Sounds from the hallway announced the arrival of others. He squeezed her hands before letting them go. “We’ll talk more about this later. Suffice it to say that I would be pleased if you and Kent wound up together this time.”
Grace looked toward the doorway, hoping that Matt would be first and alone so the three of them could talk a little more before the others arrived. But Sheila and Larry came through the doorway and her dad stood to greet them.
Just as the two newcomers were situated in their chairs, Matt came in and shook hands with both Sheila and Larry before sitting in the remaining chair.
Grace was really surprised to see Larry there. Was there more to the man than she’d always thought? But then the smirk that he gave her more or less reinforced her previous opinion of him.
* * *
Grace was surprised but she shouldn’t have been when her dad looked around the room but mostly at Larry and Sheila and said, “Why don’t we start this meeting off with a word of prayer. I know that we’re going to need God’s help to accomplish what we would all like to accomplish.”
Grace looked at Larry first, knowing that he might object to what her dad had just suggested. But, no, Larry had his eyes down looking at his hands in his lap. He didn’t say anything but she was sure he wasn’t happy about it.
Then her dad looked at Sheila who was looking back at him. She only smiled and nodded her head.
Grace’s dad prayed for wisdom and for God to help Kent and to let them know what they could do to help him.
After that, he wasted no time in beginning. He looked directly at Sheila this time.
“Sheila, I seem to remember you being baptized in your mother’s church back when you were around eight or nine.”
She nodded and gave him a tentative smile as if she wasn’t sure where he was going. For that matter, Grace was wondering too.
Before he could continue, Larry spoke up. “Don’t even look at me. I’ve never had anything to do with church and I think I’ve done quite well without it.”
Henry Livingston was used to people throwing his faith back in his face, so he just gave Larry an indulgent smile and continued talking to Sheila.
“I think your mom would agree with me that the only way that Kent can ever be truly free of his gambling will be if he turns everything over to God.”
Sheila stared at him for so long that Grace just knew that she wasn’t going to answer. Then she began nodding her head slowly.
“Yes, Pastor, you are correct about my belonging to our church and I am quite active in it, by the way.”
She rushed on when it looked as if he was going to comment. “And I know my pastor would agree with what you just said about Kent getting free of his gambling.”
Just then, all of the others looked at Larry who seemed to be squirming in his seat. Grace was glad that Sheila had sat next to her for two reasons. She certainly didn’t want to sit next to Larry but this way, she could observe him better from across the room.
Larry appeared to be quite angry. Finally, he looked up at Grace’s dad and said, “I thought we were here to talk about helping Kent, not to do a bunch of praying and talking about God.”
He started to get up but Sheila’s voice stopped him. “Larry Jackson, you sit right back down and keep your mouth shut.”
When he sat back down, she added, “And you will help us come up with a way to help Kent.”
She smiled at the others but when she turned back to Larry, her expression hardened again. “Besides it wouldn’t hurt you one little bit to listen to some praying and talking about God.”
Larry looked as if he was going to argue further but Grace’s dad said, “Though it’s important, none of that is to the point right now. The reason we’re all here tonight is to find a way to help Kent, that’s all.”
He looked at Larry then Sheila and said, “I’ve worked with a few gamblers over the years and I’ve also done a lot of studying on the subject.”
He paused seemingly to let that sink in, then waved his hand at them. “I think the first thing we need to do is for you two to find a time when you can both confront Kent with his gambling at the same time. You’ll need to form a united front and not listen to any excuses or attempts on his part to play down the seriousness of his situation.”
Sheila looked at Larry and said, “I called Kent on the way over here and he’s planning to stay home with Michelle tonight. By the time we get over there, it should be about her bedtime.”
Larry frowned and just when everyone else thought he was going to argue more, he said, “Let’s do it then.”
After Grace’s dad gave them a few pointers on how to approach Kent, they left.
As soon as they were gone, Matt slapped his knee and said, “Dad, I don’t think that’s going to do one bit of good. Kent is a great guy, but he can be as bull-headed as they come when he wants to be.”
Their dad surprised both of them when he said, “I don’t expect them to have much if any success tonight either.”
Matt and Grace both said, “What?” at the same time.
He smiled at them and said, “I didn’t want to tell them this but it seldom ever does any good the first few times a gambler is confronted.”
When they both started to question him more, he held up a big hand and said, “It takes some subtle badgering of the right kind to sort of wear the gambler down. Only then will he be willing to cooperate with any kind of intervention that we might try.”
Now Grace was beginning to see the strategy that her dad was suggesting. If she knew Kent as well as she thought she did, that would probably be the only way to get through to him.
As she drove home, Grace had so many thoughts going around in her mind that she barely remembered the drive. She sure hoped that she’d stopped when she was supposed to.
When she parked in the garage, after pushing the button to close the door, she stopped and prayed for Kent and especially for Larry and Sheila to be able get him started on the way to recovery.
She almost laughed when she realized she’d just prayed for Larry. Then her next thought embarrassed her. Shouldn’t she have been praying for the man all along and not just for him to help Kent now? Yes, that was right. She should be praying for the man that Larry was and that God would have His way in Larry’s life as well as Kent’s.
So she paused again and prayed for Larry. This time she just prayed for God to bring Larry to Him. When she finished, she felt a peace settle over her being and she went into her house feeling great.
All through her time with Brianna at home and getting her ready for bed, Grace didn’t lose that peaceful feeling. Wow!
* * *
That evening as he joined Michelle to watch TV, Kent couldn’t keep his confrontation with Payne off his mind. The guy had to be delusional if he thought the school board would suspend or even fire Kent for things that he was doing outside of school. Especially when those things didn’t affect his teaching, the school, or his students. At least, he didn’t think they did.
Having finally put that aside, his thoughts didn’t stray far. His debts! What was he going to do to pay everything off, especially if he didn’t go back to the casino so he could win it back? After all, he had promised Michelle that he wouldn’t be leaving her anymore.
He knew he could probably borrow from his parents but that didn’t feel very good. Of course, he knew they would loan him money in an instant if they knew Kent needed it. But, he knew that his dad would keep at him until he found out how Kent had fallen so deeply in debt.
So that wasn’t an option. What else could he do? Maybe he could take out a second mortgage on his house. Of course, he could do that. Surely, he must have enough equity in the house for that.
Michelle turned off the TV when the movie she’d been watching was over. That brought Kent’s thoughts back to her. She hadn’t exactly continued her pout from this morning, but she had only given him one-word answers to most things that he’d said to her. Well, he’d just have to k
eep trying.
He followed her into her bedroom and waited as she brushed her teeth. Then once she was in bed, he stepped up to the edge of it. He didn’t know what to say but he knew he needed to say something.
“I love you Michelle and the second best day of my life was when I walked into that police station and I saw you sitting there.”
He mentally crossed his fingers hoping that she wouldn’t throw that back in his face.
She continued staring at the ceiling for a long moment before finally turning to look at him. “When was the first?”
He couldn’t help smiling. No, he was actually grinning now.
“The happiest day of my life was the day you were born.”
She seemed to be thinking about that but didn’t say anything. He knew he’d better not push his luck. So he kissed her on the forehead, said goodnight and left her room.
Once he was back in the family room, Kent sat there not really thinking about much of anything until he caught himself trying to doze off. He turned on the TV hoping he could find something on there that would keep him awake since it was too early for him to go to bed.
When he heard the front door, he immediately heard, “Hey Bro. Where you at?”
Larry! Well, his brother would definitely keep him awake now. But if Larry started in on any of that stuff about Kent having a gambling problem, he’d throw him out real quick.
“Larry, what are you up to. I figured you’d be out with some woman this time of night.”
Just as he finished saying that, Sheila appeared in the doorway. She grinned at him and said, “He is.”
Kent jumped out of his chair and confronted his sister and brother. “What’s going on? Is someone hurt or something”
Larry opened his mouth to speak but before he could get anything out, Sheila stopped him with a hand on his arm.
“Kent, we need to talk to you. We’re both concerned about you.”
As soon as he’d heard Larry’s voice before, he’d prepared what he was going to say if that subject came up. So he unleashed what he hoped would be the final word on the subject.
He looked at Larry then back at Sheila before speaking. “Well, at least you don’t have all the problems he does. But it still doesn’t give you the right to interfere in my life.”
Sheila stepped closer and got right in his face. “I’m your sister and I love you Kent. Both of those things give me all the right in the world to be worried about you and want to help you.”
“I don’t need help.”
“Oh, I think you do. Have you been to a doctor for your headaches yet?”
He knew that if he just told her no, she’d keep after her until he did. “I’ll call the doctor’s office tomorrow.”
He stepped back a step. “So if that’s all you two wanted, I’d like to go to bed. I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.”
If he thought that was going to get his older sister to leave, he’d been badly mistaken. She stepped up to him again and he immediately knew he’d said the wrong thing.
“No, Kent, that isn’t the only reason we came by tonight. I think it’s all related. Your headaches and losing sleep are both due to the problems you’re having because of your gambling.”
She hopped onto the couch the way they all had as kids and slid one jeans clad leg under the other. From down there, she still managed to glare at him enough to intimidate him like she always had.
He sat in his recliner and as he turned back to Sheila, she said, “I want to help you Kent. It breaks my heart to know that you’re in trouble.”
“I’m not in trouble.”
Larry snorted. “Ha! Payne told me today that he was bringing charges against you at the next school board meeting. Wouldn’t you say that’s trouble?”
When neither Kent nor Sheila said anything, Larry continued, “That jerk thought I’d be happy to hear that you were in trouble.”
Sheila leaned forward then. “Kent, please let us help you. We know that you’re gambling a lot and that you’re also having financial problems. Can’t you see what that gambling is doing to you?”
Kent was mad now. He jumped out of his chair and said, “You may be my sister and my brother, but I don’t have to sit in my own house and listen to lies that somebody has been telling about me.”
As he said that, he glared at Larry who didn’t even flinch.
Kent stood there with his arms crossed as Sheila jumped to her feet and glared at him from across the room. He could see tears forming in her eyes. Well, he couldn’t worry about that right now. He had to get them out of his house before he really did lose it and he didn’t want them waking Michelle.
Michelle! He sure hoped she was asleep and wasn’t listening to any of this.
Sheila didn’t say another word to him. She just started walking toward the front door and after giving him another dirty look, Larry followed her out the door.
Finally, they were gone and he could decide what he was going to do next.
“Daddy? Why were you yelling at Aunt Sheila?”
Oh no! How much did she hear?
“It was nothing Honey. I just didn’t want to do something they wanted me to do. Let’s get you back to bed. Okay?”
She allowed him to lead her back to bed without saying anything else. But when he looked down into her eyes as he kissed her on the forehead again, he knew she was still thinking about the confrontation.
He would probably need to do some explaining to her in the morning. But not now.
Chapter Fourteen
Kent woke up that Tuesday morning feeling like a shadow was hanging over him. He couldn’t get last night’s visit from Sheila and Larry out of his mind. He knew that he’d hurt Sheila when he’d yelled at her the way he had.
But he couldn’t help it. All of a sudden, he’d felt surrounded, like everything was closing in on him, trying to squeeze the life out of him.
First Matt had jumped him Saturday about his gambling, then Larry had said something to him Sunday. Then Payne had threatened him at school yesterday. Finally, last night Sheila and Larry had seemingly ganged up on him. And he certainly hadn’t cared for that ... at all.
What was going on? Did everyone in town know he’d been gambling? Well, it wasn’t anyone else’s business. And he’d thank them all to stay out of his business in the future, including his sister and brother.
He was sitting in the kitchen having a cup of coffee when Michelle came in, still in her pajamas and rubbing her eyes.
He set a bowl and spoon on the table then turned around to get the milk and cereal when she began talking.
“Daddy? What’s gambling?”
Oh no! Now what? She must have heard some of what Sheila was saying last night. What could he say to her now?
Before he could come up with an answer, she continued. “I heard Brianna’s Uncle Matt tell her mommy that gambling was really, really bad.”
He was about to answer when she said, “And he said you had it really bad too. Are you sick Daddy?”
“No, Michelle, it’s not a sickness.”
The cereal and milk forgotten, Kent sat down at the table and motioned for Michelle to do the same. As soon as she was sitting, he started trying to explain.
“You see, Michelle, sometimes mommies or daddies get lonely when they don’t have a husband or wife so they go out a lot, just to be with other people.”
He noticed that she was listening closely to everything he was saying. Good.
“Well, one of the places I went when I was lonely is called a casino. That was before you came to live with me. A casino is a place where people go to play games so they can try to win money.”
She kept staring at him so he went on. “But you don’t always win those games and therefore, you lose money. And that’s what Matt was talking about. I’ve lost some money there.”
She seemed to be understanding so he went on. “But now, I’m not going to go to the casino anymore.”
She brightened for a mom
ent but then her face fell again. “But what about the money you lost?”
“Oh, don’t worry about all that. I’ll take care of it now that I’m not going to go back there anymore.”
Michelle seemed to be satisfied with his rather thin explanation, so he set out her breakfast and went to his room to get ready.
Everything went rather smoothly after that until he was coming out of the elementary school after dropping Michelle off. Grace was coming in with Brianna.
“Oh Kent, could you wait a minute while I take Brianna in. I’d like to talk to you on the way over. I’ll be right back.”
He nodded and waited but he really felt like running over to the high school and locking himself in his room. He almost laughed at that thought. Very mature Jackson!
Well, wasn’t this better than yesterday morning when she virtually ignored him? But what did Grace want to talk to him about?
He had gone through several possibilities in his head before Grace came back out of the building. None of them were good so he was surprised at what Grace really wanted to talk to him about.
“You know Kent, I was thinking. We said our next date would be bowling and pizza Friday night. Well, why don’t we do it tonight instead and take the girls along with us. I just know Brianna would love it and I’m sure Michelle would too. Don’t you think?”
Kent was so relieved that it wasn’t any of the bad things he’d been expecting that all he could do was grin like an idiot and nod his head.
Her smile grew bigger as she looked up at him.
“Great, why don’t we go bowling at four? That way the girls won’t be eating so late and we can have them home before bedtime.”
“Okay. Ah, sure. That sounds great. I think Michelle will love it too.”
“Yes, they’ll both have a ball. See you at four.”
By then they had reached her classroom and she went in, leaving Kent standing in the hallway with a goofy grin on his face. He wiped the grin off and quickly looked around to see if anyone had seen him.
Great! Judy Wallace was standing in her classroom doorway across the hall. He hoped she hadn’t seen that grin. But no such luck. She had a knowing smile on her face. Before he could think of anything to say, she gave him a little finger wave and disappeared into her classroom.
Walking Away (The Walking Together Series Book 2) Page 17
