by Jo Grafford
Josh strode in their direction. “The specimen bags have been delivered to each homeroom, as requested. The bracelets will be collected, ID’d, and submitted to your department for testing.”
The sheriff nodded. “We’ll line ‘em up and let the dogs give ‘em a preliminary sniff. That way we’ll know something right away.
This is really happening. Hope drew a deep breath. They were about to find out just how bad of a drug problem was infesting Heart Lake High.
Chapter 10: Undying Promises
Josh
Under Josh and Deck’s oversight, the sheriff and his crew were able to run the scent dogs through the key hallways of the high school pretty quickly. Only random lockers were opened and explored further. Like every other time before, nothing of concern was found in the chosen lockers.
So far, so good. Josh called in the preliminary report to Hope. When she didn’t pick up her phone, he left a voicemail. Glancing at his phone, he curled his upper lip. That’s strange. Hope always picked up when he called, or nearly always. When she was too busy to talk, she generally texted him back pretty quickly.
He waited, but no text explanation was given for her silence. A minute ticked past, then another one. Just to be on the safe side, he decided to go peek his head inside her office.
Laura glanced up when he walked past. “How’s the police work going, director?”
He gave her a two-fingered wave. “So far, we’re in the clear.”
“Glad to hear it, sir.” The phone rang, claiming her attention.
Hope’s office door was open, but she wasn’t inside. Well, snap! Grimacing, he strode across the room to leave a sticky note on her desk. She’d have to come back, eventually.
His gaze fell on a letter lying atop her keyboard. Though he hadn’t walked to her desk with any intention of prying into her personal affairs, he couldn’t help seeing the subject line in bold letters and all caps: JOB OPENING.
He knew he was being nosy, but he quickly scanned the letter. Its contents made him sink heavily into her office chair. Guess I should have been expecting something like this. It only made sense that his bride-to-be, who happened to be a phenomenal principal, would be in demand elsewhere. His pride in her accomplishments was mixed with self pity at the knowledge that there would always be other schools trying to recruit her. As much as it pained him to think about it, Heart Lake High might not be the end of the road for someone of her talent.
In addition to his self pity was concern about her silence on the matter. Why hadn’t she told him about the letter? They were about to get married, for crying out loud! Though he would never try to hold her back, he was going to have to be included in discussions about stuff like this going forward. The fact that the letter was lying on a prominent part of her desk, instead of in the trashcan, probably meant she was considering responding to it.
He mentally ran through the many things tying him to Heart Lake — his part ownership in Lonestar Security, his new directorship position at the high school, and the fact that he’d purchased one of the oldest homesteads on the lake. They were solid ties. Strong ones. Even so, the commitment he was about to make to Hope, by becoming her husband, was a stronger tie. His biggest loyalty would be to her, going forward. If that meant pulling up roots and leaving Heart Lake, then so be it. It would require lots of planning and preparation on his part to leave, of course. Man! He didn’t really even want to think about it, but the recruitment letter made him realize he might have to in the coming days.
“Director Hawling!” Laura called. She moved past Hope’s door, mostly likely to peek her head inside his office. However, she stopped when she caught sight of him in Hope’s chair. “Oh, there you are. I just found out Dr. Remington escorted a kid to the nurse’s office. Something about nibbling on the edge of her bracelet and having an allergic reaction to the dye in the threads. Lord, have mercy! Always something, huh, sir?”
Josh shot out of Hope’s chair, seriously doubting that a simple allergy was the reason behind the teen’s illness. His blood ran cold at the thought that she might have innocently and inadvertently consumed an illegal substance, instead. “Thanks, Laura. I’ll go give her hand.”
He found Hope and the school nurse anxiously bent over the teen. They had her stretched out on a cot, her jean-clad legs stretched out as limp as two spaghetti noodles.
“Whoa-a-a!” the kid murmured, looking dazed. Her eyes were unfocused as she jerkily pawed the air. “Butterflies…everywhere.” Her voice was slurred and disjointed. “Where did…so many of them… come from?”
“This makes no sense.” Holly Burke glanced up at Josh, confusion painted across her fair cheeks. The older sister of Officer Lincoln Hudson’s fiancée, she’d finally caved to her sister’s arm twisting to join her in Heart Lake.
Josh scowled. “What doesn’t make sense?” He didn’t want to influence the nurse’s answer by sharing his suspicions, so he waited to hear her honest medical opinion.
“The fact that she’s clearly strung out on drugs!” the nurse cried. “She’s a good kid. My sister and I know her parents. She’s in marching band, on the math team…” Her distressed voice dwindled. “She’s in the youth group at our church, too.” She shook her head vehemently. “The very idea that she would suddenly decide to sample drugs just doesn’t make sense.”
Hope pulled Josh aside. “We’ve called an ambulance, but I think it’s pretty clear we’re dealing with something drug-induced here. The sheriff is in possession of the bracelet she supposedly nibbled on. We’ll know more soon.”
Josh and Hope stayed with the nurse until the paramedics arrived with a stretcher. Soon after the student was rolled away, another student was escorted to the nurse’s office with similar symptoms, this time a farm kid from the south side of town.
“What’s going on?” Hope cried, gripping Josh’s arm. “It’s starting to feel like our high school is under attack or something.”
He felt the same way. The sheriff ordered the school on full lockdown and called in backup from several neighboring towns to help search the school, room by room. They scoured every desk, locker, and shadowy corner of the campus for any more of the troublesome bracelets — all of which were immediately confiscated. Soon helicopters were rumbling overhead as news stations caught wind of the crisis. The phone lines were flooded with calls from parents anxious to know what was going on behind the walls of the school. Several of them demanded immediate access to their children under threat of a lawsuit if their requests weren’t met.
The sheriff called a press conference mid-morning to address the storm of concerned parents and citizens gathered in the front courtyard. He brought Hope out at the end to assure the parents that their students would receive all proper nutrition and care while being detained indoors.
“The moment the police are finished with their interviews, we’ll be sending all students home,” she promised, “regardless of the time of day. We already have the buses on standby.” Josh couldn’t have been prouder about the calm way she faced the emotion-charged sea of people. “We understand and respect your concerns, as we continue to cooperate with the sheriff’s department. Our goal is to eliminate the threat against our school so that it remains the safe place to learn and grow that every one of our students deserves. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your patience with what I know is a frustrating process. I assure you that the wellbeing of every Heart Lake student is our highest priority. I’ll be back to speak with you again as soon as we have any new information to communicate.” She didn’t linger to answer questions, and he didn’t fault her for it. She didn’t have most of the answers the parents were seeking. Not yet, anyway.
He couldn’t help thinking about the recruitment letter waiting for her back in her office. After today, he’d have a hard time trying to talk her out of leaving Heart Lake, if that’s what she really wanted. She’d been asked to step into a tough and dangerous position, not exactly every principal’s dream job.
Josh, Deck, and Hope spent the next several hours assisting The Heart Lake Police Department by escorting students in and out of the interview stations set up in various conference rooms. When noon rolled around, Hope additionally saw to it that the cafeteria workers delivered sack lunches and bottled beverages to every room in the school that contained students.
Mid-afternoon they’d discovered a group of prepsters from the north side of town had been peddling the bracelets as some sort of secret fundraiser to supposedly help fight the changes Hope and her administrative team were “forcing” on the school. Pioneer and Range Rider “lifers” had been encouraged to wear their former school colors in the form of bracelets as a silent show of protest. What wasn’t immediately clear was the original supplier of the bracelets…and the drugs.
It also wasn’t immediately clear if the student peddlers were aware that they’d been distributing illegal substances. Josh was inclined to believe that they hadn’t known, considering how much heroine they’d been moving for pennies on the dollar. So far, nothing about the case made much sense.
Three o’clock faded to four o’clock before the next big news story broke. Daisy Peterson had been discovered wandering along the highway, barefoot and disoriented. Apparently, she’d escaped the old barn where she’d been confined for the past several weeks. Severely dehydrated and emaciated, she’d been rushed straight to the hospital.
She had a horrifying tale to tell of her ex, who’d been holding her prisoner. Within the hour, he was apprehended by the authorities. However, the only talking he was doing was demanding access to his lawyer. Apparently he’d forced her at gunpoint to make that call of distress to Josh on that fateful Friday evening. It was still unclear if he’d been the one to fire the shots, however. So far, no weapon had been uncovered that matched the ballistics.
A search warrant was obtained for his ranch, and several more boxes of the drug-laced bracelets were discovered. Apparently, he was the drug supplier they were looking for.
It was approaching six in the evening before the authorities gave Hope the green light to release the high schoolers from the premises. She sent them home with an official announcement on school letterhead that cancelled school and all related activities for the next twenty-four hours.
Hope retired to her office and trudged to her windows to stare blindly outside. Josh was feeling a little raw himself, as he joined her there. He longed to take her in his arms to offer comfort, but they were still on school grounds. Not to mention the pain in his shoulder was reaching screaming levels. Though he no longer had to wear a sling, his shoulder was protesting loudly after putting in such a long, grueling day. He backed up and sank into her office chair, instead.
“I’m numb on the inside, Josh. Just numb.” Hope hugged her arms around her middle. “I seriously came back home to Heart Lake armed with plans for improving attendance, raising test scores, and unifying a divided student body. Not dealing with…whatever this is. I have zero background working with gangs and drugs. I hate to stay it, but I’m starting to doubt whether I have the right skill set for this job. I want to be here. I want to help, but…” She huffed out a frustrated breath.
“You do have a background in dealing with the people of Heart Lake,” he reminded gently. “Your people. Your town. Your home, for as long as you choose to stay.” He picked up the recruitment letter that was still sitting on her desk.
She spun around, looking shocked. “Of course I choose to stay. This is my home!” Her gaze dropped to the piece of paper in his hand. “Oh,” she exclaimed softly. “I was meaning to say something about that, but there just hasn’t been any time today.”
“What are you trying to say, Dr. Remington?” He tapped the letter teasingly against his palm. “Have you been busy or something?”
“Josh,” she sighed, taking a step in his direction. “What are we going to do?”
He had no idea if she was still referring to the drama of their day, or if she’d moved on to the even more difficult topic of their future. The one he hoped and prayed they would be able to spend together.
She teetered a moment in her sassy red heels. Then, without warning, her eyes filled. “Oh, who am I trying to kid?” she quavered. “I should probably just turn in my resignation and be done with it. I know there aren’t any other positions open for me in Heart Lake right now, but…” She motioned helplessly at the letter in his hand. “There are other opportunities. Maybe I could find something else nearby that wouldn’t be too far of a commute.”
At her tears, something inside him broke. “Hope!” He stood and reached for her, the pain in his shoulder all but forgotten. Once upon a time, he’d been the world’s biggest fool. He’d allowed her to walk away in the glaring light of a thousand mixed signals. But there was no way he was leaving her to flounder alone this time.
And, no. He wasn’t going to sit back while she took some crap job that she didn’t really want out of the misconception that it was the only way for them to be together. They had options. Good ones, even if they weren’t in Heart Lake. And this time he was going with her.
Some way, somehow, he and Deck would find a way to make it work. Josh could help him run Lonestar Security from the blasted North Pole, if he had to. There was nothing he wouldn’t sacrifice to remain by Hope’s side.
Her face was damp from a steady gush of tears as she hugged him tighter. “Whatever you’re thinking right now, don’t. I’m not leaving you ever again,” she choked. She dropped her head wearily against his good shoulder. “I can’t.”
It took a second for him to grasp what she was saying. What she really meant. Joy cascaded through him at the thought that maybe, just maybe, his woman couldn’t stand the thought of living apart from him again any more than he could.
“It’s alright, babe. If you decide Heart Lake isn’t the place you’re meant to be, I’ll go with you this time. I promise,” he assured huskily, cuddling her closer. I’ll go anywhere you go. I just want to be with you. She owned every inch of his heart. He was one thousand percent hers.
“No. You and I both know there’s a part of you that would shrivel and die it I took you away from here.” Her fingers dug into the lapels of his jacket. “This is your home. Mine, too. It’s always been my home. The whole time I was away…” Her words were cut off by a gasp as he bent his head to capture her mouth in a soul-searing kiss.
“You’re my home, Hope. The only part of me that would shrivel and die is my heart if you aren’t with me.” He tipped his forehead against hers. “The truth is, it would be a lot safer for you to work somewhere else. Working here at Heart Lake High has never been a walk in the park, and it’s never going to be.”
“But they’re my students,” she moaned. “My school. My community. As ill-equipped as I am to handle everything that’s happened in the past few days, there’s a part of me that would feel like the world’s worst quitter if I abandoned them now. They trust me despite my inexperience, Josh. They’re depending on me. The truth is…as terrified as I am of staying and facing what’s coming, I think I’m even more terrified of not being here when they need me.”
He could feel her uncertainty warring with her resolve, but it was beginning to sound as if her old fighting spirit would come out on top.
“Then stay, and we’ll muddle through it together.” He nuzzled her temple. “As I’ve said before, I’ve always been on your team, and I always will be.”
“Okay.” She sniffled damply. “Okay, then. I say we chalk up my current melt-down to stress, call it a day, and blow this popsicle stand.”
“Now that’s a plan I can get behind, darling.” He bent to kiss her again, almost not having the heart to inform her that Deck would be arriving soon to drive them home in an armored vehicle. Josh still had his promise to Elmer Remington to keep, and that was going to entail exponentially tightening security around his bride-to-be in the coming weeks.
Deck wouldn’t be dropping Hope off at her rental home, either. He would be taking her home
— to her real home, where she belonged. For good this time. Their marriage license was sitting on the desk in his den, and the minister from the church on the lake was on his way to meet them there.
He’d been planning the surprise for days.
What Josh wasn’t expecting when Deck drove them home was the number of cars rowed up on both sides of the large circle driveway.
“What in the—?”
“Do not kill the messenger.” Deck waved a finger in mock warning. “I might have told a few folks about what you had planned, and, well, it’s not as if I could’ve predicted the outcome.”
No way! Though Josh was both mentally and physically exhausted after today’s ordeal, he couldn’t help smiling at the number of people who’d shown up to celebrate his and Hope’s once in a lifetime moment. “That’s it. You’re fired!” he growled.
“Nice try, but I own half the company.” Deck nosed the armored SUV to the front entrance. Officer Lincoln Hudson jogged down the steps of the veranda to swing open the back passenger door. His fiancée, Katie Burke, was smiling and waving from the top stair.
“Would someone mind filling me in on what’s going on?” Hope begged as she was bustled from the vehicle to the porch.
“Omigosh, y’all!” The curvy redhead awaiting them on the top step held out a hand to Hope. She was wearing a lacy white tunic over jeans and boots. “I know you probably weren’t expecting a small crowd, but there’s no way the town was going to just sit back and let the two of you get married in an empty living room, after all you’ve done for Heart Lake.”
“Married!” Hope felt her eyes bug out. “So that’s what this is all about?” We’re getting married? Like…right now? At first her heart sped at the thought; then it sank. I’m a wreck. A wrinkled, sniffly, stressed out wreck!