Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) (22 page)

“Do you trust me?”

“You know I do.”

“Do you want to be with
me?”

“Tabor,” I started, but
he cut me off.

“Answer the question,”
he said firmly.

“Of course,” I sighed.

“Then you have to believe
that I know what I’m doing and there’s no way I’d let anything happen to keep
me from you.”

“You’re not God, Tabor.
You’re not invincible. How many times can you get hit or do the hitting and not
be hurt? I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I get what you’re
saying, I do. But this is what I do, it’s what I signed on for, and short of
getting hurt, I’ll be doing it for three more years with the Quakes.”

A small nod was all I
was able to muster and he leaned down, kissing me until he was sure I was finished
debating the issue.

I breathed a sigh of
relief that I’d diverted his attention long enough that he didn’t ask about
work. It wasn’t something I was ready to discuss anyway. But as I rolled over,
guilt washed over me knowing that I was still keeping something from him. There
was nothing he could do and I needed to sort out the situation so I could
determine how to move forward.

My back was tucked
snuggly against his chest and I liked my bubble—
our
bubble. It was typically my favorite place to be. But my
worries and fears were consuming me. The outside world meant nothing to us, but
it was beginning to infiltrate our lives, and he had no idea how badly.

D A N I

The sunlight was barely
visible through the blinds in my room, the heat of Tabor’s breath hot against
my neck. I wanted so much to turn to him and tell him what had happened, but I
still hadn’t wrapped my mind around it.

When he’d finally fallen
asleep, my stomach felt nauseous from the wine I’d consumed—or maybe it
was because I knew I was keeping the truth from him. My mind was reeling from
the article and the consequences that had gone along with it. It seemed unfair
that the district would force me to take a break, especially considering that
our school needed all the help they could get.

I was restless the
entire night, and though I knew it wasn’t the end of the world, it was still
bad.

Tabor stirred in the
bed, and I closed my eyes and pretended to still be asleep. The bed shifted
when he climbed out and I heard him quietly getting dressed before he walked to
my side. There was a moment where I tried to make sure my eyes remained still
because I was certain he was looking at me. He leaned down and kissed my cheek,
sweetly brushing my hair out of my face.

“I’ll call you after
work,” he whispered.

It was on the tip of my
tongue to tell him not to bother…that there was no job to go to, but instead, I
kept my eyes closed and waited while his steps tromped downstairs. I heard the
front door lock and waited until the sound of his engine revving told me it was
okay to get up. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to move.

I was knee-deep in my
self-pity because it was my first day “off” of work and I was utterly
miserable. I could stay in ratty clothes all day long, watch movies, and eat junk
food all day long and no one would care.

No one except me. I
wanted
to be at work, setting up my
classroom, finalizing lesson plans…all of it, because I loved my kids.

If someone had told me
three years ago that I’d love being a teacher, I would have laughed in their
face. Kids weren’t on my radar, and standing in front of a classroom shaping
minds was even further. But it turned out that it’s what I was meant to do. I
was a damn good teacher and my students loved me.

And one viciously awful,
lie-ridden story threatened to ruin my entire career. I wanted to strangle
Candayce or whoever had sold that damn story to the gossip site. How could they
live with themselves knowing they were making up horrible lies and potentially
ruining people’s lives? Did they even care?

Still, I just kept
wondering how
I
ended up on a gossip
site.

I knew that being with
Tabor brought a new set of issues that normal couples didn’t experience. But
for some reason, I had assumed that I would be boring enough that people wouldn’t
pay any attention to me. And I couldn’t have been more wrong.

“Enough,” I muttered,
deciding to stop feeling sorry for myself. I was better than that, and it was
up to me to make the most of the time I had. I pulled myself out of bed and
managed to get dressed. It didn’t matter that nothing matched and there was a
pretty good chance the shirt I was wearing was dirty; at least I was up.

Coffee would be my best
friend, helping me to accomplish everything—assuming there was
something
to accomplish.

Standing at the bottom
of the stairs, I looked around, trying to determine
where
to start when I heard my phone ringing. It was then I
realized I’d never called Millie back, and I was certain she was steamed. But
when I scrambled to locate my phone, figuring it was likely her, I came up
empty. I moved pillows, blankets, and a load of laundry in my attempt to find
it. Just as it was ringing for the final time, I found it…under the couch.

“Hello,” I answered,
winded.

“Why didn’t you call me
back yesterday?” Millie demanded, and I winced at her tone.

“I’m sorry.”

“I heard about what
happened,” she said, softening her voice. “Are you okay?”

“I guess everyone
knows.”

“And not one of them is
buying that story,” she consoled. “It’s a load of shit.”

“Thanks, Mill,” I groaned,
throwing myself onto the couch. “I’m just so pissed. I don’t know what I’m
supposed to do. I mean, I could sit here and wait it out, but what does that
get me? And what about River’s Kids? Who’s going to run that?”

“Your best friend who
loves you and believes in your vision,” she said timidly.

“Millie?” I asked,
choking on her name.

“Don’t hate me.”

“Hate you? Why would I
hate you? Are you serious? You’re going to take over for me?” I asked.

“Yes. I’m serious. When
I saw you running out the building, I went to Lopez to see what happened, and
the first thing I asked was about River’s Kids. He said that the program would
be put on hold if we didn’t find someone to step in…so…I did.”

“I love you, do you know
that?” I asked as my eyes teared up. “You’re the only one I’d trust to run it.”

“Thanks,” she said.

It was quiet, neither of
us knowing what to say. My friends were always there when I needed them most,
and I felt incredibly lucky to have them. But this was beyond anything I
expected. The time commitment for someone, let alone a new mom, was
significant. So I knew that she’d stepped in because she loved me.

“What did Tabor say?”
When I didn’t answer, her tone turned scolding. “Dani. You
did
tell him. Didn’t you?”

“Not really?” I cringed
at my own words.

“Not really?” she
repeated. “Dani. You either did or didn’t tell him.”

“Yeah. One of those,” I
said noncommittally.

“You’re ridiculous.
Tell. Him,” she demanded. “He’s going to figure it out anyway. And he needs to
know what people are saying.”

“Does he? What good is
that going to do?”

“I hate to remind you,
but you’re in a relationship now, which means you work it out. To-ge-ther,” she
lectured.

“Fine,” I grumbled.

“You know I’m right.”

“I know,” I muttered. “I
know, I know,
I know
. I’m just not
sure how to tell him without sounding like the bitter woman I am.”

“That man loves you…and
I’m sure he still will when he sees the crazy bitch you’ve been hiding all this
time,” she teased. “Time to take off the mask, Dani.”

“Gee, thanks,” I
laughed, my mood slightly better.

“So what’s the plan
while you’re on
vacation
?” she asked.

“I have no idea. Maybe
some cleaning? Get around to organizing my closet? Funny thing is, when I’m
working I look forward to my time off, but this feels like a punishment for
something I didn’t do.”

“So do something about
it. Don’t roll over and accept the hand you’ve been dealt. Call Lopez. Call the
school board. Email Fangurl. Set the record straight.”

“That’s only going to
make it worse. Then I go from being the jealous girlfriend to the prima donna
who cries when her name is mentioned in an unflattering light.”

“Then talk to Tabor and
tell him. Maybe he’s got a better solution.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re
right. Thanks, Millie, for everything,” I said, genuinely feeling blessed to
have my best friend stand by me.

“Anytime.”

***

By the end of the day,
my condo was spotless. I’d cooked dinner, and even managed a shower. I felt
like crap, but I didn’t have to look it, so I made the most of my time. At
Millie’s prodding, I decided that I would tell Tabor what was going on and
hoped that he would have a way of handling things.

“How was your day?”
Tabor asked as he walked into the living room.

“Uneventful,” I
answered.

“Are you finished
setting everything up for school?”

“Not exactly.”

I walked into the
kitchen and grabbed two water bottles from the fridge, handing him one and
chugging mine in an attempt to brace myself. I had dreaded the conversation all
day, and no matter how I’d told myself it would go, I knew my emotions would
get me. And in my case, things never went as planned.

A
V
formed between his brows as he studied me carefully. “Did I do
something wrong?”

I scoffed and my lips
curved into a sad smile. “I guess you haven’t seen the latest from Fangurl,
have you?”

He was still watching me
with curiosity, his head turned to the side. “What’s going on?”

Without another word, I
brought my laptop over to him and found the offending site to show him the
story. He took the device from my hands and set it on his lap, looking from me
and back to the computer, utterly confused. It was hard to look at him, so I
took a seat on the opposite side of the couch and played with the label on my
water bottle.

Tabor’s eyes were
scanning the screen, his face impassive. At one point he inhaled sharply and
shook his head. From the corner of my eye I saw him glance at me, but I didn’t
meet his gaze. And when he finished, he looked angry or disappointed—I
couldn’t tell which. He gently set the laptop on the coffee table and moved
closer to my end of the couch.

“Damnit, Dani,” he
grumbled. “I’m sorry, babe.”

His outstretched arm
offered me consolation that I wasn’t sure I wanted or needed at that moment. I
felt like the worst person, because I saw the hurt flash across his face when I
flinched from his touch. I wanted to take it back, but I was so deep in my own
misery that it was hard for me to crawl out of it.

“This isn’t my fault,”
he reminded me. Despite my knowledge of that information, I was still upset.
“And Fangurl is nothing more than a bitter, angry, lonely person who has
nothing better to do.”

“Trust me, I know. But
that story is out there. A completely fabricated, malicious lie that has big
implications.”

“I wish I could fix it,
but this is a side effect of being with me,” he reminded me, as if I didn’t
know firsthand.

“This is what I was
afraid of all along! The whole reason I wanted to keep
us
a secret…and now everything is ruined,” I spat, before I was
able to take the words back.

“It’s a stupid story,
Dani. Stop making a bigger deal about it than it is,” he argued, standing up to
move away from me. “It’s like you’re looking for a fight. They’re words. I get
you’re upset, but this is ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?” I
questioned, my voice rising as I stood up. “Maybe
you’re
used to people being in your business and making up stories
about you, but I’m not. And these lies
can
ruin people’s lives.”

“It’s a stupid gossip
rag. No one believes that shit!”

“Yeah, well, tell that
to my boss, who put me on temporary leave of absence.”

“What?” He took a step
back. “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday.”

“Why didn’t you tell
me?”

“Because I didn’t want
to talk about it. I was sent home before lunch and that’s it.”

“But you still have your
job, right?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t
allowed to finish setting up my room, and the school’s been hounded with
inquiries for interviews. I guess I was just one hassle they don’t want right
now. And I get it. This is a damn circus.”

“Don’t you think you’re
being a bit dramatic?”

“No, actually, I don’t.
I’m the exact modicum of drama I should be, considering that I might not have a
job to go back to.”

“So you can get another
job somewhere else,” he suggested. Funny, it was as if he thought jobs just
fell from the sky.

“That’s not the point,
Tabor. I’m good at what I do. And what about my kids? What about the
after-school program that I’ve busted my ass to keep going? This isn’t just
some hobby of mine to pass the time.”

“I didn’t mean it like
that,” he said apologetically. “I’m just trying to point out it’s not the end
of the world.”

“No, it’s not. But this
condo, groceries, and bills don’t pay for themselves,” I argued. “If by some
chance they don’t let me come back, I have about three months of savings that I
can live off of before I’m up shit creek.”

“Don’t you realize I
wouldn’t let that happen? Jeez, Dani…I love you and I want to be there for you.
Hell, you don’t have to work. And if you can’t pay for this place, you can just
move in with me.”

“Are you kidding me?” I
laughed humorlessly. “Just stop.”

“All I’m saying is that
there are options.”

“Moving in with you
isn’t one of them. I’ve been on my own since I was eighteen—I can take
care of myself. And the reason I move in with my boyfriend isn’t going to be
because I lost my job. Don’t you get it, Tabor? I love what I do and I don’t
want to lose it. And yet here I am, giving it all up for a guy. A guy who gets
the shit beat out of him on a weekly basis.”