Chapter 5
Taking the steps two at a time, James quickly climbed the stone stairs to the middle school’s front lobby. He was bang on time, which was a relief since he thought he’d be late for this meeting with Cade’s new teacher. They were slammed at the garage, and he needed to get back to work as soon as he could.
James nodded at the lone guard stationed beside the metal detector as he walked through. Coming into this lobby always made him a little sad. He didn’t remember having to go through metal detectors when he was in second grade. Then again, he wondered how much these detectors really helped. Whether it was just an illusion of safety or a deterrent to stop some punk-ass kid from bringing in something they shouldn’t.
James headed down the darkened hallway, metal lockers lining one side. The letter he’d gotten from the school mentioned that Cade’s new classroom was on the first floor in room eleven. The teacher’s name was Ms. McKenna. She was new to the district this year, so James didn’t know much about her. All he knew was these meetings were always a complete waste of his time.
He felt like a deadbeat dad for thinking that way, but it was true. This meeting would end up being just like all the other school meetings he’d had with Cade’s teachers.
He’d sit down, and after some pleasantries, the teacher would go over Cade’s grades from the year before. He or she would tell James they needed his help in being proactive with the boy since they knew they’d be fighting an uphill battle.
James had already resolved to work harder this year with Cade on his studies. Cade was sharp as a fucking tack; he just didn’t apply himself.
When James arrived at the classroom, the door was open. He knocked on the doorframe and stuck his head in to look around. When he saw the woman sitting behind the teacher’s desk at the front of the classroom, his hand fell to his side.
Megan Dempsey looked just as surprised to see him as he was to see her. She rose hesitantly to her feet, both hands remaining on the desk in front of her. She opened her mouth to say something, but then she stopped.
“Ms. McKenna?” he asked skeptically, stepping inside the room.
Clearing her throat, she smiled and came around the side of the desk. She walked toward him up the row of empty school desks, her heels clicking sharply on the tiled floor.
“Mr. Foley,” she said coolly, extending her hand. “It’s nice to see you. And please call me Megan.” She smiled as he shook her hand, some color blooming on her cheeks.
Megan McKenna. No longer Megan Dempsey.
Her handshake was solid. The touch of her skin was warm and delicate in his grease-stained grip. If she noticed, she didn’t show it. He’d washed his hands, of course, but the hands of a mechanic were always a bit coarser and discolored, even when they were clean.
“Please, have a seat,” she offered, ushering him to one of the wooden chairs in front of her desk. Thank goodness she wasn’t going to insist he cram himself into one of the student desks.
He followed her up the aisle and couldn’t help but watch as her slender hips swayed back and forth in her tight black cropped pants. She wore a white blouse with black polka dots underneath a mint green cardigan. She must have a thing for cardigans.
Her light hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, and when she sat back down in her chair, she slid on a pair of dark-framed glasses.
James had to look away as he took his seat or she’d catch him staring. She was the hottest teacher he’d ever fucking seen.
“So, let’s see.” She hummed, looking over the paperwork in front of her. “Your son is Cade Foley. It says here that you and Abel Foley are Cade’s guardians?”
James nodded. “That’s right. Abel is my father.”
“Okay, great.” She made a note on her paper. “Before we get started, I’ll just give you these forms to fill out and mail back if you don’t mind. They’re just standard emergency contact questions along with a health assessment questionnaire. There’s a self-addressed, stamped envelope in this packet as well.”
She handed him a manila envelope with Cade’s name listed on the front. She put her hands on the desk and smiled.
“As I’m sure the school notified you, I’m a new teacher this year, but I’ve been teaching grade school for the past several years actually. I have a degree in secondary teaching from Northwestern University, and I came here from Gillson Prep, where I had experience in teaching both second and third grades. I want you to know that your son is in competent hands.”
James noticed that Megan’s face was very expressive. She smiled while she spoke, and her eyes widened with enthusiasm. If he were in her class, there was no way he’d learn anything. He’d be too busy watching her pink lips enunciate every single word.
“This year in Cade’s class, we are at our maximum of twenty-eight students. I’m really excited to meet them all in a couple weeks. I hope we have an excellent school year, students, parents and teachers alike.”
She smiled at him, and it was an endearing sort of gesture. She didn’t look like an ice princess at the moment, and a part of James was a little bit ashamed that he’d assumed she was. Truthfully, he didn’t really know her at all, and the smiling, kind woman sitting across the desk wasn’t cold in the least. She was actually making him feel a little warm.
“Can you tell me a little bit about Cade?” she asked.
“Sure.” This meeting wasn’t going as he’d expected it to at all. “What would you like to know?”
She shrugged. “What types of things does he like to do? What doesn’t he like?”
“Well.” James sat up straighter in his chair. “He loves sports. Especially football and baseball. The kid is absolutely obsessed with the Bears and the Cubs. When he’s at home, he’s usually playing video games. He grumbles when I ask him to help wash the dishes, I don’t think he’s ever successfully folded a load of laundry, and homework is probably his least favorite thing to do.”
Megan laughed. “That’s not really surprising. At this age, there are so many fun things for kids to do other than homework. It’s hard for them to concentrate or even understand the importance of education at this point.”
James nodded. “Cade’s a good kid. He hasn’t had the easiest childhood. His mother and I divorced when he was a baby, and she hasn’t been in his life. She has problems with—”
“Mr. Foley,” she interrupted politely. “You don’t need to tell me anything personal. I don’t want to pry. I’m honestly just looking to learn more about your son so I can help him learn. Sometimes it’s easier to teach when you can compare the learning material to something the child is interested in.”
James appreciated her concern for his privacy. He didn’t want to get into the whole sordid story of why he was a single dad. James hated how it always came across like a sob story. He hated to see pity etched on other people’s faces. By feeling sorry for him, it was like they were confirming that his life was a mess, and that irritated him.
But as he looked across the desk at the beautiful woman who would be responsible for teaching his son over the next school year, he realized that Megan Dempsey—or McKenna, rather—probably knew exactly how he felt. Life wasn’t always perfect.
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James Foley looked so big sitting across from her among the children’s desks. His dark blue T-shirt clung to his wide shoulders, and Megan could see the outline of his broad chest through the worn cotton. From the way he was sitting with his legs slightly apart and feet crossed at the ankles under his chair, she could tell he had strong thighs. He clasped his hands in his lap, right in front of the zipper of his jeans.
Megan found it difficult to make eye contact with him. Not only because the man was alarmingly more handsome than she remembered but because those chocolate-colored eyes looked at her as if they knew her secrets.
Prior to the parent-teacher meeting, Megan hadn’t made the connection that Cade Foley’s father was the same man who owed Foley’s Auto Shop. But they were definitely one and the same. The uncertainty in his voice when he’d asked her if she was Ms. McKenna confirmed that he wasn’t expecting to see her at this meeting either.
Her body heat had skyrocketed, as she’d remembered the embarrassment of that afternoon last week when she’d picked up her car. It was bad enough that the garage owner had witnessed her humiliating reunion with her ex. But for fate to keep throwing her in front of him like this was plain mean.
Especially since the severe and serious James Foley was a complete hottie. She was talking grade-A fine with a side of the hottest steak sauce possible.
Unlike at the auto garage, where he looked like he’d rather be doing anything else than speak with her, he was now attentively sitting in her classroom as he listened to her go on about her teaching credentials and information about his son’s second-grade class.
It was obvious from the way he spoke and the crinkle in the corners of his eyes that this man loved his son. And from what he’d just mentioned, he was also divorced.
They should start a club.
Megan looked down at Cade’s report card from the previous year and noticed the C minus next to mathematics. “So it looks as though Cade is not a big fan of math if his past grades are any indication. But I try not to pay too much attention to previous grades because there really isn’t anything we can do about those at this point.” She glanced up at James Foley and slid her glasses up her nose. “We can only move forward from here. This year we’ll be getting into fractions and a little bit of basic algebra.”
James arched an eyebrow. “Algebra in second grade?”
She shrugged, offering an understanding smile. “I know it seems early, but it’s a very basic introduction. Putting together what I call number sentences. Third grade is when he’ll really start to see more of it.”
He sighed harshly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Looks like I’ll need to sharpen up on my algebra.”
Megan widened her grin, sensing his trepidation. She had the distinct impression he felt he was being graded for his parenting skills, which was not the case at all. In fact, James was showing more interest in his son’s education than most of the parents she’d met with thus far.
“It looks like Cade really likes science and history.”
James nodded. “I swear he has a photographic memory. If it’s a subject where he can memorize facts, he usually does well. It’s amazing how he can spit out football and baseball statistics for hours. That’s usually the talk during our family mealtimes.” He hesitated and frowned. “When I get home in time for dinner, that is.”
“I’m sure it can get quite busy at your auto shop.”
“Lately, it has been.”
She took a deep breath and one final glance at Cade’s paperwork. After sliding her glasses off, Megan placed them on the desk in front of her. “Well, Mr. Foley, that’s really all I have for you. I think Cade is going to have a great year. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to teach him.”
She stood and walked around the side of her desk. James rose from his chair, and Megan once again felt tiny as she stopped in front of him. He was a big man, probably six foot, three inches tall. He could have been an NFL linebacker with his size.
“I appreciate you coming in to meet with me,” she said with a smile, extending her hand to him once more. “If you have any questions or concerns about Cade’s progress, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.”
He nodded slowly, taking her hand. His enveloped hers like a big warm glove.
“Will do,” he said, his deep voice sending butterflies fluttering up her spine.
As she preceded him up the aisle of student desks to the door, she felt his eyes on her. And when Megan stopped at the door to see him out, she caught his gaze lingering on her ass.
After being married for so long, she’d stopped noticing any male attention she received. James’s full lips and easy appraisal of her behind were doing all sorts of unusual things to her chest. Heat flushed through her as her hands dampened with warm moisture.
He was so unlike anyone she’d ever been remotely attracted to. Besides Niall, she’d had only a handful of boyfriends, and they were always the clean-cut, preppy kind. Nothing about James Foley was even close to preppy.
He was all power. All man.
When his eyes met hers, one side of his mouth pulled up. “Have you given any thought to those additional repairs I suggested for your car?”
She blinked. “Ah, yes. I think I’ll hold off as long as possible.”
He nodded and walked out the door, but two steps into the hall, he turned back toward her. “Just so you know, your ex-husband’s an asshole. The way I was raised, you don’t treat a woman the way he treated you, regardless of the circumstances.”
Her heart jumped up into her throat. She exhaled, realizing she was trembling at the mention of what had happened between her and Niall at his shop.
Before she could form a response, he continued, “To be honest, I kinda wanted to knock his teeth out.”
A laugh blew past her lips before she even thought to stop it. “To be honest, I kinda would have liked to see that.”
James’s eyes lit with humor. He gave her a sexy grin that had her knees wanting to give out before he turned and walked down the hall toward the front lobby.