She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. He wondered how many years of teaching it had taken her to perfect the look.
“Can I sit?”
She nodded and remained standing.
He pulled the chair over and sat in it backward, his arms crossed on the back, forming his own line of defense. “I know it looks bad. I look bad.” He gave her a slow smile he usually found to be effective in softening women’s anger.
She crossed her arms and looked down at him.
Okay, if that was what she wanted. “I did get the black eye in a fight at The Road House with a seventeen-year-old kid.”
“You...a seventeen-year-old...The Road House. How could you?” She spat out her words. “Kids like Brendon look up to you. And you want to run a program for teens? Hate to tell you, but that’s not the way to get supporters.”
“Sit down.”
Her gaze burned through him.
“Please.”
She sank into the chair behind the desk. “It gets worse?”
“No. Connor got a call from Sandy Schuyler about Toby. He’s been hanging out with some older guys she doesn’t like. He’d come home Friday night smelling of beer and she took away the keys to his pickup. He’s seventeen. He was furious with her. He found the keys in her room while she was at work at the library on Saturday and was gone when she got home.”
Becca placed her hand over her heart. “Poor Sandy. She’s had such a hard time with Jeff’s illness and death.”
“She asked Connor if he would help her track Toby down. She was afraid to go after him herself, especially after the blowup they’d had the night before. And the places where she suspected she might find her son aren’t exactly her usual type of hangout. Connor asked me to go with him instead.”
Becca nodded.
“He was trying to reason with the kid when Toby took a swing at him. I tried to deflect it, and I did with my face.”
Jared tried the slow grin again with more success. Becca’s features softened with almost as much concern as she’d expressed for Sandy.
“That really is some shiner you have. Does it hurt?”
“Nah, not really.” He didn’t need to tell her he’d iced it numb this morning.
“What’s going to happen to Toby? He was in my honors eleventh-grade history class this past year, doing really well until the Christmas break. Then his dad died. His grades and behavior both tanked after that.”
Jared wondered what it would be like to have a father he’d miss like Toby obviously did his. He hadn’t felt much of anything when Mom had started the proceedings to have his father declared dead so she could sell the family house in Paradox Lake.
“Toby’s exactly the kind of kid I want to help. That my racing-school program could help.” He searched her face and found she hadn’t closed down—yet. “He needs a boot in the right direction from someone other than Sandy who, I’m sure, is grieving as much as or more than he is. And a way to vent his anger. There’s nothing like a good rough ride against a little competition to drain it out of you.”
“Ken said the sheriff’s department was called.”
His jaw tightened at her abrupt change in conversation. So much for sharing some of his vision for the school. He couldn’t read her at all. When she hadn’t stopped his kiss, he’d thought she was letting him into her life. A place, he’d since realized, he wanted to be. He was letting her into his. Her seemingly nothing-but-the-facts attitude cut that short.
“The Sheriff had to call and spread the good news. He can’t give it up, can he?” Jared shut his mouth. He wasn’t good at playing by the rules. But for Becca he could try.
“No, he keeps his finger in a lot of pies.”
Including, from what he’d seen, Becca’s life.
“The sheriff’s deputy was really decent about not arresting Toby for disorderly conduct.” Or us. “The bar owner decided not to press it after I told him I’d pay for any damage Toby caused. I expect when I get the bill it’ll be for a considerable amount of damage.”
“From one teenager swinging one punch?”
“That, and he knocked over a few chairs and smashed some bottles and glasses. He was pretty wasted. But, no, not that much damage. But I did see dollar signs in the owner’s eyes when I made the offer and he realized who I was.”
“Does that bother you?”
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t. But if Connor and I can get through to Toby, it’ll be worth whatever the owner tries to gouge me for.”
“What are you and Connor going to do?”
“The unofficial trade-off for no charges is community service for the church for the rest of the summer. Whatever Connor thinks is fitting. We talked yesterday. Connor is going to have Toby start by filling in for the church cleaning-and-maintenance guy who takes July off as vacation. And he and I are going to rebuild the engine in his truck.”
“Sandy’s onboard with that? At the conference I had with her about Toby and his failing grades a few weeks before final exams, she was talking about junking the truck so it wouldn’t be around for him to use to get in trouble. It’s an old vehicle his father used only around the farm.”
“That’s the beauty of it. The truck will be out of commission indefinitely. We’re going to do a painstakingly thorough job of repairing it.”
Becca laughed an all-out uninhibited laugh. Then, she sobered. “Does Toby remind you of yourself?
Jared didn’t have a ready answer. He didn’t know the teen well enough. All he knew was that Toby and his mother needed help.
“You couldn’t have been much older than Toby when you took out the Nortons’ fence.”
He went numb. It always came back to the past.
“You remember that?”
“No. I was away at college. Emily told me after you’d returned.”
He didn’t know whether to be angry with Emily or flattered that the women had been talking about him.
“I was a little older, and had been drinking at The Road House, too. Different owners, but the place is still the same. This time, the deputy cited the owner-bartender for serving a minor. I never could figure out why Sheriff Norton never had. He ran a tight ship about everything else.”
Becca flushed. “Because of Matt. He and his friends used to get together there and have a few beers when they came home on college breaks.”
Jared whistled. “I didn’t think Norton would look the other way for anyone.”
“He has his blind side.”
Jared waited for her to elaborate. It might give him some insight into why the former sheriff had it in for him. But she didn’t.
Several long seconds of tight-lipped silence ticked by. “If we’re done,” he said, “I’d like to get going. The afternoons when Hope is in here are my work time.”
“Of course. I hope everything goes well with Toby.”
Jared told himself she meant it, not that she doubted his ability to turn around the teen. He opened the office door to Brendon and two of the boys from his day-care group sauntering down the hall.
“See. I told you.” Brendon pointed at his eye and continued with an admiration that made Jared sick to his stomach. “Just like the articles in the racing magazines my grandpa wouldn’t buy me but I looked at in the store. Only I didn’t know Jared then.”
“The ones you told me about with him beating up that guy and trashing his car?” the wide-eyed kid with Brendon asked. “He did that here, too? Cool!”
Jared exploded, echoing Becca’s earlier words. “No, it isn’t cool. And I wasn’t in a bar fight last weekend. I didn’t beat anyone up. And I didn’t tear any place apart.”
The boys edged away from him toward the wall.
“As for the stories in the magazines.” Jared swung around to face Becca. He needed to tell
her this more than the boys. “I was in a bad place in my life. I did some things I’m not proud of. That incident isn’t one of them. The man I tackled, not beat up, was attacking a woman in the parking lot of a restaurant. I didn’t trash his car. He threw his whiskey bottle through the windshield himself. People should get all the facts before they spread the news.”
“Boys, go back to your room,” Becca said.
They sped off.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“No need. I’ve already asked for and received all the forgiveness I need. And to set the record straight, because I know people are talking, Hope isn’t my daughter and I can prove it. But, if it makes you and everyone else happy, she could have been.”
The blood drained from Becca’s face, and he wanted to snatch back his words. He was angry at people thinking the worst of him, not at Becca. Instead, he chose to leave.
* * *
Jared waited until Becca’s car was the only one left in the church parking lot before going into the Fellowship Hall to pick up Hope. After being a jerk the last time he and Becca had talked, he had to handle this right. It didn’t help that he’d stubbornly avoided her for the rest of that week because she’d been avoiding him. And then he’d been out of town for the past few days at an alumni race with other retired motocross champions for the grand reopening of the track where he’d won his first championship. He’d missed Becca. He needed to tell her he wanted her in his life on whatever terms she was comfortable with.
He strode into the hall with a lot more confidence than he felt.
“You’re back,” Hope squealed.
“Sure am, pumpkin. I said I would be.” He scooped the little girl up in his arms and gazed over her head at Becca.
She smiled at him, a good sign.
“And I have an invitation from Grandma Stowe for all of us to come to dinner tonight.”
“Ari, too?”
“Ari, too, and Brendon and Becca.”
“Can we go, Mommy?” Ari asked.
Jared searched Becca’s face for any sign of disapproval of his using the kid card to get her to agree.
“I don’t see why not.” She put him out of his misery. “I’ll close up the day care, and we’ll meet you at Edna and Harry’s,” Becca said.
“If it’s okay with Jared, could I ride with him?” Brendon asked. “You don’t like to talk about motorcycles or racing, and I want to know about the race he was in this week.”
“What race?”
Becca sounded bothered that he had raced.
“It was that alum, alum...”
“Alumni,” Jared helped Brendon.
“Yeah. I told you about it, Mom. Remember, Ian and I watched it on the sports channel his dad gets.”
“I remember. But I’d rather you ride with me.”
There was the disapproval he’d dreaded when he’d walked in. Was it because of Matt and the beer smell in his truck the other week? Or did she disapprove of him talking with Brendon about bikes and racing? He knew she wanted to discourage her son’s interest in motocross. Maybe she’d tell him when he got her alone, if he succeeded in getting her alone.
* * *
Grandma engineered the dinner perfectly. Whether or not Jared’s plan worked, he owed her big time.
“Edna, the dinner was wonderful,” Becca said when they’d all finished. “Thank you for inviting us. We had a busy day at The Kids’ Place today. I wasn’t looking forward to going home and having to cook dinner. Let me know if there’s something I can do to reciprocate.” She pushed her chair back from the table as if she were getting ready to leave.
Jared looked at his grandmother.
“It just so happens there is. I’d like you to give Jared an hour of your time to hear him out, clear the air between the two of you.”
Becca tilted her head toward Grandma. That wasn’t exactly what he’d asked her to say.
“Harry and I’ll take the kids out to get soft-serve ice cream, so you two can have the house to yourselves.”
Somehow, Grandma was sounding more matchmaker than facilitator. His heart thumped against his chest. He half expected Becca to come up with a good reason she and the kids had to go.
“All right,” she relented.
Good. But he could have done without her agreement sounding as if she was accepting a crew penalty for another member’s violation.
“I made some coffee,” his grandmother said. “It’s in the kitchen. That special kind you like, Jared. Harry and I can’t drink coffee after dinner anymore. It keeps us up all night. Come on, kids.” Grandma whisked them out the door.
“Want a cup?”
“Special coffee?” Becca smiled. “I thought Connor was the one who liked gourmet coffee.”
“He is. But Grandma made it for us. I can’t let it go to waste.”
“No, we couldn’t do that.”
He went into the kitchen and brought back two cups of coffee on a tray with cream and sugar and honey that Grandma had left out on the counter next to the coffeemaker. “Let’s have it in the living room.”
He placed the tray on the coffee table in front of the couch and motioned her to take a seat. He sat next to her.
Becca added cream and honey to hers and took a sip. “Hazelnut. But I’m sure you didn’t finagle this get-together to talk about coffee.”
“True. I arranged it to talk about us.”
She raised an eyebrow.
He wiped his hands on his jeans. Great. Now, he sounded like a bad chick flick. “I’m sorry I lost my temper at the day-care center. What I have to say isn’t an excuse. It’s an explanation. I let what people were thinking get to me. Then, you accused me of being unfit to run a program for kids. I’m not my father. I live every day trying not to be like him.”
“I know. I apologize for that.” She placed her hand on his. “I had other things bothering me. I shouldn’t have taken them out on you.”
He flipped her hand over and entwined his fingers with hers. “The Sheriff giving you more trouble?”
She slipped her fingers from his and put her hands in her lap. Why’d he go and mention the Sheriff?
“Nothing new,” she said.
“What can I do to help?” He pressed his palms to his thighs. His offer left him open to her retreating to her previous stand that they keep things between them strictly businesslike—Zoning Board petitioner to board member, parent to teacher.
“Thanks. But it’s not your problem.”
“I could make it my problem.” That’s what he’d be doing if he pursued Becca. Her kids and her ex were part of the package. He drank in her beauty and the person he was learning she was. It was definitely worth exploring, and, hey, he carried heavier baggage than she did. Besides, he might enjoy some one-on-one with the Sheriff.
She chewed her lower lip.
“Becca, I like you.” He didn’t care if he probably sounded like one of her high school students with a mad crush. He had to get it out. “I like spending time with you and your kids.” He stopped himself from telling her how much the remark made by the woman at the soft-serve ice-cream stand about what a nice family they made had affected him. That would have been too sappy. “I’d like to spend more time with you.”
Her shoulders sagged, and he bounced his leg in nervous anticipation.
“Oh, Jared.”
A chill went through him. She was going to shoot him down. He’d had his share of brush-offs, but none of them had felt as crushing as this.
“I like you, too.” Her lips curved in a wobbly smile.
He slid his arm along the back of the couch behind her.
“It’s too soon.”
Too soon? It had to be six or seven years since Matt had left her.
“I’ve been prayin
g for direction in my life, about the kids and the Nortons, about the Zoning Board decision...” Her voice softened. “About you.”
His throat clogged.
“The only answer I’ve gotten is ‘give things time.’ I think He’s saying wait until after the board decision.” She clasped and unclasped her hands. “I’m not always good at listening and hearing.”
“I understand that. I’ve been known to not hear, even when He hammers the message into my head.”
“That’s an interesting picture. Are you saying you can be hardheaded?”
“Something like that.”
“Give me until after the Zoning Board vote. You may change your mind by then.” She forced a laugh. “I’m praying Matt’s parents will back off, no matter how I vote. They have before. It’s like they have to prove to themselves they have power. We might even be able to come to a long-term agreement outside the official agreement Matt and I have. They really do like seeing the kids, and I think they’re afraid they won’t after they retire to Florida. That’s probably what all the pressure lately is about. Ken’s just pinning it on your project.”
Knowing Sheriff Norton and the way he’d always seemed to have it in for his family, Jared wasn’t at all sure about that.
“So, what does that mean? Avoiding each other? That’s kind of hard with Hope attending The Kids’ Place and Ari being her closest friend.”
“No, it means we keep things platonic.” She twirled a strand of her dark hair around her finger. “You have to know, though, that no matter what happens, my kids come first.”
He dropped his hand to her shoulder. “I know.” He did. Hope’s arrival had given him insight into a parent’s love. The age difference made Hope more of a daughter to him than a sister. He wouldn’t do anything that would hurt Becca or her kids.
He squeezed her to his side, and she didn’t pull back. It was enough. He could wait.
* * *
“Mommy, come on. Jared is going to be here in five, no four minutes.” Ari was making good use of the watch her father had bought her last week—a woman’s watch that must have cost enough to buy half of the back-to-school clothes she’d need this fall. Matt would probably count the cost as child support.
Love Inspired May 2015 #2 Page 35
