by Rachel Hanna
“Well, that will get you anywhere. You can’t give up, Bella, because I’ve learned that the best things in life are sometimes just around that corner that you’re afraid to turn,” she said as she wiped down one of the counters. Before Bella could respond, a customer came in and their workday continued.
***
“Hey, buddy!” Bella said with a smile as Ethan walked into the kitchen. Sharon had agreed to bring him home from school that day so Bella could do a little shopping for his Halloween costume. He’d wanted to be Spiderman, of course, so she went out and bought him the best costume she could find.
Bella was thankful that she had saved quite a bit of money to send to Lori for Christmas shopping. It was that money that would get her through those first few months without having to worry much.
“Hi, Aunt Bella…” he said, throwing his backpack onto the stool by the breakfast bar.
“How was school today?” she asked as she stirred a pot of frozen dumplings. She was attempting to make chicken and dumplings since they were one of Ethan’s favorites.
“Not great. Someone made fun of me. About my mom…” he said hanging his head. Bella froze in place. Who would make fun of a child whose mother had died two weeks before?
“What?” was all she could say as she put down the spoon and turned to him.
“This kid, Jake Oliver, is a real jerk. He got mad at me because I was the line leader, so he said my family was trash since my Mom got hit by a garbage truck.”
Bella’s anger started to rise to the surface as she struggled to put a muzzle on her mouth. She intended to take care of little Jake Oliver as soon as possible whether he was seven years old or not. She leaned on the counter across from him and grabbed both of his hands.
“Ethan, some kids are silly and say stupid things. One day, Jake is going to feel really sorry for saying something so mean to you. I’m sorry he said it, but you know it’s not true.”
“I know, but everyone stared. It made me feel so bad. Howie punched him in the arm, but he couldn’t take those words back.”
“Hey, I have some good news! I found that Spiderman costume you wanted today.” She handed him the bag with the costume inside. Ethan opened it, muttered a half-hearted thanks and walked down the hall.
With that, he went to his room and shut the door. Bella knew he needed time alone, so she left it at that. But, she had a definite plan to make a visit to the school the next morning.
***
“Hello?” Bella said as she quickly answered her phone just after eleven at night. Ethan was fast asleep, and she didn’t want her loud Black Eyed Peas ringtone to wake him up.
“Desiree? It’s Nathan. We need to have a chat.”
She felt acid literally rising up her throat at the sound of his voice. Nathan had always grossed her out with his yellow teeth and paunchy belly. He was exactly the guy most people would imagine sitting on the other side of his computer screen watching X-rated movies.
“What?” she said trying to sound disinterested.
“Sonya tells me you had your stuff shipped to some redneck Georgia town?”
“That’s really none of your business.”
“Well, you see, it is my business. You signed a contract, Desiree. You owe me three more months, and I plan to collect. You know you have fans, and they are expecting to see a lot more of you. You need to get your ass back here pronto because you’ve cost me money holding up production.” His tone was angry and pointed, and Bella didn’t appreciate it at all. She and Nathan had never been friendly. He was only interested in what was between her legs and how much money it could make him.
Bella sat there silent for a moment trying to figure out what to say next. On one hand, she didn’t want him to know anything about her personal life. On the other hand, she knew that he would never give up hounding her until she told him why she left like she did. She figured that he might have a heart if she was honest with him. Anything was possible, right?
“Look, Nathan, I’m going to be honest with you. My sister was killed in a head-on collision with a garbage truck. She was my only family except for her little boy. I now have to become his mother, and I am not coming back to California.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, but that doesn’t change the fact that we have a contract we have to settle,” he said. She could hear him rummaging around doing something else, and it irritated the crap out of her. Why did she open up to him in the first place?
“Nathan, I have to go now.”
“You’d better come up with a babysitter for the kid so you can come back and finish shooting this movie. I will give you another week to figure it out, Desiree,” he said before he slammed the phone down.
Bella sat there staring at her cell phone for several minutes. What was she going to do now? She knew that Nathan would never just let it go. When he was a man on a mission, he was unstoppable. The last thing she wanted was for him to show up in her small town and create havoc for her and Ethan. She also knew that there was no way on Earth she could just leave Ethan so soon after his mother died.
Heartsick and nauseous from her phone call with Nathan, she slid down under the covers of her sister’s bed and attempted to fall asleep. At one in the morning, it became apparent that she wasn’t going to fall asleep, so she flipped on the light and started reading. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 5
“So, that’s a decaf, no foam, Irish Creme latte with chocolate sprinkles?” Bella asked the teenager at her cash register.
“Yeah,” the teen said while staring at her cell phone and texting.
Bella was finally getting into the swing of her new job. She and Roslyn had really bonded, and Bella considered asking her to keep Ethan for a week so she could finish up the movie. She knew she’d have to make up some elaborate story, but getting Nathan off her back was job one. As much as she hated the thought of taking her clothes off and having sex with multiple people on camera, she could at least get that last jolt of money and be done with her seedy life in California.
“Bella, is that your phone ringing?” Roslyn called from the other end of the work area.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Let me grab that,” she said running over to her purse. “Hello?”
“Is this Bella Clay?” a man’s voice asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“You’re Ethan’s guardian?” he asked.
“Who wants to know?” she responded with her hand on her hip. Bella was always on guard. It was just part of who she was.
“My name is Grant Brady. Ethan is in my P.E. class and my history class,” he said. His voice was full of Southern drawl mixed with what sounded like raw sex appeal. Although she couldn’t be sure, Bella had become a great judge of how sexy a man was even over the phone.
“Oh, sorry…” she said apologizing for her snappiness. Sometimes she had to remind herself that this was “small town USA” and not the big city. Being wary and defensive was not going to make her popular there.
“No problem. I understand that you’ve been under a lot of stress recently with your sister’s passing,” he said. His voice was comforting in a strange way. She waved her hand at Roslyn and stepped outside into the crisp Fall air so she could hear him better.
“Is everything okay with Ethan?” she asked as she sat down at one of the bistro tables outside of the coffee house.
“Well, no. Apparently some kid named Jake has been making fun of Ethan’s mom passing away…”
“Yeah, Jake told me last night. I told him to ignore the kid,” she said rolling her eyes.
“He tried that, but apparently Jake was persistent. And so, at recess today, Ethan punched him in the eye.”
“What?” Bella shouted into the phone. “Little Ethan clocked him?” she asked trying to stifle a smile.
“Yes, he did. And now both boys are in Principal Dalton’s office,” he said. She could have sworn she heard a smile on his face, too. “She asked me to call you and see if you can come down here
.”
“Oh, sure… Let me tell my boss, and I’ll be right over,” Bella said, already starting to remove her apron as she walked back into the coffee shop. She hung up the phone and quickly explained what was going on to Roslyn. She found it pretty funny, too, and that just reaffirmed to Bella why she liked Roslyn so much.
About fifteen minutes later, Bella found herself walking through the doors of the old elementary school building. She believed that every elementary school was the same. They were all filled with long hallways and what seemed to be short ceilings. They smelled of ink and Salisbury steak and old books.
As she rounded the corner to the office, she could see Ethan and another boy sitting with their feet dangling in front of the Principal’s desk. She couldn’t help but stifle a giggle as she thought of shy little Ethan cold-cocking that kid for making fun of his mother. Good for him, she thought.
“Miss Clay?” a woman said from behind her. The woman, who seemed to be about six feet tall, was wearing a dark navy suit with a skirt and had red hair that looked like it came from a really old bottle… in the 1960s.
“Yes?” Bella said.
“I’m Principal Dalton. I’m glad you could come down here. I’m quite worried about Ethan,” she said in her high pitched, squeaky voice.
“Worried?” Bella asked as if she had no idea what she meant.
“Can we chat for a moment? We can sit over here in the cafeteria,” she said pointing to the big eating area. It had those long rectangular tables with chairs that were attached. Bella’s memories of elementary school were mixed. She’d loved it until she was eight years old. She’d loved a lot of things until she was eight years old.
“Mrs. Dalton, before we get started, I just want to say that Ethan is in a transitional period right now. I mean, his mother just died. I’m sure he will hit some rough patches along the way…”
“Miss Clay, he punched another child in the eye. That is not tolerated here,” she said.
“Believe me, I understand that. However, this child said something very horrible to Ethan just the other day. He is bullying a boy who just lost his mother…” Bella was already starting to get aggravated at the Principal’s seeming lack of empathy. She reminded her of some of the social workers she’d encountered during her years in foster care.
“I am aware of what Jake said to Ethan, but those are merely words, Miss Clay. Ethan took it to another level with his fist. That is not okay.”
“And I will have a long talk with him about it, of course,” Bella said trying to sound “parental”.
“Well, you will have that opportunity for the next week, Miss Clay,” she said pursing her lips and standing up.
“Excuse me?”
“Ethan is being suspended for a week. We have a zero tolerance policy for violence at this school, and the first occurrence results in suspension.”
“Are you kidding me? That sounds like a huge over-reaction to this, Mrs. Dalton. I would think there was some room for understanding that this child has been through so much in the last couple of weeks…” Bella stood and tried to keep her own fists down by her sides. “Besides, he is seven years old and pretty scrawny, so what kind of damage could he possibly do?”
“This is a strict county policy, Miss Clay. My hands are tied,” she insisted, but Bella knew better. She knew rules were made to bend and even be broken in appropriate cases. Livid inside, she attempted to hold in her anger and remain calm, knowing that showing her temper would only make matters worse.
“He’s seven years old, Mrs. Dalton. He’s hardly a threat to anyone. And what is being done about Jake?” she asked pointing toward the office.
“He will be getting detention for the week.”
“Detention? Are you freaking serious?” Bella asked unable to hide her anger.
“He didn’t hit Ethan. He only used his words.”
“Let me tell you something, lady. Words are usually way worse than fists or spankings or anything else. Words never heal, they never get out of your head,” Bella said before suddenly realizing that she was revealing a little too much about her own past.
“I’m sorry, but I have a meeting to attend, Miss Clay. You can collect Ethan in the office, and he is welcome back to school in one week. Again, I’m sorry it came to this, but this will not affect his personal record as it’s his first offense,” she said as if that mattered one bit to Bella. With that, Mrs. Dalton walked down the hallway, leaving the irritating noise of her 1980s-looking pumps clicking on the floor.
Bella looked over at the office and tried to figure out what she was going to do. She had one week to settle up with Nathan and the movie contract. She had one week to keep Ethan at home. She had no idea how she could or would accomplish both.
“Bella Clay?” she heard a man’s voice behind her.
“Yes?” she said as she turned around. Before her was one of the most rugged and handsome men she’d ever seen in her life. With thick, dark brown hair that waved in the sexiest of ways and light copper colored eyes, she had to check herself so she didn’t allow her legs to buckle. She’d seen her share of sexy men in California, but this one was different. The stubble on his jawline did things to her, but those full lips were almost more than she could take.
“Grant Brady. I’m the one who called you,” he said reaching out to shake her hand with a smile. His teeth were so perfect that she was sure he could be in one of those teeth whitening commercials. As she touched his hand, she felt a strength that only came along with rugged men who worked with their hands. She briefly wondered to herself what else those hands might be able to do.
“Nice to meet you,” was all she could muster up to say. Something about this guy was undoing her a bit, and she had to contain it. She was Ethan’s mom now, and she desperately needed to make a good impression with his teachers.
“I overheard your conversation with Mrs. Dalton,” he said with a look of “I’m sorry” on his face.
“Ah, yes. That didn’t go as well as I’d hoped,” she said forcing a smile.
“Personally, I don’t blame the kid for clocking Jake. He had it coming. Now, if you ask me as a teacher in this school, I will deny I ever said that,” he whispered before chuckling.
“I don’t blame him either, but I’m not your typical mother. Well, I guess I’m not a mother at all…”
“You are now,” he said softly. His eyes pierced through her. It was as if he knew her inside and out, but they’d never met.
“True. Unfortunate for Ethan,” she said cutting her eyes toward the office.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. Something tells me that Ethan will be as protected as any kid can be with you as his guardian,” he said with a wink. “Listen, I’ve got to get back to my kids, but it was nice to meet you. I guess I’ll see Ethan in a week,” he said shaking his head.
“Yes. And thanks for calling me… and commiserating with me,” she said with a smile before walking toward the office to pick up Ethan.
Chapter 6
“I’m so sorry, Aunt Bella,” Ethan said as he held Bella’s hand on the way to her car. After spending over thirty minutes doing paperwork in the office, she’d finally been able to leave with Ethan.
“I know you are, buddy,” she said, waiting until they got far enough out of earshot for her to really talk to him. Once they were beside the car, she turned to him and knelt down. “Now, what did he say to you that caused you to punch him?” she asked, trying to hold back a smile.
“He said my mother must have been trailer trash since the garbage truck hit her. I didn’t mean to, but I just wanted to hit him. So I did. I’m really sorry,” he said looking down at the pavement. Ethan didn’t have a mean bone in his body, and it pained her that he was so guilty about it. In her life, she’d decked many people over the years, usually in protection of Lori.
“I know he upset you, buddy, but you’ve got to keep your hands to yourself from now on, okay? If he says something mean to you again, tell your teacher.” She hated
to give that advice, but she knew at her core that it was the most sensible thing to say at the time.
“Yes, ma’m,” he said wiping away a stray tear.
“Okay, so let’s go home now,” she said standing up and opening his door. The old 1999 car that she'd purchased when she got into town was on its last leg, but it did the job. It wasn’t the prettiest one in the parking lot, either, but it got her from point A to point B. The one redeeming factor about finishing the movie would be an influx of cash to buy a new car and put some away for a couple of months of bills, but it was quickly becoming apparent that she may not get back to California at all.
Ethan climbed into the back seat, and Bella closed his door behind him. As she walked around to her side, she realized she’d forgotten her coat, and it was starting to get cold. Getting used to the new temperatures in the north Georgia mountains was going to take some time after living in California for two years.