by Codi Gary
“Anna Beth, are you alright?” her aunt asked.
“Oh yeah. It’s been a busy day. Just need a little power nap. It was nice seeing you again, Ernie.”
“You too.”
Anna Beth picked Mittens up and climbed the stairs slowly. When she reached her room, she sat on the bed, stroking the kitten’s soft fur. Mittens squirmed away from her to attack a bit of fluff on the floor and Anna Beth lay back on the bed, letting the tears slip down her cheeks.
She hated this confusion and hurt. Why couldn’t she have gone with her gut and kept her hands to herself?
Because it felt too amazing to ignore.
And now they were back to not talking because a couple of women thought they were a couple?
Put yourself in his shoes and how it might look. Especially if you do leave in less than three weeks.
Anna Beth knew her inner voice had a point, but she didn’t have to like it.
A few minutes went by and Mitten’s hopped onto the bed, cuddling into the crook of her arm. Anna Beth turned onto her side and snuggled with the kitten, the steady rumble of her purrs soothing her heartache.
She heard the front door open and close. Footfalls on the stairs told her someone was coming and she wiped at her face. Two soft raps on her door.
“Come in.”
She didn’t sit up when her aunt poked her head in.
“Hi. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just tired.”
To her surprise, Sarah came into her room and sat on the end of her bed. She placed a hand on her leg and squeezed her calf. “If you need me, I’m here to listen.”
Although they’d made leaps and bounds in their relationship the last few days, Anna Beth didn’t know how to talk to her aunt about men.
“Thank you. I’m fine,” Anna Beth said.
“If you’re sure…”
Sarah stood up, preparing to leave and loneliness ripped through Anna Beth, causing her to blurt out, “Ernie seems nice.”
Her aunt paused at the door and turned, her lips turning up softly. “He is. I enjoy his company.”
“That’s important. How did it happen?”
Sarah came back to the bed and sat. “I guess two years ago at the Sweetie Pie Dance. It’s the first one I ever went to that I entered a pie into the auction. Ernie won my pie and my company for the night. We’d been acquaintances all our lives, but that night changed something. He asked if he could take me to church on Sunday and after that, we spent all our free time together.”
“That’s really romantic.”
“I suppose it is.”
Silence stretched between them, until Anna Beth laughed. “I guess it’s strange for us to be talking about men.”
“Well, we’ve never done it before, but that’s my fault. I never had a lot of experience with boys and I didn’t make it easy for you to talk to me about anything.” Sarah stared at the floor, the vulnerable expression on her face, making her appear younger. “You looked so much like your mother. It made it hard to be around you at first. Then I’d done so much damage, I didn’t know how to repair it. Everything I tried you threw it back in my face.”
“I’m sorry, Sarah. I know I acted like a brat sometimes.”
Sarah dabbed at her eyes and this time; Anna Beth saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. “I never handled it right when you acted out. My parents weren’t the most attentive and when they were, it was usually after too much to drink. It never ended well for me or your mother.”
Anna Beth sat up, her hand rubbing her aunt’s back. “Mom never said anything.”
“Of course she didn’t. You were a child. She doted on you and did her best to be the opposite of our parents. I took the other road and chose not to have any children. Too afraid that I would end up losing control if I let my emotions get the best of me.”
Anna Beth moved next to Sarah and took her hand. “My mother yelled when she got mad or frustrated, but I never thought for one second that she didn’t love me because we had a prior relationship filled with warm, wonderful memories. You and I didn’t have that. I thought you hated me.”
Her aunt squeezed her hand. “I know that and I’m sorry. Ernie suggested I start seeing a counselor last year and talking through my emotions really helped. As happy as he makes me, I still have a habit of pushing him away when things get hard.”
“That’s good, though. At least you’re trying to change for the better.”
“I am just sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”
“I’m sorry too.”
And then, something happened. Her aunt’s arms wrapped around her shoulders and they were hugging.
Anna Beth burst into tears, clinging to her aunt as she sobbed.
“Good lord, Anna Beth, whatever is the matter.”
“I’m so confused,” Anna Beth cried.
“Did something happen between you and Jared?”
Anna Beth pulled away, wiping at her cheeks. “We kissed. But then he isn’t sure he wants to start something if I’m leaving and I’m not sure I should have started something if I didn’t want to stay, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. It just felt right. Does that make sense?”
“You’ve always been in touch with your emotions. Do you think kissing him was wrong?”
“No, I mean...it didn’t feel wrong at all. But he is afraid of what people will say.”
Sarah snorted. “Sounds like he needs to care less what other people think and man up.”
Anna Beth burst out laughing.
“What did I say?” Sarah asked.
“Never in my life,” Anna Beth gasped, “did I ever expect to hear the words man up come out of your mouth.”
Sarah’s cheeks flushed. “It’s something Ernie says. Not to me, but to his kids and grandkids.”
“You’ve met his family?”
“Yes.”
“How was that?”
“Overwhelming at first, but we’ve grown close.”
Anna Beth couldn’t believe this conversation. She never could have imagined Sarah being close to anyone and now, she knew how it felt to be jealous of a bunch of strangers. Ernie’s kids got to meet the aunt she’d always wanted.
Suck it up, buttercup. You can’t change the past, but you can move onto a brighter future.
“I wish relationships weren’t so hard.”
Sarah patted her knee. “Nothing ever comes too easy, I’m told. Everything worth having takes work.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Seventeen
A shrill ring woke Jared out of a sound sleep Wednesday morning and he reached blindly for his phone. When he turned it over, Snowy Springs High School flashed across the screen.
Son of a bitch, Casey, what did you do now?
“This is Jared Cross.”
“Hello, Officer Cross, this is Principal Gayle Hastings at Snowy Springs High School.”
Jared chuckled softly. “I know who you are, Ma’am. I went to your school.”
He didn’t mention that Principal Hastings had thrown him under the bus numerous times and her stance on bullying nonexistent, when it should have been zero tolerance. He’d been thrilled to graduate from that hell hole.
“Yes, I forget sometimes. I’m calling because I’m afraid Casey has been suspended and I can’t get ahold of your parents. You being the emergency contact, I was hoping you could come pick him up.”
“Sure. May I ask what he did?”
“He stole a laptop from the computer lab.”
Jared sat up, his heart racing. If they pressed charges, that would mean time in a juvenile center for Casey.
“You caught him with the laptop?”
“No, it hasn’t been recovered yet, but a witness came forward who saw him take the laptop.”
Shit, this is bad.
“I’ll be right there.”
“Thank you. Good-bye.”
Jared lay there for several minutes, thinking about the downhill slope his week took since he left Anna
on Monday. He hadn’t meant to be so cold to her, but being seen together by some of the biggest gossips in town sent him into a panic. People would speculate about what was going on between them. Jared hated being the center of attention, especially if the gossip could potentially end with Anna Beth leaving town and him broken hearted. The looks. The whispers.
It was bad enough to have his mother and her church friends discussing his dating life, but the whole town?
He got dressed, silently griping to himself. Maybe the kid’s just rotten. Who would be stupid enough to steal a laptop from their school, especially during the day when anyone could see?
After the fifteen-minute drive to the high school, Jared came through the front door, thinking of what he’d say to Casey. The front office clerk buzzed him into the office area and she told him to head on back.
Principal Hastings stood when he walked into the room, her graying blonde hair still in the same severe French braid she’d worn when he was a student.
“Officer Cross, thank you for coming.”
He took her outstretched and squeezed it firmly. “Hello, Principal Hastings. Please explain to me what happened.”
She looked sternly at Casey, even as she spoke to Jared. “As I said on the phone, there was a witness who saw Casey walk out of the computer lab with the laptop, but by the time we pulled him out of class, he had hidden it somewhere.”
“So, it wasn’t in his locker or backpack?”
“No. But the student didn’t come forward for at least an hour.”
Jared turned toward Casey; whose brown eyes were wide with fear.
Suddenly, he pictured himself in Casey’s place, waiting for Karen to show up and lay into him, to not even give him a chance to explain and take everyone else’s word for it. And the relief he’d experienced when she’d believed him.
He sat next to Casey and put his hand on his shoulder.
“What happened, Casey?”
Principal Hasting spluttered, “Officer Cross, I already told you what happened.”
Jared shot the principal a hard look. “I listened to your version of the events and now I want to hear Casey’s. You pulled him in here with no proof besides the word of another student. Who is it? A faculty member’s child?”
Her affronted expression didn’t fool him. She’d always had favorites and everyone knew who they were.
“Of course not!” she swore.
“Another prominent town figure’s spawn?”
Principal Hasting’s back stiffened. “I’m sorry, but we have a strict confidential reporting system. It is there so students will come to us without fear of reprisal from their fellow classmates, and I do not appreciate your insinuation that I would let a student’s family influence me.”
Jared stood and squared off with her, his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t appreciate Casey being dragged out of class and threatened without a shred of evidence. My brother suspended for theft based on another student’s word and he doesn’t even get to face his accuser? Does that seem fair?”
“This is a school, Officer Cross. Not a courtroom.”
“You’re right. And Casey is one of your students. Did you ask Casey if he did it?”
“Yes, I did, and he denied it. Something he’d do if he took the laptop as well.”
“Sound logic. Especially since he’s a troubled kid, right?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond, focusing on his stunned brother. “Casey, tell me what happened.”
Casey swallowed hard before he spoke, everything coming in a rush. “I swear, Jared, I was in class the whole time. I didn’t steal anything. I was sitting in History when Carol, the office aid, came and got me.”
Jared pushed back the doubt and did what he knew his mother would do. He advocated for Casey. “I believe you.” He turned his attention back to the Principal, scowling. “Principal Hastings, when you didn’t find the laptop in Casey’s backpack or locker, did you do a school-wide locker search?”
“No.”
“What about the student who accused my brother? You said that he admitted to waiting an hour to report the theft. Wouldn’t it make sense that he might have hid the laptop and then accused Casey to throw off suspicion?”
She scoffed. “I’m sure this student didn’t steal the laptop.”
“Really? How sure? Would you bank your job on it? Because the minute I leave here with Casey, I’m going to be on the phone telling the school board, the paper, the mayor…everyone who will listen that you suspended a student without physical evidence he committed the crime. I think they’ll have questions as to why, don’t you?”
Principal Hasting’s mouth flopped open and closed like a fish for several seconds, before she stuttered, “I su-suppose we co-could verify the student’s lo-locker is clear.”
“Excellent idea.”
When the Principal left the room, Jared turned in his chair. “Are you okay?”
“You really believe me?”
The look on Casey’s face hit him like a sock in the gut, so filled with hope, and any lingering doubt of his innocence washed away. “I know you, kid. If you did it, you’d be acting like a little turd right now. Besides, this isn’t my first run in with Hastings. She likes to use the easy scapegoats. Do you know who accused you?”
“Not for sure, but I would bet my Xbox it was Lane Shipman.”
“Shipman…as in Shipman Construction?”
Casey nodded. “He’s had it out for me since I got transferred. Karen tried to set up mediation with his parents, but they wouldn’t go for it. He lies about everything and all the faculty believe him. He’s just a dick.”
Like his old man.
Hank Shipman hadn’t appreciated Jared pulling him over for doing seventy-five in a forty-five several months ago and complained to Jared’s chief about Jared violating his rights. Thank God for dash-cam footage and the fact that Hank was abrasive as hell. No one could stand him or believed Jared overstepped.
Jared ruffled the kid’s hair. “I believe you, and I wasn’t lying about going to bat for you, Case. We’re family, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure they don't pin this on you, but you need to be as smart as Mom thinks you are. No more juvenile shit. Get me?”
“Yeah. I thought they were going to call the real cops and not just you.”
Jared smiled wryly. “Thanks, bro.”
Five minutes later, Principal Hastings came in and held her hand out to him.
“Officer Cross, I am deeply sorry for disturbing you. Casey is free to go back to class.”
Jared took her hand slowly. “Let me guess, your search turned up one lost laptop?”
Principal Hastings lips thinned. “Yes, your hunch was right.”
“Then I think you owe Casey an apology. Don’t you?”
“Absolutely.” She appeared constipated as she held her hand out to Casey with a strained smile. “I’m sorry for accusing you, Casey.”
Casey opened his mouth, but Jared shot him a warning look. Whatever he was about to say, he thought better of it and took her hand with a nod.
“Casey, wait in the hallway for me. I’ll be there in a moment.”
Once Casey was out of earshot, Jared faced Principal Hastings. “I understand that Casey has had some problems since my father was diagnosed with cancer, but that does not give you the right to terrorize him with this flimsy charge.”
“Officer Cross, I am very sorry for the misunderstanding, but I assure you, I had good reason to believe the student in question.”
“What reason? Because he’s a Shipman?” The principal’s eyes widened. “Yeah, I know who accused my brother. You made a mistake, fine. That doesn’t change the fact that Casey is a good kid going through a hard time and instead of understanding that, all you saw was a troubled, foster kid and an easy target.” Jared shook his head. “You’re just lucky you got me instead of my mom or things could have been a lot worse. Have a nice day, ma’am.”
Jared walked out and saw a sullen, dark haired
kid sitting in a chair outside the office. Casey stood behind the kid in the glass hallway pointing and mouthing, That’s him!
Jared stopped alongside him. “You’re Lane?”
Lane looked up with a belligerent expression on his pudgy face. “Yeah? Who are you?”
“I’m Casey’s brother, Officer Cross, with Snowy Springs PD.”
“Okay. And?”
“Stealing a school laptop? That’s a felony. Hope they don’t press charges. Good luck.”
The kid paled and Jared pushed through the doors, grinning.
“What did you say to him?”
“I wished him luck.”
Eighteen
On Thursday, Anna Beth sat at the kitchen table, staring at her laptop while Mitten’s slept on her shoulder. She’d barely written a sentence in the past two days. If something didn’t come to her soon, her laptop may end up soaring across the room.
All because a certain peace officer didn’t know how to use a freaking phone!
Not that she cared anymore. Things were crazy busy and she had lots of things to do. Give Mittens her medicine. Hang with her aunt. Write her screenplay -- that wasn’t going so well -- but she’d bought all the ingredients to check another item off Ian's list. Bake and donate five dozen Christmas cookies, which worked out great because the holiday festival could use more sugary treats. She could bake the cookies Friday, then donate them for snacks at the tree lighting ceremony Saturday. She didn’t need to give Jared Cross a second thought.
The only crimp in her plan were the couples who would no doubt be enjoying the activities at the festival. Sharing hot chocolate, Christmas lights and kisses beneath the mistletoe. Up until this morning, she’d held out hope Jared would ask her to go with him, even if they kept things platonic.
That didn’t look like it was going to happen. Jared had only sent her a few short texts over the last few days, which hurt more than she cared to admit. She'd really thought they were connecting, and she’d let herself get caught up in it, despite her brain repeatedly telling her to keep her lips to herself.
Smart brain. Dumb lips.