Page 23 of Mistletoe Dreams
"You can count me as one of those." Ben didn't necessarily want to work for no pay, but he was willing to do what he needed to in order to make the Mistletoe Meadows Christmas Festival a success. It brought in a lot of revenue for the shops in town, and he wanted to see everyone thrive, not just himself. Plus, everyone in the town was donating time. He could do that too. And security was his thing.
"You can count on me as well. Maybe someday we'll be big enough that we can afford triple time for officers who are working overtime during the festival, but right now, that's not happening." Cade lifted his shoulder. "With the new department store they're putting in at the edge of town and the revenue from that, things might just turn around a bit."
"I heard that they were using the extra taxes to fund local businesses. I take it that includes the police force?"
"To some extent, yes. The state has also stepped in and matched some funds. So we might not have to have as many fundraisers as we normally do. Things are definitely looking up for the economy around here."
Ben nodded. He was happy to hear it. Ever since he'd moved back, he'd settled in and felt more at home than he had in a longtime. Although he regretted the demise of his marriage and knew that there were things that he could've done better, he'd been doing the best he could. Although that didn't mean that he couldn't keep trying to be a better person. He thought again about Hannah's offer to create a place along the river where he and Mason could fish in the spring. Honestly, he didn't even know if Mason liked fishing.
Yeah. Maybe he'd been brought down by the divorce too. Stabbed in the back and dealing with his own feelings of betrayal and not being good enough and trying to figure out what he had done wrong to cause his wife to need someone else. It was time he got past that, and he and Mason started building something of their own.
A family.
Maybe... he thought again of Hannah. Maybe that would mean it was time for him to start thinking about inviting another woman into his life.
The idea wasn't as unpleasant as he thought it would be. After all, after Peyton left, he'd kind of attributed her attributes to the entire gender, but that wasn't right. Hannah had already proven that she was different. Maybe... maybe she would be a good place to start.
He had to stop thinking about that and focus on his job; he brought himself back to the present just in time to see a slender figure walking along the road.
It looked like a teenage boy.
He squinted and looked closer. Was that Mason?
Yeah. That was definitely Mason. He slowed down and pulled off across the road.
He'd no sooner put the patrol car in park than his phone rang.
He grabbed it as he was getting out of the car. He really didn't have time to stop. He was supposed to go to that high-security meeting, but he needed to deal with his son, and when he saw it was the school calling, he answered it as he got out.
"Hello?" he asked, his syllables clipped. And then he put his hand over the speaker and yelled, "Mason. Stop!"
His son turned around, his eyes got big, and he looked both waysas though he were going to take off. Ben braced himself, because while he was a good bit older than his son, he was in pretty good physical shape, and he would at least give him a run for his money, although he had to tell himself that he could catch him if he needed to. The first step in accomplishing whatever it was he wanted to do was to have the confidence that he could do it. Even if he didn't think he could.
His son stopped, and the voice in his ear said, "Mr. Tucker. This is Henrietta Pliable, secretary at Mistletoe Meadows High School. I was calling to say that we've had several people stop in the office and say that your son arrived at school on the school bus and then walked off the property. I don't know if that's true or not. Was he supposed to be absent today?"
"No. He was supposed to be there. I'll get to the bottom of it and talk to someone in the office."
He wasn't going to say that his son was staring at him now, although he was. Ben had reached him and stopped right in front of him.
"That sounds good."
"Thanks," Ben said.
He swiped off and stared at his son.
"What's going on?" There was no anger in his voice, thankfully, although he felt it burning in his chest. Did his son understand that he was trying to do his job and be a father and a good citizen, and Mason was making his life exceptionally difficult?
But this wasn't about Ben. This was about Mason. He had to remember that. Because of Ben's bad choices, Mason's life had been exceptionally difficult.
"I'm skipping school. What does it look like?" Mason said with his typical sarcastic attitude.
"Get in the car," Ben said, turning and walking toward his patrol car. He'd forgotten until he was halfway there that he was headed toward the high-security meeting, and he wouldn't be able to take his son. What was he going to do?
He didn't quit walking toward the car and didn't turn around to see if Mason had followed. His son had darn well better follow, or there was going to be some severe consequences. The idea that his kid was supposed to go to school, knew it, and had chosen not to—although he probably should get some points for getting on the bus at least. And getting out of bed before that. If he were going to skip school, the smarter thing to have done would've been just to sleep in. Ben wouldn't have thought to look for him in his bed. Not until he'd gotten the call from the school, and now he wouldn't have had time.
He opened his car door and saw Mason walking around to the other side, and he couldn't deny the relief he felt in his chest. At least the kid listened, and he didn't have to have a confrontation right now.
But what was he going to do with him?
