Catching Fireflies

by Sherryl Woods

  “Alcohol tends to loosen tongues,” he reminded her. “By the way, she changed her vote. I thought I should tell you that, in case it makes a difference to you.”

  “Really?”

  “She says I’m a real gentleman, after all.”

  “Wow! Impressive. She was a holdout earlier.”

  He stepped closer, reaching out to tuck a wayward curl behind her ear. His touch lingered on her flushed cheek. “Did her opinion matter?”

  She held his gaze and shook her head. “Not to me.”

  “I’m thinking I might not want to be a gentleman much longer,” he admitted. “What would you think about that?”

  She swallowed hard, but she didn’t look away. “I’m thinking there might be times when being a gentleman is highly overrated.”

  He smiled. “Good to know.”

  “Were you thinking of making such a dramatic change tonight?” she inquired, a breathless note in her voice.

  “I was, but the margarita thing has me thinking my timing is really off. I want you to make this decision with a clear head.”

  She regarded him with disappointment. “Did you really come over here tonight to seduce me?”

  “Actually I came because I heard about what happened at school. I tried to call, but never got an answer.”

  “I let voice mail pick up since I had company,” she said.

  “Well, it worried me, so I came to check on you.”

  “Thank you. That was sweet.”

  He smiled. “Quite a night for me, anyway. First Raylene called me a gentleman and now you think I’m sweet.”

  “Don’t let it go to your head. I’m sure you have lots and lots of flaws. I just can’t think of any at the moment.”

  “I think I’ll concentrate on the fact that you haven’t ruled out letting me seduce you one of these days.”

  “No, I definitely haven’t ruled that out.”

  “Another time, then,” he said, bending down to touch his lips to hers. He could taste the hint of lime juice, tequila and salt that lingered on her lips, though the kiss would have been intoxicating enough without that.

  He’d been right, he thought, as he reluctantly let her go. Now that he’d kissed her, even with just a brush of his lips across hers, he was lost. Oddly enough, it didn’t terrify him half as badly as he’d expected it to.

  “Good night, Laura. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  As he left, he cast one last glance over his shoulder and saw her with her fingers to her lips, her expression vaguely dazed. Good, he thought. The effect had been mutual.

  * * *

  Laura was surprised when she received a call the morning after margarita night from Paula Vreeland, asking if they could meet for afternoon tea on the patio of The Corner Spa. Paula was a legend in town. An internationally renowned artist, her original works were priced way beyond Laura’s budget, but she had managed to buy one print, which hung in a place of prominence on the wall of Laura’s little apartment.

  Though she thought the spa was an odd choice for a meeting, it was no more odd than the request itself. She had to admit curiosity had gotten the better of her. She arrived fifteen minutes early and found Mrs. Vreeland already there, chatting with her daughter, Maddie.

  “Laura, nice to see you,” Maddie said. “Mother told me you were coming over. I don’t suppose I can sign you up for a membership while you’re here? We have special discounts for teachers.”

  “One of these days,” Laura said, looking around with envy at the sunshine-drenched exercise room with its view of a wooded area beyond. Working out here in air-conditioning would be so much nicer than the way too rare, sweat-drenched walks she now took around the park.

  Paula gave her daughter a chiding look. “I didn’t invite Ms. Reed over here so you could make a sales pitch.”

  Maddie laughed. “It’s part of my job description to reel in new members. Why don’t the two of you go out onto the patio. It’s quiet out there. I’ll bring you something from the café. Anything in particular you’d like?”

  “I’ve heard the fruit smoothies are amazing,” Laura admitted. “Could I try one of those?”

  “Of course. Strawberry-banana okay?”

  “Perfect.”

  “And I’ll just have a glass of sweet tea,” Mrs. Vreeland said. “And maybe one of Dana Sue’s blueberry muffins.”

  “Low-fat?” Maddie asked.

  Paula wrinkled her nose. “Not if I have a choice,” she said at once.

  After they were settled at a wrought-iron table on the shaded brick patio, Paula regarded her directly. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I called you out of the blue.”

  “I am curious,” Laura admitted, “but grateful, too. I’ve been dying to meet you ever since I bought one of your gorgeous prints and found out you lived right here in Serenity. Somehow I’ve never managed to run into you around town.”

  “Praise and a purchase are always great ways to win an artist’s heart,” Paula said with a laugh, then sobered. “I’m afraid what I have to say is a touchy business.”

  Laura listened with increasing dismay as the older woman filled her in on what had been going on between Annabelle Litchfield and Misty Dawson. When Paula handed her a computer printout of some of the vicious posts, as well as the nearly naked photos purporting to be Misty, she actually gasped. It was far worse than anything she’d imagined.

  “I had no idea,” she said. “No wonder Misty wouldn’t show her face in my class. I’m surprised she’s come to school at all.” She sighed. “Of course, she hasn’t been there for a couple of days now, and she actually tried to get out of coming at all.”

  “How did she intend to make that work?” Paula asked.

  “She went to J. C. Fullerton and begged him to write her a medical excuse so she could stay home. He refused, but neither of us had any idea why she was so determined to stay out of school. She wouldn’t speak up. It’s only been in the past couple of weeks that I’ve had a real inkling about what was going on. This is exactly the proof I’ve needed to take this to the next level and get it stopped.”

  “Thankfully someone brought it to my attention,” Paula said. “To say I was shocked would be an understatement.”

  “So am I,” Laura admitted.

  Paula nodded. “I thought you would be. Now, what are we going to do about it? It obviously needs to be handled delicately, but there’s no room at the high school for this kind of tormenting of a student, especially one as bright and sensitive as Misty.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Laura said.

  They both fell silent for several minutes, pondering the next course of action.

  Laura eventually gave Mrs. Vreeland a direct look. “I’ve dealt with all of the parents at one time or another. Mariah Litchfield isn’t going to handle this well, is she? I know Betty Donovan was anticipating a full-fledged explosion, even without knowing how bad things really are.”

  Paula responded with a rueful smile. “Frankly, I fully expect all hell to break loose.”

  Laura sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that. Then I assume we need to get all of our factual ducks in a nice row before she and Annabelle are confronted.”

  “Definitely a wise decision,” Paula agreed. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay out of this publicly unless it becomes necessary. Anyone could go online and find this evidence, so I doubt it’s necessary that my name be involved.”

  “I can understand that you want to protect your source,” Laura said. “It wouldn’t take long for anyone to guess who that source might be.” Though Katie Townsend had refused to talk to Cal, she must have gone to her grandmother. Bless her for finding a way to involve an adult without violating Misty’s trust.

  “But I will come forward if you need me at any point,” Paula assured her. “This kind of behavior can’t be tolerated. Other than trying to protect my source, I’m perfectly comfortable taking a public stand against it.” She smiled briefly. “And there’s very little that Ma
riah Litchfield can possibly do to me. I have no concerns for my reputation, just for my source.”

  “Understood,” Laura said. “I don’t think we’ll have any problem finding people to stand firm against this once the facts come out.” She had a feeling J.C. would be leading the pack, and she intended to involve him at the very first opportunity.

  Paula regarded her with approval. “Katie told me you’d jump all over this. She’s a great admirer of yours. I can see why.”

  “Thank you,” Laura said, genuinely pleased, not so much by Paula Vreeland’s approval, but by Katie’s faith in her. “I won’t let either of these girls down.”

  She weighed asking Mrs. Vreeland’s advice. “May I ask your opinion about something?”

  “Of course.”

  “You obviously understand how sensitive this situation is, especially with such awful pictures being posted online. I’ve been hearing talk that Misty’s parents are having problems. Normally I’d go straight to them with this, but I don’t want to make that situation worse.”

  “I can appreciate your concern,” Paula said, “but do you really have a choice? Once you’ve taken this information to Betty and she’s taken action against Annabelle—suspension, I assume, if not expulsion—the whole town will be talking about it, asking questions and, sad to say, looking online for the evidence. Diana and Les Dawson deserve to be prepared for that. They need to know what’s been happening to their daughter before it all goes public, or should I say more public than it is already. Whatever their own problems, I’m sure they’ll want to be there for their daughter.”

  Laura sighed. “My thought, too,” she agreed reluctantly.

  And unfortunately there was no time to waste. The Dawsons had to be her priority. She’d find J.C. later and fill him in. It was far less important for her to have her own support system in place than it was for Misty to have hers.

  “Could we meet here again?” Paula suggested. “I’d like an update on what’s happening, if you wouldn’t mind. I’m not going to rest well until I know that has been handled and that Misty’s safe once more. And I’ll want you to let me know if there’s any way at all you think I can help.”

  “Absolutely,” Laura said. “And I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you and Katie trusted me with this information. I will do my best not to let you down.”

  “I’m confident of that,” Paula said. “Serenity’s lucky to have you here. Not every teacher would be willing to go up against Mariah Litchfield.”

  Laura couldn’t believe that. “Surely not.”

  “Mariah’s the original town bully,” Paula confirmed. “Where do you think Annabelle learned her vicious ways? That sweet-as-pie exterior Mariah shows the world to get her way covers up a whole lot of mean. Once upon a time, she had her own dreams of superstardom, but getting pregnant put an end to those ambitions. Not only is she living vicariously through her daughter, but she’s filled with anger and resentment. Beware of that, Laura. Even though you’re on the side of the angels in this one, you won’t come out unscathed.”

  Laura nodded. “I’m fully prepared for that,” she said staunchly, thinking of how Vicki Kincaid had once stood up for her against the name-calling by the other students at her school, and against the small-minded parents who thought a pregnant teen should be banished rather than allowed to complete her education.

  Laura prayed she could live up to the example that had been set for her.

  12

  Laura debated calling ahead to warn the Dawsons she was on her way over but opted instead for just showing up on their doorstep. She didn’t want to risk being put off by excuses. Of course, what she couldn’t have anticipated was the situation she found.

  Misty opened the front door, dismay crossing her face when she saw Laura. “Ms. Reed,” she whispered, stepping outside and closing the door firmly behind her. “What are you doing here? If it’s because I wasn’t in school most of this week, I was sick. I’ll have a note on Monday. I promise.”

  Laura impulsively gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “It’s okay, Misty. I know everything now. I understand all of it.”

  Misty’s eyes widened with alarm. “I don’t understand. What do you know?”

  “I know about Annabelle and the posts online and the pictures,” Laura said gently. “Why don’t we go inside and have a talk about it? Are your parents home? We should all sit down and discuss the best way to correct this terrible situation you’ve been put in since school started.”

  “No, please,” Misty said urgently. “You can’t say anything to my mom. She’s not well. And my dad’s not home.”

  “You need to call him and ask him to come home,” Laura said firmly. “Continuing to ignore this isn’t an option, Misty. Once everything is set in motion to punish Annabelle, it will come out. You won’t be able to keep it from them. Wouldn’t it be better to fill them in now, prepare them? You are not to blame for any of this. You’re the victim of a relentless bully.”

  Tears welled up in Misty’s eyes. “What if my mom and dad don’t believe that? What if they think I did all those things Annabelle posted? You don’t understand, Ms. Reed. They’ll hate me, and things are already such a mess here. I don’t know how much more my mom can take.”

  She sounded so scared that for a fleeting instant, Laura wondered if she was doing the right thing. But she knew in her heart she had no choice. The Dawsons had a right to know about something so serious, something that affected their daughter right now, to say nothing of how it might impact her future if she kept missing school to avoid the bullying and taunts of her classmates.

  “Misty, I know you want to protect them, but you can’t. It’s not possible. This will come out.” Heaven knew, she’d tried every way she could think of to keep her pregnancy from her parents, but it had been impossible. It simply wasn’t something that could be hidden. Neither was this.

  “It won’t come out,” Misty insisted, “Not if you let it go. I’ll come back to school on Monday. I’ll stay away from Annabelle. We’ll just pretend it never happened. Kids say awful stuff about other kids all the time. We’re just supposed to deal with it, right? That’s the mature thing to do.”

  “Misty, this whole situation is so far from right, I don’t even know where to begin,” Laura said, wondering what messages adults were sending to kids to have them draw such a conclusion. “First of all, what Annabelle’s been doing to you is wrong. It’s a violation of school policy, if not criminal. I imagine a lot of these posts rise to the level of libel, but an attorney will have to sort that out. I certainly can’t ignore it. Second, bullies don’t quit unless they’re forced to. You shouldn’t have to suffer one single second longer.”

  “But I will,” Misty pleaded. “It’s okay. I can take it, if it means my mom and dad never have to find out. You don’t get how bad things are for them right now.”

  Laura really needed to understand exactly what was behind Misty’s obvious panic. “Let’s sit here on the porch for a minute. Why don’t you tell me why you think it would be okay to let Annabelle off the hook? What’s going on here that makes it so hard for you to go to your parents about this?”

  “I told you,” Misty said. “My parents can’t deal with this. They’re gonna get a divorce pretty soon, and my mom’s freaking out about it. My dad’s not even around most of the time. This will give them one more thing to fight about.”

  “They’re still your parents. They’ll want to help you,” Laura insisted, praying that was true. Surely they couldn’t be so self-absorbed that Misty’s problems would seem unimportant?

  “But I don’t want them to help,” Misty repeated. “I can get through this. I’ll find a way.”

  “So far, your way of coping has been to skip school,” Laura reminded her. “That’s no longer an option.”

  “Then I’ll figure out something else,” the teen said with pure bravado. “Annabelle’s done her worst.”

  “If you believe that, let me assure you I think you�
��re mistaken. Here’s what I know about bullies. If they think what they’re doing is no longer having the desired impact, then they go to another level. Just look at what happened this week. You bravely came back to class. You tried to show Annabelle she couldn’t hurt you anymore, and then she posted these pictures.”

  “But maybe if Annabelle knows how much trouble she could have been in and that I let her off the hook, she’ll quit,” Misty suggested hopefully. “She could be grateful, you know.”

  “Do you honestly believe that?” Laura asked.

  Misty sat back, clearly unable to defend her position. “Probably not,” she admitted reluctantly. “But if she gets kicked out of school because of me, all her friends are going to hate me. They’ll all go after me online. They’ll corner me in the restroom or in the halls between classes just to torment me. I don’t know if I can face any more of that.”

  “Or they’ll realize that nobody in Serenity is allowed to get away with what Annabelle’s been doing to you. You’ll have helped to send a very clear message to them about bullying.”

  Misty shook her head. “I don’t think it’s going to work that way,” she said, sounding defeated.

  “Trust me,” Laura said.

  “I do, but…” Her voice trailed off.

  “But you’re scared,” Laura filled in for her.

  Misty nodded.

  “I don’t blame you. But there are a lot of people already on your side, Misty. You have backup now. We’re going to put a stop to this. I promise.”

  Though Misty still didn’t look entirely convinced, Laura once again asked to speak to her mother. “Let’s get this over with. No matter what else is going on in her life, I know how important you are to her. I think she’s going to surprise you.”

  Misty heaved a huge sigh. “Whatever,” she said, but she did lead the way into the kitchen.

  Diana Dawson blinked when she saw Laura with Misty. “Ms. Reed, what are you doing here? Is Misty in some kind of trouble in school?” she asked, her expression alarmed.

  Laura tried to hide her shock at Diana’s disheveled appearance. She’d never seen her looking anything other than her best. Today she looked worn out. She was wearing wrinkled clothes, her expensively styled hair had been left uncombed, her face was devoid of makeup. It was little wonder Misty was worried sick about her.