“Melanie.”

  She stopped rambling at the sound of her name. Her heart raced, nerves fleeing out her fingers from her chest.

  “I’m glad you two are friends.”

  “Yeah.” Melanie nodded. That’s all they were, friends. She might want more, but Esther had put some pretty clear lines down so far, though Melanie was still confused on when “not now” was going to be. She hadn’t been eager to jump feet first into a relationship a month ago with Skip, but now it felt so different than then. It felt good and right. “How did you know you liked women?”

  “Excuse me?” Chris’ eyes widened in shock.

  “How did you—”

  “I heard you.” Chris spun to face the door, probably checking to make sure it was still closed. “Why are you asking me this now?”

  “I never asked before. When we met, you and Andry were already married and so it wasn’t something I really thought to ask.”

  “Uh-huh.” Chris crossed her arms, protecting herself from the conversation. “Why are you asking this?”

  “I just…” Melanie stopped cold and stared up at Chris. “You know why. I won’t pretend to hide it from you.”

  “You like her.” Chris’ gaze focused on Melanie until she nodded her affirmation, then she flicked her gaze around the room. “You’re Anthony’s teacher.”

  “I know, and nothing has happened. Trust me. I’m not sure it will, but Chris—”

  Chris put her hand up to silence Melanie, and she listened. “I am your principal right now. You are her son’s teacher, Melanie, so you need to do this very carefully. It’s one thing to date another teacher, it’s another when their child is your student. Do you understand me?”

  “I would never treat him differently—”

  “You can’t say that. There’s a reason why parents don’t teach their own kids.” Chris frowned. “Even if there is nothing going on right now, you need to look at how you’re treating him. It can cause questions to be asked.”

  “We’re not doing anything.”

  “Melanie.” Chris cut her hand across the room. “As your principal, I’m telling you, this is a slippery slope. I know it’s kindergarten, and it’s really hard to mess up kindergarten. I know Anthony is a good student, that he’s always ready to learn and a great kid. I know this. But I’m not the one you have to worry about.”

  “It’s other parents.”

  Chris nodded.

  “I know.” Melanie sighed. “And nothing is happening, I need to reiterate that, but I just…”

  “You want it to.”

  Melanie nodded. “I do, and we’re colleagues. I’m not her principal. I’m her friend.”

  “You’ve been assigned as her mentor.”

  “You know the purpose of that is to create friendships.”

  Chris frowned. “It’s more than that. Don’t be short-sighted. If she has problems, you’re supposed to be someone safe she can come to. She can’t do that if you’re in a relationship.”

  “Of course she can.”

  “It’s different.” Chris stood stiffly, her entire mood had shifted, and Melanie knew it was her fault. She wished she could go back ten minutes to before she had said anything and keep it all to herself.

  “Nothing is happening. I promise.”

  “When it does, I need you to tell me. It’s for your own protection, and hers. I need to be able to run the line with you.”

  Melanie nodded. “I don’t know if anything will ever happen. I’ve never…how did you know?”

  Chris smiled then, her eyes lighting up. “I kissed a girl, and I liked it.”

  “Don’t be glib.”

  “Sometimes you just know. And liking women is just something I knew. I didn’t really question it. Men repulse me in that way, but it’s a completely different story when it comes to women. It’s just something I knew. I can’t be much more help than that. Sorry.”

  “No, that’s helpful, actually.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah. When I was in high school and college, I thought about it. But I never did anything about it. There was one girl where I almost did something, but I didn’t. I was too scared. But—”

  “The world is different now.”

  Melanie nodded. “And I’m different now than I was back then. I’ve lived now. I’ve had kids and raised them, and I’m not afraid of making people mad anymore either. Well, most people.”

  Laughing lightly, Chris shook her head. “Yeah, most people. Mel, if you like women, then you like women. I wish you would have told me sooner. I wouldn’t have pushed you to date Skip.”

  “I like men too, Chris. Just, not that one.”

  “All right. I hear you.” Chris went from jovial to serious. “But try to stay away from Esther until Anthony is not your student. All right?”

  Melanie put her hands up in the air. “Like I said, nothing is happening.”

  “That doesn’t give me a warm fuzzy feeling about the rest of the school year.”

  She wanted to tell Chris it wouldn’t happen, but at the same time, she didn’t. Melanie wanted something to change. Instead, she nodded. “I’ll tell you. I promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  Skip’s call could not have come at a worse time. Esther was dealing with an irate parent, about to call in backup, and when she didn’t answer her cell phone after his repeated calls, he proceeded to call the school and insist on being transferred to her room. Several times.

  She finally snagged the phone after apologizing profusely to the parent, who could clearly see something was amiss because of the repeated ringing. “Hello?”

  “Esther, you need to answer my phone calls. You can’t ignore me.”

  Swallowing hard, Esther glanced at the parent and sent a silent apology. “I need to call you back. I’m in the middle of—”

  He cut her off. “No. You will talk to me right now. I have a case coming up at the end of the month, and the judge just set the trial dates.”

  “Okay.” Esther breathed in deeply, trying to shift from one role to the next but struggling.

  “I need you to arrange childcare for our son.”

  “Skip, I really can’t talk right now. I will call you back as soon as I can.”

  “Don’t hang up on me.” His anger reverberated through the line and caused her to cringe. Her chest tightened as fear worked its way into her stomach. She tightened her jaw. “I’m telling you now that you need to arrange care for him.”

  “I have off those two weeks, why don’t I—”

  “No. It’s my week, and he’ll be with me.”

  Esther slid her gaze to the very impatient parent standing in the center of her classroom. “Right. I’ll get on it.”

  She settled the phone onto the receiver and stood up, straightening her back. She would have to deal with him later, if she managed it, but she didn’t want to appear irate or weak while on a phone call in front of a parent who had no business knowing who or what she was talking about.

  “Now,” Esther started again. “I know Damon has had issues with George for a few years now. Both of them have told me that.”

  “Had this been resolved last year, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

  Esther couldn’t argue with that logic. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been at this school last year, so she didn’t know what had been done—or not done—about the problems. What she did know is Damon and George had nearly come to physical blows on the playground, again, and that it had carried over into her class. She’d ended up calling both parents and tried to have a sit-down with all of them. But only George Delanport’s mother had shown up.

  “I wasn’t here last year, so I’m not entirely sure what they did—”

  “They didn’t do anything!” George’s mother screeched.

  “Mrs. Delanport, I don’t know what they did last year, but it was clearly ineffective. However, we do need to do something this year because the situation, as you have seen, isn’t resolving.”

  Mrs. Delanport steamed, but she didn’t speak again.

  Esther drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’d like to have a conference with you and your son and Damon and his parents so that maybe we can set some guidelines for how the boys should behave, and how to avoid any more arguments between the two of them.”

  “Damon is a bully.”

  Esther’s lips thinned. From what she had witnessed so far that year, they were both bullies and had each met their match, but she wasn’t going to say that outright to Mrs. Delanport. “We are going to do something this year because I won’t stand for that behavior in my classroom. I promise. I won’t let this continue, but I do need you to be patient while we figure out what works best for the two of them.”

  Mrs. Delanport snorted. “Where’s my son?”

  Esther’s lips parted in surprise.

  “He’s outside, released just like the other students.”

  “You better put a stop to this.” Mrs. Delanport glowered.

  “I will, but I need your help to make that happen. I need your support. I want George and Damon to succeed in this class and next year when they move up a grade. If we can teach them how to resolve these conflicts now, then we likely won’t have to deal with this next year.”

  “I know.” Mrs. Delanport breathed out a sigh and ran her hand through her hair. “I’m so tired of it.”

  “I can tell. I think we all are in some ways. So let’s sit down, all of us together, and figure it out. Okay?”

  “Fine.” Mrs. Delanport frowned. “Friday after school?”

  “I think that’s the perfect day.”

  She nodded sharply before leaving the classroom. Esther relaxed as soon as she was gone and rolled her shoulders to try and ease the tension that had taken up residence in her muscles there. Her phone's shrill ringing startled her.

  Grabbing the receiver, Esther pressed it to her ear. “Hello.”

  “Esther, Chris wants to meet with you in her office.” Linda’s voice had a wobble to it, as if concern filled every word.

  “Okay. When?”

  “Now.”

  “Right. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  Esther hung up and left her room. As she made her way down the hall, she walked right past Melanie’s door, catching her glance from the corner of her eye as she sat at her desk. Esther gave her a nervous look before turning the corner toward the front office.

  As soon as she stepped into the room, Linda looked pale and uncomfortable. “You have messages.”

  “I…what?” Esther furrowed her brow as she took the small notes from Linda. So many that she nearly dropped a couple. All of them were from Skip. She only read the top three and frowned, tears burning her eyes. “Right. Thanks.”

  “Ms. Dunja, he was most insistent I give those to you.”

  “Yeah, I get it. Thanks.”

  Embarrassed, exhausted, and overwhelmed, Esther stared at the notes as she sat down and waited for Chris. She checked the times on the messages. Some had been from before she’d answered, and some had been from after, meaning Skip had been pissed about the way she’d ended the call.

  Chris was going to talk to her, she knew, and she better have her crap together before that conversation happened. If only she could remember how to breathe. Skip hadn’t been this upset with her in a while, but she had been rude to him on the phone. He couldn’t have known... She had to stop that train of thought. She didn’t owe him an explanation. Sucking in a breath, she held it tightly for a ten count before releasing it slowly. She could handle this on her own. She would.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Anthony was asleep for an hour when the knock resounded through her living room. Esther tensed and eyed the door suspiciously as she waited for her body to calm down before she went to see who it was.

  “It’s me, Esther.”

  Blowing out a breath, Esther got off the couch. Opening the door, she was surprised, but pleased, to find Melanie on the other side. Smiling, Esther opened the door wider as Melanie held up her hand with a wooden box in it. “I brought the tea this time.”

  “What kind?”

  “It’s a surprise.” Melanie moved to the side as Esther re-locked the door.

  Melanie walked in, already comfortable with being at Esther’s house, and started the water for tea. Esther was thankful. She barely had a brain to function after the week she’d had. When Melanie turned around, she dropped her gaze from Esther’s face, down her body, and slowly back up. Goosebumps rose along Esther’s arms as she watched the slow assessment.

  “Do I meet your approval?” Esther raised an eyebrow.

  Melanie blushed, but the look she gave was full of heat. “Yes.”

  Esther flushed, not having expected Melanie to flirt back, not that she’d even thought twice about her comment. She glanced toward the entry to the kitchen but remained exactly where she was, trying to parse out what was happening.

  “How are you really, after this week? You know all the gossip around the school with teachers. I heard about your talking to.”

  Esther blew out a breath and relaxed. “It wasn’t a talking to. Chris wanted to talk to me about Skip.”

  “I’m glad it wasn’t anything major then.” Melanie gave a small smile back as the electric kettle flipped off. She turned around and made their tea, but Esther’s gaze dragged down to Melanie’s ass, and she didn’t bother raising her eyes until Melanie faced her again. This time, Esther wasn’t embarrassed in the least. If Melanie was going to openly flirt with her, then she would as well.

  They moved to the living room and sat on the couch together, Melanie much closer than necessary, but she was glad for it. The simple ease in their relationship like this gave her so much peace.

  Esther started, “Thank you for the advice this week with George and Damon. I mean it. I don’t know how that would have gone without you there to help out.”

  “Mrs. Delanport is a pain to deal with. George was in my kindergarten class, but she’s gotten worse over the years, not better. Chris has had to call the police on her before.”

  “Oh really? I'm glad it didn’t come to that this time.”

  “Yeah.” Melanie held her mug in her hands but didn’t drink. “I did want to talk to you though.”

  “What about?”

  Melanie eyed her carefully before setting her drink on the coffee table and leaning into the couch with a sigh. “Unfortunately, it has to do with school.”

  “What happened now?” Esther sighed and rubbed her temple. She wasn’t sure how much more drama she could handle. “What did I do?”

  “You didn’t do anything. I did.”

  Esther’s head snapped around at that. She tried to read Melanie’s expression, but she couldn’t. Her gaze was hooded, her features drawn. “What did you do?”

  “Chris is my best friend, and I can’t… I can’t keep secrets from her, and sometimes that makes a very complicated relationship because she’s also our principal.”

  “Melanie,” Esther’s tone had a warning in it.

  “I told her I like you.”

  Esther’s entire world spun. She wasn’t sure she could handle this right now. She was going to be fired for sure, especially after the conversation about all the phone calls from Skip. Her personal life was making too much of a negative impact on her work life. She wasn’t going to be able to continue to work at Irving. Her heart shattered. Nothing that week had prepared her for this. Nothing had—

  “Esther, quit panicking. Chris isn’t going to fire you for this.”

  Esther’s gaze shot to Melanie’s dark eyes. “What?”

  “I know that’s what you were thinking, and she’s not going to. I am, however, stepping down as your mentor.”

  “I don’t want someone else.”

  “I can’t be that person for you right now. My head and my heart aren’t in the right place for it.”

  The words echoed the sentiment Esther had given her weeks ago when Melanie had told her she wanted a kiss. Esther pressed her lips together tightly. “I don’t want another mentor.”

  “And you’re not getting one. We don’t think it would be good for you, honestly.”

  “Thanks for letting me make that decision,” Esther answered sarcastically.

  Melanie’s eyes brightened. “We have to talk about Anthony.”

  “What’s wrong?” Esther’s panic surged again. “What’s going on at school?”

  “Nothing, but I want more than this with you, and that means we have to talk about Anthony.”

  “No. I won’t make him move classes.”

  “I know.” Melanie sighed. “I know you won’t, so we need to talk about it.”

  “There is nothing to talk about.”

  “Yes, there is.” Melanie snapped. “I like you, Esther. I want to do more than just this with you.”

  Esther shook her head wildly and stood up sharply. Her body was on fire, and her mind spun in circles.

  “Esther.” Melanie followed her and grabbed her hand as soon as she rounded the coffee table. “Listen to me, please.”

  “No.”

  “Esther.” Melanie squeezed her fingers. “Take a deep breath. I’m serious. You’re panicking, and you need to calm down.”

  Esther instantly recognized her own stress, something Melanie had gotten good at doing at some point, and she listened. It was hard, but she did manage to close her eyes and center herself. She was still flighty, but Melanie’s hand on hers brought her down.

  Melanie moved in closer, taking Esther’s other hand as they stood in front of the window. Esther couldn’t raise her gaze to look into Melanie’s eyes, but she wanted to, she really did. “I won’t hurt Anthony.”

  “This won’t hurt him, but I had to tell Chris, for everyone’s sakes. It was the right thing to do.”

  “But we’re not doing anything,” Esther murmured, still refusing to lift her eyes.

  “But I want to,” Melanie whispered, stepping in even closer.

  Esther’s heart raced. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t make herself say them. Not yet. Instead, she took the next step, moving their hands to their sides and raising her chin so she could look up into Melanie’s eyes. In them she saw desire, but she also saw compassion. God, what she would give to see that every day of her life, and she had so rarely found it in anyone.