Learning to Live Again (Corbin's Bend, Season Two Book 9)

by Ruth Staunton

After everyone had ordered, Natalie began chattering excitedly about the activities Brent told her about. “He said all the current activities are posted on the community notice board,” she told them, “and he said that he would bring around the list of some of the upcoming classes so I can decide if there are ones I want to do. I hope there’s something fun. Maybe I can meet some of the kids in the neighborhood before school starts. Can I go check out the notice board in the morning, please?” She picked up a chip from the basket the waitress had delivered to the table when she took their orders, dipping into salsa and popping it in her mouth, looking expectantly from Grant to Lainie and back again.

  Grant shared a look with Lainie. She shrugged slightly, leaving it up to him. “I don’t see why not,” he told Natalie. “I think getting involved in some activities is a good idea. Of course, before you commit to anything you need to talk to us about it, okay?”

  “Sure,” Natalie said easily.

  Grant turned to Kathleen. “What about you? Are you interested in finding out more about it and the summer activities?” Kathleen looked at him as though he had suggested she spend the summer working in an underground mine.

  “No way,” she said in a tone of absolute finality.

  “Why not?” Natalie asked. “Don’t you want to get to know some people before school starts?”

  “Why would I want to get to know them?” Kathleen shot back. “They’re probably freaks just like their parents.”

  “Kathleen!” Grant and Lainie admonished simultaneously.

  “That is enough,” Grant went on, his voice taking on that deep, stern tone that made both Lainie and Natalie unconsciously sit up straight and go very quiet. “I realize you’re not happy about our move, and you’re entitled to your own feelings and opinions. However, in public, I expect you to keep them to yourself. Think what you want, but you are not going to be disrespectful to our neighbors. They’ve been nothing but kind to us.” Kathleen appeared totally unaffected by this pronouncement, but Grant wasn’t fooled. He had seen his share of stubborn teenagers trying to play it tough. They’d usually been in places he would kill Kathleen for going, but he knew the deal. She might pretend she didn’t hear him, but she couldn’t ignore him entirely, however much she might wish she could.

  “I think they’re nice,” Natalie piped up. “Brent seems really cool.”

  “Of course you do,” Kathleen muttered. “You’re a freak as much as they are.” Natalie went white as bone then a second later, she went painfully red and her eyes flared.

  “Kathleen Elaina Taylor!” Grant snapped before Natalie could reply. “Apologize to your sister, right now!” His voice was low in deference to the other customers around them, but no less fierce for its lack of volume. He’d had instructors at the Academy who knew the trick of freezing blood without raising their voice, and he had long since learned to do the same.

  Kathleen glared back at him. For all she looked like her mother, Grant knew she had gotten no little of her stubbornness and temper from him. Even so, he was not prepared to put up with it, not anymore. Holding her gaze, he laid his hands flat on the table and leaned across till he was inches from her face. “Now!”

  Furious color rose on her face. For the briefest second, she hesitated, but then she turned in Natalie’s direction and murmured, “Sorry.”

  As apologies went, it wasn’t much of one. It was flat and completely insincere. Still, she had done it. For now, that was enough. He nodded in acknowledgement and approval, but added, “We will talk about this later.”

  They lapsed into a subdued but uneasy silence. No one seemed to know quite how to recover their earlier conversation. Luckily, the waitress arrived bearing plates of steaming enchiladas, burritos, and tacos. By the time the plates were distributed, the awkwardness had dissipated, replaced by a more comfortable silence as everyone tucked into their food. The food was very good. Several people stopped by to introduce themselves and welcome their family to the community. It wasn’t long before Natalie was pestering people who came by with questions. Before the end of the meal, they had learned not only the movie schedule but also the pool hours, and where to get groceries. People there were amazingly friendly, and Grant felt himself feeling more at home than he had in a long time.

  * * * * *

  The moment they made it home Kathleen shot out of the car like a rocket. Lainie, following her, felt her stomach knot up with nervousness. It was all fine and good for Grant to come down on Kathleen about her attitude, but she was the one who would be dealing with Kathleen in full-blown tantrum mode for days on end. Grant was right. Kathleen had been inexcusably rude both to their neighbors and to Natalie. She didn’t disagree with that, but Grant did not understand what dealing with Kathleen was like. Kathleen would make it her business to make everyone’s life hell for days, and Lainie would be stuck dealing with her. Grant had a job. While he did not go on regular rotation until next week, he would at least be out of the house doing paperwork, going through orientation, picking up uniforms and the like. She would be the one stuck in the house unpacking and dealing with a moody teenager. It was going to be a long week.

  Kathleen slammed the door, heedless of Lainie coming in right behind her. Grant reached over Lainie’s shoulder and caught the door just before it slammed in Lainie’s face. He moved around her and held the door open, ushering both her and Natalie inside. He closed the door softly behind Natalie and then followed Kathleen up the stairs. Lainie said a silent prayer that he would not upset Kathleen further and went into the living room, collapsing on the couch. With a wary look at where her father had gone, Natalie followed her mother, sitting down beside her and picking up the TV remote. Lainie was vaguely aware of Natalie turning on the television and flipping channels, but before she could even register what was on, Grant came down the stairs, carrying Kathleen’s cell phone and MP3 player. Kathleen was hot on his heels, screeching in indignation.

  “Mom! Dad’s trying to take my phone and my music. What am I supposed to do without them? I don’t know anyone here. I’ll be bored out of my mind. He can’t do that! It’s not fair! Tell him!”

  Lainie sighed heavily, looking around for Grant. He was headed into their shared office, taking absolutely no notice of Kathleen or her screeching. She pushed up off the couch and followed him. He could hardly have chosen anything worse. Kathleen was right; she would be bored out of her mind and consequently would be insufferable to live with.

  Grant was locking Kathleen’s electronics in the safe where his service weapon was kept. Lainie leaned against the doorway, watching him. Aside from the safe, the room contained only an old couch, a battered desk where their computer stood, and several stacks of boxes containing Grant’s law enforcement manuals and Lainie’s teaching materials, the room was mostly bare. They hadn’t had an office in their house back home and hadn’t yet had time to buy much furniture for this one. “She has a point, you know,” she said. “We don’t know anyone here yet. She uses the phone to keep up with her friends back home. What is she supposed to do if you take that away? You’re essentially forcing her into isolation.”

  Grant locked the safe and stood up, turning to face Lainie. “That’s too bad. She’s not supposed to like the consequences. That’s the point. Maybe a week of being bored will remind her to hold her tongue and not be so mean and disrespectful. Surely you are not trying to suggest that the way she behaved is in any way acceptable.”

  “No, it’s not that,” Lainie replied. “I know she was rude, but I understand her point. It’s a hard transition. It’s understandable that she would be angry. We’ve taken her away from everything and everyone she knows. You can’t expect her to just accept that. She needs time and understanding, not being forced into even more misery because you took her life line away for being angry.”

  “Is that what you think this is about?” Grant asked. “You think I’m punishing her for being angry?” He had moved over to lean against the wall and was watching her intently, arms crossed. Lainie
opened her mouth to speak, but Grant continued before she got the chance. “No, I don’t think you do. In fact, I think you know exactly why I did what I did. You’re only in here discussing it because Kathleen came running to you.”

  That was uncomfortably true, but Lainie protested nonetheless. “It’s not that,” she insisted. “I just know what this is going to be like for her. She’s going to be miserable, and then she’s going to try to make me miserable in return. You don’t know what it’s like to be stuck in the house with a moody teenager all day. It’s going to be hell. It’ll be more of a punishment for me than for her. Trust me. I speak from experience.”

  “That’s even more reason why she doesn’t need to get her way,” Grant said. “She’ll find out quickly that whining and complaining will only make her lose it longer. It’ll be different this time. I’ll be here, for one.”

  “No you won’t,” Lainie said stubbornly. “You have to go to Denver in the morning and then I’m sure you’ll find some other errand or something to do. It’ll be me dealing with her and you know it. It always is.”

  “It won’t be this time,” Grant persisted. “I’m here now. If she gives you any trouble while I’m gone, just let me know and I will deal with it. It’s my job to set boundaries and enforce them.”

  Lainie eyed him skeptically. She really wished she could believe him. She wanted to. It wasn’t that she did not believe he was sincere. She knew he meant it, but meaning it and actually doing it were two different things. Grant didn’t exactly have a good track record when it came to following through and helping her with the kids. However much she wished she could, she had a hard time believing that that was really going to change now.

  Grant must have seen what she was thinking on her face because he continued, “Hey, I thought you agreed to let me be the Head of Household?”

  He knew damn well she had, but she didn’t believe for a minute that was some magic wand that was going to change everything. “Is that going to be your answer for everything now?” she asked irritably.

  Grant didn’t answer. Instead, he crossed over to her and took her chin in his hand. “Didn’t you?”

  Reluctantly, Lainie nodded, huffing in exasperation.

  “Then trust me to handle it.”

  Why did he insist on acting like everything was just so simple? It wasn’t, not at all. Things didn’t change like that. Annoyed, she tried to twist away, but he held her fast, leveling her with a steady look, waiting and clearly expecting an answer.

  “Okay, okay, fine,” Lainie said. “Just remember I warned you she was going to make everyone’s life miserable.”

  Grant didn’t seem concerned in the least. “Duly noted. Oh, and Lainie, you remember you agreed to let me handle it because if you go against me with the kids again, I’ll not only discipline the child. I’ll spank you too.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lainie awoke the next morning in a jumble of confused thoughts and feelings. Grant’s threat had haunted her all night long. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t possibly mean it. Could he? Who did he think he was, threatening her like that? She was their mother. Of course she was going to speak up for her children, especially when she thought he was wrong. That was her right, and she’d be damned if she was going to let him intimidate her into being some cowed little submissive woman because he threatened her with a spanking. If that’s what he was thinking, he had another thing coming.

  Then she had to deal with a bunch of strange women invading her home before she was even settled herself. Although part of her was curious about the other women in the community, most of her wished they had not decided to descend on her en masse this morning. She wasn’t an immaculate housekeeper even on a good day and right now the house was a complete wreck. Even though they were coming to help her unpack, she inwardly cringed at the thought of anyone else seeing the house in this kind of mess. It violated every socially acceptable standard she knew. She’d dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, not her rattiest but one she didn’t mind getting dirty either. It wasn’t the way she would have preferred to meet people, but it would have to do.

  In the kitchen, she dug through the boxes searching for the one with the few nonperishable food items they had brought with them to have for snacks and such on their trip across the country. There was a little cereal left in the boxes. She remembered it clearly. If she could just find the damn things. Grant had picked up milk from the nearest community market when he went out on his jog earlier this morning. She’d have to make a trip to Denver soon to stock up. She remembered from their trip here in the spring that that seemed to be what most people did, but cereal and milk would get them through this morning at least.

  She finally located the cereal. Someone had stuffed it into an empty clothes basket, which made absolutely no sense. She puzzled over it for a moment but rapidly decided she didn’t have the brainpower to try to make sense of it this early in the morning. Luckily, the basket containing the cereal also contained a small container of coffee. Coffee gave her hope she might actually have a functioning brain before lunch. Miraculously, the coffee pot was sitting on the counter in plain sight. She stepped over a few boxes, pushing them out of the way as she went, and started coffee. She made a larger pot this morning than she normally would have for just herself and Grant. Her house might be a total wreck, but she could at least offer her guests coffee.

  Grant came in just as the coffee was beginning to brew, filling the kitchen with its rich aroma. He was shower damp and freshly shaved, dressed in neatly pressed tan slacks and a light blue, short-sleeved button-down shirt that set off his auburn hair. He carried in a lightweight navy blazer over his arm. He had his orientation for his new job at Sandy Ridge College this morning, and he clearly wanted to make a good impression. It was still a rarity to see him out of uniform, but Lainie couldn’t deny she appreciated the sight.

  “Thank God, you found the coffee,” he said, weaving his way through the boxes and bending to kiss her. He smelled wonderful, like soap and aftershave and that unidentifiable scent that was uniquely him.

  “Uh-huh,” Lainie murmured, snuggling sleepily against Grant. “Another few minutes and I might even find cups.”

  Grant chuckled. “Who needs cups? We’ll just drink from the pot.”

  Lainie laughed quietly. “Oh no you don’t, I’m sharing that coffee with the women who come this morning. They might be coming into a disaster area, but I can at least offer them coffee.”

  “Okay, fine, if you insist...” Grant teased. He kissed her once more, hard enough to leave her breathless, then turned away and cheerfully began sorting through the various boxes.

  It took several moments of careful breathing before Lainie could will her heart to stop pounding and gain some control over the sudden fire humming in her veins. “You’re in a good mood this morning,” she said. “What’s got you so happy?”

  Grant shrugged. “Can’t I just want to kiss my wife?”

  “Of course you can,” Lainie replied. He could. It wasn’t as if he never did. In point of fact, Grant was generally affectionate, or he had been once, and even at their most distant he had always been good about remembering to kiss her hello and goodbye, even if it was often quick and perfunctory. There had been nothing whatsoever perfunctory about that kiss. “I was just surprised,” she went on. “You seem to be in an exceptionally good mood.”

  “It’s a new day and a new start,” Grant said. “What’s not to be happy about?”

  “Having a house full of strangers for a start,” Lainie grumbled. “How am I supposed to entertain these women when I can’t even find a damn coffee cup? This is ridiculous. Nobody wants a bunch of strangers barging in before they can even get unpacked. Who in their right mind would think this is a good idea?”

  “They’re coming to help you,” Grant reminded her. “I’m sure no one expects to be entertained, and no one is coming to inspect your housekeeping. They know we just moved in.”

  Lainie snorted. “Shows what you
know. They’ll notice. Women always notice.”

  “Maybe they will,” Grant said, unconcerned, “but it won’t matter. They’ve all been exactly where you are. Everyone here was new once.”

  Lainie wasn’t convinced in the slightest. “Like that’s going to stop them from gawking at me.” This was going to be ghastly. It was worse than the first day of high school. At least then she’d had the option of blending in with the other clueless freshman without having to endure all the popular girls suddenly gathering around to point and stare at her. Her stomach clenched painfully at the thought, a wave of nausea washing over her. Stop it. She gritted her teeth and willed herself to calm down. This was absurd. She’d been facing down classrooms full of hormonal teenagers for more than a decade. Surely she could handle meeting a few of her neighbors.

  “Hey,” Grant said suddenly in her ear. He had crossed the room to her, and she had not even seen him move, lost in her thoughts as she was. “It’s going to be fine. No one’s going to make a spectacle of you. You know Venia. She’s just trying to help.” He dropped his hands on her shoulders, rubbing gently.

  Lainie nodded, swallowing hard. “I found cereal, if you want breakfast.”

  “Just as soon as I locate a coffee cup,” Grant told her, going back to his search.

  He came up with cups a few moments later. Setting them on the counter, he filled them both with coffee, pulling milk from the refrigerator and adding a little to Lainie’s before he handed it to her. “I haven’t located the sugar yet. Sorry,” he apologized.

  “I’ll live,” Lainie replied, taking a cautious sip and wincing at the bitterness. Then, the zip of caffeine hit her, and she took another, far less cautious, swallow. It tasted horrible, but it was worth it for the chance that she might get her brain is some sort of working order before anyone arrived.

  “I’ll be back to help as soon as I can,” Grant told her, standing at the counter pouring cereal and milk into a bowl. “I’m not sure how long this orientation will take though. I probably won’t be back before this afternoon.”