Forever With You (Bayou Dreams Book 5) by Farrah Rochon Page A

across her mind’s eye.
    How would she know when it was time to move on? How could she be sure? Was there something that would magically click in her head? Had it already clicked? Was that what those sensations she felt whenever she was near Gabriel was all about?
    There was a danger to exploring this attraction that had sprung up between them, even if they’d vowed to be discreet. For the past two days she had tried to come up with an excuse to renege on her decision to get involved with him. But, as Gabriel had pointed out when Leslie had emailed him yesterday, there was nothing in any rule book that stated that a parent and a teacher could not date.
    And, if she were honest with herself, she didn’t want to back out. For the first time in longer than she could remember, Leslie felt electricity flowing through her veins. Just knowing that a handsome, sweet, thoughtful, sexy man was interested in her caused her skin to pebble with goose bumps.
    “You’re considering dating a child,” she said, lowering her head to her knee.
    Okay, technically, he wasn’t a child; he was very much a man. But he was still Cassidy’s teacher. What if word got out about them seeing each other? Would it be too weird for Cass? What if her classmates made fun of her? Cass had just started to come out of her shell after being terribly shy because of her birthmark. Leslie would never forgive herself if she somehow managed to set her back.
    She could not do this to her little girl. As much as it pained her, she would have to tell Gabriel that she’d made a mistake. She couldn’t allow her own needs to come before Cass’s well-being.
    Stretching out on the bed, she ignored the nauseating feeling that settled in her stomach and tried to convince herself that she was satisfied with the decision she’d made.

Chapter 5
    L eslie stared at the wooden gavel that, for the better part of her tenure as PTO president, had only been a showpiece. Tonight, she’d used it more than she had at all the other PTO meetings combined.
    “Order, ladies and gentlemen, please,” she called. “We must have some order if we’re going to accomplish anything tonight.”
    For the most part the meeting had been civil, except for a contingent of parents who seemed hell-bent on ridiculing every single word that poured from Gabriel’s mouth. Leslie didn’t know if it had to do with his age, or if it was due to his being seen as an outsider, but she was shocked at the level of disrespect being lobbed his way.
    Yet, despite the blows he’d taken, he’d held his own.
    Leslie studied him as he responded to a rather nastily posed question about the new zero-tolerance bullying policy he’d implemented.
    “What you call bullying, I call kids just being kids,” Richard Lewis said. “How are kids supposed to build a thick skin if all they have to do is go running to the teacher every time they get picked on?”
    “I agree with Richard,” another parent said. “Mandatory suspension for a little harmless bullying is ridiculous.”
    “While I respect your right to hold that viewpoint, I don’t agree with it,” Gabriel said. “Take it from someone who has been height-challenged for much of his life—bullying is not harmless. Despite the fact that I was better on the basketball court than most of the kids in my school, I was still bullied because I wasn’t six-two by the eighth grade. That stuff sticks with a kid much longer than any of you seem to realize.
    “The students here deserve the safest learning environment that we can provide, and having to deal with a bully isn’t safe. If it goes on long enough it can affect their ability to concentrate in the classroom, as well. I cannot sit back and do nothing if I know a student under my watch is being bullied.”
    There were grumbles from the audience, but Leslie also noticed quite a few parents nodding in agreement.
    Leslie had never had sympathy for bullies, but this matter took center stage after she learned