She was still waiting for her daughter to explain what happened, and all Shannon could think about was her friend? “Kyle?”
“Yes, Kyle.” Shannon hit Call and put the phone to her ear.
Indignation rose like a balloon to fill the space around Andrea’s heart, zapping her already-frayed nerves. “Shannon, put that phone away. Now!”
“Mom! I’m calling Kyle.”
“No. You’re not. Besides, you can’t go to school tomorrow. You need to rest.”
Shannon rolled her eyes and clicked the end button. “Mom, stop being so melodramatic. I fell. End of story.” She gave a disgusted sigh. “Why are you making such a big deal about it?”
“A big deal?” Andrea glanced at her daughter. “I get a call to come to the emergency room because my daughter has been injured, and it’s no big deal?”
Shannon smoothed her hair around her cheeks, hiding her face.
“What is going on with you?” Andrea asked, unable to keep the anger out of her voice. “And if you’re so anxious to talk to Kyle, why won’t you talk to me?”
Shannon turned her head so quickly her hair swung out around her face. “Mom! Stop it! See? This is why I called Dad. You’re so unreasonable,” Shannon said, indignation adding emphasis to her words.
For a few moments, Andrea couldn’t speak. Hurt led the surge, followed quickly by disbelief that her daughter would confide in Scott and not her. “You called your father without talking to me first.” She forced the words past her taut lips.
“Because I knew you wouldn’t call him, and I wanted Dad to know.”
“Shannon, I would have called your father after I could assure him you were okay.”
“Why can’t I call my dad?” she demanded. “I’m going to call him when I get home.”
“Do you expect him to come? To leave behind his precious life with his new family and come to look after you?” The second the words were out, Andrea wished she could take them back. “Shannon, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say—”
“For your information, I didn’t expect Dad to come here. Not with you hovering around me!” she yelled.
“Shannon, I didn’t mean to upset you, but you should have called me and told me where you were and what was going on.”
“The nurse told me she’d called you and you were on your way. As for Dad, I just needed to talk to him. Can’t you understand that?”
Wanting to wipe the anxious expression off her daughter’s face, she softened her tone. “Of course I can. Look, let’s forget all this and go home. You’re safe and that’s what matters.”
“Mom, there’s something else I need to tell you, and I don’t want you to be mad at me for doing it.”
“What’s that?” Andrea asked, her nails digging into the steering wheel.
“Kyle and I are talking about going away on March break. I might go to Dad’s—”
“No!” Andrea said without thinking.
“Mom. I have a right to see my father.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” She struggled to remain calm. “Shannon, we can talk about this later.”
Shannon slumped in her seat, pressing her palms to her forehead. “I’ve made you angry, haven’t I?”
“Not angry so much as concerned.” Had Shannon and Kyle started dating? “Is Kyle going with you to your father’s house?”
“Of course not. He has family in Phoenix, and he thought it would be fun to visit them,” Shannon said.
Did Shannon’s sudden interest in visiting her father have something to do with Kyle? “If you and Kyle are involved, it’s okay. I really like him.”
Shannon gave a long sigh and closed her eyes. “No, Mom. Kyle and I are friends. He’s my math tutor, or don’t you remember? I wish you’d stop trying to find a boyfriend for me. Really. If I wanted a boyfriend, I’d have one. Now, can you stop interrogating me?”
“I didn’t mean to make it sound like an interrogation. But this hasn’t been easy for either of us.”
Shannon didn’t respond.
The only sound was the hum of the car as Andrea drove carefully down their street and into the driveway. Normally, Shannon would have hit the garage door opener on the visor and made some teasing comment about her mother nearly clipping the cedar hedge along the driveway. Not tonight.
As Andrea pulled into the garage, she was certain of one thing. She no longer believed that Shannon’s injuries were the result of a simple fall on the sidewalk. She didn’t believe that Kyle was an innocent bystander. She didn’t believe anything her daughter had told her. It was suddenly very clear that there was something going on in Shannon’s life. Something her daughter was hiding.
Shutting off the engine, she turned to Shannon. “Sweetie, you have to understand that I’m concerned about what is going on with you. The injuries the nurse described couldn’t have been from a simple fall on the sidewalk. You’re too good of an athlete to fall like that. Besides, you have no injuries or scrapes on your hands to prove you put your hands out.”
“I’m telling you the truth. Why don’t you believe me?”
“Shannon, you’re telling me that you hit the sidewalk hard enough to hurt your ribs, your forehead, to scrape your leg and hurt your shoulder. I don’t buy it, not for a minute. I need to know what happened.”
Shannon glared at her, tears flooding her eyes. “Why don’t you trust me? I fell. That’s all.”
There was no way she could let this continue. Knowing what had happened to Shannon left her with no choice but to show her daughter how serious this lack of truthfulness was and that it wouldn’t be tolerated.
Andrea held the wheel with a viselike grip as she stared straight ahead. “Shannon. You leave me no choice but to ground you until you’re willing to be totally honest with me.”
Shannon’s indignant gasp filled the vehicle.
CHAPTER THREE
SHANNON LIMPED AHEAD of Andrea into the house, dropping her backpack on the kitchen table before heading to her room. Needing answers, Andrea followed her. “Shannon, you have to understand. I can’t ignore what you’ve done. I can’t.”
Shannon stopped and stood perfectly still. “Mom, I wish you would trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”
What was she saying? Why the secrecy? “Would you please explain that statement?” she asked, refusing to accept Shannon’s determination to shut her out.
Shannon turned. “Kyle and I were just walking along, fooling around, when I fell.”
“Who else was there?”
Shannon’s gaze dropped to her hands. “No one. Like I said, we were teasing each other. I stumbled.”
There was that evasiveness again, that guarded tone. “Why didn’t Kyle grab you? He’s bigger and stronger. Why didn’t he break your fall?”
Shannon continued to study her hands.
A horrible thought occurred to Andrea. No! “Did Kyle hit you?”
Shannon stared at her in shock. “Kyle isn’t like that,” she said. “Why can’t you just let it go? He wouldn’t do that.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he is my friend—a good friend. He would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else.”
Then why did Andrea feel so unsure about Shannon’s explanation? Something didn’t ring true even though her daughter hadn’t changed her story after being punished. Her head pounded as she considered the possibilities.
She peered at Shannon’s face, the unfamiliar lines of tension evident around her eyes and mouth. Andrea wanted to hug Shannon close and tell her that everything would be okay. But would it? Was there something seriously wrong in her daughter’s life, or was she simply overreacting?
“I love you, sweetie, and we’ll work this out. Let’s talk in the morning after we both get some rest.”
“Mom, I don’t want to talk about it tomorrow or any other time. It’s over. I promise. Okay?”
Anger fueled by fear welled up in Andrea. “As far as I’m concerned, until you tell me what’s really going on, it’s not over. But it’s up to you. Without the truth, you’ll miss out on school and your friends. But if that’s the way you want it...” She shrugged as a show of bravado, but one look at her daughter told her in no uncertain terms she’d created a distance between them she might not be able to cross.
Shannon turned away, went into her room and closed the door.
The closed door and the change in Shannon’s attitude fed Andrea’s fear. Should she go after Shannon and insist on answers? Or would that only drive her further away? Should Andrea apologize to see if they could find a way to talk about what happened? They always talked before bedtime. Always.
A part of her wanted to scream in frustration. Another part of her simply wanted to forget everything in the hope that it would all go away—wishful thinking, but easier to deal with than the alternative.
She locked the house and put the security system on before going to her bedroom. As she passed Shannon’s door, she listened for any sign that her daughter was still awake. There wasn’t a sound. Making her weary way to her room, Andrea ran a bath and took the portable phone in with her. She’d talk to Gina, get her advice on what all this meant, then try for a little sleep.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, Andrea went in to the office. “What are you doing in here? You should be home with Shannon,” Gina said with concern as she met Andrea at the door.
She and Gina had talked for over an hour last night as Andrea tried to work out how to handle what was going on with her daughter. As they’d arranged, Gina had taken Shannon to her hair appointment then dropped her off at the house, unaware that Shannon had planned to go out again. All Andrea could figure out was that Shannon had returned to the school, probably with Kyle.
“There’s not much point in staying home when Shannon won’t talk to me.” Andrea rolled up the sleeves of the old white shirt she’d tucked into her faded jeans. She couldn’t be bothered dressing up this morning. She was too tired, and she didn’t have any clients coming in. Last night she’d called the doctor and his wife, explaining that she couldn’t show them the house today, apologized again and rescheduled the showing for tomorrow. She was simply too distracted to do a good job of presenting the property to a prospective buyer.
To ease her mind away from her problems, she had decided to come in to work and make a list of cold calls. She needed more sales if she was to meet her goal for this year. Her plan to take Shannon on a vacation was even more urgent, given the current situation. As she’d tossed and turned last night, she’d decided that a vacation as soon as possible was the best answer. Although it was only the middle of October, maybe she should plan a long weekend for them, or go away during Thanksgiving in November. A vacation away from here would offer the best chance for her and Shannon to put their relationship back on track.
“I’m sorry you’ve had such a rough time. But if it’s any consolation, you and Shannon will work things out together. That’s how you’ve always done it, and this won’t be any different.”
“I hope you’re right.” Gina had two boys who had given their mother a fair amount of grief during their teenage years, and Andrea appreciated all the advice Gina had offered last evening on how to deal with Shannon’s sudden change in behavior. But none of it had mattered in the dark spaces of her bedroom late in the night. She’d gone over everything from the moment she’d gotten the call to their disastrous conversation at home.
She’d finally given up on sleep, gotten up, washed two loads of laundry, made banana muffins then headed in to the office. Andrea had left the house without speaking to Shannon, mostly because her daughter hadn’t yet emerged from her room. While making the muffins, she’d noticed that most of the milk she’d bought yesterday was gone and the peanut butter was still sitting on the counter. Shannon had been up sometime in the night and had eaten her favorite comfort food.
“Shannon wasn’t anywhere in sight when I left, and I didn’t have the courage to go into her room. Quite frankly, I don’t know what to say.” Andrea tucked her purse under the corner of her desk and turned on her computer.
Gina pulled up a chair next to Andrea’s desk. “You’ve got to stop worrying. It’s too hard on you, and God knows you’ve done enough worrying over the past four years to last you a lifetime. Like I said last night, I’ve had huge fights with my boys, taken their phones and grounded them on several occasions. They got over it. Shannon will, too.”
Andrea wasn’t so sure, given the way Shannon had looked at her before she went into her bedroom. And if Scott believed he had a chance at moving Shannon to Phoenix with his new family, he would tell Shannon anything he thought she wanted to hear. Scott hated to lose no matter what the situation was, and custody of Shannon was in his mind a loss. And although it was four years ago Andrea knew that Scott wouldn’t give up trying to prove that he could win in the end.
“Shannon’s never hidden the truth from me...at least not that I know of. As for Kyle, I thought he was trustworthy. He’s been at my house dozens of times. Yet he disappeared before I got to the hospital. Why wouldn’t he stay with Shannon? He’s been so attentive to her lately, I thought they were dating. And Shannon says they want to go to Phoenix on March break next spring. Doesn’t that sound like more than friends to you?”
“It does. Did you know about their plans for Phoenix?” Gina asked.
“Not until last night.”
“Are you okay with her going?”
“No. Especially when she won’t tell me the truth. And God knows what sort of game Scott will play with her. He’s already siding with her about this whole falling-on-the-sidewalk story.”
“Do you suppose he’s angling to get her to stay with him? Maybe he’s discovering how difficult it is to find babysitters for those young kids of his.”
“I can’t even think about that. I mean, I wouldn’t put it past him to try, but I need to sort out the mess in front of me before dealing with him and his schemes.” Andrea sighed in defeat as she thought about Shannon traveling to Phoenix with Kyle. “If part of this is about Shannon dating Kyle, she knows I’d be okay with it. So why wouldn’t she confide in me?”
Gina patted her shoulder. “Now, there’s a familiar feeling. Teenagers! One day they’re our lovely children, and the next they’re like strangers speaking a language we’re only vaguely able to comprehend.” Gina paused. “But Kyle’s an okay kid. I know his mother from church, and she’s always talking about what a good son he is. Maybe Shannon’s need to call Kyle last night was as much of a betrayal to you as her call to her father. Very often when I’d be angry with my boys it was mostly because of their inconsiderate behavior toward me. If you want my opinion, Shannon could have waited to call Kyle today, if she really needed to.” Gina’s look was thoughtful. “And this probably isn’t helpful, but I need to get it off my chest. If I ever see Scott again, I’ll have a few choice words for him. If he’s so concerned about Shannon, why didn’t he call last night?”
“Oh, darn. I meant to call him back.”
“For heaven’s sake, why?”
“To tell him Shannon’s okay.”
“For all you know, he and Shannon have already talked. Why put yourself in the middle of it? Let Shannon see her father for what he is, not what she wants him to be.”
Her first instinct was to protect her daughter from the man she knew Scott to be. But since Shannon had called her father before talking to her, it was up to Shannon to take responsibility for the choices she made. “You’re right. Besides, I’d only get another nasty response from him.”
“That’s better. Stop being his verbal punching bag. Let the two of them work the kinks out of their relationship.
It’s not your job to referee.”
Gina’s words made Andrea feel a little less alone. And Gina was right about her relationship with Scott. Andrea was always trying to do the right thing, even when it didn’t make any sense. “She’s probably calling him as we speak.”
Gina gave her a quick hug. “Oh, Andrea, I’ve been where you are. Remember when Simon had his car accident, and how panicked I was?”
“Yeah, I do.” Andrea hugged her back. “Thanks for being here. I’m very glad I have you as a friend.”
“And a business partner, don’t forget.”
“Right,” Andrea said.
Gina tapped a few keys on her computer before turning to Andrea. “Just remember the same qualities that I admired in you when I hired you, and then when you became a partner, are the same qualities that will get you through this.” Gina wagged her finger at Andrea. “You’re smart, caring and determined, and you will get through to Shannon. It’s only a matter of time.”
“I hope so,” Andrea said.
“Listen, why don’t you take the day off? Go shopping and buy something really nice for yourself. You never have the opportunity to do things just for you, and you work harder than anyone else in this office.”
“That would be lovely, but I can’t when I keep feeling I should be doing something about Shannon. Maybe I should go home and be there when she gets up. Any other time Shannon’s had a problem, I’ve supported her,” she said, that uneasy feeling not leaving.
“While you’re thinking about it, I’ll duck across the street and get us coffee. The usual?”
Andrea nodded. “Thanks.”
After Gina left, Andrea continued to puzzle over Shannon. When her cell phone rang, she glanced at the caller ID. What did the school want? Then she realized what she’d forgotten to do. “Hi, look, sorry. I should have let you know that Shannon wouldn’t be in class today.”
“That’s okay. I know about Shannon’s incident yesterday, and I’m really sorry. But I’m not calling about that, not specifically,” said Melody Chapman, the guidance counselor. “We need to talk with you, Mrs. Taylor.”
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