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“This is outrageous.” Mr. Anderson half rose in his chair. “Can we at least have some oversight? Proof this has worked beyond Ms. Day’s report? Given her lack of tenure, I believe she should be held more accountable.”
Rebecca flushed, recalling that his wife served on the school board. Hadn’t she been elected president this year? No wonder he thought he could throw his weight around when it came to Rebecca. Her colleagues had been careful not to mention the board’s delay on her employment status after January, February, March, and then April meetings rolled past without her name on the agenda. To have it thrown in her face so publically was humiliating.
“We always do an Adirondack hiking trip in the summer, don’t we, Jim?” interjected the assistant principal. “We could stop by for the talent show—I mean the showcase—and see how everything’s going. Add our observations to Ms. Day’s report.”
Rebecca’s heart sank. Of course she didn’t have any intention of lying on her report about the success of the trip and her students, but now she’d have the superintendent himself looking over her shoulder. What if the kids didn’t perform well in the showcase? Demonstrate enough improvement to satisfy him? It took a professional eye, like hers, to see the value in even small gains. So much rode on the showcase now, when it’d been intended to be a low-pressure summative expression of their experience.
The superintendent rubbed the bald patch on his head. “Sounds like a good compromise. I agree then, that Connor will attend this retreat and—” he peered at the slouched teen until the boy met his eye “—we’ll revisit the expulsion decision based on Ms. Day’s report of your behavior while away, as well as my firsthand—” he raised an eyebrow at a frowning Mr. Anderson “—observation of student behavior and performance at the showcase. In the meantime, Connor will finish the school year at our off-site facility, where we expect exemplary behavior and attendance. Understood, young man?”
Connor jerked his chin in the barest of nods, then closed his eyes as though going to sleep.
“And when does this program start, Ms. Day?” The assistant principal tapped on her tablet drawing up a monthly schedule screen.
“We’d planned on the end of June.”
Mrs. Williams leaned close to Rebecca and whispered, “FYI, board members and staff—” her eyes swerved to Mr. Anderson “—are raising doubts about your tenure decision and plan to hold off on voting about it until the summer. If you don’t impress the superintendent, there’s a chance you might get denied and be let go.”
Something like a cold headache jabbed Rebecca between the eyebrows as she heard her suspicions confirmed.
“So we have to meet again during the summer,” Mr. LaValley noted, cheeks puffing. “Will we be paid for the extra hours?”
“Noncalendar hours are always compensated,” affirmed the superintendent, his tone abrupt, his expression impatient.
“And you agree with this plan, Mr. Walsh?” trumpeted the red-faced math teacher, Mr. Anderson.
Aiden nodded slowly, shifting in his seat. “I don’t see that I have a choice, though I doubt it’ll make a difference. He’d be better off put to work at the school than fishing and hiking.”
She raised an eyebrow, maintaining her professional facade while her insides twisted and crumpled. “Then it’s a good thing you’ll be there to witness it yourself.” Connor needed attention and she’d guarantee the kid would receive it.
Aiden blinked at her. “Come again?”
“As I believe your relationship with Connor is contributing to his behavioral problems, a condition of Connor attending the wilderness retreat is that you accompany him. You’ll be one of our chaperones.”
Aiden’s mouth worked and Rebecca didn’t bother holding back her small smile. “Consider it a mandatory request.”
* * *
AIDEN COULDN’T BELIEVE the woman he’d dreamed of last night, searched for this morning and thought of nonstop was at the meeting he’d dreaded. Worse, she offered his brother salvation, while simultaneously putting Aiden in the worst position possible. He had Mary Ann to pitch in and take care of the family, along with a neighbor who watched his mother during the weekdays, but he couldn’t just take off work. As it was, his weekly tallies barely kept them in the black. What would happen without him at the wheel? Especially with the tourist season starting to peak?
“Ms. Day?” he called as the faculty ambled out of the meeting room. “A word?”
The curvy woman turned in the doorway and her blue eyes studied him cautiously. Gone was the affable woman who’d disarmed him last night, replaced by a polished professional. Still, with Psycho Therapist emblazoned on her mug, and her crazy ideas for getting Connor in line, she didn’t fool Aiden. She might have the job title, but she didn’t have the skills. Not when it came to managing teenage boys.
“Yes?” She moved aside as the last of the educators exited, leaving him and a still-seated Connor alone.
“I’ll need to send my sister Mary Ann in my place.”
Instead of answering, Rebecca turned to his brother. “Connor, since you’re still not officially readmitted, please have a seat in the main office until Aiden comes for you.”
The youth shoved back his chair and paused as he passed her, his oversize Converse sneakers treading on one another. “I made this for you.” He pulled something from his backpack and shoved it into her hand, then stalked through the doorway without seeming to hear her thank-you.
“Origami,” Rebecca muttered, staring at the folded-paper dragon and shaking her head.
Aiden shared her surprise. When had his brother learned to do that? Aiden knew Connor had gotten into Anime and Manga. Had even asked about Tae Kwon Do classes—which Aiden couldn’t afford. Was this another part of his sudden curiosity in Japanese culture? Interesting...especially when so little caught apathetic Connor’s attention.
A bell shrilled and the sounds of shouting, screeching kids penetrated the room. Rebecca put her folder and the dragon on the table, crossed her arms and looked up at Aiden. “I’m sorry about last night. The combined effects of the muscle relaxers and NyQuil I’d taken made me groggy and I wasn’t myself.” She cleared her throat and shoved back her shoulders. “We didn’t meet under the best circumstances, but I hope we can put that behind us for Connor’s sake.”
He nodded. She was right. So why did he keep noticing how pretty she looked in her navy skirt and silky top? Time to focus. His brother was in trouble.
“I’m afraid having Mary Ann instead of you won’t work.”
“And why not?” he retorted, moving restlessly, as if life was about to spring another trap. “She’s Connor’s older sister. A per diem nurse who makes her own work schedule. It’d be handy to have a health care worker there.”
“We already have that covered. What I need is the source of Connor’s problem. You.”
“Me?” Aiden squelched his rising ire. “I work hard to make sure the kid has a roof over his head, food on the table and clothes on his back. What more does he need?”
“That’s for you to find out on this trip.”
An older woman appeared in the doorway. “Ms. Day, you’re needed down in the girls’ locker room. Caitlin, I mean, one of your students—is refusing to change or leave one of the stalls.”
“I’ll be right there,” Rebecca assured her, before turning back to Aiden. “You can contact me later today with any further questions. Otherwise, I’ll see you in a few weeks. Pack warm. The Adirondacks can get chilly at night. Even at that time of year.”
Casting an irritating smirk over her shoulder, she strode from the room, leaving him to stare at the empty space she’d occupied.
Aggravating. Infuriating. Stubborn woman.
Aiden hadn’t taken more than a day off in—he wasn’t even sure how many years. Even Mary Ann’s wedding had been held in the pub.
And the business would suffer without his vigilance. As a per diem nurse at an assisted living facility, his sister could take time off to work at the tavern, but the operation needed his oversight. They couldn’t afford even a bad week’s take, let alone two. Ms. Day’s crazy ideas were no longer simply affecting Connor. They threatened a livelihood he’d never asked for...but must make succeed, nonetheless.
CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_1dcc4dde-3ca7-50c9-b0dd-3a3bef4fdb53)
EIGHT WEEKS LATER, Aiden polished off the last of his ham sandwiches and crumpled the paper bag. It nearly flew from his grip as the school bus jerked over another bump in the dirt road they’d turned onto a mile ago. After eight hours of sitting on cracked, stiff vinyl seats, his cell phone calls to his sister dropping before he could finish last-minute instructions, next to a tuned-out Connor huddled against the window, Aiden wanted the ride to the Adirondack camp to be over.
Yet the dense forest they’d plunged into an hour north of Albany seemed unending. Here and there yellow-green birches appeared among the deep green pines and rustling maples and oaks. Except for a sprinkling of wildflowers, the roadsides lacked the color bursting from street-side planters in his neighborhood. Summer must come late in Upstate New York. Despite it still being June, souring heat already gripped the city.
Here, the crisp air flowing through the window carried the scents of fir trees, wisps of hickory smoke and something fruity...berries. How long since he’d breathed anything beyond exhaust fumes? He studied the wilderness and the towering peaks that’d loomed into view not long ago. They were a different sort of skyscraper than he was used to and more impressive. No wonder this place had convinced his wandering forest ranger brother, Liam, to settle down. Of course his new fiancée, Vivie, had a lot to do with that, as well, Aiden mused.
Amazing that in just one year, his sister had married and two of his brothers, Liam and Niall, had gotten engaged. They had everything Aiden had worked hard for them to achieve: careers and partners of their choice. So why wasn’t he satisfied? When he’d taken over for his father, he’d made peace with letting go of his own aspirations. Yet watching his siblings exchange loving looks with their partners, their unimpeded futures opening before them, he felt a yearning take hold for something more...
But what else could he have? Handle? His life stretched him thin enough to break. While his parents had been in charge, their lives seemed secure and balanced. Now everything, from the struggling tavern, to his mother’s erratic health and now Connor’s possible expulsion from high school, fell short of his father’s standards. Especially Aiden. And according to Ms. Day, he’d also failed Connor.
Perhaps he should accept the financial help his siblings offered and not let his pride stop him from taking handouts. But he was also concerned that if he piled on obligations, they might struggle. He felt great satisfaction in seeing them achieve their dreams and didn’t want anything to get in their way. He just had to do better. Connor, too.
He glanced across the aisle to the bright-haired woman chatting amiably to a man who leaned far too close to her, in Aiden’s estimation. The guy’s loud laugh at each of Ms. Day’s comments grated. Was he here to help kids or hit on women? Their jovial antics set off a slow, steady burn in Aiden’s gut. This “intervention” was nothing but a vacation for the kids and the adults...all but him.
He’d have to work even harder, remotely, to ensure things ran smoothly at home, while keeping an eye on his wayward brother and ensuring he was prepared for the superintendent at the final showcase. Was it too much to ask that Ms. Day keep his brother in check? Aiden stared at her laughing profile and tensed. Nope. She looked ready for fun. Not structure. Connor needed guidance and discipline. If he acted out, got expelled, he might lose the opportunities Aiden wanted for him. The bright future the kid deserved.
Speaking of whom...
“Connor,” he said into his brother’s ear.
The boy jerked away, banged his temple on the metal separating the bus windows, and glared at Aiden. Or seemed to. With his bangs obscuring the upper half of his face, it was hard to tell.
“What the fu—?” he growled, his attempt to sound tough ruined as his voice cracked, vacillating between its upper and lower registers.
“Language,” Aiden said, glancing swiftly at the back of Ms. Day’s head.
“Oh. Right.” Connor shoved back his hair and rolled his eyes. “Like you don’t swear.”
Aiden snatched his brother’s hand-me-down cell phone, a gift from Mary Ann, and unplugged the earbuds. “Enough.”
“Whatever,” he muttered. “Now give me back my cell.”
“No. You’re going to listen to me first.”
“Yeah, like you listen to me.” Connor’s lower lip pushed out and red blotches appeared on his pale face.
Aiden’s hands balled on his lap. Behind them a couple kids started chanting “A hundred bottles of beer on the wall” and Ms. Day rose and scooted down the aisle.
“You’re not going to screw this up,” Aiden stated. “Got it? When the superintendent comes, I want you to—”
“Screw what up? It’s my life. I’ll do what I want.” Connor plugged the wire back into the phone.
Anger boiled up Aiden’s throat and singed his tongue. He grabbed the phone and pocketed it, making Connor jump. “It’s not your life until you’re eighteen. Until then, you follow my rules or get the consequences.”
“As in grounded?” Connor’s narrow mouth trembled at the corners. “You’ll make me stay home after school every day to watch Mom, Daniel and Ella? Oh. Wait.” He tapped his chin, his tone biting. “I already do that.”
“Things can get worse,” Aiden threatened. “I’ll take away your Xbox.”
“Have it. I barely get to play it as it is.”
“And your TV.”
“Same thing.”
“Connor—”
The scent of something floral and exotic enveloped him as Ms. Day stopped at their seat. Leaned close.
“Is everything all right here?” she asked, her voice so low Aiden strained to hear it over the bus chatter.
Concerned blue eyes fell on Connor, who ceased grabbing for the cell and subsided in the seat’s corner.
“Fine,” muttered Aiden. The hairs on his forearms rose when her hand gripped his shoulder as the bus bounced. She swayed on her feet and he nearly gave in to the impulse to grab her waist and steady her. No denying it, she attracted him like no other woman he’d ever met.
“Connor?” she prompted, as if she hadn’t heard Aiden’s assurance.
“I want my phone.” Connor brought his foot up to the seat and rested his head on his knee.
She squatted so that she was at eye level with the boy and Aiden’s chest. He shifted, uncomfortably aware of her proximity and his response to it. “And why did you lose it?”
Connor shrugged and turned his face away, speaking to the window. “Ask him.”
Ms. Day peered up at Aiden, the sudden, intense focus of her stare doing something strange to his heart. “What happened?”
“I wanted him to listen to me, so I took it away.”
She blinked long blond lashes. “Did you ask him for it?”
This was ridiculous. Was she trying to counsel him on the bus? The retreat hadn’t even started.
“No. I didn’t ask him.”
“Why not?”
Connor looked up and glanced between the two of them.
“Because he wouldn’t have given it to me.”
“How do you know?”
“Look. How long have you known my brother? A month or so? I’ve known him for fourteen years. Raised him for ten of them. I think I know him better than you.” Aiden shoved the cell phone back at Connor who, contrarily, glanced at it, then refused to take it. What was the kid trying to prove? That Aiden wasn’t guardian of the year? He didn’t have time to worry about that.
So why, under Ms. Day’s observant stare, did it seem to matter?
“Connor, would you have stopped listening to your music if Aiden asked you?” she inquired in that oh-so-reasonable tone that put Aiden on the defensive.
“Probably not.”
Aiden shot him a surprised look. At last. Honesty. Then again, he’d never known his brother to be a liar.
Ms. Day nodded slowly. “We’ll schedule some family counseling sessions and focus on communication, then.”
A short laugh escaped Aiden. “You think that’s all we need? To talk more?”
She rose and gripped the back of the seat, her pretty face looking less assured. “I think it’s a starting point.”
Her graceful back bent as she slid past her eager seatmate and resumed their animated conversation. Connor plugged in his earbuds and slouched against the window. Aiden leaned his head back on the seat and stared up at the rounded bus ceiling.
A starting point...
Her naive words lingered in his ear, curled through his mind, fired up his imagination. He glanced at his zoned-out sibling.
What new beginning could they have?
They might be sitting close now, but he felt farther from his brother than ever. Would Connor show the necessary progress needed to convince the superintendent in just two weeks?
