Vince stood and shook his hand. “Hey, Will.”
“Vince.”
Hanna smoothed her skirt as she stood, uncomfortable with the way Mr. Baer’s gaze roamed up and down her frame.
He extended his hand. “William Baer, ma’am. I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”
Accepting the overly zealous handshake, she almost choked on his sweet aftershave. “Hanna Rosser. We just moved to the area this weekend.”
“Well, I must say, you’re a most welcome asset to Marble Falls.”
Vince cleared his throat and for the first time actually seemed to notice Hanna’s appearance. Without comment, he turned his attention back to the secretary. “So, what’s the problem?”
She punched a button on the phone and within moments Principal Montgomery stepped out. Hanna had met the woman literally six hours earlier when she’d enrolled Ashton. Approximately forty, tiny, rather attractive in a no-nonsense sort of way. Short blond hair tucked behind her ears, black slacks and a bright-red blazer. “Please, step into my office.”
Both men stood, allowing Hanna to walk between them before entering.
Principal Montgomery nodded to each as they entered. “Ms. Rosser. Mr. Baer. Mr. Keegan.”
Hanna did a double-take at the girl sitting between Ashton and the other boy, as if separating the boys so they wouldn’t throw more punches.
Hanna rushed to Ashton, scanning him for any injuries. She gasped and ran her finger over the caked blood at the corner of his split lip. Jerking away, Ashton scowled and glanced at the other two kids.
Taking the hint, Hanna pulled her hand back, still assessing the damage. One shirtsleeve had been half ripped from the seam, Ashton’s lip was swollen and his dark hair was a mess, but he held the ice pack in his hand, not to his lip. At least, his breathing wasn’t labored, and there was no wheezing.
Afraid she’d embarrass him further, Hanna resisted the urge to pick the sprigs of grass out of his dark curls.
Taking a stance behind Ashton, Hanna watched the men as they waited for the case to be presented and Principal Montgomery to deliver her verdict.
“Who wants to speak first?” the principal asked the children.
Mr. Baer turned to the pudgy boy. “Billy, did you start this?”
“No way. I was just minding my own business.”
“So who hit who?” Mr. Baer demanded.
Billy shrugged and looked sheepish.
Hanna couldn’t imagine that Ashton had hit him at all, much less first. “Did you strike this boy?”
Ashton mimicked Billy’s sheepish shrug. “Not first.”
“So who threw the first punch?” Principal Montgomery asked.
Ashton cut his eyes sideways at the girl while Billy shuffled his dirty sneakers.
Mr. Tight Jean’s gaze landed on the girl with the falling-down ponytail and grungy jeans. “You’re unusually quiet, Mackenzie.”
The girl stood and placed her hands on her slim hips. She had a good three inches on either boy. “He asked for it.”
“Nuh-uh.” Billy leaned into her face. “You hit me first. I don’t hit no girls, not unless they punch me first.”
Ashton stood to the side while the other two faced off.
“Mackenzie, did you hit Billy?” Vince asked.
“He’s a yellow-bellied scum reptile, Dad. He’s always picking on people who won’t fight back just so’s he feels tough.”
Hanna stared at father and daughter. Both tall and slender with the same sandy-blond hair, Mackenzie’s only a shade lighter than her father’s. Even their honey-tanned complexions matched.
Mackenzie’s left eye sported a darkening bruise, but her father didn’t seem overly concerned. Hooking his thumbs in his pockets, Vince raised an eyebrow at Mackenzie. “Was Billy picking on you?” The guy’s eyes were the same blue-denim color of his jeans as he matched stares with his rebellious daughter.
She didn’t back down. “He knows better than to mess with me, but he figured Ashton was fair game showing up in church clothes and all.” She flipped her bedraggled hair behind her shoulder and glared at Billy. “Didn’t count on getting whipped by no girl when you picked on my friend, though, did ya?”
With a bruise on his chin, the remains of dried blood in his nose, on his upper lip and down the front of his dirty white T-shirt, Billy had obviously taken the worst of the beating. But he too held his ice pack in his hand instead of to his bruised face.
“Billy?” his father asked, but Hanna couldn’t decide whether his perplexed expression had more to do with his boy hitting a girl or being bested by one.
“It weren’t no fair fight. Two against one. They ganged up on me.”
Glancing at Ashton, Hanna was stunned that her son’s bruised lip actually snarled as he took his spot beside Mackenzie, toe to toe with Billy. “Don’t mess with me if you don’t want to fight.”
“Ashton!” What had happened to her mild-mannered son? “Sit down.”
William turned to Vince. “So what are we going to do about this?”
Vince slanted a grin and jabbed his fingers through his sandy hair, only tousling it more than it already was from the helmet. “Maybe you should warn your boy not to tangle with my daughter.”
Was he insane? Holding her breath, Hanna waited for the other shoe to drop. Her friend’s son in Dallas had once had charges filed against him for hitting another boy on the soccer field, and they’d ended up in court. The boy had received forty hours’ community service. Just the kind of ammunition her ex could use in court to make his case that Ashton would be better off in Dallas with him and his new girlfriend.
Instead of the anger she’d expected, William Baer simply rubbed his forehead and grinned.
Both men were morons to make a joke out of this.
The principal motioned for the kids to sit as she remained behind her desk. “Totally unacceptable behavior. Billy and Mackenzie, you two are in this office way too frequently. Ashton, as you’re new here, I’m going to withhold judgment. But you’re starting out on shaky ground. You’re all assigned to ISS for the remainder of the week. Tomorrow morning you will report to the office, collect your assignments and proceed to the library. In addition, I expect a five-page report from each of you by Friday on how you’re going to learn that violence doesn’t solve problems and how to get along. There will be no more incidents. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ashton said, but he flashed Mackenzie a conspiratorial grin.
Billy shuffled his feet. “I promise.”
Mackenzie returned Ashton’s grin. “Okay. As long as you make Bully Baer sit at a different table.”
THE EARLY-SPRING WIND popped the flag and clanged the cable against the flagpole in front of the school as Hanna shuffled Ashton toward the SUV. She couldn’t believe he’d actually gotten into trouble, much less a fistfight. At least nobody had mentioned involving the police. She folded the form she’d received explaining In School Suspension and the possible consequences if this did not resolve the behavior issue.
Now that the divorce was finalized, she was fighting to regain control of her own life. She hadn’t expected her control of Ashton to be tested so quickly.
Vince and Mackenzie