Read Online Wind Chime Café (A Wind Chime Novel) by Sophie Moss - Free Book Online

happened. It was all over the news. All the teachers talked about it with their students. When I found out Taylor would be in my class, I told them about her and what she had been through and that I expected them to be extra nice to her. But they’re kids. They’re second graders. They can’t possibly understand what she’s been through. None of us can.”
    That wasn’t entirely true, Will thought, looking out at the water. One of them could. Annie’s daughter was probably struggling with the same issues he was: flashbacks, nightmares, insomnia.
    “What did they say?” Grace asked after several moments of silence. “How did they make fun of her?”
    “Mostly by calling her names,” Becca said, rolling the neck of her bottle around in her fingers. “Some of them called her a witch when her back was turned. I overheard one boy call her Cinderella to her face and I made him apologize. But she withdrew after that and spent the rest of the time sitting under the tree, watching the other kids play.”
    Seagulls circled the marina, cawing overhead. Will watched them dip and dive, thinking he’d like to have a nice long chat with whichever kid had made fun of Taylor after what she’d been through.
    “I can control the kids as long as they’re in my classroom,” Becca said. “But on the playground and in the halls, sometimes I can’t always hear what’s going on.” She looked down at her hands. “It’s my job to make sure Taylor feels like school is a safe place for her to be. It shouldn’t be any harder for her than it already is.”
    “It was her first day back,” Grace said gently. “There are bound to be setbacks.”
    “I know, but I still feel responsible.” She glanced back at the crowded barroom and started to rise to her feet. “I think I’ll go inside and see if I can track down some of the parents and ask if they’d be willing to talk to their kids tonight.”
    Will watched her walk away and he fought the urge to head straight to Annie’s and ask her what he could do to help. He was probably the last person she wanted to see right now.
    Ryan turned to Grace. “You said you stopped by to meet the mother earlier. What did you think of her?”
    Grace smiled. “I liked her. She’s probably about our age, maybe a little younger. She was waiting for Jimmy to give her an estimate on renovations. I told her he’d probably stood her up to watch the baseball game. She came straight here to confront him and poured a drink in his lap when he tried to hit on her.”
    Will watched a charter boat motoring in from a day of fishing. After what he’d told her about the inn this morning, and then spending all day worrying about her daughter, he could imagine Annie’s contractor not showing up would have been the last straw.
    “I convinced her to stay and hang out for a while,” Grace said, “but only after Chase Townsend called to tell her he was thinking of backing out on her business loan.” She picked at a splinter coming loose on the table. “He’s such a jerk.”
    Will’s fingers curled around the bottle.
    Ryan leaned back, stretching his legs out under the table. “What kind of business does she want to open?”
    “She was going to open up a fancy French bistro,” Grace answered. “I don’t think she has a clue what she’s going to do now.”
     

     
    It was after dark when Will walked out of Rusty’s. He’d waited around for a few hours in case Chase or Spencer showed up. He’d wanted to let them know exactly what was going to happen to them if Chase didn’t approve Annie’s loan.
    The bank could afford to cut her some slack. And if Chase disagreed, Will had a few persuasion techniques he was happy to use on Annie’s behalf.
    Opening the door to the SUV, he climbed into the driver’s seat. The last thing he wanted was to put a single mother out of business. He’d been so wrapped up in his own problems he hadn’t considered how his decision might affect her.
    Turning the key,