She frowned and met his eyes. “Their lawyer dug up information on you from Hickory Point. I guess he Googled the old news stories or whatever about Adam Keats’s disappearance.”
Colby’s stomach flipped over.
“So they’re chasing that trail. And even though you were never accused of anything, it’s enough of a flag that their lawyer can make himself feel useful.”
“Jesus,” he said, rubbing the back of his head. “What the hell good is it going to do to ruin my career? Their kid needs them dialed into him, not distracted by some wild-goose chase.”
Empathy crossed her face. “I know. But they don’t know how to deal with Travis, so they’re doing this instead. But I wanted to come and tell you what was going on. I know how hard that whole thing was on you. I remember you telling me about it when you first came to Graham. They plan to interview teachers you worked with and talk to the family of the kid who ran away. The father lives in Burleson now, so they’ll probably go out there to see him on Monday or Tuesday.”
Colby had been reaching for the coffeepot, but his whole body went cold at that. He lowered his hand to his side. “They’re going to talk to his family?”
“Do you think anyone is going to say anything that would reflect badly on you?”
Colby just stared at her. “Adam Keats’s father hated me. He thought something was going on. So yeah, he’ll give them all the nasty accusations they could want.”
“And nothing was going on,” she said, making it sound like a statement, but he knew it was a question.
“Of course not.”
She nodded and rubbed the spot between her eyes. “I’m sorry. I had to ask, even though I’ve never seen you be anything but professional, and I know you’re great with the kids. I’m beyond frustrated that this is going so far. I need you back at school. Dr. Guthrie has his strengths, but there are too many kids to be s
een, and many of them connect better with you. I don’t like witch hunts. It’s hard enough to find counselors who want to work with this population of kids. But the school board doesn’t like scandal, so I’m afraid that if this keeps getting bigger, it’s going to cause problems for you.”
Colby set her coffee in front of her and took a long draw off his, trying to stay calm. “What can I do to help?”
“Be cooperative. The school board wants you to give a written statement and to do another interview. Be prepared to answer questions about that day with Travis but also about Adam Keats.”
“Dude, what the hell are you doing up so damn—” Keats froze in the doorway to the kitchen, hand on the waistband of the boxers he’d probably just pulled on. “Uh . . .”
Rowan’s eyes went round. “Oh.”
Alarm bells blared in Colby’s head, but he forced himself to not outwardly react. He didn’t give a shit if Rowan knew he slept with men, but if Keats introduced himself . . .
He strode over to Keats and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping he was conveying the don’t-say-a-damn-word warning with his eyes. “Hey, can you give us a minute? This is my boss, Principal Anders. She stopped by to talk about some stuff going on at school.”
Awareness flashed over Keats’s expression. “Yeah, sure, sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Keats sent Rowan an apologetic smile and slipped back down the hallway. Colby thought his heart was going to pound right out of his chest. He could see trying to explain how the kid who went missing all those years ago was now standing in his kitchen half naked.
When Colby turned back to Rowan, there were patches of pink high on her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have stopped by like this. I should’ve called and asked if it was okay and—”
He held up a hand. “It’s fine. Really. No big deal.”
Her hands fluttered around her coffee cup before grabbing and taking a sip. Awkward silence ensued.
He sipped his coffee, watching her. “You can say whatever you’re thinking, Rowan. We’re off the clock, and I’m not going to be offended.”
A little puff of breath escaped her. “I just never would’ve, I mean, it’s fine, but—good Lord, if you heard what some of the teachers say about you. They’d be crushed to know they were barking up the wrong tree.”
He chuckled, back on comfortable ground. “I date both men and women, so equal opportunity. But I keep my private life private.”
“Of course,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “Which is why I feel like a jerk for barging in on you like this. I just didn’t want to have this conversation at school. That lawyer would’ve liked to keep you in the dark, but there’s no way I’m letting you walk into that interview to get blindsided.”
“I really appreciate that,” he said, setting his cup down. “I’ll answer whatever questions they have. I want to do whatever it takes to get past this so I can get back to my students.”
“You and me both,” she said, getting up from the stool. “And now I’ve taken enough of your time. I’ll let you get back to, well, whatever.”
He smiled, enjoying seeing his usually unflappable boss blushing her face off. He had a feeling she was still picturing Keats in his very well-fitting underwear. “Any idea when they’re going to want to talk to me?”