Читать книгу Take My Hand - Ruth Scofield - Страница 11

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.

She tossed her things into the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel.

Only it wouldn’t start. The motor made an irritating grinding sound, but wouldn’t catch. She tried again with the same results. Then she got out of the car.

This topped her day. It really did. She felt like kicking tires or something, like one of her students might. If that would help—which it wouldn’t. Her hands on her hips, she merely stared at the vehicle. Now what?

“Trouble, Miss Richmond?” A deep voice startled her.

She glanced over her shoulder. J.D. strolled her way. He had a lazy grace when he wasn’t angry or tense. A naturalness. Something that didn’t come from a gym.

Alexis hadn’t noticed him sitting in the old black truck parked on the street—half the population of this country town owned trucks. She glanced that way, wondering where Cliff was. The boy leaned out the window, looking bored. He didn’t wave. She supposed he was still miffed with her.

“Yes. I suppose I’d better call someone. I don’t believe there’s a dealership in town for my car.”

“I know a little about mechanics.”

“Ah…yes. I suppose you do.” In her opinion, most men arrogantly assumed they knew about motors and that women had no clue.

“Don’t know if I can help. Small engines are my specialty.”

“Sorry.” She felt her cheeks flush. Of course he might know something about motors. She’d forgotten what his business was. “I hadn’t thought…”

“Let me take a look-see.”

“All right. That’s very kind of you.” On the playground adjoining the parking lot, Alexis heard the thump-thump of a basketball hitting the pavement. High school kids often used the grounds after school.

J.D. leaned past her, bending to the button inside her car and popping the hood. She stepped out of his way, murmuring, “Thank you.”

“I haven’t done anything yet.”

A disembodied voice backed by static began to give out information: “North on old Chaney Road…they need an ambulance…”

Looking for the source, she spotted a two-way radio clipped to J.D.’s belt. He ignored it and didn’t respond.

“Are you on an emergency response team?” she asked idly. Home-grown resources were good to know, and she filed away the knowledge in her teacher’s mental file.

“Volunteer fireman. Not much need this past year, though, since Sunny Creek raised enough money to go with a couple of full-timers.”

She heard the slam of the truck door. Cliff ran over and leaned under the yawning hood. His dark hair in his eyes, he nudged closer and hitched himself higher, almost crawling into the engine.

“Move, Cliff,” J.D. muttered, though not unkindly.

Cliff’s attention didn’t last long. The boy soon wandered over to watch the ballplayers. Another youth streamed by on his skateboard, instantly engaging Cliff’s interest.

“Do you know what’s wrong?” Alexis asked. As old as the car was, the problem might be anything. She only prayed it wouldn’t cost an arm to have fixed.

“Um…there’s a break in the radiator hose.”

“Uh-oh. How hard is that to fix?”

“Can’t. You need a new one.”

“Can I get one tonight?”

“Probably not. Don’t worry about it. Cliff and I can run you home, and I’ll come by in the morning and put a new one on for you.”

He sounded competent and unexpectedly kind, but she wasn’t too sure if she should accept his offer. This was a small town. People noticed when a teacher didn’t arrive home in her own vehicle. They’d raise an eyebrow if a teacher became friends with a single father.

Yet she didn’t relish walking the nearly two miles to her apartment tonight.

“Well…” Alexis glanced toward the school building. She could always beg a ride with Mrs. Henderson, the principal. Her car was in the lot, so she was still there. Yet who knew when Lavinia would be ready to leave?

“Cliff!” J.D. called, seeming to take for granted that she had accepted his offer. “Let’s go.”

Though they could see him trailing after the skate-boarder, Cliff didn’t respond.

“Da— Um—” J.D. caught himself, giving her a rueful glance, letting her know she was the reason. Humor edged his mouth when he checked his language. “Drat, the boy. He ignores me all too often.” J.D. raised his voice. “Cliff!”

“It’s really kind of you to help, Mr. Sullivan, but I don’t want to put you out.” She wasn’t sure it was the thing to do—letting him know where she lived. Although, in this small town it wouldn’t take much detective work to find her—if someone really wanted to know. “You have your shop to get back to, I’m sure. And Cliff to take care of. Why don’t I just—”

But her thought was interrupted when Cliff finally headed toward them. J.D. jerked his chin toward the truck and gestured for her to move.

“Just hold on to your patience, Miss Richmond, and climb in.” J.D. held the truck door wide, handing Cliff onto the bench seat with ease. Then he held out a hand to her.

It would be ridiculous to refuse. Of course it would.

“We’ll have you home in no time,” he said. “Five minutes more away from my shop right now won’t make a difference. I’ll be open a little later anyway, since it’s Friday night.”

“Oh…um…” she muttered, contemplating the vehicle. The aged truck no longer had a step up. The only way she’d make it into that seat was to elevate her skirt high enough to give herself the mobility she needed to climb. But to refuse would be totally un-gracious.

“Thank you.” Throwing modesty to the winds, she hiked her purse to her shoulder, tossed her book bag before her, then lifted her skirt above her knees. She hadn’t a hand left to grab anything to pull herself up.

His hand slipped under her elbow as she stepped up to reach the truck floor. For half an instant, she felt his warm breath on her cheek. Then she was up on the black leather seat next to Cliff.

“I do appreciate it,” she said, turning just as his eyes lifted from her legs. His mouth softened as his gaze skittered away. She tugged her skirt back to her knees, feeling her cheeks flush like a teenager’s.

She hadn’t blushed in years.

“But if you don’t mind—” she gently cleared her throat “—let me out at Fifth and Dogwood, please. I’m expected at a friend’s house.”

That should do it. He needn’t know that she planned to spend her Friday evening with eighty-eight-year-old Mrs. Nelson.

He needn’t think she was flirting with him, either.