Into Magnolia (Sandy Cove Series Book 3)

by Rosemary Hines

  Michelle just nodded. “So how’s it going at your foster home?” she asked, wanting Amber to tell her own story rather than relying on the office file.

  “Okay, I guess.” It was clear from Amber’s tone of voice and the subtle shaking of her head that she was not happy with the arrangement.

  “It must be hard.” Michelle leaned in, hoping Amber would look up.

  “Yeah. It sucks.”

  “Jack doesn’t live there, does he?” she asked.

  Amber shook her head.

  “That’s too bad. So do you get to see him very often?”

  “No. Only when Blackwell arranges it.”

  “Blackwell?”

  “Our social worker. She decides when we get to meet up.”

  “I see.” Michelle could see the pain in Amber’s face when she talked about her brother. “Do you think it would help if I offered to hang out with you and Jack at the park sometimes when I take Maddie?”

  The look of surprise on Amber’s face showed how much this caught her off guard. “Seriously? You’d do that?”

  “Sure. Why not? I’m already there. If she wanted to, she could drop you two off for an hour or so while Maddie plays on the equipment. I really wouldn’t mind, as long as it was just the two of you.”

  “Who else would it be?” Amber asked.

  “I mean if you don’t bring your boyfriend along. Just a chance for you and your brother to visit.”

  “Oh. Yeah. I doubt if Adam would want to come anyway. He’s more of a beach person.”

  “Well, if you’re up for it, I can see if I could talk to your social worker about it.”

  “Yeah. That would be great. Thanks,” Amber smiled the first genuine smile Michelle had seen from her.

  “Okay. I’ll look into it,” she promised. Noticing the clock, she added, “The passing bell is about to ring. I’d better head over to the office to check my mailbox for messages. Let’s do this again soon.” She gave Amber a warm smile and rose from her seat.

  “Yeah. That would be cool.” Amber rose to her feet, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and walked out, opening the candy bar wrapper as she left.

  Michelle spotted Cassandra in the office after school that day and immediately thought about her lunch with Amber. “Hey there,” she said.

  “Michelle! How are things going?”

  Michelle set her stack of papers on the counter. “Great! I think I’m getting organized.”

  “That’s the biggest thing. If you can keep on top of that, you’ll be fine,” Cassie replied with a smile.

  “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about one of my students. Do you have a minute?”

  “Sure. What’s up?” Cassie turned and leaned against the counter.

  “I’ve got this girl in my first period named Amber.”

  “Amber Gamble?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve heard a lot about her. She sounds like a handful.”

  Michelle nodded. “She really pushes the limits. But I think I’m actually starting to make some headway with her.”

  Cassie looked intrigued. “Yeah? Tell me.”

  “Well, I dropped by her foster home and met her guardian. She seemed really surprised that I made the effort. Then I asked Amber to have lunch with me today, and she agreed.”

  “That’s huge,” Cassie replied. “How did it go?”

  “I think it went pretty well. But here’s something I wanted to ask you about. She’s got this boyfriend from the high school. His name is Adam Wilson. I was wondering if you had him in your class a few years ago.”

  “Wilson. Hmmm.” Cassie stared off into space for a moment. “Sounds familiar. What year is he now?”

  “Sophomore.”

  Cassie thought for a moment and pulled an old yearbook off the shelf. She flipped through to the Ws. “Wilson, Adam. Oh yeah, here he is. He came into my class mid-year. Transferred from the honors class.”

  “What do you remember about him?” Michelle asked.

  “Not too much. Seemed like a shy kid. I think he had an older brother, too.”

  “Yeah. Troy’s his name.”

  “Troy Wilson. Now that’s a kid I definitely remember. He was quite the ladies’ man, even in eighth grade. The girls were always trying to get his attention.”

  “Hmmm. Wonder if his brother is trying to follow in his footsteps by choosing a younger girl he can impress.”

  “Wouldn’t surprise me. Does Amber seem like the vulnerable type to you?”

  “Yes and no. She’s got a pretty tough exterior, but she seems like she’s hungry for someone to love her.”

  “Uh, oh. Bad combination. I’d keep an eye on that one.”

  “Yeah. I think I will,” Michelle replied. “She really misses her little brother, Jack, so I volunteered to supervise them at the park sometime.”

  “That’s really sweet of you, Michelle. Just be careful that you don’t get in over your head. Kids like Amber can really sap you if you let them. And you’ve got your own family to think about, too,” Cassie added.

  She nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.” Retrieving her papers from the counter and her mail from her mailbox, she said goodbye and headed out to the parking lot.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Going somewhere?” Cecilia asked Amber as she opened the bathroom door. The two little ones were disrobing for their bath, and she realized she’d left their pajamas in their bedroom.

  “Uh…well…yeah. I was going to go to the library to study with a friend.”

  “The library? How were you going to get there?”

  “My friend is picking me up in a few minutes,” Amber replied.

  “And you were going to leave without telling me?” Cecilia asked, adding, “I think I hear your radio playing in there.”

  Amber glanced back at her bedroom. “Oh, yeah. I’ll go turn it off. Sorry about that.”

  “Wait. Before you do that, I want to know whenever you are leaving to go anywhere, okay?”

  “Yeah. Got it.”

  “What time do you think you’ll be back?”

  “In a couple of hours. By ten.”

  “Okay. Take your cell phone with you. Is your friend bringing you home?”

  “Yeah. He — I mean she will bring me back. Her mom, I mean.”

  Cecilia studied Amber’s face. She knew the girl was probably lying, but she wanted to build some trust in the relationship. Plus she had two other kids to tend to, and the bathwater was probably getting pretty high in the tub by now. “Home by ten. No later.”

  “Right.”

  “And turn off the radio before you go.”

  Amber opened her bedroom, flipped off the music, and shut the door firmly behind her, bolting down the stairs to meet Adam at the curb.

  “Splish, splash,” Madison sang as she played with a baby doll in the bathtub. Michelle smiled and pushed a stray hair out of her face as she leaned over to wash her daughter’s back.

  “Does the baby get a shampoo tonight?” she asked Maddie.

  “Yup!”

  “Okay. Here’s a squirt of shampoo for her.” Michelle squeezed the bottle and allowed a small amount of the no-more-tears formula to fill Madison’s outstretched palm.

  “Okay baby,” Maddie said in her singsong voice. “Rub a dub dub! Time to wash your hair.”

  “You’re next, sweetheart,” Michelle added.

  “Oh, Mom,” came the whine.

  “No ‘Oh, Mom’ pumpkin. Remember, when baby gets a shampoo, so do you.”

  Maddie sighed. “Okay,” she said forlornly.

  As Michelle began massaging the shampoo into her golden curls, she asked, “How about going to the park again soon?”

  Madison’s frown was replaced by a smile. “Really, Mom? Can we go tomorrow?” The excitement in her voice made Michelle grin.

  “Not tomorrow, baby. But later this week, okay? Tomorrow Mommy has a meeting after school, so you’re going to Auntie Kelly’s house to play, remember?”

  “Oh yea
h. Goody! Auntie Kelly is so much fun! And I can play with Luke, Lucy, and Logan.”

  “That’s right. And we’ll go to the park another day.” Michelle gently rinsed the suds from her hair. “Maybe we’ll bring one of my students along,” she added.

  Maddie looked up at her. “I thought your students were all big?”

  “They are, honey.”

  “But aren’t they too big for the park?”

  “Mommy’s not too big for the park, am I?”

  Madison thought for a moment. “No, but you’re a mommy. Mommies come to the park for their kids. But big kids don’t like the park.”

  “Is that so?”

  She nodded her head with a serious expression. Michelle tried to keep a straight face.

  “Why would we take a big kid with us, Mommy? Don’t we want to just play the two of us, like we always do?”

  “I just thought it might be fun to bring a girl I know named Amber. She likes to play at the park with her little brother.”

  “Can’t her mommy take them to the park?” Madison asked earnestly.

  “No. Their mommy is sick. She can’t go to the park.” Michelle knew that was a half-truth, but the reality of Amber’s life was far beyond Madison’s comprehension.

  Just then, Steve poked his head in the door. “How’s it going in here? I’m ready to read a story to my favorite princess.”

  Madison clapped her hands, sending bubbles into the air.

  “Time to get out, honey,” Michelle said with a chuckle.

  Steve knelt down beside his daughter’s bed as they prayed together. “Bless Mommy and Daddy, and Max, and my teacher, and Grandma and Grandpa, and Auntie Kelly and Uncle Ben, and all my friends, and Amber and her brother and their mommy.”

  “Who’s Amber?” Steve asked.

  “She’s one of Mommy’s big girl students. Her mommy’s sick, so we might take her and her brother to the park sometime.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Mommy said so.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well it’s time for you to go to bed now, little one. Climb under those covers, and I’ll get you all tucked in.” Steve held the sheet and comforter open as she slid in to bed.

  Brushing the curls away from her face and kissing her forehead, his heart swelled with love for her. He prayed silently, thanking God for her as he thought once again about all the infertility tests and procedures they’d faced to usher her into their family.

  “I love you, princess,” he whispered.

  “I love you, too, Daddy.”

  “Night night,” he added before clicking off the bedside lamp and quietly leaving the room.

  He found Michelle down in the kitchen finishing up the dinner dishes. “Need some help?” he offered.

  “No, I’ve got it,” she replied, smiling at him over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

  Steve sat down at the table and glanced through the mail. “Madison added a few people to her prayer list tonight.”

  “Really? Who?”

  “One of your students named Amber and her brother and mother.”

  Michelle put the last dish into the dishwasher and turned to face him. “Really.”

  “Yup. She said you might be taking them to the park this week,” he added.

  “I’m just thinking about it.”

  “Isn’t Amber the girl that gives you so much trouble in class — the one who’s in that foster home?” Steve tried to sound matter-of-fact, but he could feel his hand starting to clench.

  Michelle leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “Yeah. That’s her.”

  “Do you really think it’s a good idea to take her to the park with Maddie?”

  “I’m trying to build a relationship with her,” Michelle began. “The two of us had lunch together, and she confided in me that she hardly ever gets to see her little brother. I thought maybe I could work it out with their social worker to supervise the two of them at the park once a week or something, so they could have time together.”

  “That’s really noble, Michelle. But what about Madison?”

  “What about her?”

  “Do you really feel comfortable having her around this troubled teen?” He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm and even. He couldn’t believe Michelle thought this was a good idea.

  “I’ll be there, Steve. She’s not going to do anything stupid. It’s just a chance for her to be with her brother.”

  “But isn’t the point of your park time with Maddie that it’s a chance for just the two of you to be together? You’re so busy these days with school, grading papers, lesson plans and stuff. I thought you wanted your play time at the park to be quality time together.”

  “I do, Steve,” she replied, an edge to her voice. “I’m sure Amber and her brother will hang out on the older kids’ equipment. I’ll still be able to keep an eye on them and play with Maddie at the same time.”

  Steve studied her face. “I’m not really comfortable with this, `Shell. Give it some more thought before you go any further.”

  Michelle nodded. “Okay. It may not work out anyway. I haven’t had a chance to talk to the social worker or anything yet.” She looked a little hurt.

  He got up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the fragrance of her cologne. “You’re a good Mom and a good teacher, honey. Just don’t try to mix the two, okay?”

  She nodded and leaned into his embrace. “I’m beat,” she said with a sigh.

  “Me, too.”

  Their cat Max scurried out of the room ahead of them as they walked out of the kitchen, Steve’s arm draped over her shoulder.

  Amber could feel her stomach churning. The sound of the waves and the reflection of the moon on the surf usually brought her a sense of peace. Coming to the beach at night with Adam was what she looked forward to all day. But tonight was different. Three weeks had passed since she’d given herself completely to him, and something wasn’t right.

  “I’m late,” she said.

  “What do you mean, late?”

  “I mean my period is late.” She looked away, feeling her cheeks burn as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat and the shame that caused it.

  Adam cursed under his breath.

  “Hey, don’t get mad at me,” Amber shot back defensively. “You were the one who was so sure nothing would happen.”

  “So now what?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll get a pregnancy test at the drugstore.” Amber wished she hadn’t even told him. She should have done the test first, just to make sure.

  Adam was quiet. He just glanced over at her then looked back out to sea. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking or feeling. “I’m really sorry, Adam. Maybe it’s nothing.”

  He turned to her again and attempted a smile. But all Amber could see was sadness or disappointment. She brushed aside a tear, hoping he didn’t see it.

  “Maybe I’d better take you home.”

  Amber stared at him. She just wanted him to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be okay. Instead, he looked like he’d rather be anywhere but with her. Their blanket was still folded beside them on the sand, and her hopes of being rescued slipped away into the night.

  She stood up, brushed the sand off her jeans, and walked toward his car without a word.

  As they drove off, he asked if she wanted him to stop by the pharmacy. “I don’t have any money with me,” she replied.

  “I can pay for it.” He opened the glove box and pulled out a wallet. “Just take whatever you need.”

  When she opened the wallet, she saw five twenties. “Where did you get all this money?”

  “I sold some stuff.”

  “What stuff?”

  “Just stuff. Don’t worry about it. Just take what you need.” He seemed really edgy, and she didn’t want to upset him any more than he already was.

  “Okay. Thanks.” She took the money and shoved it into her sweatshirt pocket.

&nbs
p; Adam pulled the car into the lot and found a parking place near the entrance.

  “Be right back,” she said, opening the door and stepping out.

  He nodded. “I’ll be here.”

  Amber worked her way through the aisles until she found the pregnancy tests. Examining a couple, she chose one that looked easy to read and headed for the check out. She was relieved to see an older woman at the register. The lady rang up her purchase and bagged the test.

  Before she could even say a word, Amber handed her the cash. Once the change was in her hand, she walked quickly back to the car.

  “Got it?” Adam asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “So how long does it take?”

  “I think it’s just a few minutes,” she replied, slipping it out of the bag to look over the directions.

  “Are you going to do it tonight?”

  Amber studied the directions. “It says to do it in the morning.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, should I take you home?”

  Amber wished she had a real home to go to with a real mom who wasn’t in some rehab. A mom who would hold her close and tell her what to do. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, and she wished she and Adam could just go back to the beach, spread out the blanket, and stay together until morning.

  “Amber? What do you want to do?” Adam pressed.

  “Whatever.”

  Adam tapped the steering wheel with his palm. “Listen, if you want to wait awhile, we can go back to the beach.” He said the words she wanted to hear, but his heart wasn’t present in the offer.

  “No. It’s okay. Just take me home.” She turned and looked out the passenger window, watching the flashing neon light of the local liquor store advertise a brew.

  Adam started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. They rode in silence back to the house.

  “Amber?” Cecilia’s voice called through the bathroom door the next morning. “Are you almost finished in there? The kids need to brush their teeth before I take them to meet the social worker.”

  “Just a sec!” Amber replied. She stared at the test stick in her hand. The blue plus sign was clear. She was pregnant. Shoving it into her pocket, she washed her hands and retrieved the box and directions from the counter. She folded the box into a tight wad and crammed it, along with the slip of instructions, into her makeup bag.