by Jayna Morrow
This was the part where Slade had to hit rock bottom before deciding on his own to make positive changes in his life. He was his own person with a will as free as a bird. If he chose to continue his negative behavior into adulthood, then Slade would have to pay for those decisions, too. If it came to that, was Gabriel truly prepared? If it came to that.
There was a part of Gabriel deep down that wanted to rescue Slade no matter what, protect him from the consequences of his actions, and do everything in his power to make decisions for him to prevent anything negative from happening.
Not a minute later, his cell phone rang. “Do not answer the phone. Do not answer the phone.” The words echoed in the quiet kitchen. Sparrow. He knew why she was calling. Still, he answered. “Yes, I heard the news.”
“Gabriel, I’m not calling about grades.” Her voice was high-pitched and shaky. Something was wrong. “Slade just threw a rock and busted out my kitchen window.”
“He did what?” He was frantic now and already heading toward the door.
“He yelled that it was all my fault. That I was the one telling you what to do.”
Her voice bounced as he ran faster and faster down the driveway. Glass littered the ground under Sparrow’s kitchen window, but Slade was nowhere to be seen. Gabriel hung up the phone as Sparrow came out of the house, visibly upset. “I’ll pay for everything and make sure that it’s fixed.”
“I don’t care about the window, Gabriel.” Her cheeks were flushed and wet with tears. “He said he was running away. I’ve only made things worse, and you have every right to blame me.”
“Listen, Slade’s run away several times. He always goes to the same places. The police pick him up and bring him home, or I do. Or he comes home on his own. He’s never gone more than a couple of days. I’ll go get him. Don’t worry.”
She shook her head. She didn’t believe him.
“Before you came into my life, I was a mess, and Slade was already on a path of destruction. So your program isn’t working on Slade yet. It is working on me. It’s already made me a better parent and a better person. I’m back in church and really absorbing the Word now. And I’ve been actively involved in my son’s life. I have no doubt—” He pulled her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “No doubt that this is all going to work out beautifully.”
Sparrow looked up at him, her eyelashes heavy with moisture.
He gently cupped the side of her tear-stained face with one hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb, and looked into her beautiful eyes. Without thinking of the consequences, he kissed her. A sweet kiss that calmed his whole world. Hers, too. He knew because she relaxed at his touch. He pulled away and pressed his forehead to hers. Even with their eyes closed, without seeing her face, he knew everything would be OK.
10
Sparrow stared into the bathroom mirror. A pink flush spread across her cheeks and neck. Her lips felt numb and thick. She splashed her face with cold water then patted her skin dry with a soft hand towel. After hanging it on the hook, she smoothed her hair and tried to regain her composure.
Gabriel Hearth had kissed her. Just adrenaline, of course, what with all the excitement over the broken window. But still. He was in her kitchen now, cleaning up the mess his son had made. She could hear the scraping and tinkling of glass.
Slade!
She needed to pull herself together for Slade’s sake. She took several deep, cleansing breaths before she joined Gabriel in the kitchen, leaving Corbin in the bathroom out of harm’s way. A pile of glass made a shiny mound in front of the sink, and Gabriel was busy creating another glittery mini-mountain with her broom. When he noticed her in the doorway, he silently put up a hand to stop her from entering the room. She stayed put while he worked.
Gabriel wore his usual blue jeans and dairy shirt today, but he’d untucked the shirt and loosened the collar. The almost overwhelming sensuality of that look was relieved by his tousled hair, which lent a boyish charm that made her smile through the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. Even though she knew they needed to focus on Slade, she wished Gabriel would kiss her again.
“Sparrow,” he began. “Glass shattered all across the room. I’m surprised you didn’t cut yourself on the way out the front door or to the bathroom.”
“I’m blessed, I guess.”
“You had an angel looking out for you today. What if you had been standing near the window when he threw the rock? You could have been seriously injured. When I get my hands on that boy...” His voice trailed off.
“I’m fine, Gabriel.” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “What else is bothering you?”
She stepped carefully across the room to stand beside him.
His eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I know I mentioned this wasn’t the first time Slade has run away, but…the circumstances are different this time. He’s never run off after a fight, never had a violent outburst, and never announced he was leaving.”
Sparrow threw her arms around him, aching to comfort him the best she could. “We’ll find him, Gabriel. We’ll bring him home. Once he’s had time to cool off, he’ll realize he did a horrible thing. And we’ll deal with that...together.”
“Sparrow!” Agony sharpened his voice. “He could have hurt you. I have failed as a father.”
“Well, I’m not hurt. I don’t believe Slade had any intention of injuring me. And you haven’t failed because you haven’t given up. Your heart’s still in this. God knows how much you want to help your son. I’ll make a flyer at my office using Slade’s most recent school picture. I’ll do that now. Then we’ll start our search. I won’t be long. Gather all the information you have about where he goes when he runs away.” She pulled away from him, let Corbin out of the bathroom, and hurried to her car.
Through the broken window, Gabriel, his face pale and grave, watched her leave. She avoided eye contact as she backed out of the driveway and dismissed the idea of waving before pulling out onto the dirt road. She didn’t get far.
Robin was driving down the road in her minivan. “Sparrow,” she called from the open window. “The kids and I were just coming to see you. Where you going?”
She blinked, looked down at her foot pressing the brake and then backed up. Exactly how much detail should she go into at this time? She didn’t want Robin to worry. But, of course, her lack of an immediate answer triggered Robin’s maternal instinct.
“Is everything OK?”
The floodgates and the tears she’d been holding back for Gabriel’s sake burst free.
“Don’t you move an inch!” Robin swerved her van to the side of the road, ordered the kids to stay put, and hurried back to Sparrow. She rested her arms on the open window and leaned close. “What’s wrong?”
“Slade lost his temper, threw a rock, and busted out my kitchen window.”
“Are you injured?”
“No, I’m fine. Physically, anyway. Gabriel’s at the house cleaning up broken glass.”
“And where are you going?”
“Slade blamed me for everything and said he was running away. He took off. Now Gabriel and I have to find him. I’m going to make some flyers at the school in case we need them.”
Robin wrinkled her forehead. “Don’t you think flyers might be a little premature?”
Sparrow shrugged. “We might need them.”
“Sparrow?” Robin crooned the vowels in her name a few extra beats.
Sparrow blew out a breath. She never could get anything past her sister.
“I was really coming to see you. I needed to get away from Gabriel for a few minutes. It’s getting harder and harder to look him in the eye.”
“Why’s that?” The sound of an automatic window lowering drew her attention.
“Mama, can we get out?”
“Don’t even think about it. If you kids want ice cream, you’ll sit in the van until I’m finished talking to Aunt Sparrow.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The window slid back up, bu
t Sparrow could still see her niece pouting through the glass.
“I can’t help but feel as though it’s all my fault that everything’s spiraling out of control with Slade.”
Robin reached inside the car and grabbed her hand. “You can’t blame yourself for Slade running away any more than you can blame Dad for Phoenix ending up in jail.”
She did blame her father. Time to change the subject. “I need your help.”
“Sure. What can I do?”
“We need to get on the road and start looking for Slade as soon as possible. He has friends who drive so he could be anywhere by now. Could you get someone to take care of the details with my kitchen window?”
Robin nodded. “I can do that. Don’t worry.”
“I can’t help but worry. I feel terrible about getting involved. This isn’t how I thought things would turn out. I hope Gabriel doesn’t blame me.” She nervously picked at the threads of her pants. “He seemed so disappointed when I told him what happened. I’ve got to help find Slade and bring him home.”
“Those who pray, don’t worry.” Robin gazed at her sister. “And those who worry, don’t pray. Have you prayed about all this?”
“Kinda. Not like I should.”
“Then do it, and do it right. And know that the whole family is here for you.”
“I’m glad to have a sister to step in whenever I need something. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Robin leaned inside the car and gave her a hug, but it was so awkward that they both giggled. She pulled back. “You look worn out, by the way.”
“I am. I put in a full day at work and now this.”
“Maybe you should rest before heading out.”
“I’ll be fine. We can’t waste any time.”
“OK, then. Call me later. Bye.”
“Bye, Robin.”
It was comforting to know that her sister cared so much, although she could only imagine the reprimand she would have received had she told her about kissing Gabriel. Considering Robin’s reaction when she saw Gabriel leaving Sparrow’s driveway at seven in the morning, it would have been a doozy of a scolding.
Arriving at her office, she welcomed the silent darkness of the closed school. All the students, faculty, and staff were at home, enjoying their evenings. She found Slade Hearth’s file. Then she typed up the flyer. After printing out a page with information at the bottom, she taped Slade’s baseball picture at the top. He’d been absent on picture day, so the shot of him in his baseball uniform and ball cap would have to do. While the copy machine did its job, she looked in the mirror on the wall next to it. Robin was right about her looking worn out. But dark circles and droopy eyelids weren’t the only change to her visage. The woman staring back felt different, too. This hadn’t been her first kiss, but it was the first that meant something. What that “something” was remained a mystery. Stranger still was the fact that it had happened with Gabriel Hearth.
Gabriel. It hadn’t taken much for her to succumb to his good looks and charm and....wait. She’d been around good-looking men before and not been drawn in like this. And what charm? Until a short time ago, she couldn’t stand the man. So what was it?
She could only liken her attraction to Gabriel to gravity or a magnetic force. The moon pulling on the tides. A shifting of the earth beneath her feet. At any other time, her life was day-to-day ordinary. But since he’d entered her realm of existence, she could see things moving and turning over into alignment. She was no longer in control, just along for the ride. She could only react, not direct. And she had a definite feeling it all was happening for a significant reason, not just day-to-day ordinary.
At its center was a rugged, blue-eyed man who met her eye-to-eye, not in height, but in stubborn nature, and she was nothing but a pile of goo when she was around him. What sense did it make that he would willingly give her so much control over his life, or that she so much wanted to be a part of that life?
Sighing, she punched the first letters of her secretary’s name into her cell phone. The phone rang a couple of times before she answered. Sparrow heard music in the background and water running. She offered a quick run-down of what was going on, said she wouldn’t be in the office for a few days and then provided instructions on how to carry on in her absence. Good thing she’d taken the initiative to get all the testing prep work done ahead of time. In the last few months, she’d crossed professional lines so many times she’d lost count. Going to a parent’s home and place of business, sticking her nose into personal affairs, giving parenting advice…and kissing a student’s father! “He’s single, he kissed you, and it was just a chaste peck on the lips,” she muttered. Her little pep talk didn’t work.
Maybe Robin was right that she shouldn’t blame herself. She needed to stay positive. And she needed to pray. She closed her eyes and let words fill her mind. With each passing moment, waves of calm lapped against the shores of her heart.
The copy machine beeped. Sparrow opened her eyes and lifted the stack of warm copies. She clutched them to her chest and grabbed her car keys. How could doing the right thing ever be a mistake? Right now, only one thought occupied her brain—she and Gabriel would win the war with Slade. They just had to weather the storm.
She couldn’t live her life according to the standards of public education. She had specific career goals that included more than being a generic administrator. Her plans would be of great benefit to her students and their parents.
As she drove back home to join Gabriel, her mind clear following that brief time of prayer, memories of families she’d helped ran through her mind and encouraged her. Slade’s case might be a bit of a challenge, but her program had worked on much worse. And the families of those teenagers had thanked her for her persistence and dedication. She’d even won an award for her work in behavior reform. With these positive thoughts renewing her spirit, she pulled into her driveway.
~*~
The delicious aroma of meat and onions filled Gabriel’s nostrils. His stomach responded with a loud rumble. In anticipation of meeting with Slade about his grades, he’d been unable to eat anything at lunch. Now it was dinnertime, and Gabriel’s empty stomach was trying to get the best of him.
As he latched the gate, he heard dogs barking from inside the house. Their commotion gained volume as he and Sparrow approached the porch. He rapped several times on the door and stood on the doorstep.
While they waited, Sparrow handed him a sheet of paper. Slade’s baseball picture on a missing person’s flyer momentarily stunned him. He looked at Sparrow and their gazes locked. A haze of deep hurt clouded her eyes. Or was it a reflection of what he felt inside? He wanted to wad up the page and throw it away. But as he stared into Sparrow’s eyes, her head began to nod ever so slightly, and he found a ray of hope slicing through his dark mood. This woman was the kind of person who would pluck him from the trash, open him up, and smooth out all the wrinkles.
He forced himself to knock again. With Sparrow beside him, he could do this. She would never let him slip back into the depressed state he’d been in. God only knew how much he needed her.
As if she’d sensed his state of mind, she stepped closer and rested her head on his shoulder. The simple gesture spoke volumes. When a lock clicked on the door, her head snapped up, and he felt the loss of her touch.
“Mr. Hearth, is everything OK?” The woman held a small dog in her arms. She glanced back and forth between the two of them. “You two don’t look good. Is...is something wrong?”
“I’m looking for Slade. He’s run away.” Hard as he tried not to let it happen, his voice conveyed the sadness and worry in his heart.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen him, but I’ll keep an eye out.” She put her little dog down, and it ran out into the yard. The other dogs weren’t anywhere to be seen. “How long has he been gone?”
“Only a few hours, but I’m anxious. You already know what he looks like, but those are my contact numbers at the bottom. Please call if you
see or hear anything.”
“I will, Mr. Hearth. I hope you find him soon.” She took the flyer, called the little dog, and retreated back into the house.
Gabriel and Sparrow continued through the neighborhood and all around town until well after dark. He didn’t want to stop, but it was getting too late to call on anyone else. He had no choice but to go home for the night.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Sparrow asked.
“Expand the search outward.”
“You need to be more specific than that. What are Slade’s habits and interests?”
Gabriel thought for a moment while he drove along the familiar streets of Sweet Home. “He’s got a group of friends in Bishop. Some of them are old enough to drive and have cars. They usually stay around town. I know of several hangouts he likes: a pool hall, an arcade, and a skate park. He frequents the mall. They hole up at the boys’ homes. I’ve tried to build relationships with the parents, but they are—how do I put this?—a rough sort of people.”
Sparrow listened while he rambled on, nodding as if to make mental notes. “That’s a lot of good information, Gabriel. I don’t think we need to waste our time with any of the other surrounding towns. Bishop is our next stop. We’ll visit all the places you named.” She stifled a yawn. “We’ll need plenty of rest.”
He pulled into her driveway. Robin’s van sat off to the side where they could get in, but not blocking her exit.
“I understand.”
They got out. He waited while Sparrow rounded the front to join him. Then he took a step forward.
She grabbed his arm and moved into an embrace “I’m glad you kissed…”
He wrapped his arms around her to return the hug. They both needed this. He inhaled her vanilla scent. The comfort he needed could only be found in her arms. When the back porch light flicked on and they pulled apart, he said, “So am I.”
