Page 24 of Witch Moon

She drew a deep, slow breath. "If a student asked me flat out if I were Wiccan, I may have answered yes. I certainly wouldn't have lied. If they asked what that meant, I might have given them a basic, honest answer. That's all."

Mrs. Hayes smiled slowly. "That's all we need."

"What do you mean?"

"Mirabella Saint Angeline, you are hereby suspended without pay from your duties as a teacher at Ezra High School, and forbidden to set foot on the premises, pending a full investigation of your behavior."

"You can't do this." Bella whispered.

"We just did. We will need to formalize this with a vote, of course. But at this point, that's a technicality. It will be unanimous. Go to your classroom, gather your things, and go home."

Rowan glancedat the newspaper for the tenth time. Jonathon knew the headline by heart. "Local Teacher Suspended on Charges of Witchcraft" He'd tried to trash the evening edition before his daughter caught sight of it, but she'd snagged it from his hand the minute he started for the fireplace with it. Almost as if she were reading his mind.

"Dad, we have to do something," she said.

He'd been thinking the same thing. The question was, what? He'd insulted Bella last night, called her most cherished beliefs so much bullshit. He doubted she would want his help. And even if she did, he wasn't sure what he could do.

"I'll try calling her again."

"Good."

He went to the phone, dialed the number, once again getting a busy signal for his trouble. He hung up. "Still busy."

"That's over an hour. Something's wrong."

He smoothed his daughter's hair. "Hon, don't jump to conclusions. She may have been getting some phone calls she didn't want. She probably took it off the hook."

Rowan grimaced. "Yeah, I can just imagine the kinds of phone calls she was probably getting."

He could too. And he didn't like what he was imagining.

"We should go over there, Dad."

"Honey...." He pushed a hand through his hair. "I just don't think...."

Rowan tipped her head to one side, searching his face with her laser beam eyes that were so much like her mother's it was uncanny. "Tell me the truth. Why don't you want to go over? No...youdowant to go, don't you? You just don't wantmeto go."

He sighed. He couldn't lie to this kid. It just wasn't possible. "I'd rather not drag you into something until I'm sure of the situation. I don't know what's going on over there right now, and-"

"And you're overprotective and hyper to boot. Fine. I'll stay home. Just so long as someone goes over."

"I'm not real comfortable leaving you here alone either, with all that's been going on."

The doorbell rang. Sighing and rolling her eyes, Rowan went to get it. And when she came back, she had her best friend Shauna at her side. Shauna looked old, for a teenager. Dark circles under her eyes and a washed-out look to her face. Poor kid. This hadn't been easy on her.

"Shauna wants to hang out here tonight, okay, Dad?"

"Sure. How are you. Shauna?" He kept his voice soft.

"I'm gonna be all right, Mr. Hawthorne. I just wish it would stop hurting."

He reached out a hand to stroke the girl's hair. "It eases up in time. After awhile, you'll be able to remember the good times and even smile a little. I promise."

She looked up at him. "I guess if you can say that, then I have to believe it."

"It doesn't feel like it right now though," he said. "I know."

"Dad, why don't you go now? I won't be home alone, and Shauna and I will be fine."

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