Chemistry Lessons

by Rebecca H Jamison

  Rosie clasped her hands. “StainMaster! That’s perfect. I bet he’s a master at making stains.” Rosie called out to Joe, who was scraping mud off the road nearby. “We’ve found the dog a new human. Destry says he wants him.”

  “Great!” Joe propped himself on his shovel. “I’ll get the first-aid kit and help you clean him up. I haven’t had time to do it yet.”

  “If we can get a few supplies, Tanner and I can fix him up,” Rosie said. “Or maybe Destry would like to help since it’s his dog.”

  Tanner hooked his thumbs through his belt loops and tilted his head in the direction of the teenagers who now stood leaning on their shovels. “Those boys haven’t done a thing since Destry came over here.”

  Destry looked over at the boys. “I better get them back on the job.” He rubbed StainMaster’s fur. “See you later, buddy.”

  Joe passed a hand over his bloodshot eyes. “I’ll help doctor the dog if you don’t mind shoveling, Tanner. I’m running out of steam.” He handed the shovel to Tanner, who dug some work gloves out of his pockets before taking it.

  Tanner and Destry walked back to the mud together. “You’re not fooling me,” Tanner muttered, squinting at him.

  “Fooling you about what?”

  “Your whole good-guy act,” Tanner responded, spitting out the words.

  Destry chuckled. “I wasn’t trying to fool you.” They were standing within hearing range of the teens now. This didn’t seem like the kind of conversation two teachers should have with each other, especially if it had anything to do with their feelings toward Rosie. “But I’d be happy to discuss your concerns in private later on.”

  Tanner waded over to the boys and slung his shovel into the mud. He threw a few shovels of sludge into the wheelbarrow before he spoke again. “As far as I can tell, my concerns are already public knowledge. At least most people who follow the news in Philadelphia know about them.”

  Destry gulped, resisting the urge to look away. So he’d read the news articles? Destry had begun to hope his neighbors had read them long ago and decided not to believe them. Instead, it seemed Tanner might have been the first to find them. Talk about a worst-case scenario.

  Once again he wished he could escape to a cave for the rest of his life. It was a feeling that hadn’t entirely left him since the day sixteen months earlier when he’d opened the paper. The financial pages should have been safe enough to read on the day after his brother’s death, but there it was—the top article on F1: Zelcom Shares Plummet. He knew at once that it was his fault. He had tipped the first domino when he sold his shares.

  That was the terrible thing about business—in solving one problem, he often created another. It had all begun the month before when the head accountant tipped him off that money was missing from employee retirement accounts. By the time they traced the problem to Cody, he had used up over a million dollars—more than Destry had ever kept in a bank. He fired Cody immediately. Then Destry sold his Zelcom holdings and transferred the money back into the employees’ retirement accounts.

  Plenty of reporters had asked Destry why he’d sold the stock. Not wanting to ruin his dead brother’s reputation, he refused to answer them, but it only fueled their desire to know more. They ended up interviewing anyone who would talk. As usual, the head accountant maintained the strictest confidentiality.

  Now here was Tanner, calling him a liar in front of his future students.

  “You can’t believe everything you read,” he told Tanner, measuring his words to mimic a casual conversation. Then he turned to the high school boys. “Why don’t we see how fast we can fill up this wheelbarrow?” He whipped out his phone and set the timer. “On your mark, get set, go!”

  The boys ripped into the mud, scraping against the asphalt and flinging muck into the wheelbarrow. Drops of silt splashed onto their jeans. Destry slipped his phone into his pocket and heaved his shovel into the mud. Work was better than fighting with Rosie’s fiancé.

  It was an unwelcome thought—that she had a fiancé.

  Beside them, Tanner shoveled methodically, his expression stiff, as if he were about to serve as prosecuting attorney. Was this how Tanner would treat Rosie during a disagreement? Perhaps he would use the same angry tone and refuse to let her defend her viewpoint. The thought sent a dull pain up from Destry’s jaw to the top of his head.

  The wheelbarrow reached its limit and Alan wheeled it off to dump it. Destry challenged the boys to fill the other two just as quickly. Muscles flexing and foreheads sweating, the boys scooped the wet clay as fast as they could. He could tell they were used to hard labor, but their eyes gleamed with excitement at this unique and noble mission.

  Tanner stopped to catch his breath. He watched Destry for a minute before speaking. “There’s more evidence against you than there is mud on this road. Care to explain how that could be?” He obviously wasn’t going to let this go. A few of the boys stared at Destry, curious, confused, and waiting for his answer.

  If Destry didn’t say something, they might think he was guilty. He couldn’t let that happen. “When you run a business with five thousand employees, their mistakes become your mistakes. You fix the mistakes as if they were your own, but that doesn’t make you guilty.”

  Tanner stared him down as the boys stopped shoveling. “That’s what they all say up at the state pen. It’s always someone else’s fault. I guess it was someone else who found out Zelcom was in trouble and sold all your stock. Someone else stole the money from your employees, and someone else drugged your brother.” He was shouting now.

  Everyone stilled, and Destry gritted his teeth. Tanner had crossed the line and it took every ounce of willpower not to lash out and deck him, but he kept his fists on the shovel handle, refusing to hand over fuel for Tanner’s fire. Nothing Destry could say would change the way Tanner felt about his past. His only concern now was Rosie’s future. He couldn’t let her marry such a jerk.

  One of the boys spoke up. “Someone stole from you, Mr. Steadman? And drugged your brother?”

  Destry was still thinking about how Tanner didn’t deserve Rosie, but the boy’s words gradually seeped into his brain. Destry met his gaze. “My brother got addicted to prescription drugs after he had surgery. He wanted the drugs so badly that he went into debt to get them. When the collection agencies came after him, he started stealing and gambling to pay his bills.” He glanced toward Tanner. “I failed to recognize what was going on until it was too late.”

  The boy’s mouth formed an O. His eyes creased at the corners. “I have a cousin like that.”

  “Why don’t you boys go dump the wheelbarrows?” Tanner said. “They’re both full.”

  They looked at Destry until he nodded. “Go ahead.”

  They raced off with the wheelbarrows, leaving Tanner and Destry alone in the mud.

  Tanner wiped his brow without looking at Destry. “I’m not going to stand by and let you deceive those boys into thinking you’re a role model.”

  This had gone on long enough. Destry turned to Tanner and stared him down. “I don’t think this has anything to do with the boys, and you have no idea what you’re talking about. I sold the stock, which I personally owned, to replace the money my brother stole from our employees.”

  Tanner shot Destry a look of irritation. “You expect me to believe that your brother spent over a million dollars on drugs? The way I figure it, it’d take an addict over ten years to spend that much.”

  Destry had wondered the same things himself. He wasn’t sure how his brother had spent so much, or how he didn’t notice the missing money sooner, but the main thing right now was that Destry was telling the truth. “You’re right. He was also into gambling and lost a lot of it that way. If he was still alive, maybe I could ask him how he managed to spend so much.”

  Tanner squinted at him, and a sly smile spread across his face. “It’s pretty convenient he died when he did.” Of course he would come to this conclusion.

  Destry tightened his gr
ip on the shovel. “Don’t even go there, Smith. I didn’t kill my brother.”

  Tanner’s nostrils flared. “Seems to me that there’s plenty of evidence against you.”

  Destry turned back to shoveling the mud, trying to work off his anger, so he didn’t haul off and hit this guy. “I would have thought anyone Rosie picked for a boyfriend would think more intelligently about the gossip he read in the newspaper.”

  “I’m not her boyfriend. I’m her fiancé.” Tanner flung his shovel off to the side of the road, where the boys had cleared the mud.

  Destry watched the shovel clatter over the pavement. “Not if I—” He turned back just in time to see Tanner’s fist coming toward him. Hot pain shot through his nose and rage filled the rest of him. What kind of coward hits a man when he’s not even looking? Destry took a step back to steady himself and then took a swing at Tanner, but his feet were stuck in the mud and he fell backwards in a splash.

  Destry rolled to his side and spat out blood. The mud sucked at his arms and legs, almost as if he’d fallen into a tar bath. Sticky slime oozed up his sleeves and inside his ears. He could feel it sliding past his collar. Guarding his face with his arm, he looked around for Tanner, but he couldn’t see him anywhere.

  As Destry struggled to sit up, he could hear Rosie yelling. “Are you okay, Destry?”

  That’s when he noticed Tanner had walked back to the fire engine and now stood with his back to him. “Yes.” The word slurred through his aching lips.

  Rosie faced Tanner with her hands on her hips. “What is wrong with you?” she yelled.

  The weight of his brother’s mistakes had rested on Destry’s shoulders for so long. He was done being the nice guy, done being walked on, done being accused of things he didn’t do. Tanner was the last straw.

  Hoping to regain his dignity, Destry rolled to his hands and knees, preparing to give Tanner exactly what he deserved. That was when he saw them—a pair of cowboy boots stuck upright in the mud. A glance toward the fire engine proved his suspicion—Tanner was standing in muddy socks. He’d been in such a hurry to get away that he’d left his boots stuck in the mud.

  Destry laughed. He wiped his stinging lip with the inside of his collar—possibly the only unsullied part of his clothing. Then, still on his knees, he scooped a handful of mud and poured it into Tanner’s right boot. He did the same with the other. Then, like a creature emerging from a swamp, he stood up in all his muddy glory, leaving the boots still stuck in the mud.

  Since Tanner’s back was turned to him, Destry couldn’t tell if he was still in a violent mood, but he seemed to be receiving a tongue lashing from Rosie. Destry couldn’t hear what she was saying, but a stream of words poured out through her bared teeth. As he got closer, he balled his fists, trying to read Tanner’s body language. He caught Rosie’s last sentence. “That isn’t any way for a teacher to act in front of his students.”

  Tanner turned toward Destry, his head bowed, one hand in his pocket, and the other scratching the back of his neck. His stance had relaxed, and it would have been the perfect time to belt him right in the nose. “I’m sorry I lost my temper.” He kept his eyes on Destry’s fist as he spoke.

  Destry thought through Rosie’s words: That isn’t any way for a teacher to act in front of his students. Even though his nose dripped blood and his lips stung, he’d have to back down now if he wanted to stay on Rosie’s good side. He waited until Tanner’s eyes met his to answer. “Nothing a cold pack and a hot shower won’t cure.”

  Tanner brushed his hands together, as if trying to get dirt off of them. “I don’t know what came over me back there.” He was probably only behaving for Rosie’s sake.

  Destry rolled his eyes. Only a fool would fall for that, and Rosie was no fool.

  Rosie swiveled to face him. “When you figure it out, I’d like to know.” She spoke through her teeth so her words came out like a growl.

  “I think I can clue you both in,” Destry said, keeping his eyes on Tanner and his arms prepared to block any punches. “Tanner felt threatened and decided to defend his territory.”

  The fireman cracked a smile as he struggled to keep hold of StainMaster’s collar.

  Tanner’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward. “I already told you both why I’m upset with him. He’s a crook. Not to mention that he also killed his brother.”

  “That’s a lie,” Destry bellowed. He balled his hands into fists, waiting for Rosie to step away.

  But Rosie only came closer, glaring at Tanner. “You promised we wouldn’t talk about those articles until tomorrow.”

  StainMaster broke away from the fireman and rushed in between the two men, barking, while Rosie took Tanner by his arm and pulled him back a few feet. “Today isn’t the right time.”

  Destry grabbed hold of the dog’s collar and reminded himself again of what Rosie had said. He could come out the winner if he kept his cool. “At least there’s one advantage to all this mess,” he said, petting the dog’s fur. “People always expect pets to look like their owners. We match better this way.”

  Rosie didn’t laugh at his joke. She bent forward, trying to get a better look at Destry’s face. Then she scrunched her nose. “That’s gotta hurt.”

  Destry tried for a smile, curving only one side of his lip. “However bad it looks, it hurts worse.”

  The fireman grabbed StainMaster’s collar and pulled him back to finish working on his ear. “You’re welcome to use the first-aid kit. I’ve got to finish cleaning up this animal.”

  “Let me help you, Destry.” Rosie walked to the kit, pulling out gauze and some saline solution.

  Tanner took the supplies from her hand and passed them to Destry. “He’s a big boy. He can help himself.”

  With her hands empty, Rosie crossed her arms, gripping her wrist. “But—”

  Destry’s mouth twitched, despite his split lip. “Tanner’s right. I can help myself, and I plan to—in more ways than one.”

  Rosie pulled Tanner over to the back of the fire engine, where she probably thought they couldn’t be overheard. Still, Tanner spoke loud enough for Destry to hear. “I don’t think he should be able to pass himself off as an honest man.”

  As he cleaned mud from his hands with alcohol wipes, Destry strained to catch Rosie’s response. “Yeah, well, he’s not the one I agreed to marry. Can you just behave yourself? I never thought you could be so violent.” Hearing her words, Destry almost raised his arms in victory.

  He couldn’t resist turning his head to observe the scene. That was when he saw that Tanner had wrapped Rosie in his arms. “I was just putting him in his place.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

  She stood still as a statue, her hands at her waist.

  Destry couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation, but seeing them together like that was the worst blow Destry could have received. In agony, he remembered the feel of her body against his—how delicate she felt for a woman so strong. Knowing he might not hold her again was a kind of torture he had never felt before. But then Rosie broke free from Tanner’s arms and, Destry clearly saw her push her hand against Tanner’s chest, putting an end to the embrace. Now there was an image he could replay in his darkest moments, the picture of hope and new possibilities.

  Chapter 18

  She had seen two extremes of Tanner in the last week, two sides of him that she had never seen before—a man who could get angry enough to hit another man and an apologetic romantic who wrote her a love letter that made her blush just thinking about it.

  He had worked hard to regain her approval. The day after the fight, he had washed Rosie’s dog and changed the oil in Grandpa’s truck. The next day, after they finished their work at the school, he took her four-wheeling in the fields. He brought her a mason jar full of sunflowers and fixed her dinner twice.

  She appreciated that he could apologize, and she was sure that he would never get violent with her, the way he did with Destry. Still, a part of her held
back, disillusioned.

  Her grandmother had warned her that perfect men didn’t exist. How far, though, should she be willing to go in the opposite direction? If only Grandma were alive, Rosie could ask her advice. It wouldn’t be the same asking Grandpa. He was much less likely to forgive a man’s faults, and he already distrusted Tanner’s ability to be a good husband, but she couldn’t keep hiding what happened from him. He was bound to hear about it eventually.

  Grandpa sat across from Rosie at the breakfast table that Friday morning, swirling his fork around in his scrambled eggs while Rosie jabbed at hers. Telling him how Tanner had hit Destry could cement Grandpa’s opinion against him for good, but she launched into the story, trying to emphasize Tanner’s concerns about Destry’s integrity. She didn’t mention Tanner’s jealousy—or the fact that he had every reason to be jealous.

  Grandpa reached for her hand, holding it in his trembling fingers. “Frankly, I’m glad Tanner had the gumption to hit someone.” Grandpa squeezed her hand and then went back to eating his eggs. “It’s just too bad he picked Destry. I like that guy.”

  Rosie expected a grin to break through, signaling that Grandpa was being sarcastic, but it didn’t. He was serious. “So you’re not worried about Tanner trying to start a fight?” she asked, her muscles relaxing.

  “Not at all. In fact, it makes me feel better about him. He’s always impressed me as a mama’s boy. It’s good to know he can defend you when the need arises.” She had expected him to say something about Tanner’s bad temper. Perhaps, all those experiences with angry stepdads made her overly sensitive.

  Through the screen door, she heard wheels rolling over the gravel driveway. Figuring Tanner was here to pick her up for school, she kissed Grandpa on the top of his head. “I’ve got to go.”

  “Tanner isn’t perfect, but he’s a good man—nothing like those buffoons Azalea picked.”

  Rosie laughed, silently agreeing. Her chest felt lighter after talking to Grandpa.

  He pointed an arthritic finger at her and raised his eyebrows. “Now don’t tell Azalea I said that about her husbands.”