Page 94 of Pretty Relentless

“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 oneof 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.”

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 Rutledgeisthe positive. She’s the best person Iknow, 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.

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