Abel Teller's kindergarten teacher is replaced midway through the year with a newcomer to Charming, Maddox Turner. When Jax meets Maddox, she turns his life upside-down in more ways than one.
...
Maddox took Venus staring at her over their dinner at the steak house for a few minutes before she finally rolled her eyes and laid her fork down on her plate.
"What seems to be the trouble, Vee?"
Venus sighed and took a sip of her water before clearing her throat. "It's obvious that Jackson Teller is interested in you, sugar."
Maddox nodded. "Yes, he's made that quite clear."
Venus nodded and grinned as she leaned in closer. "And from the way you get fidgety around him, I'd say you're interested as well, so why on earth are you trying to put him off?"
Maddox shook her head as she stared at the steak on her plate. "I have a few reasons, Vee. The most important one is that his son is a student in my class. It would be highly inappropriate for me to date a student's parent, no matter how good-looking and charismatic he is." She looked up at her friend. "You know the other reason, or should. My father was in that club or still is. I don't know if I want to be involved in that."
Venus nodded as she reached across the table and patted Maddox's hand. "I know, sweetheart. About your father, I think... "
Maddox held up a hand. "Can we not? I don't really want to discuss that right now."
As Venus reluctantly nodded in agreement, Maddox's phone rang. With a sigh, she answered it, frowning slightly. "Hello?" She listened for a moment before nodding. "Ok, great. We'll be right there to pick it up. Thank you, Mr. Teller."
Venus rolled her eyes as she ended the call. "He's going to get real tired of the whole mister thing, sugar."
Maddox shrugged as she grabbed her purse and the bill off of the table. "I'm just being respectful."
Venus snorted as she followed Maddox through the restaurant. Once they had paid for their meals and made a quick stop at an ATM so that Maddox could have some cash, it took minutes to pull into the parking lot of TM. When she stepped out of Venus's car, Jax met her halfway to her car. He grinned and nodded before winking at Venus.
"It's as good as new. Just make sure you have someone check the oil every so often. I could do it for you if you bring it by."
Maddox nodded as she pulled her wallet out. "I appreciate the heads up, Mr. Teller. I'll keep it in mind. Now then, how much do I owe you?"
Jax sighed and shook his head. "I told you to call me Jax and it's free, darlin'."
Maddox frowned at him and shook her head. "I can't let you do that, really. I'll just ask your mother if you're not inclined to tell me." Before she could walk toward the office, Gemma came out of the building behind them, carrying a cup of coffee. "Gemma! How much is an oil change?"
Gemma looked from her son to Maddox before shrugging and grinning. "First one's free, sweetheart. Friends and family discount."
Maddox sighed before smiling at the older woman. "That is just so sweet, but honestly, I can at least leave a tip for the mechanic, right?" Gemma shrugged as Maddox pulled a fifty-dollar bill out of her wallet and walked past Jax to where Tig was leaning against his bike, watching the show. She grinned as she tucked the money into the pocket of his work shirt and patted his chest. "That's for a job well done... Tig, was it?" When he grinned and nodded, she turned to a now-glaring Jax. "Keys are in it?"
When he nodded, she waved a hand and walked over to the car, waiting for Venus to back out before she followed her friend.
Maddox was sitting at her desk after school looking through some papers when she heard a tap on the classroom door. When she looked up, she saw the gym teacher for the elementary school standing there smiling at her. She sighed and plastered a smile on her face as she waved for him to come in.
"Hi, Mark. What are you still doing here on a Friday afternoon?"
He chuckled as he sat down on the corner of her desk. "Well, I was waiting for you by the front door, but you never came out so I thought I'd hunt you down in here."
Maddox chuckled and nodded. She liked Mark Fields well enough, but he'd been after her to go out with him for weeks and so far, she had been able to avoid him. It looked like her luck was about to run out. "What did you need?"
"I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go to dinner with me tomorrow night? It wouldn't just be us, so no pressure. I get together with my cousin and her husband every month or so for dinner. I thought you might enjoy a night out, and get to meet some people in town. What do you think?"
Maddox sighed and looked down at her desk as she thought about his offer. On the one hand, it would be nice to get to know someone that lived in town, but on the other, she didn't want to get involved with a fellow teacher. Her mind swung unbidden to a blond biker who in her mind was glaring at her. What better way to get over the thoughts of one man than to go out on a date with another?
She lifted her gaze to his and smiled as she nodded. "I'd love to. What time?"
Mark smiled and handed her his phone. "Great! If you'll put your number in there, I'll text you tomorrow after I talk to Donna."
Maddox quickly added her number to his contacts and handed him the phone back. After he had left, she sat staring at the wall, finally shaking her head and telling herself that no, she shouldn't be sad that it was Mark and not Jax Teller that she was going out with. Even though it was her own fault, she was reasonably sure that Mark was probably the safer choice of the two.
