Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ava

The sound of his voice has my heart pounding in my chest and my eyes seeking him out. Gavin is walking toward the podium at the front of the room, looking as gorgeous as I've ever seen him in jeans and a fitted black shirt with his company logo across the chest. There's confidence in his movements, a familiarity in the thump of his boots on the floor, and just before he reaches the front, he turns and gives me a grin.

One that goes straight to my lady bits and pieces.

He clears his throat. "I'm Gavin Pierson, and I'd like to say something about Ava Rutledge."

I swear my heart is going to beat right out of my chest, and I'm pretty certain I'm not breathing as I wait to hear what he has to say.

"If you weren't aware, I'm the man in the photographs that were posted about Miss Rutledge, and the caption is wrong. It's absurd for multiple reasons. To insist what was documented without our knowledge as being anything more than sneaking around is ridiculous. Even if that were the case, it would be not one person's business in this room. Any relationship she has on a personal level has nothing to do with how amazing she is at her job. I could pull dozens of former students and parents of hers up here to the front of the room to preach her praises, but I'm going to assume a few of them spoke tonight before I arrived. Her students, her school, it all comes first to her, which is why she's so effective at teaching. We're fortunate to have many great educators in this district, and Ava Rutledge is one of them."

He takes a deep breath and glances around the front of the room. The seven members of the board are at the very front, as well as the superintendent. Principals for both the elementary and the junior/senior high school are seated to the side, and all are listening and watching.

"I know what has been said about her, about us. I've read the comments, some by prominent members of the community sitting right here in this very room. I can't imagine having my name dragged through the mud, not once, but twice by the people sitting in this room."

I can't help but notice a few people shift uncomfortably.

"I can speak to you all day about her character, about her ability to teach and how much she loves this school. But I also know if you choose to make the decision to let her go, based on juvenile bullshit posted on the internet by a coward who won't even show their name, then that's your call. It's the wrong one, but that's on you. I know she'll be fine. There isn't a district in this state that wouldn't jump at an opportunity to have a teacher like Ava Rutledge on their staff, and if you let her go, it will be someone else's gain, I know it."

He glances over his shoulder and meets my wide-eyed gaze. "They called our photos inappropriate. How is a man welcoming the woman he loves home inappropriate? No, we weren't at either of our homes, but what does that matter? If we were dating or married before my daughter began her class, would we be here, having this discussion? The answer is no."

His eyes return to the front of the room. "This is a wonderful small town. You get things here you can't find in a bigger city. The level of support and appreciation is second to none. So why are we picking and choosing who gets that support? Don't let the bad shit in a small town outweigh the positive. Ava Rutledge is the positive. She's the best person I know, and if I'm lucky, someday, I'll get to call her mine forever. Thank you."

My jaw must be hanging down to my chest, but I can't seem to close it. All I can do is watch as he walks past the crowd of people and back out the way he came.

Panic sets in.

He's leaving?

After he just told the entire town he was in love with me, he's walking out the door?

I jump up. "Excuse me, excuse me," I mumble to the people I pass, trying not to step on their feet as I scurry toward the exit.

Pushing through the door, I burst outside into the cold of night. "Gavin!" I holler, my eyes scanning.

"There's no reason to yell."

I whip to my right to find Gavin leaning against the wall, waiting. "I thought you left."

A grin cracks across his lips. "Not without you."

"But…why did you come out here?"

He sighs and shakes his head. "Because I didn't want to listen to anyone say one bad thing about you."

Giving him a smile, I step forward and press my hands to his warm chest. "Hardly anyone said anything negative. If they were there to advocate my dismissal, they didn't say a word. They didn't have a chance, really, because my coworkers and former parents started speaking, everyone else seemed to get real quiet, real fast."

"Good," he says, slipping his arm around my waist and pulling me toward him. "I'd have to have words with anyone who spoke ill of the woman I love."

Unable to contain my smile, I go up on my tiptoes and press my lips to his. "I love you too."

He opens his mouth, claiming mine in a bruising kiss that makes my toes curl. "For the record, I'm done pussyfooting around this. I want everything with you, Ava."

My heart pirouettes in my chest. "I want that too."

He kisses me again, his tongue sliding inside my mouth as his hands slip beneath my sweater. Cold fingers brush against my lower back, sending a shiver through my body, but the heat of the kiss more than makes up for the frigid temperatures around us.

"Should we go back inside?" he asks, resting his forehead against mine.

"No, I think we should go home. Whatever happens next is out of our hands. What will be, will be, right?" I ask, repeating his words from Monday.

"That's right," he replies, taking my hands in his. "Let's go home. And maybe get naked," he suggests, a wolfish grin on his gorgeous face.

Before we're able to take off, the door opens, and the attendees start to file out.

"There you are!" Grandma hollers, making a beeline for Gavin and me. "We thought you took off for some nookie."

My face flames red as my dad looks on, uncomfortable. "No one thought that but you," my sister argues, shaking her head.

"The meeting's over?" I ask.

"No, but there's nothing more we can do. They'll do their executive session like always, but the superintendent spoke and pledged his support of you before they went back for the closed-door meeting. He said it would be an outrage to the school if the board voted to remove you, and he'd hate to see what sort of fallout would happen," my dad informs me, a look of pride on his face.

"I watched the board members the entire time, and most of them seemed to really listen to those who spoke up for you. The only one I thought seemed shady was that Mark Bollinger. He kept subtly shaking his head in disagreement."

"Mark? His wife is Julia's best friend. I saw them Sunday—" Gavin stops speaking, his eyes wide with realization. "Shit, I saw him and his wife on Sunday. They were snowmobiling around the Bluff. Son of a bitch, I know who took the photos."

I watch him as he turns concerned, sad eyes my way.

"Kelli, Julia's friend. She had to have taken the photos, I'm just not sure which one posted them."

"It doesn't matter," I tell him, wrapping my hand around his.

"The hell it doesn't. If my ex-wife had anything to do with those photos being published, I'll—"

"Don't make it worse for anyone. Someone tried to drive a wedge between us, tried to ruin reputations. Let's not let them win," I insist. "Besides, I don't want to cause more problems between you and Julia, especially where Annabelle is concerned. The best revenge is to not let their scheming bullshit take us down."

He flashes me a quick grin and pulls me into his arms. "Did you just say bullshit?"

I feel my cheeks flush a bit. "This seemed like the right occasion."

"Of course it did. What someone did was bullshit," Grandma states bluntly.

"Mom, it's getting cold out here. Why don't I take you home?" my dad suggests, having picked my grandma up to bring her to the meeting to show me support.

"I'm fine, but I bet these two want to get going and get back to the nookie."

My cheeks flame red, my entire body burning with embarrassment. "Grandma!" I groan at the same time my dad screeches, "Mom."

She just chuckles and gives Gavin a kiss on the cheek. "Take care of my granddaughter."

"I will, Miss Betty," he replies. He glances over and extends a hand toward my dad. "I hope it's okay I date your daughter, sir. I seem to have fallen in love with her over the last couple of months."

My dad just smiles. "I think that's wonderful."

"Come on, let's get out of here. Sis, I'm sure it'll all work out for you," Analise says, pulling me into a tight hug.

I can't help but glance over at Gavin. "It already has."

After making sure my family gets off without any issues, I take Gavin's hand and let him walk me toward my car. "Well, which place is it going to be? Mine or yours?"

The corner of my mouth curls up as I glance his way under my eyelashes. "Yours is closer."

Gavin barks out a laugh as he opens my driver's door. "I like the way you think, Miss Rutledge." Once I'm seated, he leans in and presses his mouth to mine. "See you in a few minutes."

I nod, reaching for the door and pulling it closed. Starting the engine, I roll my window down and holler, "Gavin?"

He's not far, only walking a few feet back before he goes to his own truck. "Yeah?"

A wicked smile full of intent spreads across my lips. "Race you."

Even in the darkness, I can see his eyes dilate with desire. "You're on, Miss Rutledge."

Then, he takes off running toward the side street where his truck is parked, which of course, is closer to the way we need to travel to reach his house. But even if he beats me there, am I really losing?

Nope, definitely not.

Something tells me there'll be no loser tonight.

As I drive toward his house, following behind him, I realize I'm okay. Even without knowing what the board will decide, I'll be fine. I may or may not still be working in the school district come tomorrow, but I'll figure it out, and I'll get through it. Despite the blow to my reputation, I'll be okay. Because I have the love of a man I hope to spend a lot more time with, publicly.

But for now, I'm going to focus on the alone part.

You know, the nookie.

I'm relentless like that.