“You can’t do that,” he hissed, leaning over her chair to get in her face.

  “I very well can,” she answered.

  “You can’t leave my son with strangers.”

  “He’s not with a stranger. He’s with a sitter.” Esther’s stomach was a swirl of hatred, contempt, and embarrassment. He was going to pick a fight with her in the middle of the restaurant no matter who was around. She knew it even before he got the next words out.

  “I’m going to go get him. This is ridiculous. If you can’t take care—”

  “Skip,” Melanie butted in. He turned to look at her as Melanie rose from her chair. “Anthony is perfectly safe with the sitter, which we wouldn’t have had to find if plans hadn’t changed so last minute.”

  He gaped at her. Esther’s lips curved into a slight smile, wondering just what Melanie would say and do next. Instead of giving Melanie the time, Esther stood up, crowding into Skip’s space, but the push Melanie had given her to stand up for herself was exactly what she’d needed.

  “What Melanie is kindly avoiding saying is that I wouldn’t have had to find a sitter last minute if you had only taken him this weekend, which was a weekend you switched for because you flaked last weekend.”

  “I had something very important come up.”

  “I didn’t realize drinking alcohol at the Metropolitan while trying to pick up old flings was more important than our son.”

  Skip’s upper lip curled, and he moved to tower over her. Melanie took a step in, but Esther held her hand out to stop her from coming any closer. Skip, while manipulative, wouldn’t do anything in public, that much Esther knew for certain.

  “If you don’t want him to stay at your house, that is your choice. We can always go back to court and modify the custody arrangement. At this point, I think I have more than enough proof that you aren’t holding up your end of the arrangement, that I could win full primary custody.”

  “I’d like to see you try.” He sneered. “You don’t have the money for a lawyer who would take on that case.”

  “I might not,” Esther agreed. “But I might not need it either.”

  Skip straightened his back and stepped away from her. “Why are you here, anyway?”

  A grin blossomed on her face. She raised an eyebrow at him doing the one thing she knew she was going to have to fight at some point. It didn’t matter if Melanie was Anthony’s teacher or not, if he caught wind that she was dating another teacher in the same school, Skip was going to throw a fit. Hell, if she was dating anyone he would.

  “We’re on a date, so to answer your question, no, Melanie has not reconsidered your date,” Esther answered, each word slipping off her tongue in pure conviction. She wasn’t going to back down now. It may only be their first official date, but Esther had made the decision to take this step, and she wasn’t going to waffle anymore.

  “Y-you’re what?” Skip’s beady eyes darted from Esther to Melanie as full realization dawned on him.

  Esther loved seeing the moment when it hit him, when he realized how good and truly he had screwed up, that the power he had over her had lessened without him even knowing it. Giddy, Esther lifted her chin defiantly. “Got a problem with that?”

  “Several,” he answered and pointed at Melanie. “She’s Anthony’s teacher.”

  “And the only reason you know that is because I caught you on a date with her. Again goes to show how involved you are in our son’s life, but you didn’t have a problem with it when you got to reap the benefits.”

  “It’s against policy.”

  “Actually, not quite,” Melanie chimed in. “But as a member of the school board, I’d expect you know those policies far better than either of us.”

  Esther slid a look to Melanie then focused on Skip. “If you don’t mind, Skip, I’d like to finish my date with my girlfriend. You can pick up Anthony on your next scheduled week with him, which is February seventh. No sooner.”

  Without waiting for a response, Esther slid into her chair and turned so she wasn’t looking at him any longer. Melanie followed her lead after another second. Skip was flabbergasted. He tried to argue with her, but Esther was stoic as she ignored him. She focused solely on Melanie, the reason she was there in the first place. After a third attempt by Skip to engage her and failing, he tossed a “bitch” at her and stomped away.

  Releasing the tension in her shoulders and chest, Esther shakily reached forward to grab for the water sitting in front of her. Melanie took her hand instead and squeezed. “I’m so proud of you for that.”

  “I’ll regret it later,” Esther muttered.

  “Maybe, but I don’t think that’ll last long. You handled that beautifully.”

  Sucking in a breath, Esther looked into Melanie’s brown eyes, eyes that were so warm and bright and beautiful. “Do you really think that?”

  “I know it. You, Esther, are a force to be reckoned with.”

  Smiling and blushing at the same time, Esther nodded. “Right, let’s focus on us, okay?”

  “You don’t think he’ll do anything stupid, do you?”

  “He doesn’t know where Anthony is. But you can tell Avery not to let him in or answer the door if you want. But, well, we might need to stay the night because he might stake out my house.”

  Melanie whistled. “Are you sure you don’t want to do anything else?”

  Esther shook her head, Chris’ words echoing her mind. She would see how this time panned out, if standing up to him put him in his place or not. Maybe if he pushed beyond this boundary she set, then she would have the confidence to move forward with filing harassment charges on him. Until then, she really just wanted to revel in this newfound strength she had discovered.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  It had taken a few weeks, which surprised both Melanie and Esther, but when Melanie was called down to Chris’ office in the middle of the day her stomach twisted, an ominous feeling surrounding every step she took.

  As she stepped into the front office, Linda gave her a pointedly worried look. Melanie was about to ask her what was wrong, but she shook her head slowly as if she couldn’t answer. With her lips parted, Melanie turned toward Chris’ office and saw the door cracked open barely. Melanie took a step toward the closed-off office, but Linda snagged Melanie’s hand and handed her a piece of paper with one name on it.

  Anthony.

  Her stomach plummeted. She knew exactly what this was about and who was in that office. Her heart raced, and she could only hope that Esther had no idea he was in the building because she would be in a tizzy for the rest of the day. As soon as she found out about this meeting, Esther would panic.

  “Thanks,” Melanie murmured as she tried to prepare herself for what was about to come. Instead, she knew she couldn’t. There was no way to know what was going to be said or done once she stepped into that office.

  She knocked twice before pushing the solid wood door open wider. Chris stood behind her standing desk while Skip Johnson took up most of the rest of the room. Melanie schooled her features, not willing to give him any more ammunition than he already had. It was a good thing they had talked to Chris already so she wasn’t finding this out last minute.

  “Ms. Przybyla,” Chris said by way of greeting.

  Skip snorted in disgust in her general direction but said nothing to her.

  “Thank you for joining us.”

  “Not a problem,” Melanie responded, keeping her tone and her words tight so she didn’t make a mistake.

  “Mr. Johnson came to me with a few concerns about his son, Anthony.”

  Melanie could only imagine that those concerns were not actually about his kid, whom he hadn’t seen since the hospital incident the previous year, which Melanie knew, but she wasn’t supposed to know that in her role as a teacher. She wanted to ask concerns about what, but at the same time, she had no desire to add in to the conversation when she didn’t have to.

  “He’s concerned about his son being treated differently than the other students, and the consequences of your relationship with Ms. Dunja on his son.”

  Again, Melanie remained absolutely silent, keeping her gaze focused on Chris and not Skip. Chris, however, had a strong look of confidence in her gaze, and Melanie wanted to know what it was all about.

  “I’ve been explaining to Mr. Johnson that your treatment of Anthony has been very level, and you haven’t shown any favoritism toward him or singled him out.”

  Melanie nodded and faced Skip. “Principal Murphey is correct. I’ve shown no favoritism toward Anthony.”

  “You will. Esther has a way with those she pulls into her sphere. She makes them do things for her, things that you wouldn’t normally do,” he spoke rapidly, his voice firm but tinged with fear—fear which Melanie knew he didn’t actually feel.

  Melanie raised an eyebrow at Skip. “I promise you I treat Anthony like I would any of my students. He’s a brilliant kid, he’s always ready to learn, and he listens amazingly well. He is a leader in the classroom, Mr. Johnson. It’s a pleasure to teach him, and I can’t honestly say that about all of my students.”

  She had hoped to see some sort of recognition in his eyes about what his son was doing and how he was thriving. Instead, all Melanie was greeted with was a glower.

  “It’s inappropriate.” Spittle flew from his lips as he took a step toward her.

  Chris rounded her desk quickly and stepped in close, as if she was going to step between them. It was amusing, considering Melanie was six inches taller than Chris on a good day, but still, she appreciated the added protection and support.

  “Esther and Melanie haven’t broken any school policies. As soon as their relationship began, they informed me about it.” Chris straightened her back as Skip leaned over her, trying to intimidate her. “We came up with a plan so this wouldn’t affect Anthony.”

  “Of course it affects him.” Skip sneered. “It affects this whole school. How can you have two teachers screwing in this school? You don’t know what they do when you’re not looking.”

  Melanie’s cheeks heated, but Chris spoke first, thankfully, because all Melanie wanted to do was shout and scream about how idiotic he was being. “I can assure you none of that is happening on school property or while they are at work.”

  Skip snorted again, shaking his head. “How would you even know? You don’t watch them all day every day.”

  “I can assure you it is not happening.” Chris’ lips thinned to the point they almost disappeared and her eyes widened. Melanie knew that look—Chris was getting close to her limit. “You came here to discuss Anthony, not Esther.”

  “I don’t want any favoritism of my child.”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” Chris’ entire tone changed.

  Melanie’s stomach tightened, and her breathing quickened as she eyed Chris, trying to figure out where she was going with the conversation.

  “What?” Skip turned on her.

  “Why wouldn’t you want your child to be the teacher’s favorite? I mean, I can understand if Melanie were disparaging Anthony, but you came in here not wanting him to be her favorite. I’m curious why you wouldn’t want that.”

  He seemed flabbergasted and unable to answer. Melanie knew instantly where Chris was going with this conversation.

  “We make it a habit and policy not to have a teacher who is also a parent teach their own child. However, it is not against district policy for a teacher to date a child’s parent, especially when that parent is another teacher and thus coworker. We can’t control love, Mr. Johnson. As for Anthony, he’s thriving in Ms. Przybyla’s class. I have never seen a more happy, learning-starved child, and Ms. Przybyla is the better teacher for him, and her class is the better one for him at this point in time. However, with your concern of Anthony becoming the favorite, I ask again, why wouldn’t you want him to be the favorite?”

  Skip shook his head.

  “Exactly, because the way I see it, being the teacher’s pet or the favorite in class is actually better for the student sometimes. They get special attention, special lessons, they’re given opportunities that other students aren’t. Had you come in here and said Ms. Przybyla was singling Anthony out, treating him poorly, ostracizing him, then the conversation would be different. But you have no proof of that, no matter how many times I have asked you for that in the past weeks you have made the complaint, and today when I expected another complaint in the same manner, it wasn’t. It was a complaint of favoritism.”

  “I want my son moved classes.”

  “And that won’t be happening, Mr. Johnson. Unless you can prove that Anthony’s studies and mental or physical health is being compromised in Ms. Przybyla’s class. Ms. Black’s class is completely full, so to move Anthony would require I move another student, which would interrupt more than just your son’s life and education.”

  Skip’s jaw clenched, the vein in the front of his forehead popping out. “You will move him.”

  “I won’t.” Chris raised her chin. “Unless you can prove to me that Ms. Przybyla is abusing her authority where it concerns your son. Then I will take disciplinary action against Ms. Przybyla and move your son to a safer classroom. Until that happens, you’re free to leave.”

  Skip gaped. Melanie gaped. Chris had planned this. She had come into this meeting with the thought in her head, and she had run with it when the opportunity presented itself. Skip turned toward the door, wrenching it open, but Chris spoke again, firmly.

  “Oh, and Mr. Johnson, I don’t care if you’re elected to the school board, if you don’t stop harassing my teachers, I’ll make a formal complaint against you. I’m tired of running messages for you to Ms. Dunja, and I’m tired of hearing your petty complaints. Come to me with something tangible, and we’ll talk. Until then, I expect to only hear from you where it concerns your son.”

  His face reddened, and just as he was about to speak, Chris stepped forward and put her hand on the edge of the door.

  “See you at kindergarten graduation, Mr. Johnson.”

  Chris shut the door. Melanie waited in absolute silence for at least a full minute, until she knew that Skip was gone from the building. She released a breath and stared wide-eyed at Chris. “Did you really just do that?”

  “I did.”

  “You risked your entire career—”

  “To stop a bully. Isn’t that what we teach all the kids?” Chris winked. “Besides, I don’t think he has as much support as he thinks he does. Election is this year, and I’m not convinced he’ll win a reelection at this point.”

  Melanie bypassed all that and homed in on one moment Chris had made. “He’s made complaints about this before now?”

  “Yes.” Chris sighed as she moved around her desk. “Many complaints about Esther, a couple about you, but in the last three weeks more about you.”

  “What complaints?”

  “They're not relevant, Mel. I promise you, and none of them are true.” She started her work again, shutting Melanie out. As Melanie turned to go, Chris’ voice stopped her at the door. “But Mel, don’t screw this up. I don’t want to lose my job for nothing.”

  “Right.” Melanie couldn’t tell from that comment alone if it was about her relationship with Esther or about her teaching career. Taking the comment for both, Melanie took another step to leave Chris’ office, ready to decompress.

  “Oh and Mel?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Go get Esther. We need to have a talk. The three of us.”

  “Great.” Melanie frowned, knowing she wouldn’t get the time she wanted until much later.

  Esther turned sharply when Melanie opened the door to her classroom, her heart in her throat. But it was instantly soothed as she saw Melanie’s deep brown eyes and comforting face. Smiling, Esther’s cheeks heated at just the memory of the past weekend together.

  “Hey there,” she said.

  “Hey,” Melanie answered. “Not to get your back up or your anxiety working overtime, but we’ve been summoned to Chris’ office.”

  “We…” Esther stopped short, fully facing Melanie now and putting down the papers she’d had in her hand. “We’ve been summoned?”

  “Yes. I just had a meeting with her and Skip.”

  “Oh.” Esther’s face fell, cold fingers wrapping around her heart and squeezing tightly. She should have known better—that the last few weeks of silence from him was too good to be true. He was only working up until he really had something on her. “Okay.”

  Melanie stepped in closer, taking up her favorite spot on the corner of Esther’s desk, and for some reason it set her at ease, as if this was a normal conversation and not one that could very well put the future of her career on the line. But, she could always work in district two and still live in district one she supposed. That would make things very difficult for Anthony. Swallowing hard, Esther focused on pushing the panic in her throat down so she could at least form words.

  “Is he still here?”

  “No.” Melanie’s face washed with recognition of Esther’s fear, and she leaned in, wrapping her hand around Esther’s wrist in a gentle caress.

  Having someone understand what she was feeling without her saying the words out loud was amazing. She wouldn’t have known what to do if she’d had to walk into that room and face him then, in front of Melanie and Chris. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to come back the next day and teach.

  “I think Chris has some things that she wants to share with us about the situation.”

  “What situation?” Esther raised her gaze to Melanie’s eyes again.

  “Well, all of it, I think. Not just Skip.”

  “Okay.” Esther clenched her jaw, then immediately chided herself and tried to relax the muscles in her neck, face, and shoulders. She didn’t get very far before Melanie stood up, her fingers brushing over Esther’s arm tenderly. How she wished they could walk hand-in-hand down the hall to this meeting that very well may determine her fate.