Page 74 of Taming His Teacher

“She loves Caleb. It was no trouble—”

“Not for that, although he’s been raving about her since you left. It was seeing her stand up to your father. I’m sure you don’t remember because it was a long time ago, but I used to do that. Somewhere along the line, I got tired. I got tired of fighting and tired of his bullying and I figured if I could lie down in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to get to you boys. Not enough to do real damage, anyway. I stopped pushing back. I held him where he was. But when Erin was here, I remembered some things are worth fighting for. You boys are worth fighting for. You never needed my help much, but Caleb does. So I fought back.”

I duck my head and mash my palm against my chest because it aches, but she’s not finished.

“Or if that’s, what do you kids say, TMI? Just tell her the cookies were delicious.”

“I will.” I’m choked up and my neighbor is looking at me funny. We’re going to be able to walk off the plane soon, so I should go. “Look, Mom, I’ve gotta go, but thank you.”

“No, thank you, Zach. You’re a good man, like Erin said. I’m proud of you and I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Then I click off my phone and walk off the plane in a daze. Caleb’s coming to Hawthorn.

Chapter 21

Erin

Spring is crazy. My allergies are back, although not as bad this year. Maybe I’m building up some desperately needed immunity? Shep’s been buzzing like some heat-maddened fly. Paranoia whispers horrible things in my head, that maybe he’s feeling guilty for something he’s done. But that’s so unfair. It’s echoes of Will that I hear, not Shep. And running into Lana Davis at another dance last weekend hasn’t helped matters. The way she looks at him…

No. I won’t let that distrustful part of me take over. He deserves more than that from me. He’s just overwhelmed, that’s all. Half with being super-busy with wrapping up classes and coaching and half with excitement that Caleb’s going to start here in the fall. Caleb’s going to come up a few weeks before the rest of the boys get in so he can get settled. We’re going to take him school shopping and let him have some fun before he has to buckle down and work his butt off as Shep’s told him he’ll have to. A dozen times.

“He knows. Give him a break. If you keep talking like that, he’s going to stay in Shamokin.”

“I don’t want him to think he’s going to be walking on easy street because I work here. I can send him home at the drop of a hat.”

“Don’t you dare say that to him.”

“I won’t, you know I won’t. Because I wouldn’t. But that makes it all the harder to put the fear of god in him.”

“I think fear of disappointing his older brother is enough.”

I push at the chicken marsala on my plate with my fork and it takes Shep a few bites of his veal picatta to notice I’ve stopped eating.

“What’s the matter, Erin? Is it not good? Do you want something else?”

“No, it’s delicious. Everything here is always delicious.”

We found this Italian place right off Main Street in Hawthorn. It’s small and cozy and not too expensive, so we’ve become regulars.

“So what’s wrong? You’ve been distracted all through dinner.”

I could say the same to him. For more than dinner. He’s been distracted all spring and that paranoid voice inside my head tells me it’s not just about Caleb coming or his heavy faculty load. But Shep’s given me no reason to doubt he’s faithful so I try my best to silence the irrational fears Will left in his wide wake. Shep loves me, worships me, belongs to me, and I love being his. I’ve never been so at peace. Everything seems easier now that we’re together, like how life should be.

“I’ve been thinking.”

“About?”

I wrap my ankles together under the table, pulling at them, and fiddle with the fork I’m holding. “About applying for the Chair of the department.”

Shep had mentioned it months ago and it’s been gnawing at the back of my brain since then. If there was an obvious candidate, I probably wouldn’t dare, but with Dan’s departure, the math department is split a bit oddly: Skip Connelly and Elliott Gunderson will be retiring in the next year or two, and Matt Brinkley has made no secret that he has far more interest in being the head coach of the football team than anything else. That leaves Shep and me, and Shep just got hired as faculty.

“I think that’s a great idea.”

“You do?”

“Of course. You love the department and I know how much help you’ve given Dan this year and probably before that. You do half the work already. You should get the title and the pay bump, too.”

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