Around the Bend (Sandy Cove Series Book 4) Read online

  “Are you still up?” Sheila asked, interrupting Michelle’s thoughts.

  She looked up at her mother. “Yeah. Just finished grading the last of the term papers,” she replied, placing the photo of her father and kids back on the table.

  Sheila reached over and picked it up. “Your dad sure did love your kids,” she said wistfully.

  Michelle nodded. Standing up, she put her hand on her mom’s shoulders. “I’m really glad he got the chance to know them.”

  “Me, too,” she replied, returning the photo to its place.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Michelle asked. “I thought you went to bed awhile ago.”

  “I’m fine, honey. I just couldn’t fall asleep. I thought maybe some herbal tea would help.”

  “Want me to fix you some?”

  Sheila smiled. “No. I can do it. You’ve got to get up early for school. Go on to bed. I’ll be heading up in a few minutes.”

  Michelle gave her a hug. “Okay, Mom. Sleep well.”

  “You, too, dear.” Sheila replied, walking toward the kitchen.

  Michelle picked up her bag of term papers and set them by the door so she’d remember to take them with her in the morning. Then she headed upstairs, peeking in on her sleeping children before easing open her bedroom door, hoping not to awaken Steve.

  As she slipped into bed, he stirred slightly and turned to face her. Drawing her into his arms, he mumbled, “Love you.”

  She smiled and snuggled into his embrace.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Michelle sat at her desk in her classroom, her lunch in an open paper bag beside her water bottle. It was the first moment of peace she’d had all day. Getting her kids off to school that morning had been a real chore. Caleb couldn’t find one of his shoes, and Madison seemed to be so moody these days. Could adolescence be trying to snag her already?

  By the time they’d all piled into the car with backpacks and lunches, Michelle was exhausted. She made it to school a mere ten minutes before the passing bell for first period, and her coffee mug had spilled on her white blouse as she tried to manage her mail from the office along with the term papers in her bag. Thank God it’s June, she’d thought as she hurried into the ladies’ room to try to dab off the coffee before it left a stain.

  Her friend and mentor, Cassie Gibralter was washing her hands at the sink. “Are you okay?” she asked Michelle. “Here. Let me take those,” she offered, reaching out and freeing Michelle’s hands.

  “Crazy morning,” Michelle muttered. “Thanks for the hand,” she added, shooting Cassie a smile.

  By the time they left the bathroom, the passing bell had rung. “Have your TA get you some more coffee,” Cassie suggested. “They just started a fresh pot in the lounge.”

  Michelle nodded and smiled. “Thanks.”

  A slew of students were waiting by the door when she arrived at her classroom. Loud, boisterous conversations communicated the kids’ excitement that the end of the year was at hand. Several asked about the term papers, and Michelle assured them she had them with her ready to be returned.

  She survived the first four classes of the day. Now she could pause for a few minutes and have some lunch. Bowing her head to say a quick prayer of thanks for her food, an image of her grandfather flashed before her mind’s eye.

  Wonder what that’s about. Hope everything’s okay with them.

  She tagged on a short prayer for her grandparents health and safety, then turned her attention to her string cheese and crackers. Not exactly a nourishing lunch, but it seemed like lately that was all she had time to grab in the morning or eat at her short noon break.

  With Caleb’s birthday party coming up in a few weeks, she’d brought the invitations to school with her, hoping to have a chance to address them. She must have been dreaming! Ninety percent of her time now was spent keeping the kids off the ceiling as she tried to convince them they were still in school for two more weeks.

  The end-of-the-year activities didn’t help. Everyday seemed to hold another change of schedule for an assembly, awards ceremony, or field trip. The principal had also instituted a series of student-faculty sports challenges, requesting the teachers to select at least one event to participate in during the mid-morning nutrition break or lunch.

  Thankfully, the final week would be comprised of minimum days, leaving Michelle and the other teachers with time in the afternoons to meet with their departments for annual evaluations of curriculum, to make adjustments in plans for the following year, and to begin breaking down their classrooms and packing up for summer.

  Michelle managed to address three of the birthday party invitations before the phone rang. “Ms. Baron,” she answered.

  Silence.

  “Hello?” she asked.

  Still no response, but she hadn’t heard a click either.

  “Is someone there? This is room 107, Michelle Baron.”

  And then the click.

  Michelle shook her head and hung up the phone. She didn’t usually get prank calls at school, and there was no time to fret about it now. The bell rang again, signaling the end of her lunch break, with most of her cheese and a few crackers still uneaten. Shoving the remainder back in the paper sack, she tossed the bag into her little refrigerator and went over to prop open the door.

  A couple of boys were in a heated debate in the hallway. One pushed the other, which led to a wrestling match that took them both to the floor.

  “Hey!” Michelle shouted. “Knock it off!”

  Both boys ignored her, cussing and pummeling each other.

  Michelle turned to a girl who had been waiting to come into the classroom. “Go get Mr. Durand,” she said.

  The girl’s eyes were as wide as saucers. Grabbing one of her friends, she took off toward the office.

  “I said, knock it off!” Michelle tried again, reaching down and touching one of the boy’s shoulders.

  He turned to look at her, leaving himself open for another punch, this one landing on his face.

  “STOP!!!” Michelle yelled to the other boy, who was now spitting curses and whose hand was bloodied.

  A custodian came out of the storage closet about a hundred feet away and raced toward them. He grabbed the boy on top and pulled him to his feet. Instantly he became the target and the boy’s flailing arms and kicking feet found their marks on the man’s chest and shins. The other boy remained on the floor, rolling from side to side and moaning.

  Before the principal could get there, the custodian managed to get his attacker in a stronghold, though the boy continued to kick and curse.

  Michelle could see Daniel Durand hurrying toward them and gesturing to her classroom. She quickly ushered her students inside and closed the door.

  “Take your seats, everyone,” she said above the roar of the agitated students. “Come on, guys. Sit.” She guided them toward their desks and finally got everyone seated.

  Perfect start to the afternoon, she thought with a sigh.

  Things had quieted down outside the closed classroom door, so she knew Daniel had things under control. Now she’d just need to get these kids to settle down. They all seemed to want to talk about what they’d witnessed, so she decided to give them a few minutes to debrief before starting on the warm up activity and passing back their term papers.

  Several of them knew the boys involved in the fight. They claimed it was over a bike one boy had stolen from the other. Apparently the alleged thief had also been making moves on the other boy’s girlfriend, and she’d subsequently broken up with him. Other contradictory allegations arose about one of the boys calling the other one a derogatory name in front of a group of girls.

  “It’s pretty clear to me that none of you know for certain what triggered this,” Michelle began. “Why don’t we change the warm up for today and rather than writing about your summer plans, you can each write about what you saw or heard. Then I’ll collect the papers and pass them along to Mr. Durand. Maybe they’ll give him some insights into the
circumstances that were involved.”

  The class seemed to be in agreement, and they got to work writing their accounts. This gave all of them the chance to be heard without taking up the entire class period discussing the fight. After about five minutes, Michelle asked them to wrap it up, and she collected the papers, sending them to the office with her TA.

  By the time school was over for the day, she was eager to leave. The phone rang just as she was finishing straightening up her desk. “Baron. Room 107.”

  Just like at lunchtime, the line was silent. I don’t have time for this, she thought and hung up the receiver. As she walked through the office, she stopped by the reception desk and greeted her friend. “Hi, Daisy.”

  The blonde receptionist looked up and smiled. “You look beat.”

  Michelle smiled wearily. “A little. That fight in the hall didn’t help.”

  “Yeah. Both boys got suspended. You won’t see them here the rest of the week.”

  “What a shame to get suspended right before the end of the year. But I’m glad Daniel’s sticking to his zero tolerance for fighting.” She paused and then added, “Hey, I got a couple of prank calls today — one at lunch and one right after school ended. Do you remember putting them through to my classroom?”

  “Yeah. Some young lady. She didn’t identify herself. The first time, she said she was a family friend, and you were expecting her call. When she called back, she just said, ‘Me again,’ and asked for your room one more time.”

  “That’s strange. She didn’t say a word when I answered,” Michelle replied.

  “Hmmm. Do you want me to just take a message if she calls again?”

  “Yeah. Tell her you need to take her name and number, and I’ll call her back.”

  “You got it.” Daisy jotted a note to herself and placed it by the phone. “Anything else?”

  “No. Thanks, friend. See you tomorrow.”

  Michelle grabbed her bag and travel mug and headed toward the door.

  “Hey, Michelle,” the principal called from his open office. “Got a minute?”

  She took a deep breath and replied, “Sure,” as she walked into his room.

  “I just wanted to thank you for your help in the hall at lunch today,” Daniel said.

  “I wasn’t really much help. They were so fixated on each other, I couldn’t get them to listen.”

  “That may be true, but just having an adult there and sending the girls to get me was all I would have expected anyway.” He smiled at her and added, “So are you ready for summer?”

  “Yep,” she replied.

  “How’s that boy of yours?” he asked.

  Michelle flashed back to how understanding he’d been when she and Steve had adopted Caleb at the end of another school year six years before. Caleb’s mother had been a troubled student on campus that year, and Daniel knew how Michelle had poured herself into Amber’s life.

  “He’s fine. Growing too fast. I can’t believe he’ll be six in a week.” She reached into her bag and pulled out an envelope. “We’re holding off on his birthday party until after school’s out.” Extending the invitation toward him, she added, “We’d love to have you drop by and join in the celebration.”

  He smiled and took it. “Thanks! I’ll talk to my wife and let you know. She’s in charge of our social calendar for summer.”

  Michelle nodded, gave a mock salute, and replied, “See you in the morning.”

  As she drove over to pick up the kids at school, she thought again about the phone calls. Who could it be?

  Sheila was vacuuming the living room when Michelle and the kids came through the front door. She turned off the vacuum to greet them. Caleb and Madison dropped their backpacks, kicked off their shoes, and headed for the kitchen for snacks, tossing hellos over their shoulders to their grandmother.

  “You’re not supposed to be doing that, Mom,” Michelle chided. “I told you I’d take care of it on Saturday.”

  “There’s no way I’m going to sit around here and let you do all the housework, Michelle,” her mother replied. “I’ve seen how tired you look lately.”

  Michelle shook her head. “I’m fine. Really. How about I go make us a pot of tea, and we’ll sit and visit for a few minutes before I start dinner?”

  Sheila smiled. “I’ve already got a roast in the oven.”

  “So that’s what I smell.” Michelle set her bag on the chair and pulled her mother into an embrace. “Did I ever tell you what a great mom you are?”

  “Once or twice,” she replied, returning the hug. “You go get changed, and I’ll make us that tea.”

  Pulling back to look her in the eye, Michelle smiled. “Thanks, Mom.” She grabbed the stack of mail from the end table and headed upstairs to slip on her jeans.

  At eleven that night, Michelle found her husband, Steve, at the kitchen table still bent over his paperwork. It seemed like the work of an attorney was never finished during work hours. Like a teacher, she thought as she reflected on the hours she spent grading papers and planning lessons from that very same kitchen table.

  “Tough case?” she asked, resting her hand on his shoulder and peering down at the yellow legal pad where he was scratching down some notes.

  Steve leaned back against her, and she bent forward, wrapping her arms around him. “I didn’t hear you come in,” he said.

  “You’ve been locked onto your paperwork all evening,” she replied.

  “You’re right. Our client divulged some new information this afternoon, so I’ve been adjusting the presentation of the case.”

  Michelle stood back up and started massaging his neck and shoulders.

  Tipping his head to one side, Steve moaned. “Guess I’m pretty tight.”

  “Yeah. Lots of knots.” She worked her way up his neck to the base of his skull. Every place she touched felt like rock. “Maybe you should call it a night and stand under a hot shower to relax these muscles a little.”

  Steve agreed. “That sounds really good. I’ll just finish this one page and come on up.”

  Michelle was putting her toothbrush back in the cup by the sink when he came into their bathroom. “You are a sight for sore eyes,” he said with a weary smile. He plucked gently at her silky cream-colored nightie. “Is this new?”

  “No,” she replied. “Remember, you gave it to me for my birthday?”

  “I did? Wow, smart guy,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling into her neck.

  “Still going to take your hot shower?” she asked.

  “Maybe later,” he replied, turning her around and giving her a soft kiss.

  Michelle reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve missed you,” she said.

  “Missed you, too.” He kissed her again, this time deeper, more passionate.

  Michelle’s whole body responded with a hunger she hadn’t felt for weeks. “I love you, Counselor,” she murmured softly.

  “Feelings mutual, Ma’am,” he replied in a throaty voice.

  Later, as they basked in the afterglow of their passion, Michelle rested her head on his chest. Tracing circles through his chest hair with her fingers, she said, “Remember when it was just the two of us?”

  “Yeah. Seems like ages ago,” he replied.

  “Mmmm hmmm,” she replied. “Now we’re surrounded by people all the time. Mom, the kids, friends, work … I know I used to get lonely living in a new town with you at work all day. Now I sometimes wish we could go back in time for just a week or two and have total quiet, our little candle lit dinners on the coffee table— you know what I mean.”

  He squeezed her shoulder, drawing her even closer. “Yeah, babe. I know. Maybe we should plan a getaway — just the two of us. Now that summer’s coming, you’ll be free, and I’m sure I can get Roger to cover the office for a week or so.”

  “What about the kids?”

  “Couldn’t your mom watch them?”

  Michelle nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure she’d be fine with that
. Let’s just get through Caleb’s birthday party and then we can make a plan. I’d love to go back to that B & B in the mountains,” she added, lifting her head to look at him. “Remember?”

  “I sure do. Great fishing there,” he teased.

  She pushed away and swatted him playfully with a pillow. “I wasn’t talking about the fishing, Mr. Romantic,” she said with a grin.

  Pulling her back into his arms, he kissed her forehead. “A man can dream, can’t he?”

  “Just leave the fishing pole at home,” she replied.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Phil, honey, are you feeling okay?” Joan asked her husband. She’d been concerned about him for several weeks now, but he kept brushing off her queries. He looked like he was losing weight, and his appetite just wasn’t normal.

  Phil took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I guess. Seems like I can’t get myself moving the way I used to. Probably just age creeping up on me.” He reached across the table and squeezed her hand.

  Joan studied his face. He’d never been one to let age get in his way, even now that they were well into their eighties. Always so strong and passionate about life, she couldn’t recall seeing him dragging like this. “I’m calling the doctor. You’re overdue for a physical, anyway. Might as well get it taken care of as soon as we get back from Sandy Cove.”

  Usually one to balk at the mention of doctors, Phil just nodded his head. “Whatever you say, dear.” He pushed himself up from the table and carried their dinner plates to the sink.

  “Why don’t you go stretch out on the couch, and let me take care of the dishes tonight,” she suggested.

  “You must be tired, too, after all your running around today.”

  Joan patted him on the back. “I’m fine. Besides there’s not much to do. Just a few plates and one pan. You go take a catnap, and I’ll be in there in a few minutes. Maybe we can finish that mystery movie we started last night.”