Few things unhinged Jenna Beaumont Mason. She could do cool, calm, and collected. She could do serene. She could go with the flow. She could chill.
Honestly, she taught grammar and John Donne’s poetry to sixteen-year-olds!
“Jenna Mason.”
A rushing noise whistled through her head again. Her ears burned. The base of her throat pulsated in sync with a wildly erratic heartbeat. She flicked her straight black hair off a shoulder.
“Jenna?” Behind the podium onstage, the high school principal, Cade Edmunds, smiled in a gentle, expectant way.
Which was totally out of character for him.
Which totally defined the insanity of the moment.
Jenna sat with ninety-nine other abnormally subdued faculty members in the high school auditorium. Ten of those people, including herself, were related to military personnel, all currently deployed overseas. Ten teachers who had an infinite number of other things to do before the first day of school tomorrow. Ten teachers who had countless better things to do than sit around while their principal singled them out for a salute to the armed forces—aka pity party.
Cade extended his hand, palm up, waiting.
Beside her, the sophomore lit teacher touched Jenna’s arm. The woman’s eyes looked like overfilled bathtubs.
Evidently Jenna’s fairy godmother had taken a hike. There would be no poofing her from this wretched scene. Jenna rose to her full five-eight height, careful not to slouch, and stood rigidly next to her seat.
“As most of you know,” Cade said, “Jenna’s husband is Kevin Mason, last year’s winning varsity football coach and PE teacher here at Sundance High. He’s a Marine, serving in . . .”
Jenna tuned out her boss and glanced around. Two others stood with her. That left seven to go. Seven more loved ones to name along with their branch, rank, unit, platoon, or whatnot numbers. Seven more foreign, unpronounceable locations to reference.
John Donne had it all wrong. “No man is an island”? Yeah, right. She disagreed. She was totally an island, hemmed in by huge swells of dread. The warm fuzzies directed her way at that moment could not build bridges over such waves. Applause could not warm her bed or explain why he left or fill the lonely dinner hour night after night.
Jenna blinked rapidly, focused on Cade Edmunds, and blinked some more.
The principal was a good guy. Great with the students, respected by his staff, liked by most parents. His tearing her inside out in public, however, was the most idiotic thing he’d ever done.
She remained deadpan throughout his presentation and imagined chiding him. The mental exercise worked. She made it through seven more intros, ears still aflame but serenity intact. Yes, Jenna Beaumont Mason could do cool.
And then the applause evolved into a standing ovation.
Okay. So her mascara was getting smudged. Not a problem. Jenna Beaumont Mason could do damage control, no sweat.
The scolding and makeup repair were both put on hold. As soon as Cade ended the meeting, several teachers surrounded Jenna, offering hugs and words of gratitude and concern. Finally the last one stepped front and center.
“Jenna! Oh!”
The woman was vaguely familiar. She had short, bouncy blonde curls and a perky demeanor to match. Wasn’t she a cheerleader coach?
“Jenna, I am so, so sorry I didn’t get with you last spring when Kevin left, but Joey shipped about the same time.”
Joey?
“You know how crazy life is when that’s all happening. I mean, to tell your husband good-bye for a year—” She mashed her lips together, shook her head, and then gave her shoulders a quick shrug. “So anyway. You made it through the summer, too, and here we are. Trust me, work is a godsend. At least it always has been for me.”
“Mm.” Jenna hummed a noncommittal reply that got lost in the woman’s monologue.
“Put me in a lab with a bunch of kids and I’m content as a gecko with a cricket in its gullet.”
Science department. Biology. Ann, Angie, Abby, Alison?
“Of course when we cover explosives, the kids are all over it. They say ‘Mrs. Ames, why can’t we build just a little bomb?’ Then I’ve got Joey right there in the room with me. It’s his specialty. Bombs, explosives. Not that I tell them that, but you know what I mean. I can’t help but imagine what he’s up to over there.”
Amber Ames. Chemistry.
“Jenna, did you notice that out of the ten of us introduced, you and I were the only ones with spouses in the military? Everyone else had an in-law or a cousin. I bet this is your first, huh?”
“First?”
“Deployment.” She pointed at one of her own eyes. “I gave up mascara the second time Joey went.”
“Second! ”
“This is his third. That I know about, anyway.” She leaned toward Jenna and lowered her voice. “He’s a Navy SEAL. What am I going to do?”
Jenna felt an arm brush hers and turned to see Cade.
He said, “Amber, you could join up.”
“Ha! No disrespect, Mr. Edmunds, but those guys are certifiable. Stop laughing.”
“Well, you are married to one.”
“Which makes me only half-certifiable.” Amber grinned. “Besides, I could never do the chin-ups. Jenna, let’s get together and compare notes sometime, ’kay? Maybe over dinner. That’s always the worst time of day for me. Gotta go!” She hurried off, waving a hand backward over her shoulder.
Cade chuckled. “No disrespect, but talking to her is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.”
Jenna shrugged. Fire hydrant or whatever, the chat with Amber had flushed the desire to lambaste Cade right out of her.
She grabbed her shoulder bag from the seat. “I better get to work.”
“Jen.” Cade touched her elbow, lightly, briefly.
She turned to face him.
“I know you’re ticked at me.”
Lowering her head, she unzipped her bag and rummaged through it—for what exactly, she had no clue. “I’m just generally ticked at life these days.”
“You’ve taught in my building for six years. I know when you’re ticked at me in particular.”
She jerked the zipper shut and met his gaze.
It was rumored that Cade Edmunds bled ice water. Hence the nickname Mr. Ice Guy. His aggressive demeanor supported the bad-guy rep. Unwavering steel-gray eyes and biceps that even her husband admired did not exactly mitigate the image. His naturally balding head—already, at thirty-nine—only added a layer of toughness. Not to mention the stories of his off-campus encounters with gang members and gun-toting parents.
“And,” he went on, “I know you hate the sort of attention I just directed your way.”
“Is there a point to this conversation?”
“The point is you and Kevin are making a huge sacrifice. Your personal life went down the tubes when he shipped out.”
She begged to differ. It happened the day her husband reenlisted. Yes, she had married a Marine. He wore his dress uniform in the wedding—gorgeous as all get out, but within weeks it was packed away, put away for good. Or so she thought. Then along came a war—and a husband compelled to serve his country.
“Jenna, you’re on my team. When you’re injured, I call for reinforcements. That’s what this salute to the military was all about. We are here for you. The attention was necessary to drive the message home, to you and everyone else.”
Rah, rah. “Got it, coach.” She gave a thumbs-up.
He closed his eyes and exhaled audibly. “Okay.” His tone hushed, he looked at her. “Just promise me one thing.”
The tough guy vanished. Jenna felt her control slip again.
“Promise you will tell me when things get unbearable. When you want to pitch an unabridged Webster’s at some kid’s head, talk to me first.”
She shifted her weight to the other foot and glanced around. The auditorium had emptied.
“Can you promise?”
“Okay.”
He waited.
“Okay, okay! I promise.”
“And I promise I won’t hassle you if you want extra time off. Or if you need to leave spur of the moment. Hey, in a pinch, I’ll even sub.”
“Cade! I’m fine!”
“Yeah.” He paused. “Don’t they make waterproof eye stuff?”
“Oh, go take a hike.”
“Good idea.” He gave her a brief smile, spun on his heel, and walked across the front of the auditorium. “I think,” he said without turning, “Amber will be a good friend for you.”
Now he was choosing her friends?
Still without a backward glance, he called out, “Stop rolling your eyes, Mrs. Mason!” The door swished shut behind him.
So the rumor was true: Edmunds had eyes in the back of his head.
And they were watching over her. Jenna felt the tug of a smile.