A Daddy for Jacoby(47)
“Justin graciously agreed to stand in as my date tonight.” She was babbling, but as always, once she started it was impossible to stop. “He even managed to get Gage to lend us his beloved pickup.”
“Wow, that’s so cool! Both Garrett and I tried to wrangle the keys to that baby, but he refused.” Giselle smiled. “Hey, Justin.”
“Hey.”
His one word reply had Gina scrambling to put her earlier plan into action. “Giselle, do you know where I can find Mrs. Powers? I think I should check in with her.”
“Probably the closest bathroom because she’s ready to pop any moment.” The tall, muscular, blond teenager standing with Giselle spoke and tugged at his tie at the same time.
“Mrs. Powers is pregnant,” Giselle explained, “and her due date is just a week away. Come on, we’ll find her.”
Gina looked at Justin. “Will you be okay if I—”
“Sure, he will. Justin, this is Stefan Marcuso, my boyfriend.” Giselle made a quick introduction. “Stef, Justin Dillon.”
The kid stuck out his hand and a heartbeat passed before Justin shook it. Gina let her sister drag her away, hoping he didn’t mind being left with the boy.
“So, is it true you did time in prison for dealing?”
Gina cringed at the teenager’s question, but the sooner she checked in the sooner she’d be able to tell Justin his escorting duties were over. Moments later, they found Mrs. Powers outside the girls’ restroom. Giselle made introductions and headed back to the gym.
“I’m so sorry I’m late,” Gina apologized again. “But I’m here and ready to go to work. What do you need me to do?”
“Actually, our chaperone ranks are pretty full.” Linda Powers, a math teacher who served as the senior class adviser, pressed one hand to her extended belly. “So many long-time staff members wanted to participate in the festivity.”
Gina studied the mother-to-be and found herself wondering if she, too, held the same contemptuous attitude toward Justin that so many other adults at the dance seemed to. “Oh, well, if you’re sure you don’t need me—”
“You’re welcome to stay—you and your date—and enjoy the dance if you’d like. Excuse me, I need to check on the voting for tonight’s royal court.”
“Yes, of course.”
Gina watched the woman slowly make her way down the hall. She wanted to believe the sincerity of the invitation, but after all they’d experienced from the other adults, she wasn’t sure. Needing a moment to collect her thoughts, she slipped inside the ladies’ room. In the last stall, she locked the door and leaned against the wall.
Free to go. Free to stay.
She took a few deep breaths, and pushed away the image that popped into her head of her and Justin sharing a slow dance to a classic doo-wop ballad.
Leaving was the best answer for everyone.
She exited the stall and looked at her reflection in the mirror. A quick swipe with the lip gloss and she was ready.
“…but to bring that man here? To a high school dance?” The door opened and the two women Gina had seen earlier with the football coach entered.
“One would think as the sister of our sheriff,” the second woman spoke, “not to mention from one of the town’s finest families, she’d know better.”
“Better than what?” Gina turned and faced them, enjoying the look of shock on their faces.
“Ah, Miss Steele.”
“Yes, that’s who I am, but I’m afraid I don’t know you ladies.”
She was surprised her voice sounded so calm. Inside, she was shaking with fury. “Third time’s the charm,” wasn’t that the familiar saying? At the front door, then when they arrived at the gym and now here.
Enough was enough.
“I believe you have an issue with my date?”
The first woman folded her hands in front of her. “Yes, frankly, we do. I’m Beverly Simpson, an English teacher here at the high school. I am also a parent with two children attending this dance and I feel this is the last place a former drug dealer should be.”
“Justin has paid his debt for his past behavior. He is working hard to rebuild his life, for both himself and his son.”
“And how can we be sure he hasn’t reverted to his old ways? Like father, like son, as the saying goes.”
“Does that mean we can assume your parents instilled this narrow-mindedness in you?” Gina advanced on the second woman who’d spoken. “Maybe it’s best not to stand in judgment on others, lest you be judged yourselves.”