Page 30 of The Fear
Her hair, just as curly as his own son’s, was in a loose ponytail that was falling a little. She had freckles on her cheeks—and a streak of yellow paint or something. She was exactly like he’d imagined a young kindergarten teacher would look. Her dress had big yellow flowers on it.
When she smiled, some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed.
She just looked…so young and sweet. Pure. Beautiful.
That’s what it was. She was surrounded by kid artwork and toys and the room felt…happy. Welcoming.
“Hello, Deputy Ryce, how are you?” Even her voice was beautiful. Far less grating than Jessica’s constant shrillbitching. He could just imagine her singing songs with twenty kindergarteners around her skirt. He wished he could see her doing that.
“I’m good, I guess. Mostly, I came to pay you for Wynnie’s lunch, and let you know that I will be filling her account once a month myself going forward. I don’t trust her mother to remember to do it.” No excuses for Jessica this time. He was so tired of covering for her so that people didn’t look athiskids with that same kind of pity he’d always had from people when he’d been a kid. With parents who couldn’t keep their own selves sober. He would never forget how that had felt.
He wanted better than that for his kids.
He pulled the money from his pocket. She was already shaking her head.
Brenton reached out, and took her small hand in his, ignoring how she started a bit. He put the fifty into her palm. The woman was seriously soft. Hell, it had been a long time since he’d been with a beautiful woman like her. “I won’t have my kids not being taken care of. Take it. Hell, use it for some other kid who needs the help.”
“Of course. Thank you.” She pulled away slightly. She gave him a shy smile. She…was really sweet. No wonder Wynnie adored her. Brenton bet all the kids in the class did.
Brenton made a point to put some space between them. He was scaring her a little. It was hard to miss. Of course he was—he was big, strong, male, in uniform—between her and the door.
She was small and slight, and he basically had her trapped. He stepped back again. “Can you level with me?”
“O-of course. Would you like to have a seat? I have one other seat for grownups in here.” She shot him a rueful grin.
Brenton found himself relaxing even more. He could see why Wynnie enjoyed her so much more than the old battleax Miss Hanan had replaced.
It was a peaceful kind of place. Light. A place someone could be happy being—especially a little girl like Brenton’s baby, who had the softest, sweetest heart of anyone Brenton had ever known.
“Does she like it here? Get along well with the other kids?”
“Wynnie is a wonderful little girl. She listens well, pays attention most of the time, which is great for her age. She is a bit ahead on her skills—she reads above grade level especially. She gets along well with the other kids, although she does try to overly mother them, and is very helpful. She also has great leadership potential, if that’s fostered.”
He felt she was genuine. This woman really enjoyed being with the kids.
She was probably the bravest woman he had ever met.
When Brenton stepped out of the classroom a few minutes later, he just shook his head at himself. Hell, he was half in love with Wynnie’s “Mith Hanan” already.
21
After Deputy Ryce left,Hala spent a few minutes arranging her classroom for the next day. She wiped the kids’ desks down every evening, just to help prevent the spread of germs, and emptied her trashcans. Kindergarteners generated a lot of paper, that was for sure.
Deputy Ryce was weighing on her mind. No denying that.
He had been so fervent, for lack of a better word. He cared about his children, and had reminded her of Hudson, really. Or Gene Hiller and his Calvin. He had been so attuned to his children’s needs, too.
And his frustration with Jessica, the children’s mother, had come through loud and clear.
Hala had had run-ins with that woman before. Deputy Ryce seemed too nice to have ever been involved with that woman, but Hala would keep that opinion to herself. All that mattered to her was that Jessica and the deputy took care of their daughter and son. She had her private opinions on that, too.
And…concerns.
Wynnie spoke openly about her father in a way Hala felt was a healthy manner. She was always telling stories about what sheand her brother did with their father. And she made excuses for her mother in a way that was sending up real red flags.
Wynnie was a loving, affectionate,boldand adventurous child, but when her mother was mentioned—she closed down. In a way that was starting to be really noticeable.
Nothing in Mrs. Johnson’s notes from before Hala had taken over mentioned anything specific about problems with Wynnie’s parents. Hala had only been her teacher for not even two months. There had been no physical signs of anything concerning but…things were starting to concern her. Big time.
