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Walking back to the front of the room, she noticed J.D. had edged toward the door. “The boy is building for a good walloping before long,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. “If he doesn’t straighten up soon.”
Maybe J.D. wasn’t so charming after all, Alexis thought. The thought of “walloping” any child put her back up. But he was a father on the edge. A parent who needed help. “I don’t think a spanking would solve anything….”
He rubbed a spot between his eyes with his thumb. “Kept me up and down three nights running since he came. My ex spoiled him rotten….”
That explained some of the irritation.
“Both of you must be worn out,” she said, letting her sympathy show. “It does take time to adjust to a new environment, Mr. Sullivan. I’m sure Cliff’s behavior will improve once we get him settled and he understands where his boundaries are. Now about the IEP…”
“Uh-huh. Um…what is it again?”
“An Individualized Education Plan for Cliff. It sets out the goals for a child for one full calendar year. His meds intake should have a firm routine as a part of that. I’ll call you after I’ve looked over the papers, to set up the meeting.”
“The school year is winding down, isn’t it? Don’t see what good it would do this late.”
“More than you can imagine, Mr. Sullivan. At least we’ll have a handle on Cliff’s problems for next year, as well. We need to be in agreement here, with all parties involved in full understanding of what’s best for Cliff. What we’re trying to accomplish for your son.”
“Yeah, okay. Well, you’re the teacher,” he said with an air of finality. “Anything you say, I’ll do it.”
With that, J. D. Sullivan nearly raced from the room.
“A paddle would do more good, if you ask me,” J.D. muttered all the way out to his truck. “Even just the threat. Brat!”
He turned the ignition key of his ’79 truck, put the shift into gear and barely refrained from roaring out of the school parking lot. Here it was noon, and there was no one minding his shop.
He continued to talk to himself. “Melanie did a good job at spoiling the kid. Only one way to fix that.”
Yet J.D. wasn’t ready to actually carry out his threat. He’d never laid a hand on Cliff in anger—nor on Melanie, in spite of their volatile marriage. But Cliff was only four when Melanie took him from Missouri to California, and now… J.D. simply didn’t know what to do with the son now in his keeping. He’d missed the past five years of fathering.
It was all well and good for smooth-as-silk Miss Richmond to talk. With that fancy education the principal had told him about, Miss Richmond could spout with ease all that stuff that modern teachers knew about how a misbehaving child should be taught. But that wouldn’t help him at home. How was he supposed to cope when Cliff hated him? When they didn’t know each other? When the boy whined constantly?
In the alley off Sunny Creek’s main street, he pulled into his spot behind the shop and sat a moment. He leaned his head against his fist, his elbow supported on the steering wheel. He let his breath whoosh from his lungs. He was already tired, and the day was only half over.
How much trouble was he in? He and his son?
What was he going to do?
Oh, Lord, I need Your help…. I feel like a dunce! I’m in over my head here and I don’t know how to handle my own son. Can You tell me what to do?
It had been years since he’d addressed his creator—since he was a boy. He’d neglected that aspect of his life with little guilt, finding a morning out on the lake fishing or simply sleeping late on Sundays more to his liking. Maybe the Lord wouldn’t hear him anymore.
He suddenly wished he kept a Bible at the shop. Perhaps some scripture might tell him something—give him some hope. The Bible is what his mom had turned to when she felt troubled. He had a Bible at home. Somewhere. But he wouldn’t even know where to look for it. Or what scripture to read.
He no longer was acquainted with any pastor in town, either. He’d feel a fool to go to one for help now, when he was desperate. Yet helping was something ministers did, wasn’t it?
That was something else he’d have to look into, he supposed. A church to attend. The one he’d known as a child, perhaps. Cliff would need friends.
Well, he didn’t have time to think more about it now. He’d turned off his cell phone to concentrate on getting Cliff enrolled in school. No telling how many calls he’d have waiting for him on his answering machine. Though he never ignored them, customers grew impatient when they couldn’t reach him easily.
As he unlocked the rear door and flicked on lights, his mood lightened a tad. This was his refuge, his territory. This was what he did well. Small-engine parts and repair. His customers knew he was the best in Missouri at small-engine repair. His reputation was known all over the lakes. He sold boat parts and limited equipment on the side, as well.
At least Cliff was safely at school with that pretty teacher. He could relax, knowing the kid wasn’t tearing up his house while he wasn’t looking. At least Cliff was out of trouble. And looking at Miss Richmond all day would be no hardship. None at all, with that honey-colored hair and those cool blue-green eyes. Her delicate features positively invited masculine attention, he mused. He’d never been so lucky when he was in school.
He’d almost lost his cool when he first saw her—shucks, he had, J.D. admitted. She’d looked good enough to tuck into his pocket any day.
He wondered where she was from. He hadn’t seen her around town before, and the town wasn’t all that big in the winter off-season. Sunny Creek sat at the northern edge of Truman Lake, an old town now three times the size of what it was when he was a boy. She must be one of the new people.
The phone rang, and he grabbed it on the third ring. “Sullivan’s Repair,” he answered, yanking his thoughts back from a womanly figure whose shapely calves peeking from a flowered hem had intrigued him.
It was just as well. No way would a woman like Miss Richmond look twice at a man like him. She’d go for one of those summertime intellectuals or a smart-mouth from the school board.
But you couldn’t shoot a man for merely looking. At least he’d see her again at the end of the school day.
Chapter Two
Two mornings later, Alexis shook her head, an unspoken regret rattling around her thoughts. She didn’t like having to call Mr. Sullivan so soon, but she had no choice. Cliff had caused a disruption. She’d expected such, but it had come more quickly than she’d anticipated.
“Kathy, can you keep an eye on things for five minutes?” Alexis treasured her para, the assistant teacher assigned to her class. Kathy, an attractive woman of middle years, had the patience of a saint. It also helped that her own child, now grown, had been a special-needs student. “I think I’ll make this call from the office, if you don’t mind.”
“Sure, Miss Richmond. Um, I have a better idea. We’ll take a trip to the library.”
“Bless you,” Alexis said, flashing Kathy a smile of gratitude.
Alexis waited until the students filed out, then closed the classroom door and pulled out her cell phone. Running her finger down the list of phone numbers, she found the one she sought and punched in J.D.’s shop number. She waited tentatively. After their first meeting, she wasn’t quite sure of the reception she’d get from the sexy Mr. Sullivan.
Now, why in the world had she thought of him with that tag? Sexy? She didn’t usually pigeonhole people with mere skin-deep descriptions.
Yet she couldn’t deny the label.
“Sullivan’s Repair.”
“Mr. Sullivan?” She jerked her thoughts back to the task at hand, activating her teacher’s voice. “This is Alexis Richmond. We need to see you as soon as possible. Can you come in this afternoon, right after the close of the school day?”
“Middle of the afternoon? Can’t do it.”
“Then, how about now, Mr. Sullivan? Immediately.”
“Why? What’s the rush?”
“Cliff’s behavior.” Calling on years of practice, she kept her tone nonjudgmental. “We need to discuss discipline.”
“What’s he done?”
“He hit another student. Hard. We cannot tolerate improper aggression of any degree, Mr. Sullivan. If you want your child to remain in public school, we must reach an understanding on how he is to be disciplined. There is a possibility that he could be facing an out-of-school suspension.”
A short silence followed, then he said, “Got into a fight, did he?”
“Not exactly.” In her opinion, a fight included participation from more than one person. Tyler, the other boy, hadn’t done much to defend himself. “Cliff over-reacted to a…verbal disagreement.”
“Is that all? Can’t you just shake him or stand him in the corner?”
Is that all the man could think of? To physically punish the boy? Pursing her lips, she mentally counted to ten.
“His behavior management will be much more effective if we work as a team, Mr. Sullivan.” She put an effort into firming her tone. “Cliff needs to know we are in agreement, and I don’t really think he needs…”
Alexis bit her tongue. She wanted to say the child needed love and hugs along with firm limitations. He needed years of parental companionship to teach him emotional balance and self-confidence. Plus a first-hand example of appropriate control of angry emotions. She suspected the child had missed out on all that.
According to the sketchy report she’d read, perhaps the father had, too.
Alexis changed her tactic. “Have you read your son’s paperwork, Mr. Sullivan?”
“Haven’t had time.”
Vexation flooded her thoughts, and she prayed for self-control. She brushed her hair behind her ear and shifted in her chair. How could a father be so uninterested? So what that he hadn’t been a part of his son’s life for years. He was the sole parent now!
But it wouldn’t do to show less command of herself than she expected of her students, and this wasn’t the first time she’d run into a difficult parent. The kind of problems her students exhibited often extended to include a misguided parent, but she was beginning to understand that this set of problems covered J.D. and Cliff in a different way.
So she spoke mildly. “I do hope you’ll take the time within the next day or so, Mr. Sullivan. Before we hold our IEP meeting.”
The next moment of silence seemed full of unspoken sentiments. Had he caught her irritation in spite of her best efforts?
“I’ll get to it,” he replied. “Meanwhile, Cliff can, um, just do without supper.”
“That’s not really the way I’d choose to help Cliff face his offense….”
Another pause. “All right. What do you want to do?”
The door swung wide, and her students trailed in, Kathy in the rear. Kathy raised her brow, a silent question conveyed. Alexis nodded, and signaled her to get the kids seated.
“I’ll give Cliff an after-school detention for now,” Alexis quickly said into the phone. “You can pick him up at four-thirty. Perhaps we can arrange for a meeting then?”
“Guess I can’t avoid it. Okay, I’ll be there.”
“Fine. I’ll expect you.”
Breathing a sigh of thankfulness, Alexis glanced at her watch. There was just enough left of the school day to tackle a short math lesson.
J.D. surprised her by arriving a few minutes early. Almost silently. She glanced up, and he was there, staring at her with a soft gaze.
Cliff and two other students sat in her room. She’d taken after-school duty, trading another teacher for her time. Kathy had offered to stay, too, but she had put in a lot of overtime throughout the winter, so Alexis had declined.
Cliff sat at his desk, refusing to look at her. For the past two hours he hadn’t looked at anyone. He’d sullenly refused to apologize to Tyler, insisting Tyler deserved his wrath. Tyler had laughed and made fun when Cliff missed hitting the ball in the softball game.
J.D. advanced into the room. “Okay, I’m here, Miss Richmond. Now what?”
“Why don’t you be seated, Mr. Sullivan, until I can dismiss the other students.” She briefly wondered what the “J.D.” stood for—she much preferred using complete names rather than initials. “Here, take this chair.”
It didn’t matter. He was “Mr. Sullivan” to her.
She went about closing out the day, knowing he watched everything she did. Grown men were a rarity in her classroom. From the corner of her eye, she noted J.D.’s long legs, clad in well-washed blue jeans, as he thrust them out in front of him and crossed his ankles. Her pulse quickened.
In her specialty, parent-teacher talks were often filled with tension, but not usually this kind: male to female.
What was wrong with her? She’d just broken off a two-year relationship that had been going nowhere, and she wanted time to recover from residual feelings. She was determined to give herself at least six months to a year before dating again. Heaven knows, a crush on a student’s father was certainly one thing she didn’t need right now. Or anytime, for that matter. Especially a careless lump who didn’t seem to have any natural instincts as a father.
Then she caught his gaze. The way he looked at her indicated he certainly didn’t lack other natural instincts. He exhibited very basic ones without any problem.
This would never do. She must be having a rebound reaction….
Mentally shaking herself, Alexis stilled her riotous thoughts. She was still the teacher and she had a job to do. Turning a competent face to J.D., she murmured, “All right, now…”
They talked with Cliff for fifteen minutes as Alexis explained her reasons for insisting the boy apologize to the child he’d whacked. “You need to own up to your actions, Cliff. That’s a part of growing up, you see. Learning to handle your anger correctly is tough, but I’m sure you can do it.”
J.D. listened as attentively as his son, but he surprised her further when he backed her up.
“If Miss Richmond says you have to apologize, then you have to. First thing Monday morning. Understand?”
Cliff started to debate the issue, but then, catching the stern look on his father’s face, he lost some of his belligerence. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Good,” Alexis said. This session had gone better than she had thought it might. “I’m sure things will improve for you soon.”
She excused Cliff. The child shot from his seat to glue himself to the windows.
Alexis turned to the father. “This is a positive step. It’s very difficult for a child to change schools so late in the year, and adjustments are especially hard for our special students. Now let’s find a time when all the professionals involved in Cliff’s welfare can meet with you, Mr. Sullivan.”
They set a time for early the following week. That gave J.D. time to read his son’s papers, and, hopefully, think about Cliff’s needs. Alexis rose and offered her hand to signal the meeting’s close.
“Thank you for coming in so promptly. I’m sure Cliff will settle in soon.”
“Hope so.” J.D. enveloped her small hand in his and shook it twice. His touch teased her senses.
She blinked and pulled her hand away. She pressed her lips together in tight denial. Dropping her lashes, she said, “’Bye, Cliff. See you tomorrow.”
Cliff dashed from the room without replying. J.D. gave her a curt nod, then turned to follow his son.
Alexis let out a long sigh, then gathered her briefcase and purse. She was eager to get home. She planned to pick up a carryout meal to drop by the home of Mrs. Nelson, a woman who attended the same church as she. The old dear had been house-bound a lot this past winter, and her daughter had recently moved. Alexis felt a heart tug to give the woman some needed company.
After that, she had a pile of papers to slog through. Plus some lesson plans to form. It would be enough to keep her from thinking too much about the sad state her personal life was in. She’d been on her way to planning a wedding when she discovered that life with Ron would never work. Ron was more interested in his ambitions than her. She’d broken off the engagement during spring break.
Alexis didn’t really regret her decision. She only regretted spending too much time on a man not right for her. In the end, she’d parted from Ron without a backward glance. But at thirty, she surely did wonder what God had in store for her now.
Yes, Lord. What now? She wanted a husband of her own to grown old with, a man and children to cherish. Yet she knew…the Lord hadn’t failed her. She was the one who kept falling for the wrong kind of guy.
Lord, am I destined to only teach children that are not my own? she couldn’t help asking. What more can I do? Will I never find an intelligent, Godly man with whom I can spend a lifetime?
Outside, she breathed deeply in the spring air. Only two months or so left of the school year. As much as she valued and thrived on teaching, she looked forward to the close of the long semester. She really needed this summer’s break. It was the first one in five years that she had free—she was neither teaching summer school nor attending a class.
Most of the school emptied out five minutes after the last bell rang. The spring weather coaxed everyone to enjoy the outdoors. As usual, she seemed to be one of the dawdlers. Only three cars, including her own, remained in the parking lot.
