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Authors: Barbara Delinsky
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whatever stand they want.”
“True, but someone has to take the stand that’s best for the boy.”
“Can’t Maggie do that?”
“They need an arbiter.”
“Do you know what’s best for him?”
“No. I can’t know until I get there and hear more.”
“Those are powerful parents. They’ve spearheaded drives that have run teachers out of town. We’ve both read those stories. Edlin and Dodd may be using you as the bad guy. You’re putting yourself in an untenable situation.”
“But what choice do I have, Gray? Quinn’s the important thing here.”
“Tonight? Right now? Can’t it wait until morning?”
“They want it settled now. The parents don’t want rumors floating around.”
“What about us?”
“I won’t be long.”
He shot her a doubting look.
“I won’t,” she insisted, reaching for her purse. Confiding in Graham as she often did, if for no other reason than that he would know to get her quickly if one of her clients called the house, she added, “Something’s up with Quinn. He was trying to reach me this morning, but we missed each other. I need to see if I can help him now.”
“He’s a strong kid. My Lord, look at all he does.”
“Maybe the image is weighing heavy. He also has two superstar older brothers in whose footsteps he has to follow, and parents with egos the size of Texas. I’ve met those two. They’re tough. We don’t know, Gray. It could be that life at home is a nightmare for that boy.”
“And you know how that is.”
“I do,” Amanda conceded, choosing to believe that he wasn’t mocking her. “My situation was different. I was caught in the crossfire. Right now, Quinn is the crossfire. He’s his parents’ current cause. That isn’t fair.”
“Lots of things aren’t fair,” Graham muttered, turning away again, and suddenly she did want to talk about it. She wanted to talk about what was fair and who deserved what, what it took to be a good parent, and the fact that she and Gray would be the best parents ever. She wanted to talk about the things that could ruin relationships and how to nip them in the bud. She wanted to talk about dreams that seemed to be going up in smoke.
But she didn’t have the strength. It used to be that talking with Graham was as easy as breathing. Now it involved greater thought and heart. It also involved greater time than she had just then, what with a student in need.
“I won’t be long,” she repeated and went out the door.
Chapter Three
Amanda had barely driven away when Karen walked out the back door of her own pretty Victorian, this one white with gray trim. She held another foil-covered plate of cookies, but not for the bake sale at school. This batch was for the widow, and while a peace offering would have been in order, it wasn’t that, either. It was a bribe.
Karen wanted information. She had to know if the widow was pregnant, and, if so, by whom.
Russ claimed ignorance. Karen had grilled him, but, if he knew anything, he hadn’t cracked. He maintained that Amanda’s mention of Gretchen’s pregnancy was the first he had heard of it, and that even if it was so, out of respect for Ben he wouldn’t begin to speculate on the identity of the father. His response was a cop-out if ever there was one, which made Karen fear that his refusal to speculate had less to do with the dear departed Ben than with Russ’s friendship with Graham and Lee. Of course, he would protect them. It was a male thing.
Gretchen Tannenwald’s Victorian, very similar in design to the other three houses on the cul-de-sac, was pale blue with white trim. It had the same wraparound porch as the others, the same gaslights, the same dormers and eaves. Unlike the others, Gretchen’s had a widow’s walk at the top. Karen, Amanda, and Georgia had occasionally wondered about the significance of that. Ben and June used to go up there. After June died, Ben had gone there alone from time to time. It struck the others as a quiet,
“True, but someone has to take the stand that’s best for the boy.”
“Can’t Maggie do that?”
“They need an arbiter.”
“Do you know what’s best for him?”
“No. I can’t know until I get there and hear more.”
“Those are powerful parents. They’ve spearheaded drives that have run teachers out of town. We’ve both read those stories. Edlin and Dodd may be using you as the bad guy. You’re putting yourself in an untenable situation.”
“But what choice do I have, Gray? Quinn’s the important thing here.”
“Tonight? Right now? Can’t it wait until morning?”
“They want it settled now. The parents don’t want rumors floating around.”
“What about us?”
“I won’t be long.”
He shot her a doubting look.
“I won’t,” she insisted, reaching for her purse. Confiding in Graham as she often did, if for no other reason than that he would know to get her quickly if one of her clients called the house, she added, “Something’s up with Quinn. He was trying to reach me this morning, but we missed each other. I need to see if I can help him now.”
“He’s a strong kid. My Lord, look at all he does.”
“Maybe the image is weighing heavy. He also has two superstar older brothers in whose footsteps he has to follow, and parents with egos the size of Texas. I’ve met those two. They’re tough. We don’t know, Gray. It could be that life at home is a nightmare for that boy.”
“And you know how that is.”
“I do,” Amanda conceded, choosing to believe that he wasn’t mocking her. “My situation was different. I was caught in the crossfire. Right now, Quinn is the crossfire. He’s his parents’ current cause. That isn’t fair.”
“Lots of things aren’t fair,” Graham muttered, turning away again, and suddenly she did want to talk about it. She wanted to talk about what was fair and who deserved what, what it took to be a good parent, and the fact that she and Gray would be the best parents ever. She wanted to talk about the things that could ruin relationships and how to nip them in the bud. She wanted to talk about dreams that seemed to be going up in smoke.
But she didn’t have the strength. It used to be that talking with Graham was as easy as breathing. Now it involved greater thought and heart. It also involved greater time than she had just then, what with a student in need.
“I won’t be long,” she repeated and went out the door.
Chapter Three
Amanda had barely driven away when Karen walked out the back door of her own pretty Victorian, this one white with gray trim. She held another foil-covered plate of cookies, but not for the bake sale at school. This batch was for the widow, and while a peace offering would have been in order, it wasn’t that, either. It was a bribe.
Karen wanted information. She had to know if the widow was pregnant, and, if so, by whom.
Russ claimed ignorance. Karen had grilled him, but, if he knew anything, he hadn’t cracked. He maintained that Amanda’s mention of Gretchen’s pregnancy was the first he had heard of it, and that even if it was so, out of respect for Ben he wouldn’t begin to speculate on the identity of the father. His response was a cop-out if ever there was one, which made Karen fear that his refusal to speculate had less to do with the dear departed Ben than with Russ’s friendship with Graham and Lee. Of course, he would protect them. It was a male thing.
Gretchen Tannenwald’s Victorian, very similar in design to the other three houses on the cul-de-sac, was pale blue with white trim. It had the same wraparound porch as the others, the same gaslights, the same dormers and eaves. Unlike the others, Gretchen’s had a widow’s walk at the top. Karen, Amanda, and Georgia had occasionally wondered about the significance of that. Ben and June used to go up there. After June died, Ben had gone there alone from time to time. It struck the others as a quiet,
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