Page 98 of Icebound Hearts

“It wasn’t his firstincident.” There’s steel in Violet’s voice, a protective edge that makes something swell in my chest. I take a step closer to the door, catching sight of her as she sits across from Principal Chapman’s desk with Jake in a chair at her side. “He would never hit another child, I’m telling you.”

“Well, we?—”

“Did you see it happen?” she presses. “Were you there?”

Principal Chapman exhales, puffing out his cheeks. “No, but another student reported that?—”

“And what did Jake say happened?”

Chapman blinks. “I didn’t?—”

“You didn’taskhim?”

Even though I can only see her in profile, there’s no missing the way Violet’s lips press together. Then she turns to Jake, her expression softening as she rests a hand on his shoulder.

“Buddy, can you tell me what was going on? What happened? Was there a fight?”

My son hesitates, drawing in a shaky breath. His cheeks are red, his hair a bit mussed. After a second, he nods.

The gentle expression on Violet’s face doesn’t waver. She drops her head a bit, meeting his gaze as she asks, “Did you hit anyone?”

He swallows, then shakes his head again. “No, but… it’s my fault.”

She gives his shoulder a squeeze. “What do you mean? Why?”

Jake wipes at his nose, sniffling. “Simon and Cody were fighting. I tried to get them to stop. I was pulling Cody away, but then we all got tangled up, and Cody hit Simon anyway.”

Violet smiles softly, brushing Jake’s hair away from his face, and the tenderness of the gesture makes something in my heart ache. Then she turns back to Principal Chapman, giving him a pointed look.

“Would you like to explain to me now whyJakeis the one in trouble for fighting?” she asks, her tone clipped.

The principal blusters a little, obviously a bit taken aback. “Well, I’ll have to verify that story with the other students. His teacher didn’t see the incident start, but when she turned around, Jake had his hands balled into fists, and Simon had a mark on his cheek. So she just assumed?—”

“I think that was your first mistake,” Violet says coolly, cutting him off. “I’m sure this is a good school, because Sawyer wouldn’t choose anything else for Jake, but none of that matters if you don’tlistento your students. If you don’ttalkto them.”

A smile pulls at my lips, fierce pride filling me as I listen to her calmly and quietly read Principal Chapman the riot act.

That’s right, baby. Give him hell.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Sutton,” Chapman says, clearing his throat. “I?—”

I step forward before he can finish speaking, striding into the room. He looks up, and I don’t miss the look of embarrassment that flashes through his eyes. Maybe he was hoping I wouldn’t show up, now that it’s clear he falsely accused my son of starting a fight that he was in fact trying to end.

“Mr. Townsend,” the principal says, rising from his chair as he greets me. “We were just discussing the incident that Jake was involved in.”

“I heard,” I say, coming to stand behind Jake. I rest a hand on his head, and he looks up at me with sweet, hopeful eyes. “And I heard enough to make it clear that Jake wasn’t actually the instigator of any of it, is that correct?”

Principal Chapman grimaces. “It may be that we misread the situation. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go have a talk with Jake’s teacher and the other student and get to the bottom of this.”

He leaves the room, and Violet turns to look up at me.

“I’m sorry,” she says, almost like she thinks I’ll be upset at her. “I should’ve waited until you got here and let you take care of it. I just couldn’t stand him saying that about Jake.”

I smile, that feeling of pride blazing through my chest again. “I think you handled it just fine,” I tell her, holding her gaze.

Her shoulders relax as something unspoken passes between us. I pick Jake up and then settle into the chair he was occupying with him on my lap, and Principal Chapman returns after several long minutes.

It turns out that Jake’s version of events was true, and although I’m not surprised to hear it, I feel a rush of relief as more details of the incident emerge. It’s clear that although he was in the middle of the fight, he in no way started it or took part in it, other than trying to stop things from escalating. Love and worry battle in my chest at the knowledge that my sweet boy did that, and I make a mental note to have a talk with him later about how to protect others but also keep himself safe.

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