoiled brat moment before, but you really do deserve this."

Gram smiled and hugged me.  "Thank you, Brooke.  You know you'll never really be alone."

"I know," I murmured.  I didn't really believe that, but I was going to learn to love being on my own if it killed me.

Later that night I went down to the kitchen to get a glass of water before I went to bed.  Looking out the kitchen window, I saw that Adam's lights were still on.  I wanted so badly to cross the driveway, climb the stairs and knock on his door.  Instead I went up to my bedroom and listened to the sounds of Gram taking her nightly shower.  Sounds I wouldn't be hearing for much longer.

Chapter Eight

Adam

I looked up from my computer at the knock on my already open door.  I had told Louise several times over the last two weeks that she didn't have to knock
, especially when my door was open, but she insisted on maintaining an overly professional relationship.

"Yes, Louise?"

She always managed to look down her long pointed nose at me.  "Your five o'clock appointment is here.  And you've had another cookie delivery," she said with barely concealed disdain.

"Thank you, Louise," I said pleasantly.  "Can you put the cookies in the
staff lounge with the others?"

Apparently the way to welcome a new principal to the school was to try to put him into a sugar coma.  No less than nine different moms had dropped off cookies for me this week, and it was only Tuesday.

Louise huffed out an annoyed breath and stalked off in the direction of the lounge.  I finished the e-mail I had been composing and hit Send.  Then I went into the lobby to introduce myself to Caitlyn Morris' mother.  She had requested a conference with me, though I had no idea why.  From my preliminary research, Caitlyn was doing well in school and hadn't had any behavior issues.

"Mrs. Morris?  I'm Adam
Branigan," I said, holding out my hand to the scantily clad woman in front of me.

She placed her hand in mine and smiled
brightly at me.  "It's Ms. Morris.  I'm divorced - have been for two years now.  And please, call me Missy."

"Oh, okay.  Missy, come on back to my office and we'll talk about Caitlyn."  I gestured for her to walk ahead of me.

There was a small table and chairs in the corner of my office, and I preferred to use that for conferences.  It made it more informal than when I sat behind my desk.  I didn't want the parents to feel like they had been called to the principal's office.

Missy Morris sat and crossed her legs, causing her already short skirt to shift indecently high.  Keeping my eyes on
her face, I cleared my throat.

"So, Missy, tell me what your concerns are with Caitlyn's education."

Missy leaned forward, which caused her boobs to nearly pop out over her low cut top.  "You see, Adam, Caitlyn's father isn't around much.  Since we've been divorced, I've had full custody.  He flakes out on his scheduled visitation most of the time.  I'm worried that Caitlyn doesn't have a strong male figure in her life."

She reached out and placed her hand on my knee.  The meeting suddenly
moved from unnecessary to uncomfortable.  I shifted in my seat, which served to dislodge her hand from my leg.  Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my ankle over my opposite knee, hoping to prevent any more knee touching.

"Recent studies have shown that having one involved parent is just as beneficial as having two.  I spoke with Caitlyn's teachers and reviewed her records.  She doesn't seem to be having any outwa
rd difficulties, Miss Morris."

As the reason for her meeting was becoming clear, I attempted to keep it professional.

"I just think having regular contact with a responsible, educated man would be good for Caitlyn," Miss Morris said with a slight pout of her painted lips.

I was getting the feeling that it was the mother, not the daughter, who would benefit from regular contact with a responsible, educated man.  That was not a line I was willing to cross. 
Ever.  Besides, Miss Morris' half dressed state did nothing for me.  Knowing the age of her daughter, I guessed she couldn’t be much older than me.  But she looked like she’d been around the block a few times.

"If you think it would help, I can recommend some programs that will pair Caitlyn with a mentor.  You also might consider having her see a child psychologist to determine if this really is an issue we need to worry about.
  The school would be more than happy to work with a psychologist’s recommendations."

Miss Morris looked less than pleased that I was pushing her
in another direction.  She leaned even closer, and I worried she was about to fall out of her seat.

"Adam," she said, trailing her
sharp red fingernail over my knee.  "Can I make you dinner to thank you for taking time to talk to me?"  Her smile suggested she would be serving me much more than food.

I stood up and waited for her to do the same.  "It's my job to be here for my students and their parents, Miss Morris.  You don't need to thank me," I said, keeping my expression neutral.

"You know my number if you change your mind."  Now it was my chest she trailed her nails over as she passed.

I was still standing in the middle of my office, slightly shocked, when Louise came in.  She smirked at me, which was as close to a smile as
I ever got from her.

"You've been here for less than two weeks.  I'm surprised it took this long for the vultures to start circling."

"What?"

Louise rolled her eyes as she set a thick file on my desk. 
She spoke slowly like I was hard of hearing or English wasn’t my first language.  "You're new in town, Mr. Branigan.  You're well educated, gainfully employed, single and you like children.  The single mothers in this town will claw each others' eyes out to land you."

Land me?  The parents at my old school were absent and neglectful.  I wasn't sure which was worse.

"You didn't think all those cookies were just because you're new here, did you?"

Yeah, actually I did. 
I guess Louise can add gullible to the top of my list of attributes.

"Do you want me to order dinner for you be
fore the PTO meeting at 6:30?" Louise asked, while I was still trying to wrap my head around being wooed with cookies.

The first PTO meeting of the school year was this evening, and I had planned on staying at school to attend.  As the new principal, I wanted to introduce myself and see what the committee had planned for the year.  Now I was a little bit afraid to voluntarily put myself in a room with thirty moms.

"Uh, yeah.  That would be great.  Thanks, Louise."

She ordered me a sandwich from the deli down the street, and I ate it at my desk.  As I
polished off the delicious Italian club and a bag of chips, an e-mail popped up reminding everyone in the school district that the high school's first home football game was on Friday.  I should probably go, as an employee of the district.  And I always enjoyed a good football game.

I wondered if Brooke would be there.  She seemed close to
Poppy, more than the other two girls, and Poppy was Ford's girlfriend.  It was no surprise I found myself thinking about Brooke.  She had dominated my thoughts since last Friday night.  Each night when I came home from work, it was harder and harder to go straight to my apartment.  I hadn't seen her since Saturday night after her grandma had dropped the bomb of moving to Florida on Brooke.

I wanted to make sure she was okay.  I wanted to see her again.  I wanted to kiss her
soft lips and feel her lush body against mine.  It was the single biggest regret of my life that I couldn't remember what it felt like to be with her.

Outside my window I could see women arriving for the meeting.  I quickly
slurped down the rest of my soda and went to the cafeteria where the meeting was being held.  Several of the teachers had stayed, and I chatted with the second and fourth grade teachers while we waited for everyone to arrive.