Scandalous Scotsman - M.J. Fields Page 0,45
say that was all my superior genetics, but I won’t.”
“Her mother was a smart woman. Brown, right?”
I nod and ignore the fact that I know she didn’t get that information from the file sitting on her desk with my daughter’s name on it.
She leans back, steeples her hands, and just looks at me.
Silence hangs over my head like a lead balloon. I would bet that if Ms. Townley had a dart, she’d pop that balloon just to see it knock me in the head.
After a few more uncomfortable moments, I ask, “Is there anything else, Ms. Townley?”
“What made you choose this school?”
“Our home is in the district.”
“What made you choose your home?”
Well, fuck.
“The realtor had ties to it. It hadn’t sold in years, and I got a very good deal.”
She finally snaps, “Oh, bullshit.”
“I liked the area, Ms. Townley.”
“You liked the neighbor,” she corrects.
“That was an added bonus.”
“So, let me get this straight; you’ve been getting messages that Lizzie sent to her dead father for a few years, and you decide to push your way into her—”
“With all due respect, that’s not how it went down. I never intended on meeting the woman sending those messages, and to be brutally honest, until her mention of taking a break from entering a master’s program, I’d have thought she was in her teens.”
“What would make you think that?”
“The use of the word Daddy for starters.”
“And …?”
“The context of the texts are persona—”
“To Lizzie.”
“I didn’t ask to be on the receiving end of them. And if Elizabeth wants to share that with ye, she can make that decision.”
“So, you’re saying the first time you saw Lizzie was in your office?”
“I think ye ken when the first time I saw Elizabeth was.”
“Right, when she fell down the stairs.”
I nod.
“But then you kept calling her and calling her.”
“I’m a doctor, Ms. Townley; I was concerned.” Even more so since I kent she was alone.
“Then you had no idea who she was before she came to your office?”
I shake my head.
“You had her address and phone number from her chart available.”
“Aye, but I don’t really have the time, nor do I find that sort of information imperative to treat a patient with a bruised arse and a small fracture.”
“Then how did you know it was her? How did you connect the dots?”
“Ye do ken I’m here for my daughter, correct?”
“I do. You should know I’ll always be here for Lizzie.”
She’s relentless; I’ll give her that.
“Upon leaving my office, I still wondered about the woman who came to mean a great deal to me, so I called her phone, and that’s when Elizabeth answered. Her voice, her sass, and the fact that she had just left my office and I happened to follow her out connected those dots.”
“So, then you decided what? Me caveman, me get the woman?”
This is a woman who holds an MD in mental health?
“Okay, that may have been a little over the top.”
“Just a smidge.”
“But you bought a house right around the corner from her, and your daughter is going to the school she teaches at. I call bull.”
She’s pissing me off.
“Call it whatever ye like, but my word is my truth. That being said”— I stand up, and she does as well— “ if I didn’t think ye had major influence on Elizabeth or that I’m trusting ye with some of my daughter’s mental health concerns, I’d have told ye to fuck off the moment ye questioned my integrity.”
“Wait,” she calls to my back.
I turn around. “Yes?”
“Are you in love with Lizzie?”
I don’t answer her.
Standing outside the school, I wait nervously for Kai. As each group of kids come out, I grow more so.
When Brendan walks out, he smiles. “Waiting for Kai?”
“I am.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure she’s in Ms. Bloom’s room.” He blows out a breath. “I think she may have had an accident.”
When I start toward the door, he grabs my elbow. “I think you should act like you don’t notice.”
“Notice what?”
“That she’s … you know, wearing a tutu and cape.”
“Did something happen to her outfit?”
When he nods and scrunches up his face, I snap, “What?”
“I think she didn’t make it to the bathroom.”
“Holy fucking shit,” I mumble.
“I don’t think it was that. Pretty sure it was the other.”
“Thanks, Brendan.”
“I’d wait until the other kids leave so she doesn’t get embarrassed.”
“That’s the guy.” The same little punk from this morning snickers. “His daughter’s the new girl. She’s weird.”
“Hey,” Brendan snaps at him. “She’s my friend, so back off!”
“Chill, B,” the little