by Elle Rush
“It would be awkward for you to have to arrest yourself for breaking and entering.”
“I’m pretty sure that would be a conflict of interest. I’d be happy to debate it with you on our walk back to town.”
They made it two lots over before Mac Mackenzie stopped them. Her was loading a chainsaw into the back of his truck, next to a stack of orange pylons and a can of gas. His eyes went wide at the sight of the bedraggled scarecrow and waterlogged monster. “Where did you two come from?”
Aaron didn’t have the energy to explain, especially before coffee. “Up the road. We need a ride back to town. Can you give us a lift?”
“Sure.”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Mac, but I appreciate the offer,” Brooke said, interrupting them both.
A familiar, mud-spattered green SUV rolled to a stop, then made a careful four-point turn. The SUV idled while the passenger rolled down her window. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Sheriff Gillespie.”
“Morning, Jordan,” he said. “Trevor, I thought you were staying at your mother’s.”
“I was. Then I got your text last night.” Aaron had decided to text his son at the last minute, in case his ex-wife had storm damage at her place as well. With Trevor spending the night, Aaron usually would have gone straight over to help out and make sure they were okay. The tree situation made that impossible.
Trevor continued, “Then Jordan texted me this morning and asked if I could come out and pick up you and her mom, because she doesn’t have her license yet. So here we are.”
Aaron hadn’t realized that Trevor and Jordan were good enough friends to have exchanged numbers. He’d have to do some dad-investigating to learn if that had happened before or after he and Brooke started dating.
“You look like you need a shower,” Jordan said. “To warm up,” she quickly added, “not because you look bad. You might want to take off that makeup, though.”
“I would love a shower and a ride, thank you,” Brooke said gratefully. After she fumbled twice at the door handle, Aaron stepped in and opened the door for her. She stared at the step, then heaved herself in with a grunt.
“You’re really not a morning person, are you?”
“I’m a terrific morning person after my first cup of coffee,” Brooke said.
“Before that, talk to her at your peril,” Jordan warned him.
“You tell him, Cookie.” She sounded exhausted.
“Thanks, Trev. Let me run back to the truck. We left some stuff there when we thought we’d be walking.” It only took him a minute to run back and grab the blankets and towels, but by the time he got back, Brooke was asleep in the back seat.
“Did you really spend the night in Shelley’s Shack?” Trevor asked once they were underway.
“Yeah.”
“Was anybody else there? Stranded like you?”
His son’s voice sounded strained. Then again, Trevor was pulling onto the highway, and there was a lot of traffic for him to navigate as he crossed the road to head back to town.
“No, but that’s a good point. I’ll check the other cottages when I come back for my truck. I hope anyone who was stranded did find shelter. That storm was no joke.”
“I swung by the house. A tree fell into the shed.”
“We can fix it. The important thing is that nobody was hurt.”
Trevor looked at him when they were stopped at a red light. “How did you get in? Spare key?”
“No, I broke one of the windows in the door. I’ll get cleaned up, then hit Handler Hardware and replace it. Actually, I’ll call Joe Piney, let him know about that and the storm damage, and offer to take care of the downed tree too, to save them the trip to Holiday Beach.”
“It would be good if they didn’t have to come out,” Trevor agreed. “I mean, they already closed it for the year, and you were there and didn’t see anything wrong inside. I can help you with the tree. I’ll be able to use the chainsaw since you’ll be there.” The tension left his voice as he added with a cheer, “More firewood for bonfires.”
“Bonfires sound cool,” Jordan added, speaking for the first time.
“Maybe we can have you over for one soon,” Aaron offered.
“Okay.”
He’d mentioned it to Brooke before, and she’d been agreeable. Knowing that her daughter was too—that Jordan was willing to spend some time with him and Trevor—let Aaron breathe a little easier. He wasn’t thinking of creating an instant family but having both teenagers willing to let them figure things out meant a lot.
Trevor pulled into the visitor parking spot behind the Portmans’ apartment. It took them a minute to wake Brooke, and another minute to get her out of the car. She kissed him absently on the cheek, thanked Trevor for the ride, then let Jordan walk her into the building.
“Wow, she is so not a morning person,” Trevor said.
“That’s an understatement.”
“But I like her anyway.
Aaron smiled. “Me too.”
Chapter 18
It wasn’t a perfect evening for a bonfire. It had rained again the day before, and the clouds were still hanging around, so the chairs and logs around the Gillespie firepit weren’t completely dry. The moon and stars stayed hidden, but Aaron had enough lights in the backyard and shining through the window to keep them from stumbling around in the dark.
The fire, though, was wondrous. The pit itself was a steel barrel cut in half, dropped a foot into the earth. Large, curved bricks three layers thick encircled it, giving them enough of a lip to set their feet on without risk of melting the soles of their shoes. A garden hose snaked its way between the two Adirondack chairs closest to the house.
The fire had been roaring when they arrived, the flames jumping four feet high and sparks showering twice that height when the heat ignited sap left in the wood. Now the fire had died back, and logs had settled. A bank of coals glowed red in the evening light and pumped out heat to keep the chill out of the air, but it wasn’t warm enough for them to take off their jackets.
“Dad, now?” Trevor asked.
“I think it’s time,” he agreed.
Brooke watched the teenager sprint back into the house. “Time for what?”
“S’mores. I’m not saying my son is a chocolate addict—”
“But I am,” Trevor shouted from the door.
“—but in this case, he’s right. A fire isn’t a fire without s’mores.”
“October is the best time for s’mores because off all the mini candy bars available. It’s a wonderland of chocolate goodness. They’re even better on a weeknight because of an in-service day at the school. Chocolate and days off are the perfect combination,” Jordan said.
“Jordan is another chocolate afficionado,” Brooke offered. This was a very laid-back getting-to-know-you conversation she had no worries about.
“At least I have good taste when it comes to Halloween candy, unlike some people,” her daughter teased.
“Trevor and I have an agreement. He goes trick or treating and gets all the chocolates, and I get all the gummy candies if l let him off the hook for his weekend chores,” Aaron shared.
“You’re a grown-up. You can buy yourself a box of Swedish berries,” Brooke said.
“Making Trevor do the work is more fun.”
“I heard that,” Trevor said as he returned with a tray covered in graham cracker packages, mini-bars, and a bag of marshmallows. “I’ll happily sort my trick-or-treat haul to get out of vacuuming. I hate vacuuming.”
“Gummies are okay. My mom, on the other hand, has horrible taste in candy. You’ll never guess what she likes.” Jordan made a face like she was sucking a sour lemon.
“That awful taffy with the orange wrappers,” Trevor suggested.
“Tootsie rolls,” Aaron said with a shudder.
“Both good guesses for the worst candy, but no. Licorice. Even those gross packs with four short ropes of red licorice that are stuck together. She buys the leftovers after Hal
loween, and I have to watch her eat it till Christmas. So gross!”
“That is pretty gross, Brooke. I mean, licorice,” Aaron teased.
“Licorice is a classic candy, and I stand by my choice.”
“You’ll be standing alone.”
“More for me then,” she said stubbornly. She’d caught flack her whole life for making Red Vines her first choice at the concession stand when she went to see a movie. Some people didn’t know a good thing when it was right in front of them. “Take your chocolate and your gummy candies, and I’ll keep all the licorice yumminess to myself.”
“If we can keep the chocolate, do you still want a s’more?”
“Of course! I was being sarcastic. I still eat chocolate.” She wasn’t a huge fan of being teased, but if it gave Jordan and the guys something to bond over, she’d suffer it happily. Besides, it was hard to stay mad when dessert was on the table.
Jordan toasted her marshmallow carefully, only letting it turn the lightest shade of tan before she squished it between two crackers. Trevor, on the other hand, stuck his stick straight into the heart of the fire and let his marshmallow turn into a flaming, crusty black ball before assembling his s’more. Brooke accidentally had a couple black spots, and Aaron browned his like an old pro.
“How’s school going, Jordan?” Aaron asked after they were stuffed with sugary goodness.
“Classes are fine. Mom needs to come in to talk to the principal after school tomorrow.”
“Are you in trouble?”
“I’m going to be.” She shrugged, and Brooke grinned. She already knew what was coming and looked forward to meeting with Principal Kelly. After three years of high school, they were on a first-name basis.
“Do you need help?”
“If you want to email the school board about why my first opinion piece of systematic gender bias in the district’s dress code policy is a valid criticism, it might help. The board is meeting tonight. They’re going to decide whether or not to accept the student council’s invitation to come and discuss our proposed amendments.”
Brooke laughed when Aaron blinked. Twice. If he wanted to get to know the Portmans, he was going to get the full picture. “What? Is this the thing you told me about, Brooke?” he asked.
“Yes,” was all Brooke had time to say before her daughter took over the conversation.
“The school board’s dress code is sexist, and on top of that, they enforce it more on female students than they do on male students. Then they double down when it comes to female students who are more developed than their peers. It’s judgemental and insulting to both sexes.”
“To both sexes?” Aaron parroted.
He looked shocked when Trevor chimed in. “Yeah, Dad. Nothing like being told as a teenaged boy you lack the self-control to stop yourself from sexually assaulting a girl in the classroom because you’re overcome by lust after seeing her shoulders when guys are allowed to wear tank tops.”
Jordan reached out to give him a high-five. So did Brooke.
Aaron leaned forward in his deck chair. “You said it was the first piece. What’s the second piece going to be?”
“Gender bias in parking assignments. It comes out next week,” Jordan said.
“I thought that was done by a draw. Isn’t that the fairest way?” Aaron asked.
“Boys get seventy-five percent of the spots.”
“What?” Outrage was plain on his red face. “That’s not fair. Student spots should be fifty-fifty, or close enough after a draw. How has nobody noticed before?”
“Oh, the leftover parking spots are split about fifty-fifty. The problem is the football team getting first dibs on the student spots.”
“That’s always been a perk for the team,” Trevor said.
“A perk not available to any female students.” Jordan raised her eyebrows, daring them to say something.
Aaron frowned. “The boys have earned it. They’ve made it to State.”
“The women’s volleyball team has made it to State twice in the last five years. The football team has only made it once. Why doesn’t the most successful team get it?”
“Because volleyball isn’t football,” Aaron said. Then he snapped his mouth shut. “I’m pretty sure I just put my foot in it.”
“That’s not fair,” Trevor said.
“For you or for me?” Jordan asked. “I didn’t mean to start a fight tonight. No matter which side people are on, it’s going to get everybody talking. Hence, planning on Mom spending yet more quality time with Principal Kelly and having to go to more school board meetings with me.”
Her little girl once asked her if she caused too much trouble. Brooke’s immediate response was, “Not at all.” Brooke had done her share of fighting the good fight, and she wasn’t done yet. The fact that her daughter was still protesting dress codes like her mother had twenty years earlier was infuriating.
“Speaking of the school board, how did your meeting go with them about the book, Brooke?” Aaron asked.
She was grateful for the subject change; his son didn’t look impressed with Jordan at the moment. As for the meeting, Aaron had told her that he wasn’t going to be able to attend that meeting, but he hadn’t asked about it since. She thought he’d forgotten about it entirely. “They’re considering their literature options for the second semester. Mr. Tambo was not amused. I was. Team Portman, dragging the Holiday Beach School Board into the new millennium one book at a time.”
“Even though the new millennium started more than two decades ago,” Jordan noted.
“We didn’t live here then,” Brooke quipped.
“I, for one, will welcome our new benevolent literary overlords. Anyone who can annoy Mr. Tambo and drag him out of his boring 1950s world vision is a friend of mine,” Trevor said.
The kids each made themselves another s’more. Brooke begged off due to sugar overload. Aaron joked around about making Trevor run around the block to wear off his extra energy, but he was less exuberant than he’d been at the start of the evening.
When Trevor and Jordan took the leftover ingredients back into the house, Brooke dragged her chair closer to Aaron. “You got quiet.”
“Do you know how many times I’ve been called to the principal’s office for something Trevor’s done?”
“He seems a pretty good kid. Twice?”
“Never. Don’t you get frustrated when they call you in because of Jordan?”
Brooke got frustrated by the never-ending battle. She was weary of explaining that equal wasn’t a bad word. But tired of supporting her daughter? “I would if she was called in for doing something stupid, but she’s not. So, no. I’m proud of her.”
“I don’t think Trevor is as civic-minded as Jordan. We have very different children.”
“But we both have great children, which is the important thing.”
“I have to admit I’m having trouble seeing your side. I’d be mad at Trevor, but you’re right there swinging away with her.”
“I’m a grown-up. People can ignore kids. They have a harder time sticking their fingers in their ears and singing “la-la-la” when there’s another adult in the room. Besides, somebody’s got to do it.”
She could tell he didn’t like her answer. Thin lines spread across his forehead. His hands opened and fingers splayed, then clenched tight again. She planned to give him a minute to speak his mind before asking him outright, but he only need thirty seconds. “I’m thinking back to the protest outside City Hall this past May. The one with the news crew from Duluth. You were there,” he noted.
“The town council wasn’t going to repair the entrance ramp to the library after they closed it for repairs in February, but they were prepared to double the fireworks budget for the Fourth of July display. People needed the ramp. All we did was present them with the opportunity to see how their decisions appeared to the public, especially when it affected local citizens and not just visiting tourists.”
He sighed deeply. “Do you have a
ny other protests planned besides the ones with the school board? Other wrongs to be righted? Voters’ rights? Health care access? Save the whales?”
“Save the whales? In Minnesota?”
“Still, should I get you a cape for your birthday?”
“It’s not for a few months, but a cape is a great idea. But no, I don’t have any protests on the calendar at the moment.”
“Good. I think it would really hamper our relationship if I had to arrest you.”
“Only if you arrest the other guy too, because he will have it coming.”
He sighed again, but this one had a bit of humor to it. “It’s not going to be easy with you, is it?”’
Brooke laughed. “I thought we already discussed this. No, it’s not but it’ll be worth it.”
Chapter 19
Aaron paused as he scraped the razor across his face. He could admit it to himself: he’d been worried after the bonfire. He knew that Brooke had a good heart but hearing about how often she and Jordan campaigned for change made him realize that it was going to be difficult if their paths crossed when he was in uniform. On the other hand, he respected her ethics and couldn’t ask her not to be herself.
Fortunately, tonight was all about celebrating with no controversies involved. He was taking Brooke out for a nice dinner celebrating the fact she was done with the monstrous assignment she’d been working on that had been filling so many of her evenings. She’d been putting in tons of hours on top of her weekly class and study group.
“Whoa, Dad, hot date?”
He was in a dark navy suit, white shirt, and red tie. At Trevor’s words, he stood straighter. “Celebratory supper for Brooke.”
“Did she get a new job or something?”
“No, she finished a big project for school.”
“That’s cool. Tell her congratulations for me.”
He was happy to note that Brooke was treating their night at Colombo’s as a big occasion as well when he arrived to pick her up. She looked stunning in a dark blue dress with silver threads running through it. Unlike him, she had a proper jacket. Between her high heels and short skirt, it took her an extra minute to get into his truck.
