Jolie handed him the sheet of paper. “Basically for every half day Ethan goes without a check mark, he earns one point. At the end of the week he should have ten points. You’ll see the redemption chart at the bottom of the page. The first reward, which is five minutes extra recess time, is achievable after ten points. If he gets a check mark, he doesn’t lose his previous points, but it will take him longer to earn the reward, since he won’t earn any points when he gets a check.”
“Do you think he can go a week?” Hank asked. His gray eyes held her gaze. He had nice eyes…She blinked and glanced away.
“I’m going to allow Ethan to earn the first reward after six points or three days. It’s a teaser, but like a free month of cable or Internet, the reward is designed to hook you into using the program and staying with it.”
Hank nodded. “What about home?”
He hadn’t objected, which was a huge positive. “I would suggest that you reinforce everything I do here. For homework completion he earns one point. For each day with no checks he earns a point. Then place a value on something he really wants and have him earn it.”
Hank frowned as he contemplated the plan. “Should I discipline him if he gets check marks at school?”
“That’s up to you. I’m already giving him consequences here in the classroom. But taking away his video-game system or not letting him watch television until his homework is done or until he behaves the next day would tell him that you want him to act properly no matter where he is. The key is, you must be consistent. You can’t back down. If you do, your plan and mine will fail.”
“Do you have kids?” he asked.
The question caught her off guard and she swallowed hard. “No.”
He waited, then continued speaking when she didn’t say anything more. “I guess we can try this. We’re already in a period of flux, so maybe some set guidelines would help. I know this is an unsettled time for the kids. They were five when their mother died of ovarian cancer. And their grandmother has played a huge role in raising them since then. This is our first real attempt at being just the three of us on our own.”
Jolie nodded her encouragement, appreciating that he was opening up to her. He was a man of strong character, the kind of man she’d always hoped to marry. She smiled. “I understand and please be assured I’m going to do everything I can to help you. Knowing your background helps.”
Hank’s pager beeped. “Sorry.” He removed the pager from his belt and pressed a button, frowning as he read the number. “This isn’t good. Will you excuse me a moment? It’s work.”
“Certainly,” Jolie said. Hank stood and headed to the hallway. Through the open door, she watched him take out his cell phone, make a call and pace as he gave instructions to whoever was on the other end. She could hear snippets of his side of the conversation now and then, something to do with a corporate report and some revenue figures.
Jolie reached forward and looked over the behavior plan she’d handed Hank. In her conversations with Ethan he’d often complained that his dad worked all the time. She frowned. Hank had been interrupted in the middle of a scheduled conference. Surely the hotel could survive without him for an hour.
Hank was obviously struggling, like many single parents, to make things work for his family. They’d probably all been happy once, before his wife’s illness. Hank was the provider; his wife was probably the stay-at-home nurturer. And then the grandmother had replaced her in that role. Now it was just Hank, all by himself, living in a hotel where the job was twenty-four/seven, trying to help his children settle into a new town and a new life. He relied on staff for roles that should be filled by family. The balance was upset. Hank needed help to keep his little family together.
He finished his call and came back into the room. “I’m sorry about that,” he apologized. “I cleared my afternoon, but emergencies come up. It goes with the territory, I guess.”
She smiled sympathetically. “Are you going to be able to pick up the children after our meeting? Ethan mentioned that you’d said they might get to do something touristy tonight. He’s worried that because of our talk he might not get to go.”
“I’ll sit down with him tomorrow and discuss everything. Tonight we have tickets to the Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede. I heard it was good. All finger food and a trick-horseback-riding show.”
“I haven’t seen it, but, yes, it’s supposed to be fantastic. I’d dress in jeans, though.”
Hank’s smile split his face and Jolie felt a slight pang of longing. While many men in their midforties were sporting beer bellies and bald spots, Hank had aged like George Clooney. He was like a fine wine, only getting better with age.
His hair was rich and thick. His gray eyes crinkled at the corners, but those tiny laugh lines only added character to his handsome face. She’d definitely be interested if she’d met him in another place and another time.
It was an unspoken rule that you didn’t date your students’ parents. Not that Hank would be interested in her, anyway. The man had enough baggage and complications in his life. If he did date, he’d probably choose someone more glamorous and worldly. She had no idea what his wife had been like, but if she was half as pretty as her daughter, she’d been beautiful.
“I’ll wear jeans,” Hank responded to her earlier comment. “Ethan and Alli don’t know it yet, but they’re going to be special guests and participate in one of the events.”
“That sounds wonderful. Ethan will really like that. Even more, I think he’ll enjoy spending time with you,” Jolie said. “I’ll be telling him about the behavior plan on Monday. When you talk to him tomorrow, feel free to let him know it’s coming. The more you show your support for what I do here at school, the better.”
“I’m happy to help in any way,” Hank said. He reached for the copy of the plan, folded it in thirds and tucked it into an inside jacket pocket. He stood again, and Jolie noticed the cut of his suit. It certainly hadn’t come off the rack as her brothers’ suits had, and she thought the three Tomlinson boys looked pretty good all decked out. Hank was divine.
“Thank you for coming in,” Jolie said, rising to her feet. She didn’t tower over him, which made a nice change from a lot of the other men she met. Growing up, she’d endured plenty of jokes about the weather up there, and, no, she didn’t play basketball. “If there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
She reached into a business-card holder and handed him a card. “This is the direct line into my classroom. If I can’t answer, you’ll get my voice mail.”
“Great.” He handed her one of his cards. “The best way to reach me is to page me. My e-mail address and pager number are at the bottom.”
“Thank you. I’ll e-mail you Monday afternoon and let you know how the day goes.”
“That sounds great.” Hank reached out and shook her hand, and this time Jolie noticed how firm but gentle his grip was. A delicious shiver ran up her arm from the contact. “I appreciate everything you’re doing for Ethan.”
And with that, he was out the door. It was Friday and there were five weeks of school left before summer vacation. She had plenty to do, but for the first time in a long time, she was too distracted to think about work.
Hank had unnerved her. He was the kind of man she’d dreamed about long ago when she’d believed in fairy tales. And he was way out of her league.
“SO HOW’S SCHOOL going? Ready for summer break?”
“Am I ever not?” Jolie answered her mother with a chuckle. Jolie lifted the bowl of potato salad and trekked the short distance to the oversize screened-in porch where all the food would be set out. It was Sunday, two days after her conference with Hank, and the entire Tomlinson