* * *
Jake was in the middle of explaining a new math concept when Sharee peeked in his classroom door. She motioned him to step outside. After giving the class instructions, he joined her in the hall. His first thought was that something had happened to Annie. He glanced toward her room. “What’s going on?”
Sharee frowned. “I’ve received three calls today from local businesses who want to either cancel their donations or pull their advertising.”
“Why?”
“They said they’d received anonymous calls about the money going to a criminal.”
Jake wiped a hand across his jaw. “I can’t believe this.”
“Who would do this?”
“I have my suspicions. Clark Tullos. He’s back in town.” Sharee grew up in Hastings and her brother Isaac had been a fellow classmate of Jake’s. She knew his history.
Sharee groaned. “Just what we need around here, another troublemaker. Are you sure he’s behind this?”
For a moment Annie’s face filled his mind. She’d been furious and hurt, but he didn’t think she’d lash out at the people who were supporting the carnival. “It can’t be anyone else. I’ll look into it. Maybe I can change their minds, give an explanation and assure them the money is going to the carnival.”
“I hope so. But I don’t think you should do it. Send Annie. She’ll be a better representative on this, don’t you think?”
“I’ll talk to her.” If he ever got the chance.
“And I’ll be praying for a good outcome. Keep me posted.”
Jake returned to his classroom. It would be several hours before he could stop by Annie’s. He could catch her as she left her room today, but the school wasn’t the place he wanted to hold a conversation. There was much more than some donation glitches he wanted to talk about if she’d listen.
As for Clark, maybe it was time to have a face-to-face discussion. His subtle attacks on him personally were one thing, but interfering with the carnival was taking things too far.
Harley’s words came back to him again. He did tend to turn the other cheek when confrontations arose. It was time he started standing his ground and fighting back.
He wished he could do that with Annie, but there was no black-and-white solution for them. It was all gray and murky, and involved messy emotions.
He had no idea how to navigate that road.
* * *
Annie glanced down from the sink as Sam came over and sat down at her feet. “Hey, big fella. You need some attention?” She scratched the top of his head. He was a good dog and she didn’t regret making him a part of the family for a moment. He followed the twins everywhere.
The sound of giggles coming from upstairs brought a smile to Annie’s face. She loved to hear her twins having fun. The laughter had come much more frequently since moving back to Hastings, and she had her aunt to thank for that blessing too. The freedom and opportunities available to her sons here were like a dream come true. They had friends, played on a sports team, had a dog and were doing well in school. Her prayers at night were filled with gratitude.
A loud thud echoed from above, followed by wild giggles. She recognized those giggles, and they always meant the twins were doing something they shouldn’t. She glanced at the ceiling. What was going on up there? Sam barked and charged up the stairs. Annie quickly followed.
By the time she reached the top of the stairs, the giggles had stopped and an ominous silence had taken its place. Never a good sign. She peeked into Ryan’s room but didn’t find either boy there. Nor were they in Tyler’s room. A loud thump came from behind the attic door followed by muffled snickers. She opened the door to find two guilty, horrified faces staring back at her. A closer look revealed a bottle of liquor in Ryan’s hand. The attic stairwell reeked of booze.
Her heart sank into her stomach. Her worst fears were staring her in the face. “What do you think you’re doing?” She snatched the bottle from her son’s grasp, stunned to see it was half empty.
“We were just...” Ryan broke into giggles.
“Tasting it. We wanted to see what it was like.” Tyler blinked and swayed to one side. “It tastes pretty awful.”
God, help her...they were drunk. Her stomach flipped over. How could this have happened? “Where did you find this?”
Ryan made a face. “I don’t feel so good.”
“We found it in the bathroom. It was hidden behind the toilet.”
Ty snickered. “Who would hide it there?”
Ryan shrugged and grinned. “It’s everywhere.”
“Yep.”
Annie grabbed the arm of each twin in her hands and yanked them to their feet. Ryan swayed and giggled.
Ty turned green. “I think I’m going to barf.”
“Then get to the bathroom. And while you’re there, take a shower, then go to your room and stay there. Forever.”
“Mom. That’s silly.”
She shoved Ryan toward her room. “You get cleaned up in my bathroom, then wait in your room. We’re going to have a talk.”
Annie covered her face with her hands, sending up wordless prayers for help. She wanted to demand answers, lecture them on the dangers and then remind them of what they’d already been through because of drinking, but in their present state they wouldn’t hear a word.
Annie fought off her roiling emotions as she tried to sober up her twins. When they were finally waiting in their rooms, she gathered her senses and called them into her room. She then seated them on the cedar chest at the foot of her bed. The guilty looks were still there, but the eyes were bloodshot and unfocused.
It took all her willpower to remain calm and not rant at them like a crazy woman. “What were you thinking?”
Tyler shrugged. Ryan grimaced. “We wanted to know what it tasted like. Hunter’s parents have a drink all the time.”
“Yeah and he said it made you feel really cool.”
“Like a superhero.”
Annie crossed her arms over her chest. She would have to seriously curtail their time with Hunter. “And do you feel like a superhero now?”
The twins shook their heads, their expressions a combination of remorse and nausea.
A small part of her wanted to comfort them, but she was still too angry and frightened for that right now. “How could you do this? You know what your father was like when he drank that stuff. Don’t you remember how loud and abusive he would get? The horrible things he would say?”
Ryan nodded, “Yeah but we thought—”
Annie’s anger flared. “He got that way because of the alcohol. Is that what you want to be? An alcoholic like him?”
Tyler lowered his head. “No. I didn’t like the taste.”
“I didn’t mind it.”
Her heart raced. Had Ryan inherited the tendency to drink? “Son, you have to stay away from that stuff. It will ruin your life. Your dad died because he was too drunk to drive but did anyway. Is that what you want?”
Tears filled Tyler’s eyes. “No, ma’am. I’m sorry.”
Ryan shook his head and then looked ill again.
She started to explain, but became aware of her mounting anger. She’d make no headway with shouting. She needed time to cool off and get some perspective. Setting her jaw, she gestured for them to leave.
“Go to bed. You’re both grounded for the foreseeable future.”
Tyler stopped at the door. “What about the soccer game this weekend?”
“Don’t count on it. Go.”
Heads down, they shuffled off to their rooms, leaving her filled with confusion and in need of help. But who did she call? She needed expert advice.
Jake.
She ran her hands through her hair. He was the last person she wanted to ask. But who better? Maybe he could explain why her twins had done this and help her figure o
ut what to do next. Maybe he could get through to them, because she had no idea how to deal with this.
* * *
Jake knocked on Annie’s door but didn’t wait for her to answer. She’d sounded too upset when she’d called him to stand on ceremony. His heart was racing. All she’d said was that something horrible had happened and she needed his help.
“Annie?”
“In here.”
She met him at in the living room and the pain in her eyes lanced through him like a sharp knife. Without thinking, he went to her and pulled her close. “Are you all right?” She shook her head, the movement releasing a faint fragrance of flowers.
“It’s the twins.”
“What’s happened to them?”
She pulled out of his embrace and crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t believe they did this. How could they?”
“Annie?” He waited as she gathered herself, his concern rising.
“I found them in the attic stairway with a bottle of liquor. They were drunk.”
Jake exhaled a tense breath. His mind raced forward in time to the implications of the boys’ experimentation. “Where did they get it?”
“They said they found it behind the upstairs toilet. There’s a magazine rack beside it and I never thought to look there.”
“More of your aunt’s secret stash?” She nodded, brushing tears from her cheeks. Jake wanted to hold her close again, but she was too vulnerable at the moment. She needed space. “How can I help?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you could talk to them? I thought since you’re an... I mean you used to drink. Maybe they’d listen to you. I just don’t understand how they could even want to try the horrible stuff after living with Rick. They saw how destructive it was. Why would they do this?”
Jake’s mind bounced between concern for the twins and delight that Annie had turned to him for help. Though he honestly wished it didn’t concern his addiction. “What did they say?”
Annie sank onto the sofa. “One of their friends told them it would make them feel like superheroes. They wanted to know what the big deal was. Will you talk to them?”
The pleading in her blue eyes filled him with a powerful need to protect her and make everything right. “I’ll talk to them, though I’m not sure it’ll do much good.” He’d talked to many teenagers about the pitfalls of alcohol, but never with boys so young.
“They respect you. You know firsthand what happens when you drink too much. Scare them away from it. Warn them. They won’t listen to me. They need to hear about the consequences of drinking from one who understands.”
“Have you told them about the accident and Bobby Lee?”
“No. I didn’t see any reason to tell them.”
He nodded. “Then I’ll keep his name out of it.”
“Thank you. They’re up in their rooms.”
Jake took the stairs slowly as he formulated a plan on what to say to the twins. His heart weighed heavy. He hated that Annie was going through this. She’d suffered enough with her alcoholic husband, and to find her boys experimenting this way had wounded her deeply. He was glad she’d turned to him. Though he wished it was because she cared, and not because she needed his addiction to solve a problem.
Jake found Ryan in his room stretched out on his bed. “Hey.”
The boy sat up looking a bit green. “Coach. What are you doing here?”
Jake noticed his bloodshot eyes and the hesitant speech. “We need to talk.” He motioned him to join him. Tyler was sitting in the window seat in his room, his head resting on drawn up knees. He glanced up, looking nauseous.
“Coach. Why are you here?”
“Sit down.” He waited for the boys to settle in the window seat and then pulled over the desk chair and straddled it, pinning the twins with a stern glare. “Your mother called me over to talk to you.”
“What for?”
Ryan frowned. “’Cause we were drinking, huh?”
“She’s very upset. I think you know why.”
Tyler shifted uncomfortably. “Because Dad was a drunk.”
Jake’s heart wrenched. A boy of ten shouldn’t have to know about such things. “That’s right. Do you understand why she is concerned?”
Ryan grimaced. “She thinks we’ll be just like him.”
The skepticism in his tone worried Jake. “The chances are good you will be.”
“No way.”
“The tendency can be inherited.”
“What does that mean?”
Jake sent up a quick prayer for the right words to get through to the boys. “That the chances of you becoming addicted to alcohol are greater than someone whose father didn’t drink. It’s something you’ll have to be aware of the rest of your life.”
The twins exchanged glances. “We just wanted to know what it tasted like. Hunter said it would make us feel awesome.”
“Did it?”
Boys exchanged looks. “No. I didn’t like it.”
Tyler sighed. “I hurled.”
Jake nodded. “So you’ve discovered the downside of liquor. Remember that. The more you drink, the more your body will reject it. But it’s addictive. You’ll want more and more even though you know the end result is feeling like a truck ran over you.”
“How do you know?”
Ryan’s challenging expression forced Jake to share his own history. He had hoped to avoid this, but he’d known it might come to this. “Because I’m like your father. I have the same sickness he had.”
“No way. You’re nothing like our dad.”
“You’re making that up.”
“No, it’s true. I used to drink. Too much. And one night when I was driving drunk I had an accident and I killed someone. I’ll have to live with that the rest of my life.”
Tyler stared at him in shock. Ryan frowned as if he was not certain it was true.
“Your mother has been through a lot, dealing with your father, trying to keep you safe and then struggling to provide for you after your dad died.”
“Dad killed some people too.”
Jake stared at Ryan. “What do you mean?”
Tyler pulled his brother around to face him. “No, he didn’t.”
Ryan nodded. “I heard Mom talking to the policeman that night he came to the house. His car ran into another one and killed the old people inside.”
Jake rubbed his forehead. No wonder Annie couldn’t get past her barriers with him. He had committed the same offense. “Do you understand now why drinking should be avoided? Even a small amount can mess you up. Especially at your age, when you’re still growing.”
Tyler nodded. “I’ll never touch the stuff again.”
Ryan nodded in agreement.
“You owe your mother an apology. She’s given you a whole new life here. Be grateful and don’t cause her any more concern. Promise me.”
“We promise.”
“Think over what I said.” He stood and walked to the door, stopping when Ryan called his name.
“Did you really kill someone?”
The old guilt and horror raced over him. Maybe he deserved to keep making those payments. “It was an accident, but yes.”
Downstairs Jake found Annie curled up in the corner of the living room sofa. She bounded to her feet when she saw him.
“What happened? Did you get through to them? Do you think they listened? Do they understand the consequences of what they did?”
Jake took her hands in his. “I told them the hard truth. About me and what happened when I was drinking.”
“You told them about Bobby Lee?”
“No. They can find out about that when they’re older. I just told them I’d had an accident and someone died. I told them I was like their father and that they needed to be aware that they could end up the same way.”
<
br /> “Why did they do this? I tried so hard to warn them, to educate them to the dangers.”
“They’re boys. They got curious, and their friends told them it was cool. But now that they’ve seen firsthand the results, hopefully they’ll think twice before doing it again.”
Annie paced off. “I’m a terrible mother. I should have talked about it more, reminded them every day about their father’s behavior.”
Jake weighed his next questions carefully, but he had to know. “Why didn’t you tell me that other people died in your husband’s accident?”
She spun and faced him. “How did you hear about that?”
“Ryan knew. He heard the policeman the night he came to your house.”
She placed her hands behind her neck. “I never wanted them to know that. We had a fight that night and I told Rick not to come home. He killed an older couple on their way to see their new grandchild. It’s not something you can ever come to terms with.”
Her words sliced through him. No matter how much he wished it, Annie could never get past the accident. And maybe he was asking too much for her to try. “No. I suppose not.” He started to the door. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. They were just being curious boys. It’s been a good lesson for them to learn.”
“Jake, thank you. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”
He looked at the gratitude in her blue eyes, realizing that was all he was ever likely to see. Gratitude and friendship. “Anytime. Glad to help.”
“I hope you weren’t offended that I asked you. I mean, I just thought that since you had more knowledge and understanding of a situation like this that you’d have some words of wisdom.”
He rested a hand on her arm. “I’m not offended, Annie. I want you to call me any time you need help.”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
She slipped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He pulled her closer, finding a sense of belonging in her arms that he’d never experienced before. However, her affection wasn’t for him as a man, but as a friend. She stepped back and he quickly gathered his senses, as much as possible. She looked so beautiful. He reached out and touched her cheek. It was a mistake but he had to take advantage of the situations when they presented themselves.
Their Family Legacy Page 13