The Christmas Cookie Wars

Chapter Seventeen

Seventeen

Melody used to dread being summoned to the principal’s office, but right now she had to refrain from skipping through the doors.

When Jonathan had texted her to stop in and see him on her way to fulfill her cafeteria duty—with a winking emoji—she’d run back upstairs to change her outfit yet again and had added more eyeliner.

But she had to play this part cool or Nancy would get suspicious.

“Hey there, Melody.” Jonathan’s assistant smiled at her over the computer screen. “You look lovely today. I mean, you’re positively glowing. Did you change up your skincare routine?”

“Nope. I’m not doing anything different, really.” Forget Botox. Harboring a secret romance could take ten years off easy. “I have a meeting with Mr. Braxton.”

Or a rendezvous, depending on how you looked at it.

“Yes, he mentioned that. You two probably have all sorts of things to discuss regarding Cookie Daze, I’ll bet.”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Nancy waved her past the desk. “Go ahead on back. He should be waiting for you.”

“Thanks.” She started to float again, but hopefully Nancy was oblivious to the extra bounce in her step.

Outside Jonathan’s door, Melody paused to inhale and straighten her brand-new white sweater. Nothing ever prepared her for the rush that hit when she saw Jonathan, though. He was sitting behind his desk and happened to be wearing the suede jacket he’d purchased at the boutique with the denim shirt underneath. “Don’t you look nice!”

He pushed away from the desk and met her at the center of the room, his arms automatically coming around her. “I have a very talented stylist.”

Her body sighed with relief. It was like she had a constant desire to be here, in his arms, close to him, and the craving had finally been satisfied. “Your stylist is officially reporting for cafeteria duty penance.”

Jonathan took her hands and led her to the small love seat in the corner. “Technically, you didn’t lose the bet. The Cookie Contest was never a fair fight. So you didn’t have to come today.”

“You’re right. I didn’t have to come.” But then she wouldn’t have seen him. Melody put on a good pout. “The contest wasn’t even close to a fair fight. Going up against everyone’s favorite single principal meant I lost before it even started.”

“Am I single?” Sheesh. There was nothing sexier than that smirking frown on his face.

“As far as everyone knows.” She made sure her tone hit a mysterious note.

“I’d change that in a heartbeat, you know,” he murmured. “If you wanted to. I’m not pressuring you, Mel. I’m only telling you where I stand.”

“I’m making my way there too.” She wanted to be there. Impatience flared again. “I kind of started a conversation with the boys before we went ice skating. But I ended up babbling and made a mess of it.”

Jonathan slipped his arm around her. “It’s not an easy conversation to have. Especially at their age.” His soft smile offered her freedom. “Take your time. Ease them into it. I’m not going anywhere.”

Melody clutched the collar of his jacket. “Being with you makes me want to rush into all kinds of things.” It was probably a good thing they were sitting in his office instead of his living room or she might be peeling off his jacket right now.

“I know the feeling.” Jonathan kissed her, slow and savoring. “But you’re right to take it easy.” He massaged her shoulders and she leaned into his touch. “I trust your wisdom. You’ve gotten the boys through so much and they’re resilient. Like you.”

Speaking of resilience…“I’d better not be late for duty.” She forced herself to separate from him and stand up. “Wish me luck?”

“I’ll do better than that.” He stood too and towed her to him, wrapping her up once more. His lips found hers, already familiar and yet such a shock to her body at the same time.

“You are making it very difficult for me to want to leave,” she murmured.

“Sorry.” He drowned the word in another kiss.

She wasn’t sorry. She kissed him back until guilt gnawed at her conscience. “Okay. I really need go.”

“Can I see you again soon?” He let her step away but his hand caught hers.

“We’ll figure out something.” It was time for her to have the conversation with the boys, honest and direct. She’d tell them everything tonight. Then she and Jonathan could make real plans. “I’ll text you later. If I survive the cafeteria.”

“Good luck.” He opened the door for her, but Charlene stood there.

Melody instantly felt a spotlight go to her lips. Did the woman know they’d been kissing?

“Hey, Charlene,” Jonathan said casually.

“Well, isn’t this something?” Charlene looked her up and down. “Jonathan, I’m here to meet with you about some concerns I have. Privately.”

“Sure. I have a few minutes.” He gestured her into the office and then stepped into the hall with Melody. “Come and see me after the torture?” he whispered.

She nodded, but her stomach roiled. What was Charlene doing here? Why now? “I’ll see you later, Mr. Braxton,” she said formally. Then she turned and got out of there, bidding Nancy a hasty goodbye.

By the time she’d made it to the cafeteria, perspiration itched on her forehead. There was no way Charlene could know about them. They’d been too careful. Too quiet. Squelching the panic, she found Gail, the lunchroom aide, posted by the door. Kids were already streaming inside.

“Hi there. I’m Melody Monroe, Finn and Tate’s mom? I’m your volunteer today.”

“Thank God!” Gail’s voice was overly loud—probably a hazard of her job. “They’re already hopped up on sugar. The last full day before Christmas break is always a doozy.”

Tell her about it. From the high of kissing Jonathan in his office to the low of coming face-to-face with Charlene, she felt like she’d already been on a roller-coaster ride this morning. “Well, put me to work.” At least that would distract her from thinking about Charlene’s mysterious meeting with Jonathan.

“Actually, I think I’ll have you supervise out here the whole time,” Gail said. “We’re down a person in the kitchen, so I’ll be going back and forth.”

“Sounds good.” The noise levels were already starting to rise. About half the kids were seated and half were in line to get their lunches. She hadn’t spotted Finn and Tate yet. Or maybe they were avoiding her. “So I’m like the patrol officer, then?”

“Exactly.” The aide gestured for Melody to walk with her along the wall. “If it gets too loud in here, turn off the lights for a few seconds. The kids know what that means. And keep an eye out for students swapping food. They know they’re not supposed to, but you would not believe how often it happens.”

“Oh, I’d believe it.” With this many kids in one room? There was no way she could watch them all.

“Good luck.” Gail saluted her and then hightailed it into the kitchen.

Good luck indeed. Melody sidestepped a group of girls who were huddled together, laughing at something on one of their phones. From her post against the wall, she assessed the task. There had to be at least six long picnic tables that could each seat twelve kids. What was that, seventy-two? She had to watch seventy-two children all by her lonesome?

“Hey, Mom.” Tate passed by, giving her a wide berth. Finn came along right behind him, but he only waved.

“Hi.” She shuffled alongside them for a few steps. “How’re your days going?”

“Pretty good.” Tate stared straight ahead.

“You’re just gonna stand over here, right? Not by our table?” Finn spoke to her like they were both undercover operatives about ready to make a drug bust.

“Oh yeah.” She edged back toward the wall to give them space. “I’ll hang out on this side of the room.”

The boys got in line, pretending they didn’t know her. Fine, then. She needed to get on with patrolling anyway. Couldn’t have a food swap go down on her watch. Melody walked between the tables, eyeing the countless faces, but for the most part, the kids seemed to be following the rules. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as everyone said it was.

Finn and Tate got their food and sat at the farthest table from her. The line had dwindled and she only had about twenty more minutes to go.

What had she been so nervous about? This might be the easiest volunteer gig she’d ever had at this school.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl hand another girl a small baggie over the table. Uh-oh. Melody approached them with a friendly smile. “Excuse me. Hi. Yeah, you’re not supposed to swap food, so you’ll need to give that back.”

The girl tossed her long red hair over her shoulder and glared up at her. “Who said?”

“That’s the rule, from what I was told.” She could display every bit as much attitude as that girl.

“Whatever.” She went back to eating the illegal pretzels.

Gail had neglected to tell her what, exactly, she should do if someone blatantly disregarded the rules and the volunteer. She needed backup. Melody made a beeline toward the kitchen for a consult.

“You take that back!” The shout silenced the entire cafeteria.

That was Finn’s voice. She stopped and whirled. Her eyes scanned the tables until she saw him, standing up with his bowl of macaroni and cheese aimed at the boy across from him. Was that Charlene’s son?

“I said take it back!” Her son wound up even more. He was going to throw it!

Oh no. No, no, no. “Finn!” A low hum in the crowd was quickly gaining momentum. She hurried past the first two tables at the end. “Finn!” The other kids were growing louder, and some had abandoned their seats to cluster around her son. She couldn’t even see him anymore with all of his classmates crowding him. “Finn!”

“I warned you!” he yelled.

“Everyone take your seats!” Her shouts were futile. She elbowed her way through the cluster just in time to see her son send the bowl of macaroni and cheese flying.

It landed on Blake’s head, the pasta and creamy sauce spilling down his face.

“Finn!” She tried to get to him, but chaos ensued.

“Food fight!” someone shouted, and Melody got pelted in the chest with a container of applesauce. “Hey! Stop!” She shook the mess off her shirt, but there was really no point because food was flying everywhere. She ducked a half-eaten brown banana, but a chocolate milk container flew over her head and the thick brown liquid rained down, completely soaking her hair and her white sweater. “Oh dear God.” This was so bad.

Screams and yells rang out all around her. She stayed crouched, pushing through the masses of children to find her sons.

All of a sudden, the lights went out and a whistle shrilled.

Everything stopped.

“You’d all better sit down right now,” Gail barked.

When the kids sat back on the benches, Melody was the only one left standing. The aide marched to her like a drill sergeant captain, arms swinging and everything. “What the heck happened out here?”

“I don’t…I’m not…” Melody slicked her chocolate-milk-soaked hair out of her eyes. This couldn’t be happening.

“It was Finn Monroe,” the girl with the illegal pretzels called. “And his brother, Tate. They started the whole thing. They threw macaroni and cheese at Blake first.”

The cafeteria aide posted her hands on her hips, her glare bearing down on Melody. “Finn and Tate, as in your kids?”

“I guess?” This didn’t make any sense. “But I don’t know—”

“Finn? Tate?” The woman turned in a slow circle, her eyes scanning the rows of tables.

“It was me.” Finn stood up and marched directly to the cafeteria aide, his hands on his hips too. “Tate didn’t do it. It’s not his fault.”

“Oh yes it is.” His brother joined him in the middle of the mess.

And Melody still couldn’t seem to speak. What had gotten into them?

“Finn threw his macaroni and cheese at the jerk, and I threw my pudding at him.” Tate crossed his arms. “And I’m not even sorry.”

“Tate!” His name seethed out of her. What was he thinking? They didn’t do this. They didn’t throw food at people and create mass chaos in the middle of the lunch hour.

Gail’s broad jaw set in a hard line. “I assume you’re fine taking them down to the principal’s office so you can explain the situation?”

Melody nodded meekly.

Finn and Tate were staring at her with varying degrees of concern—likely because they’d never seen her face so molten—but she simply pointed them toward the cafeteria’s exit.

They’d almost made it there when Ms. Sanderson appeared with a towel. “Here, honey. You may want to wrap up. That sweater is a little see-through now that it’s wet.”

“Oh. Oh no.” She wrapped the towel around her shoulders but not before she heard kids snickering behind her.