by Jayna Morrow
The phone on Sparrow’s desk rang. She glanced at the number and then picked up the receiver. “Can you hold on a sec?” A glimmer of hope shone in her big brown eyes. “Gabriel, I have to take this call. Before you have a talk with Slade about his grades, take him out to do something special, just the two of you.”
She was back on the line before he could say another word. Meeting over, just like that.
~*~
Sparrow stared at the seat Gabriel had occupied. Numbness settled over her and her heartbeat pulsed in her head. How many times had she envisioned this meeting? Now that it had happened, she wasn’t sure what to think. She turned the key and opened her bottom desk drawer. Nestled in a hanging file behind the letter P was a framed photograph of her youngest brother, Phoenix. Hot tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall. Almost three years had passed since he’d been sent to prison.
Sparrow had tried to help him when he was going through his adolescent stage. Many of the steps in her program had been developed through trial and error while dealing with him. Of course, her father had never listened. He thought he could go drill sergeant on his son, force him into the Marines, and all his bad behavior would disappear. He’d been wrong.
The family still avoided Phoenix, but Sparrow had gone to visit him several times. He was doing well and taking college classes. Just another reminder that given the right structure—though hopefully not prison structure—teens could be saved and were worth saving.
She never mentioned her brother’s story to anyone because it was too extreme, and she didn’t want to scare them. Yet, she wanted to tell Gabriel the truth about her brother before something happened with Slade that they’d all regret for the rest of their lives.
7
Gabriel’s heart leaped at the sight of Slade talking animatedly with a group of boys he recognized from the baseball team. These were the kind of friends he wanted for his son, good boys that came to school, kept their grades up, and played sports. He’d like to see more moments like this. He pressed a button on the door, and the glass window on the passenger side slid down. Placing a hand on the leather seat, he leaned across the cab. In the distance, the boys’ raucous voices were now audible. They were arguing playfully about which professional baseball teams were best this season.
The day had flown by. No sooner than he’d left Sparrow’s office this morning, it was time to come back. Slade usually rode his bike to school or caught a ride with a friend, but Gabriel was determined to follow through with Sparrow’s advice and spend some time with his son. This was a far cry from his usual routine as of late, which consisted of him going straight from the dairy to the house and crawling back in bed. Doing something normal for a change felt good. Really good.
If Slade spent enough time with these boys, he might learn how to better balance school work and sports, along with responsibilities at home. Maybe…maybe Gabriel should invite them over for a cookout or to watch a game. That’s what he’d do.
Instead of yelling out the window for Slade as he’d planned, he got out of his truck and joined the boys just as Slade made them laugh at a comment about baseball. He hadn’t heard all of it.
Then Slade spotted him. “What are you doing here?”
Gabriel’s heart sank. Only a second before Slade had been happy-go-lucky. Now his lousy attitude reared its ugly head. Could this kind of behavior be a purposeful effort to hurt him? He hated to think that his son didn’t want him there. He thought having his father around was what Slade wanted.
Still, this is what Sparrow told him to do. “Spend time with your son,” she’d said. OK, here he was. He hoped she knew what she was talking about. His imagination was running wild about what would happen if she were wrong.
The air thickened as their gazes met.
Slade was the first to look away.
“I just wanted to give you a ride home.” Slade was embarrassed that his old man was at school, but Gabriel hoped the boy chose to ride with him because he had to break the bad news about baseball to his son.
“No, there’s gotta be a reason.”
Should have known Slade would sniff out the truth. “There is something I need to speak with you about. In private.” He’d never approached Slade in this manner, showing up unexpectedly at school and offering him a ride home.
Slade’s shock and worry were visible by the confused glance around at his friends and the way his brow wrinkled over stormy eyes.
Gabriel took it as his cue to walk back to the truck. Satisfaction coursed through his veins when he looked back to see Slade following him, if for no other reason than curiosity. He wasn’t exactly sure how to go about breaking the news to Slade.
They rode in silence for several minutes.
The local grocery appeared on the left.
He might as well fulfill his basic needs first. “There’s no food in the house. Let’s do a little grocery shopping.”
Slade looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “I’ve got better plans.”
Gabriel winced. Then he took a deep breath. Slade was testing him. “After dinner. Let’s eat together first.” He pulled into the parking lot, having decided the best idea was to ease into it. Sparrow’s whole plan was all or nothing. He imagined things would get worse before they got better.
The cart he selected had a squeaky wheel and pulled to the right. He started on the far left side of the store to better accommodate the wheel. There would be nothing but right turns as they worked their way back to the checkout lanes.
Slade tagged along, dragging his feet. “This is why you picked me up from school?”
“I haven’t been keeping food in the house as I should. We need to do the shopping together so you can pick out what you like to eat.” So far, Slade didn’t seem to have a problem with what he was saying. “I want to cook dinner. How about spaghetti? I make awesome sauce.”
“You make sauce from a jar.” The kid shook his head.
“I add meat and spices to it. Mushrooms, too.”
“OK, I get it, chef. Spaghetti it is, but no mushrooms. I don’t care for mushrooms.”
“Not even the mushrooms I make for burgers?”
“You’ve only made them once when I was around, but no, I didn’t care for those either. Lyra and her family can keep that recipe.”
“No mushrooms, then. That’s fine.”
It had been months since he heard someone speak Lyra’s name. Felt kind of weird, but he didn’t get that gut-wrenching, heart-shredding feeling that made him want to close curtains and crawl into bed. Good to know he could hear her name and still breathe normally.
Shock had drawn Slade from the truck and propelled him forward into the store. That was fine. Gabriel would take him any way he could get him.
Thirty minutes later, the cart was full to the brim with everything Slade could ever want to eat and lots of meal ideas. Thanks to Lyra’s chef brother, Gabriel had learned how to prepare a few other things besides mushrooms. Linguini, shrimp, steak, and some simple pan sauces, to name a few. He paid, and they left the store.
~*~
Spaghetti didn’t take long to prepare. A short time later, he had it all laid out on the table.
“Slade! Dinner’s ready,” he called.
Moments later, Slade appeared. Of course, it wasn’t hard to bring teenagers to food.
Then the unthinkable happened. He and Slade ate side by side. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d eaten a home-cooked meal together. Had they ever? When they were almost done with second helpings, he pulled the slip of paper out of his back pocket, unfolded it, and laid it on the table next to Slade. “I got this in the mail today.”
“What is it?”
“Your progress report. Did you know that you were failing every subject?”
“So this is why you made dinner tonight. You were just getting me to let my guard down so you could bash me about my grades.”
“No, there won’t be any more bashing going on in this house.”
>
Slade rolled his eyes.
“I also received this.” He laid the UIL notification on top of the progress report. “This letter states that you’ve been suspended from sports until you bring your grades up to a passing level. I met with Mrs. Walker to see if I could get this decision thrown out, but her hands are tied.”
Slade’s face was a blank slate.
“Your grades are your responsibility, son. I’m not yelling or even talking about it. It’s up to you to get your grades back on track so you can play ball. I’m here if you need help with homework or tests, but until your grades come back up, I’m shutting off your cell phone service. I’ll turn it back on once you’re passing all your classes.”
“Thanks for nothing.” Slade’s words dripped sarcasm, but he took his plate to the sink before he left the kitchen.
That was a start. Baby steps. Sparrow would be proud. Gabriel only wished he knew what was going on in Slade’s head.
The next morning, he found out.
Slade was nowhere to be found.
Gabriel hoped that he’d left for school early to attend tutorials, but on the kitchen table, he found Slade’s cell phone—smashed to pieces.
Not a good sign.
8
Gabriel landed a series of hard knocks on Sparrow’s front door. He zipped up his leather bomber jacket to ward off the chill of the spring morning. Less than a minute passed before she swung open the door.
Startled, she jumped back. “Gabriel, you scared me.”
“I knocked.”
“Oh, I didn’t hear. I was just on my way to work. Come in.”
He accepted her invitation and stepped into the warmth of the kitchen.
Sparrow looked lovely as always in a pair of denim-colored slacks, a black and white striped, long-sleeved shirt, and bright turquoise jewelry that set off her hair and eyes. Her skin, though pale from a winter indoors, glowed from the heat of the wood stove.
“I see you’ve got the wood-burning stove working.”
“Yeah, it was pretty simple. And it works great, sometimes too well. Too bad it’s about to start warming up. What brings you over so early?”
“I found Slade’s cell phone smashed to smithereens this morning, and he was nowhere to be found. I guess I’ll get a phone call from you later if he doesn’t show up for school, but I’d like to hear your thoughts about the phone now. It doesn’t make any sense to me. You said this would work.”
She picked up a turquoise purse that matched her jewelry and hung it on her shoulder. “It will work, eventually. I know what I’m talking about. The crushed cell phone means that he doesn’t care if you shut it off or not. It means you haven’t found the right consequence yet. I can’t believe how stubborn Slade is.” She chuckled softly. “He must have gotten it from his father.”
“Ha ha.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not.” By this time, she’d reached the door. She gripped that knob.
His heart felt as if she’d gripped that, too. “I do worry too much.”
“For a believer, you don’t have much faith. I’ve noticed you go through the motions, but do you truly accept things in your own heart?”
He didn’t know how to respond to such probing. She put her purse back on the kitchen counter. “I don’t really have to be at work so early this morning. How does Slade’s mother feel about his behavior and everything that’s going on?”
His spine stiffened. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Sometimes it helps to talk about things. Isn’t she involved in his life?”
“She made it clear she wanted nothing to do with him years ago. That’s all I’ll say about her.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I grew up in the perfect family environment. All I wanted was the same for Slade. Then my parents died, and everything changed.”
“I can’t imagine losing either of my parents.”
“You stay busy and take things day by day.” He shrugged and edged toward the door. “I’ve got to get to work. I know you do, too.”
She nodded and grabbed the purse again. “I’ll call and let you know if Slade shows up at school.”
~*~
Sparrow watched Gabriel drive away. He’d left her with too many questions. He was coming back to life, little by little. She felt for him. It hadn’t been easy growing up with a drill sergeant for a father, but overall, hers had been a good life. She was thankful her parents were still alive and well. She turned the key, and the engine hummed to life. A quick glance in the rearview mirror produced another delay in her morning routine. What was Robin doing here? Shouldn’t she be at the restaurant making breakfast? Her sister exited her vehicle in a rush. The one morning Sparrow decided to leave extra early to get ahead at the office, and the whole town suddenly needed to see her. A sigh escaped as she turned her car off and got out.
“I just saw a man pull out of your driveway. Why would a man be leaving your home at this early hour? He didn’t spend the night, did he?”
Sparrow’s jaw dropped so low it practically hit the dirt driveway. “I can’t believe you would even ask me that. Of course he didn’t spend the night. That was Gabriel Hearth, who lives next door. He came by to talk about an issue with his son, who goes to my school. You know me better than that!”
Her sister’s frown turned into a smile. “Now I’m intrigued. Tell me more about Gabriel. He’s the one who came over and helped you move in, right? The one you kept staring at during dinner the other day? Is something going on between you two?”
She had no defense against her sister’s interrogation. Robin’s car blocked hers, so she couldn’t just leave. She really needed to get to work early this morning before everyone else arrived so she could work without interruptions, but it wasn’t happening. “Gabriel was the one who walked over to help. He and Garrett are brothers. Nothing is going on between us. I’m just helping him with some discipline problems with his son.”
“Nothing, huh? I’ve heard good things about him, and he’s a regular at the diner. You’d be crazy not to go for a man like that. You’re not still depressed about your ex, are you?”
“I’ve been over him for a long time. That’s not the issue.”
“What is the issue then?”
“Gabriel hasn’t shown any interest in me, to tell you the truth. He has enough on his plate with his son right now. Plus, we’re both too stubborn. It wouldn’t work anyway.”
“You know how stubborn me and Ryan are, and our marriage works great.”
“You guys are an exception.”
“Life is hard. Lots of bad things happen–death, breakups, challenging people. Those things are a lot easier when you go through them with someone you love. Don’t shy away from Gabriel because of his problems. Honestly, right now is when he needs someone the most.”
“What do you expect me to do?”
“Do the same for Gabriel that you would for your difficult students. Spend time with him and support him. Don’t let him slip under the radar. You, of all people, should know that’s the worst thing that could happen.”
Sparrow thought of her bout with depression right after she broke away from a toxic relationship. At the time, it was the hardest thing she’d ever done, but now the thought only infuriated her. It felt like a lifetime ago. “I need to get to work.”
“I only came by to check on you and see how you liked the place. I had to come by before the diner opened, or I’d get too busy. Then the kids are home from school, and, well, you know how crazy it gets.”
“I do know. Thank you for looking out for me. I really like it here.”
A pat on the arm brought the conversation to a close.
They headed out in opposite directions.
Sparrow pulled into the busy school parking lot a few minutes later.
Slade Hearth sat on the top step of the front stoop, surrounded by several members of the baseball team.
A sigh of relief rushed out of her lungs. She dialed Gabriel’s number. Her heart leapt when he
answered on the first ring. Finally. “He’s here.”
“I’m glad to hear he showed up.”
“Slade is a smart kid. I don’t know why he let his grades slip so far behind during baseball season, but it’s apparent he does care about playing.”
“This whole process is hard. Being a single father, I mean.”
“It’s not any more difficult than dealing with Slade on a daily basis.”
“That’s true. I just don’t want to lose him to drugs or alcohol.”
“I know you don’t, Gabriel. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better. Tough love isn’t easy because it involves someone you care about. But I promise he’ll come around. Trust me.”
“I trust you.” There was a hitch in his voice that told her he still had his doubts.
~*~
Sparrow yawned. She’d worked hard all day getting ready for spring testing. This was her crunch time. From procedure checklists to schedule changes, not a stone was left unturned. The hours ticked by as she hovered over her desk and squinted at her computer screen. This wasn’t her favorite part of the job, but she would make it through. In stressful, demanding times like these, she opened the floodgates of patience and let it rush over her. And prayer. Lots of prayer.
But she’d worked so hard today for another reason. Might as well be honest. She wanted to make sure she left on time so she could pay Gabriel a visit. She’d thought a lot about what Robin said about being there for him. Today was as good a day as any to start.
Gabriel needed a proper support system in place. With his parents dead and his brother and future sister-in-law busy planning their wedding, she was his only hope.
The drive home took mere minutes. She pressed the brake as she turned into her driveway. Gratitude for her new short commute danced in her head, keeping rhythm with the song on the radio. She only had time for one song before the blacktop ended, dirt road began, and the familiar foliage appeared that led right up to her front yard.