6

“Although I’m sorry you’re leaving Parkwood, I’m happy for you,” Carolyn said when she drove Marilyn home that Friday evening.

“Thank you, Carolyn,” Marilyn said, smiling over at her friend. “I’m sorry, too. The hardest part was saying goodbye to my kids.” She’d only been with them for two months, but she’d become attached to many of them.

“You’re going to love Mrs. Chapman, though,” Carolyn said happily. “She’s the greatest.”

“So you’ve said.” A number of times, Marilyn thought.

When Carolyn entered the parking lot of Marilyn’s apartment complex, she parked the car instead of pulling up to the door, the way she usually did. Then she turned to Marilyn. “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you happy about the transfer?”

Marilyn nibbled on her bottom lip. Although she had gotten to know Carolyn and liked her a lot, she was reluctant to share her personal business with anyone. There was no way she could tell her friend that the transfer to Cullers would be a financial burden.

Even though it was a great opportunity, and she’d receive a slight increase in her salary, it wouldn’t be enough to make much of a difference. Her new school was located across town, which meant she would need a car. And that was something she couldn’t afford to buy right now. She had mailed off half of her paycheck to her parents today. She would have to make do riding the bus for a while, at least until her father returned to work.

As a result, she would have to get up two hours earlier each morning. Teaching at Parkwood had been so convenient. Not having to make a car payment or pay for auto insurance had saved her a lot of money.

Her only other alternative was to find an apartment near Cullers, where she could continue to walk to school. Cullers was in a nice area of town and she could just imagine how much more she would have to pay for rent if she were to move. Besides, she loved her apartment and the area where it was located.

“Marilyn, what has you so uptight about the transfer?” Carolyn asked her again.

Instead of telling her the real reason, she said, “It’s such a big undertaking.”

Carolyn nodded. “All eyes will definitely be on you, kiddo. But I’m sure you’ll do fine. Mr. Madaris would not have selected you if he didn’t think so. And what an opportunity! A math coach? Who would have thought of such a thing? You can’t convince me this isn’t one of his babies. Another one of his bright ideas. If you do well, then you’ll make Sanders, Chapman and Mr. Madaris look good.”

“I guess I wasn’t prepared for the pressure.”

Carolyn lifted a brow. “What pressure? You’re a math whiz. Word got out the second day of school that you’d turned down a job offer as a human computer with NASA. Mr. Madaris saw a way to use your skills to the school district’s advantage. Like I said, the man is brilliant.”

One of Marilyn’s neighbors came out to get into his car. Marilyn watched as Carolyn followed the man’s movements with her eyes, while she licked her lips, their conversation temporarily forgotten. Marilyn shook her head. Her friend never missed the chance to admire a handsome man. She hoped Carolyn never got the chance to meet her brother Roland.

It was only after the man had driven off that Carolyn returned to their conversation. “Like I was saying, Marilyn, you’ll do fine. You’re the only teacher at Parkwood--probably in this entire school district--who has the math skills to pull this off. They selected the right person. You’re worrying for nothing.”

Marilyn released a deep sigh. “I guess you’re right.”

Carolyn chuckled. “I know I’m right. Just don’t forget about me. We’re going to have to get together from time to time, especially now that I’ve seen you have such good-looking neighbors.”

* * * *

Jonathan was in a good mood when he met his brother for dinner later that day. Robert, who was home on leave from the military, had come into town to do errands for the ranch and called to see if Jon was free.

“Any reason you’re smiling all over the place?” Robert asked, studying him across the table. “Did you get a promotion at work?”

“Nope.”

“Then what is it? Don’t keep me in suspense.”

Jonathan was close to all his brothers, but he was closest to Robert because they were close in age. According to his older siblings, nobody had expected Robert and Jonathan to become family additions when they had. And none of them had figured on Jake, who’d been born after the oldest Madaris brothers had married and were having kids of their own.

“I met someone, Robert. A woman.”

Robert smiled. “Who is she?”

“One of my teachers. I was attracted to her from the first moment I laid eyes on her.”

Robert raised a brow. “I’m happy for you. But when did your school get rid of that non-fraternizing policy?”

“They haven’t.”

Robert frowned, obviously confused. “Then you’re breaking the rules?”

“Not exactly.”

Robert leaned back in his chair and stared at his brother. “Then I think you need to explain what you mean.”

At that moment a waitress came to take their order. “Let’s order our food first,” Jonathan said. “Then I will tell you everything.”

* * * *

Later that evening, Marilyn called her best friend, Traci, to share the news about her transfer to another school...and her concerns about it.

“I agree with your co-worker, Marilyn. It sounds like your principal has a lot of faith in your abilities,” Traci said. “You should feel honored he recommended you.”

“I am, but that means I’ll have to break down and get a car.”

“Then get one. Your parents will understand. They don’t like you sending money to them, anyway.”

“I know, but until Dad goes back to work, I don’t want them to worry about anything. Dad’s physical therapy isn’t cheap.”

“I wish your brothers could help more. Maybe not Ro, since he’s in medical school, but Stuart Jr. could certainly pitch in.”

Marilyn agreed. “I will talk to him. He needs to start helping out.”

Traci didn’t say anything and Marilyn knew why. Getting any money out of her older brother was like pulling teeth.

After Marilyn ended her call with Traci, she lay across the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Once she got home, she’d changed into comfortable clothing and fixed something for dinner. Then she’d called Barbara, anxious to tell her about her new position. Like everyone else, Barbara had thought it was a good opportunity.

Not knowing what else to do, Marilyn took a chance and called Stuart Jr. Only he wasn’t at home and she got Arlene instead. Marilyn spent the next twenty minutes listening to her sister-in-law complain about her brother. When she could finally get a word in, she asked, “Please have Stuart Jr. call me when he gets home. There’s a matter I need to discuss with him.” Then telling Arlene she had a lot to do, she had ended the call.

She didn’t understand her sister-in-law. Until Arlene put her foot down, Stuart Jr. would continue to carry on the way he was doing. And all the complaining in the world wouldn’t change that.

Deciding to clear her head of family matters, Marilyn’s thoughts drifted back to her meeting with Jonathan Madaris. She was beginning to accept that leaving Parkwood was probably a good thing. She’d found Jonathan Madaris way too appealing for her peace of mind. And getting interested in a man was the last thing she needed. There were too many other important things on her plate right now.

Her phone rang and she reached out to answer it. “Hello?”

“Arlene said you called.”

It was Stuart Jr. “Yes. I’m going to need to buy a car.”

“And?”

“And I was wondering if you could help out with the folks until I get my finances adjusted again.”

There was a pause. “I’ll have to get back with you on that.”

She sighed in frustration. “When will you let me know?”

“In a few days.”

Marilyn could hear another voice in the background. A woman’s voice that wasn’t Arlene’s. “Where are you?”

“At a friend’s house.”

“How did you know I wanted to talk to you?” she asked.

“I called home to remind Arlene to take the dog for a walk. She told me you called.”

“You got a dog?”

“I’m keeping him for a friend who’s out of town.”

Marilyn rolled her eyes. “Sounds like Arlene is the one keeping him.”

“Whatever. Is there anything else?”

Marilyn frowned when she heard the woman in the background demand, rather loudly, that her brother end the call and come back to bed. Suddenly, she couldn’t stop the anger surging through her. “You are despicable, Stuart Jr. Need I remind you that you have a wife?”

“Stay out my business, Marilyn.” Then in a muffled voice, as if he didn’t want the woman to hear, he said, “This is the game all men play. Keep living and you’ll see for yourself.”

She was fuming. “Why are you even married?”

“Good question. I’ll give you the answer when I figure it out for myself.” And then he hung up on her.

Marilyn hoped that one day her brother would regret what he was doing, and that when he did, it wouldn’t be too late.

* * * *

“So, how are you getting around that non-fraternization policy at your school,” Robert Madaris asked his brother, after the waitress had taken their order and left.

“I transferred Marilyn to another school,” Jonathan said.

“And she agreed with that?”

“I didn’t ask her. She has no idea how I feel about her. Hell, we’ve never even held a conversation that wasn’t work related.”

Robert leaned back in his chair. “Let me get this straight. You met this woman two months ago and decided you want to start a relationship with her. And without finding out if she was even interested in you, you had her transferred from your school?”

Jonathan wasn’t sure he liked the way Robert had worded it, but everything his brother said was true. “Yes, that’s about it. This will give us time to get to know each other better.”

Robert picked up his glass and took a sip of water. “I don’t want to play devil’s advocate, but I can see this blowing up in your face, Jonathan. I learned years ago that you should never go behind a woman’s back. How do you think she’s going to feel when she discovers you manipulated the situation?”

“I’m hoping that by then, she’ll have fallen in love with me and will understand my motives.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Jonathan waved off his brother’s words. “I’ve got everything figured out. I’m backing off for a few weeks so that when I show up, she won’t suspect anything. That way, we can date like normal people. I will get to know her and she will get to know me. When I feel comfortable that our relationship’s going in the direction I want it to go, I will tell her everything. By then, it won’t matter.”

“I hope for your sake it doesn’t. I can understand love at first sight. I felt the same way when I met Diana. And I can even understand that at times a guy has to be strategic about capturing a woman’s heart. But I think you’ve gone a little too far. For all you know, she might have liked Parkwood and didn’t want to go anywhere else. Making changes in her life the way you have, just for your benefit, doesn’t seem right.”

Suddenly, Jonathan wasn’t smiling quite as brightly. “You’re thinking too much about this, Robert. I’ve figured it out. Everything will fall in place.”

Robert released a deep sigh. “For your sake, I hope they do.”

The waitress returned with the appetizers they’d ordered and Jonathan tried to push his brother’s words to the back of his mind. Like he’d told Robert, he had a plan. He’d give Miss Bannister time to adjust to the fact that he was no longer her boss. Once that happened, he’d convince her that it would be perfectly fine for them to be together.

The hardest part for him, in the coming days, would be not seeing her around school. However, he’d be patient. He had already accomplished step one, which was to get her transferred. When he felt the time was right, he would implement step two. At that time, he would find a way to make her see him, not as Principal Madaris, but as Jonathan, the man who intended to capture her heart.