Page 12 of Heart of a Hero

“Thanks,” Tyler said. “The guy who responded this weekend was no help. I told him what we were up against, but he didn’t seem to care.”

“I’ll handle that on this end. But if you send me a note, it would help.”

“Consider it done,” Tyler added. “And thanks for getting back to me so early this morning.” He hung up, and Conrad went back to the other things he had to do. Maybe half an hour later, he received the note from Tyler that he put in a folder for later use if it was needed. He wanted to get the promotion to director on his own merits, but he was also determined, regardless of what happened as far as his promotion, that Lester wouldn’t get the job. He was supremely unqualified, and if he were to be promoted to head of the department, there wouldn’t be a department within a year.

Still, he got back to his list of tasks and prepped for a client meeting later that afternoon. So he was pretty heads down for a few hours, but once he came up for air, he found the office filled with tension, and it all seemed to be directed at him. He went to the printer, noticing that eyes around the room followed him where he went. “What’s going on?” he asked Janice, the receptionist and the keeper of everything juicy.

“Some nonsense about you and your daughter’s teacher.” She pointedly looked at a few of the other people in the area, and they lowered their gazes and returned to work. Janice was a force of nature. “Apparently you were out having dinner with him.”

“Yes. My daughter and I met him, and she invited him to dinner with us. He’s a nice man, but it’s just dinner.” He shook his head. “I think the real question is, why is Lester so interested in my love life?” He turned away and grabbed the papers he needed from the printer.

Maybe he was coming to understand some of the scrutiny that would be awaiting Forrest if their relationship became public knowledge. He returned to work area. There was work he needed to do, and this was a distraction he couldn’t afford at the moment. There were clients he needed to meet with, and that required him to be on the ball, not worried about whatever game Lester was playing.

He made phone calls and confirmed appointments. At lunch time, he signed out of the office to eat and then spend the afternoon at client locations. He was hoping to get some work from a potential new client who was installing a new accounting system. They were going to need help configuring and setting it up. That was the part of his job he liked the best—a new project and all the potential it represented. But still, alone in his car with all the distractions of the office behind him, he took the opportunity to think of Forrest. Damn, he wanted him in his life. He really did. But he kept wondering if the complications that would bring were something he was ready for.

He pulled away from the building and found he was smiling just thinking of Forrest and how content he’d been Sunday morning, when Forrest had been there when he woke up. If he wasn’t Lizzie’s teacher, Conrad would probably go for it and let the chips fall where they may. But his daughter was of supreme importance, and he didn’t need to mess up the relationship she had at school. Maybe the best thing would be for him to step back. That way Lizzie would probably be better off without the confusing situation of him seeing her teacher. With his mind made up, he continued to his client, the smile long gone.

Chapter 6

FORREST TRIED not to smile as he arrived at school early. He went in through the outside door to his room and locked it again after himself. Then he got to work setting up some activities for the day and changing over some of the bulletin boards. Fall was in full swing, and he wanted his classroom to reflect that. As he worked, he couldn’t help thinking about the night he’d spent with Conrad. Part of him knew it was foolish to make too much of it. After all, Conrad hadn’t been feeling well, but he had held him for much of the night, and Forrest had liked that. It made his heart feel right, like he had found someone he’d been looking for.

A knock on the door startled him a little. “Harlon, good morning.” He checked the time to make sure it hadn’t gotten away from him. “What’s going on?”

The principal came inside and closed the door. “I saw your light and thought I’d talk to you before the kids arrived.” Harlon paused and knitted his eyebrows together.

Forrest put down the scissors and the leaves he’d cut out.

“I’ve had contact with two parents. One is Billy’s father, and I gave him the facts. He tried the argument that you were somehow at fault. I cut that off at the knees and told him in no uncertain terms that Billy has a behavior issue that we consider bullying and that it needs to be headed off at home.”

“What did he say?” Forrest asked.

Harlon nodded slowly. “I think he was already aware of the behavior because his arguments faded into nothing. But it’s the other parent meeting I’m concerned about. It’s not so much a complaint about you… but… well, one of the mothers… was worried about her kids at recess while you’re the monitor.” He rolled his eyes. “This has to be the dumbest complaint I have ever heard, and I wouldn’t bring it up, but if one parents has registered a complaint, then there are others who have kept quiet.”

“You know I can’t change how I look.” Forrest was devastated. He had searched for this job for the longest time, and he knew Harlon had taken a chance on him. This was his first year, and he really liked what he was doing.

“I know, and I explained to her that the kids liked you and that she was judging the book by its cover. I think that might have gotten to her. But next month there’s a parent/teacher social, and I think you really need to go. Get to know some of the parents so they can see beyond the exterior, which admittedly can seem intimidating, to the person underneath. The kids love you. That’s obvious by the way they act. Kindergarteners show what they feel most of the time, and those kids are excited to come to school.”

Forrest sighed. “I wish the parents understood that.” He recalled Conrad’s first reaction in the grocery store. “They take one look at me….”

“I know. I did the same thing. But you are a good teacher. Your kids are learning, and they are excited to come to school. So don’t let any of this get you down. We’ll deal with each issue as it comes up. But I wanted you to know.” He left the room, and Forrest pushed the issue away. He was well aware of how people reacted to him, and these were parents who often became protective and sometimes irrational when it came to their children. He shook his head and went back to work. The kids would be arriving soon, and he wanted to get this done before they did.

“GOOD-BYE,” HEIDI said as she hurried out of the room and past him, waving and smiling before hurrying across the school lawn to where her father waited for her.

“Yeah, bye,” another of his students said as he hurried out to take his mom’s hand. Forrest always loved the end of the day. The kids were excited about going home, but so many of them said good-bye and waved every night. It made him feel really good about what he was doing. There was no fooling these kids. They saw right to your heart, and that was always amazing.

“Night,” Lizzie said as she waved good-bye and rushed out to where Conrad’s mother waited for her. He waved in return. It was surprising how quickly the school went from noisy to almost silent. He closed the door and locked it before sitting at his desk. He sent Conrad a message asking how his day was going before reviewing his plans for the following day.

Forrest leaned over his desk, head in his hands and just held still. All his life he had been a big guy. In high school they had wanted him to wrestle, so he’d done it because it was sort of expected. Not that he’d wanted to, necessarily. He’d also played football. Again, it had been expected, and his father had been overjoyed. And he had been intimidating as hell with his bald head, so he always initially ran out on the field without his helmet, putting it on before play began. His heart hadn’t been in either game, but he’d played. Then in college he’d gone into education. It was what he really wanted to do. He was still big, but no one really seemed to care. Some of the women had been afraid of him at first, but he became friends with a lot of the ones in his classes and that reticence had slipped away. He’d finally felt like he belonged somewhere. And he was hoping that would continue here. But maybe that was just more than he could have hoped for.

Lifted his head, he checked his phone, but Conrad hadn’t answered his message. It was possible that he was busy at the office, and there was plenty he needed to do, so Forrest put his worries out of his mind and got to work.

BY THE time he got ready to leave, he still hadn’t heard from Conrad. “Are you okay? Do you still feel under the weather?” he sent and pushed his phone into his pocket. Then he packed up his things and headed out. He had made a lot of progress and was in good shape for the next few days.

As he got in the car, he received a response from Conrad saying that they needed to talk and asking him to come over if he could. Forrest pulled to the side and answered before continuing on to Conrad’s. He was curious as he got out of the car and knocked on the door.

Lizzie let him inside with a hug. “Daddy’s grumpy.”

“I see. Maybe I can help with that.” She shrugged and hurried off to play while Forrest followed the muttering from the kitchen. “What’s going on?”