Page 65 of Once Upon a Holidate
It took only a minute for him to answer. I could grab a coffee right now if that works.
It does. Thanks.
They settled on a place. Wynn took her handbag from the drawer in her desk, told her office manager she would be gone for about an hour, then drove into the center of town where she parked and walked to the coffee shop by the river.
She ordered two lattes and carried them to a table in the corner. For once the view of the Rio de los Suenos didn’t make her happy, nor did she appreciate the beauty of the day or the little Santa on the table.
Two minutes later Garrick walked in. He spotted her and headed for the table. Under normal circumstances, she would have appreciated seeing him looking all manly in his uniform, but even that wasn’t enough to distract her.
“I got you a latte,” she said. “I hope that’s okay. Or do you only drink black coffee?”
He sat across from her and picked up the drink. “I enjoy a latte from time to time. Thanks for getting it for me. What’s going on?”
“It’s Hunter.”
One corner of his mouth turned up. “I kind of assumed that, with him being your only child.”
She tried to smile back at him, but couldn’t, then explained about the unexpected phone call.
“I went online,” she said. “Junior ROTC really exists.”
“Sure. They’re at the high school. Ninth graders in junior high can also join the last semester before they graduate.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know about all the extracurricular activities going on at both the high school and junior high. I know which ones make my day easier and which ones don’t.”
Interesting, but Garrick being good at his job wasn’t something she could care about right now.
“He lied to me,” she said, doing her best to stay in her head. If she gave in to her emotions, she would end up losing control. Later, when she’d figured out what to do, she would cry and scream and throw things, just not now.
“He lied to me,” she repeated. “He doesn’t do that.” She held up a hand. “I’m not saying he never lies—of course he does. He messes up. He can be lazy and forgetful. He’s a normal person. But this is different. It’s out of character for him, and I don’t know why he did it. Why didn’t he talk to me in the first place?”
She looked at Garrick. “He never mentioned the JROTC thing at all. I had no idea he was thinking about it. I didn’t even know it existed. I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t he bring it up in conversation? Why wouldn’t he ask? He went behind my back and faked my signature. How can I ever trust him again?”
Garrick put his hand over hers. “Breathe.”
“I’m breathing.” Sort of. She pressed her free hand against her chest and consciously tried to relax. “Where did this come from and why didn’t he talk to me? I know I keep saying that, but it’s a real question. Why not discuss it the way we talk about everything else?”
“Do you have any opinions on the military? Anyone in your family a former sailor, Marine, whatever?”
“What? I don’t know. It was just my mom and me. I never knew any extended family, so I have no idea if anyone ever served.” She paused, trying to formulate an answer to the question. “I support the military. I appreciate those who serve. We need a strong defense.”
His gaze was steady. “‘But not my kid?’”
The question was a kick in the gut. She withdrew her hand. “I never said that.”
“I know. I’m asking if you think it. Do you make it clear to Hunter that’s not an option? Not overtly but in subtle ways? JROTC isn’t a direct line to joining one of the branches, but it would expose him to the idea of it. Would you be okay with that?” He shook his head. “No, wouldhethink you’re okay with it?”
She wanted to say she’d never even hinted that he shouldn’t consider the military, but stopped herself. Was that true? While she knew she’d never said anything directly, she wondered if somehow she’d had a bias.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I might have said something. I wouldn’t have meant it in a bad way. I’d be worried about his safety, and I have no real experience with the concept. It’s just not part of my world. It’s not like we’re near a military base or anything.” She clutched her coffee. “Does it matter? At the end of the day, he went behind my back and he was dishonest.”
“I agree that’s the bigger issue. I was just trying to find out if there was an obvious reason.”
“Not one I can see. I’m going to have to talk to him,” she said. “He is going to be in such trouble. I don’t even know where to begin with the punishment. And when we—”
She stared at Garrick as an awful truth popped into her head. “Oh, no. He lied on his application. He wanted to join and by lying, he’s violated the honor code or whatever it is.” She dropped her head to her hands, then straightened. “Great, now it’s on me. I either keep quiet about the lie so he can be a part of JROTC, or I tell the truth and he doesn’t get in. If I don’t say anything, then I’m teaching him the wrong lesson, and if I rat him out, I’m the bad guy.”
