Chapter Twenty-Six

Gavin

"Hi, Belle," I greet the moment I see my ex-wife's name on my phone.

"Hi, Daddy."

I'm instantly on alert. My happy daughter sounds anything but. "What's the matter?"

Annabelle sighs. "Well, Miss Rutledge wasn't at school today. We had a substitute, Mrs. Bridges, and she told us Miss Rutledge was sick."

My heart skips a beat at the mere mention of Ava's name. "Well, I'm sure she'll be feeling better and back to class soon." I don't tell her I already know she'll be out tomorrow, and the reason isn't exactly because she's sick.

"I hope so, but then I came home, and Mommy said she was going to be fired."

I sit straight up in my seat. "She said what?"

Annabelle sniffles, clearly upset by this news. "She said Miss Rutledge is going to get fired and not teach at my school anymore."

I sigh and rub my forehead. "I don't think Miss Rutledge is going to be fired, honey. That's not something you should worry about."

"But…she's such a great teacher. I love being in her class."

"I know. I'm sure a lot of students feel the same way," I reply.

"The substitute is okay, but she doesn't make me smile the way Miss Rutledge does."

Same .

Clearing my throat, I tell her, "Try not to worry. I'm sure Miss Rutledge will be back in class very soon."

"I hope so. We're supposed to watch another science video on Friday, and even though they're kinda boring, she makes them fun."

A grin spreads across my face. "Aren't you supposed to be at karate?" I ask, noting it's Tuesday night.

"Yeah, I'm waiting on Mom to tell me it's time to go. After class Mike and Mikey are having dinner with us."

"That'll be nice," I reply absently, my mind on Ava, as it has been since everything blew up yesterday.

"You know, I've been thinking," she starts.

"About?"

"I think you should date."

I cough, choking on the breath I was taking. "What?"

"Here me out, Dad. You deserve to have nice dinners too, and even though I don't really want to know, my friends' moms say you're hot."

"Uhh, thanks?"

"I think you should ask out Miss Rutledge."

There's no stopping my smile now. "Yeah? Why do you say that?"

"Because she's super pretty and nice and loves to read. We can talk about books, and she'd make stuff with me because she loves to craft like I do."

"That is true," I find myself saying. "Miss Rutledge would be a catch."

"She really would. And when she came over to Grandma and Grandpa's on Christmas Eve, you said she was pretty."

"I did say that."

"So, think about it. I bet she'd say yes, unless she's dating someone. She did get flowers not that long ago. She didn't tell me who they were from, but she smiled a lot when she looked at them."

The thought of Ava appreciating the flowers I sent fills my mind, as does the fact I feel like Annabelle has completely opened the door for me. She's encouraging me to date her teacher, which means she'll probably be ecstatic when Ava and I decide to take our relationship public. Since those photos appeared online, that'll likely happen sooner rather than later, but I'm fine with that.

As long as she's content with everyone knowing.

Not that she really has a choice, but she could still insist on keeping our relationship under wraps for a while. There are still three months left of school, and she could choose to chill until then. I'd respect it, as long as she doesn't push me away completely. But I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

I'm hoping to convince her to take a chance on us.

Publicly.

Together.

"I gotta go, Dad. Mom is hollering it's time to go."

"Have fun at karate," I tell her before we sign off. "Love you."

"Love you too, Daddy. Talk to you soon."

I hang up the phone and the euphoria I felt running through my veins at how encouraging my daughter was for me to ask Ava out vanishes.

Why in the fuck did Julia tell Annabelle that Miss Rutledge was getting fired?

Needing to know the answer to that question, I fire off a text, knowing she won't be able to talk on the phone in front of Annabelle until they arrive at karate.

Me: Call me when you can talk.

It takes a solid thirty minutes before my phone rings. With each minute that passed, I grew more irritated with my ex-wife, angrier that she said something to our daughter, especially because she knows how much Annabelle loves her teacher. Not to mention the man in the middle of this whole mess is me.

"Hello?" I ask, unable to mask my annoyance.

"I've got about five minutes. What's up?"

My annoyance level elevates immediately, mostly because I know she's not doing anything but sitting there, waiting for our daughter to finish her karate class. "Why did you tell Annabelle her teacher is getting fired?"

Julia laughs. She actually laughs at my question. "Because she is?"

"You don't know that," I argue, "So why you would tell our daughter, who absolutely loves her teacher, that is beyond me."

"Are someone's panties in a bunch? You're just mad because those photos outed you. Your sneaking around is over."

"You know nothing about any of that, so I'd watch what you say."

"Or what? Listen, Gavin, I'm terribly sorry your booty call came to an end, but did you have to sleep with our daughter's teacher? How cliché and tacky."

"Don't ever call Ava a booty call again," I spit out, my tolerance of her bullshit reaching the end of my rope. "She's a hell of a lot more than that."

"Well, maybe you should have protected her precious reputation instead of mauling her on Logan Johnson's cabin porch. Did you not even consider you're surrounded by a public park where anyone can see and take pictures?"

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Listen, I don't care who you screw, but you involved our daughter when you decided to drop your pants with her teacher. Now, she's going to lose her job because she's sleeping with one of her students' fathers. Looks like perfect Miss Rutledge isn't really perfect at all. Maybe it's time she got knocked down a notch or two."

I'm left completely speechless. I've never heard Julia speak ill of Ava, and I wasn't prepared for it now. Before there was ever anything between myself and Ava, Julia had nothing but good to say about our daughter's fifth-grade teacher, so what changed? Why all this hostility now?

"I have to go, Gavin. Mike is here, and we're going to grab coffee across the street while the kids finish class." She doesn't say anything else before disconnecting the line, hanging up on me.

I stare at my phone, trying to comprehend what in the hell just happened. Julia's always blamed everyone but herself for everything, but I don't understand her venom toward Ava. Sadly, I probably won't ever know the reason. Julia does what Julia wants to do, and doesn't care who she hurts in the process.

I spend the rest of my Tuesday night thinking about Ava. Tomorrow is the board meeting, and she needs support. I hope all those people who were championing her on that post all show up, because if it's only the ones who think she's doing something wrong, then it might not go as it should with the board.

And the school district isn't the only one who would suffer a disservice by letting her go.

I would too, because who knows where she'd end up. The thought of her having to leave town to take a job elsewhere is unacceptable.

Time to put my plan into motion.

Operation Show Ava How Much She Means to Me is about to commence.

The parking lot is packed. So full, I have to circle the block and park on a side street.

I hate that I'm running late, but despite facing one of the most important moments of my life, I got delayed at the end of work, having to talk over a few issues with the homeowner. By the time I left, I barely had enough time to rush home, shower, and get back on the road.

Now, I'm here, ready to stand beside the woman I love.

With a deep breath, I grab the door that leads to the room where the school board conducts their meetings. The moment I step inside, it's almost chaotic. There are people everywhere, as if the whole town is in attendance for tonight's meeting.

I scan the room, finding Ava sitting in the back row. She looks completely overwhelmed as she sits beside some of the other teachers from the school. Standing directly behind them are her friends—Hallie, Logan, Blair, Gabe, Ellie, and TD, as are Marcus and Cameron, who own the steakhouse. But that's not all. Her dad, grandma, and sister are here, silently showing support for their loved one too.

"Does anyone else have anything to add during public comments?" a man at the front of the room asks.

Stepping forward, I raise my hand. "Yeah, I have something to say."