She stared at Dillon’s one-and-only traffic light. Willed it to turn green. Felt tempted to drive through regardless. There was no one else in sight on this quiet Friday morning.
And, luckily, she’d seen no sign of Tanner.
She still felt a pang of guilt at coaxing Kevin into staying home for supper last night, instead of going to Delia’s.
When the signal changed at last, she shot through the empty intersection.
Normally she’d have walked the mile or so to the grade school, to save wear and tear on Daddy’s ancient Chevy wagon. Not today. Not when the school principal himself, Sam Porter, had asked to see her at the earliest to talk about an unfortunate situation.
Lordy, what had Kevin done now? Gotten into a fist-fight? Taken a sack lunch that looked better than his own? But, no—Kevin wouldn’t steal.
Keeping an eye out for pedestrians, she turned onto the road that led to the schoolhouse.
She’d tried so hard to be a good mother, all on her own. To do the proper thing, all alone. In her mind’s eye, she saw the red light again and felt doubly thankful she hadn’t run through it.
A white picket fence needing a new coat of paint surrounded the school property. The wide gate sat propped open. She chugged to a stop in an empty parking spot near the building and turned off the motor.
Another vehicle coasted into the spot beside hers. Tanner. He was the man grinning at her from the front seat, nearly blinding her with the sunlight reflecting off his mirrored glasses.
Dropping her head to the steering wheel, she muttered something unladylike and wished desperately she could stay there. But Kevin needed her, so she grabbed the duct-taped driver’s handle and shoved the door open.
“That’s the same old Chevy you had growing up?” he called out.
“The very same.” She had learned to drive in the old wagon, had taken it to California and back after Daddy died, and now did what little she could afford to keep it from falling to pieces.
Tanner frowned. “Idle’s sounding real rough. Best get it checked out.”
“I will,” she said through gritted teeth. No time now to argue about his interference. She nodded shortly and marched past him. He clamped a hand around her upper arm.
“If you’ll excuse me…” It took almost more strength than she could muster to turn and face him, to look pointedly at his restraining hand. But she managed. “I have an appointment.”
“Me, too.” He dropped her arm. “I also have something you’ll want to hear before you head into that school.”
“Why do you—? Never mind.” He hadn’t made an outright claim, yet she’d jumped to read accusation in his tone. She took a deep breath, tried to calm down. What was wrong with her?
He stood too close, that explained it. She couldn’t think.
Her thoughts were with her son, anyway.
“What is it? Kevin?” Her heart clenching, she backed a pace closer to the schoolhouse.
Surely Sam would have told her immediately if something had happened to her son? Of course, he would have. She forced herself to focus on Tanner, who stood shaking his head. Her own reflection in his mirrored sunglasses bounced crazily, making her dizzy.
“It’s about the vandalism around town.”
“One worry at a time, Tanner. And right now, my meeting with the principal takes priority.”
She could handle her problems herself, could be a good mother all on her own, just as she always had been. Could get her head on straight and think clearly.
If only she could get away from this man.
“We can discuss the vandalism later.” She hurried toward the school, trying to block out the sound of jangles and squeaks and footsteps that meant he was following her.
“Hold up, Sarah.” He got to the school entrance a second before her and pulled the front door open. “You’re not shaking me off that easy. Sam called me in on this, too.”
Swallowing a groan, she walked through the doorway. At this point, she couldn’t have said what dismayed her more, that Tanner would have a part in this meeting, or that Sam had seen fit to involve the law.
She marched across the lobby area. Tanner kept pace beside her. They stopped at the front desk, where Ella Byers, the school secretary, smiled up at them.
Was that a hint of sympathy in her eyes?
Sarah stood taller. “We’re here to see Sam.”
“He’s waiting.” Ella made a quick phone call, then gestured toward the hall. “You can go right along to his office.”
Sarah nodded and skirted the desk, her steps leaden now, as if she had started down the road to her own lynching.
When she rounded the corner, she saw Kevin, looking as if he felt the same. He sat slumped on a hard wooden bench pushed up against the pale-blue wall, his eyes twice normal size and his shoulder span reduced by half. One glance at his defeated posture made her stand taller yet, even as she blinked back tears.
“Mom.” He eased forward, ready to get up from the bench, then slid back again, maybe recalling what had brought him to this seat outside the principal’s office in the first place.
“I’ll see you in a bit, Kevin. I need to speak with Mr. Porter first.”
His gaze jumped from her to fasten on Tanner, who gave a quick nod to her son.
When she and Tanner entered the office, Sam Porter stood. Dark-haired, solidly built and nearly as tall as Tanner, he had no trouble reaching over his massive desk to shake her hand. At the church potluck just this Sunday, Sam had traded jokes with her. Now, not a hint of a twinkle showed in his gray eyes.
After greeting Tanner, he waved them both to chairs pulled up to the desk.
“We’ve got ourselves a situation here,” he said. “A couple of vending machines damaged, the coin slots filled with glue. And it seems like your boy caused the problem.”
“Seems like?” She grabbed at the most important words.
“Just an expression. To tell the truth, he was caught in the act. He also had a couple of extra tubes of glue in his back pocket. Looks like he had quite a spree in mind.” He shot a glance toward the open doorway, then continued in a lower voice, “Considering all the upset that’s going on around town, I felt Deputy Jones ought to have a few words with Kevin, maybe let the uniform make an impression.”
“Good idea, Sam,” Tanner said. “I’ll talk with him alone for a bit, if you don’t mind.”
She started, ready to protest, but Sam nodded. “Fine. Sarah and I have a lot to discuss ourselves. Including how her boy’s going to pay for the damages he’s done.”
Her stomach clenched.
Money shouldn’t concern her most, and didn’t. Kevin’s actions that morning had shot right to the top of her long list of worries. Still, she dreaded hearing what it would cost to fix what Kevin had done.
A bill for repairs that might just bankrupt her.
Sam came around from behind his desk. “Let me go speak to Ella for a minute, Sarah. On the way out, I’ll explain to Kevin that the Deputy will want to talk with him.”
Tanner spoke up again. “Ask him to wait for me outside by the front steps.”
Sam nodded and left the room. He’d barely cleared the threshold when Sarah twisted in her seat to face Tanner.
“You’re not going to question Kevin alone.”
“I said talk, not question. And I know how