Catching Fireflies (12 page)

“I don’t like the idea of allowing this to continue,” Laura told her. “I really think we should report it.”

“Please, no,” Misty begged. “Once Mrs. Donovan gets involved, it’ll get really ugly.”

“But it’s already ugly, isn’t it?” Laura asked gently.

“Not like it could be,” Misty insisted. “I can deal with Annabelle.” She squared her shoulders, hoping that would give credence to her bravado.

“Not by skipping class,” Laura said firmly. “That’s no longer an option.”

Misty looked taken aback by her firm tone. “Even though you know what’s going on?”

“
Because
I know what’s going on,” Laura told her. “You’re not going to risk your future or your grades by skipping class and risking suspension when you’re the victim in this.”

“Are you sure I can’t just transfer back to a regular English class? Maybe Mr. Jamison would let me out of AP math, too. That would make things easier.”

“You’d give up everything you worked so hard to achieve and let Annabelle win?” Laura asked. “How would that be fair?”

“I don’t care about fair. I just want this over.”

“Misty, I might not know how this situation started or how bad it’s really gotten, but I do know this—Annabelle isn’t going to let it just fade away because you’re no longer in the same classes.”

Misty sighed heavily. “Probably not,” she admitted. “But at least she wouldn’t be in my face twice a day with her friends laughing at me, too.”

Reluctantly, Laura had to concede she was right. That didn’t mean, though, that she would allow a transfer.

“Let’s give this some more thought,” she said. “I’ll bet between us we can come up with a solution.”

Misty regarded her doubtfully, but she nodded. “Okay.”

“We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Misty said. “I’d better run. I have Mr. Jamison next period. He’s pretty unobservant, but he does notice if people come in way after the bell.”

“Would you like a note?”

“Nah. I’m good at sneaking in under the radar.”

Or else, despite her very stern warning, Misty intended to spend the next period hiding out somewhere, Laura realized as Misty ran off. She sat back with a sigh, suddenly wishing she could call J.C. and ask if he thought she’d handled the situation as badly as it suddenly felt like she had.

* * *

Laura had been on J.C.’s mind ever since Saturday when he’d found her shaken by her encounter with those girls at the fall festival. It was disconcerting how frequently she crept into his head these days. No woman had done that in years. If and when he dated at all, it was the sort of independent, no-strings kind of women who didn’t have a vulnerable bone in their bodies. Laura was an intriguing mix of strength and vulnerability. She got to him, no question about it.

And, of course, there was the Misty situation. He couldn’t get that out of his head, either.

At three o’clock, knowing that classes were over, he pulled out his cell phone and punched in Laura’s cell number, which he’d managed to get from her during the first night they’d gotten together to discuss Misty. It rang several times before she answered.

“Sorry,” she apologized at once. “My phone was buried in my purse. I’m not used to listening for it.”

“It seems I have a habit of catching you off guard,” J.C. said.

“J.C.?”

“Ah, you recognize my voice now. Should I be flattered?”

“You could be, or I could claim I caught a glimpse of the caller ID.”

“Did you?”

“No, I was too busy trying to catch the call.”

“Look, my last appointment just canceled and I was wondering if you’d have time for coffee, maybe around four-thirty at Wharton’s?”

“You’re not even trying to bribe me with the good stuff?” she teased.

J.C. laughed. “I suppose I could try to wheedle a couple of cups out of Erik and we could go to the park.”

“That might be better than Wharton’s, and not just because of the coffee,” she said.

“The gossip,” he concluded.

“Grace is known for it. Revered, in fact. It might not be a good idea to give her any ammunition to feed the gossip mill.”

“Okay, then, I’ll meet you at the bench under our pin oak by the lake at four-thirty. Want anything to go with that coffee? If I’m going to be bribing Erik, I might as well go for broke.”

“Surprise me,” she said, surprising
him.

She sounded much more lighthearted than she had on Saturday. Maybe he’d been worrying all weekend for nothing. It could be that she had the situation between Annabelle and Misty in hand by now.

“See you soon, then,” he said just as Debra opened his door and beckoned to him. “Gotta go. My next patient’s here.”

“I don’t suppose that was Laura Reed again,” Debra said as she walked down the hallway to the examination room with him.

“I don’t suppose it would be any of your business if it were,” he said lightly.

Her gaze narrowed. “And if I were to tell you that I was thinking of filling that open spot in the schedule at four o’clock?”

“I’d tell you not to do it,” he said, earning himself a smug look.

“I knew it,” she said triumphantly. “I suppose if I couldn’t fix you up with Jan, Laura’s not a bad substitute. I wouldn’t have pictured you with the quiet, shy type, though.”

“Because you never really knew a thing about my taste in women,” he reminded her. “You were just tossing candidates my way, hoping one would stick.”

“Well, I had to do something,” she countered. “A catch like you simply couldn’t be left swimming around all alone in the dating pool. It would have been a crime.”

“Says who?”

She gave him a wry look. “I think I speak for all the single women in Serenity.”

He laughed. “Stick to nursing, Debra. Go with your strength.”

“As if I asked for your advice.” She nodded toward the examination room door. “Johnny Taylor’s just fine, if you ask me. It’s his single mama who has a hankering for your special touch.” She grinned. “Not that you asked my opinion.”

“Duly appreciated, though,” J.C. said. Christine Taylor wouldn’t be the first single mother to drag a perfectly healthy child in for an unnecessary exam.

Ten minutes later, a beaming Johnny was on his way out with a cherry lollipop, and his disgruntled mother was paying a bill and trying to disguise her disappointment over J.C. showing not one single whit of interest in her.

J.C. grabbed his jacket off the back of his door and slipped out the side of the building. Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the park with coffee and a piece of key lime pie he was hoping he could convince Laura to share with him. He’d brought two forks, just in case.

He found her sitting on the bench along the path near the tree but not under it. She had her face turned up toward the sun, her eyes closed.

“Sneaking in a nap?” he asked quietly as he sat beside her.

“Just enjoying the day,” she said, smiling at him but not opening her eyes. “I love it when the air starts to feel like fall. Saturday still felt like summer, but today I’m finally feeling that crisp bite in the air. Makes the sun feel good.”

“I brought coffee and pie.”

“Ah,” she murmured, opening her eyes and turning to him.

The sleepy look on her face gave him a start. Suddenly he couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to wake up next to her.

“What kind of pie?” she asked.

“Huh?” he said, then snapped himself back into the moment.

She pointed at the take-out container. “The pie. What kind is it?”

“Key lime.”

“Perfect. It’s a favorite of mine.” She glanced at the small container again. “Only one slice? Where’s yours?”

“I thought you might share at least a bite with me.”

She beckoned for the box. “Let me taste, then we’ll see.”

“Something tells me we need to settle these negotiations now,” he said, holding the pie just out of reach. “Once you get a taste, I’m likely to be out of luck.”

“Could be,” she agreed.

“So, will you commit to sharing?”

She regarded him thoughtfully. “It might be fair since you bought it,” she said.

“True.”

“But it might be really, really good, and you did say you were bringing it for me.”

He smiled as she worked this out in her head. “Also true,” he conceded.

“Okay, one bite,” she allowed grudgingly.

“Three,” he countered.

“Two, and that’s my final offer.”

J.C. chuckled. “Obviously I’ll know better than to get between you and your pie next time.”

“Probably wise.”

“And I think I’ll take my two bites before I hand it over,” he said. “Just to avoid any chance of second thoughts.”

“I made a commitment,” she said indignantly.

“Okay, then, here you go,” he said, handing it over and watching as she took the first bite and allowed the tart-sweet combination of the creamy key lime filling melt in her mouth. Watching her savor it was such a turn-on, he almost hated to see it end as she finished her share and gave him the rest. Still, as a matter of principle, he took it. The pie, good as it was, wasn’t nearly as satisfying as watching her enjoyment of it.

She took a sip of her coffee, then faced him. “So, why did you call, J.C.? I’m sure it wasn’t just so you could feed me pie.”

“I haven’t been able to get Misty out of my head today,” he said, admitting only half of the truth. When she looked skeptical, he shrugged. “Or you. I was worried about you on Saturday. It was clear that you were really taking that nasty incident to heart.”

“If you’d heard Annabelle, you’d have taken it to heart, too.”

“I’m thinking that it affected you more deeply because it reminded you of something that happened to you,” he suggested, seeing the truth in her eyes even as she tried to dismiss the incident.

“Let it go, J.C. It was a long time ago.”

“And you’ve put it behind you?” he asked skeptically. “I’m not getting that impression.”

She sighed. “I thought I had, at least mostly. There are some things I’ll never forget.”

“Such as?” he asked, knowing that the answer probably mattered more than he could possibly imagine.

She kept silent, her gaze staring somewhere off in the distance before she finally faced him with tears in her eyes. “Another time, okay? Please.”

He wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek with the pad of his thumb, then finally nodded reluctantly. “Another time,” he agreed quietly. “But I won’t forget, Laura.”

Her lips curved in a rueful smile. “I’m sure of that.”

He sat back and forced a more casual note into his voice. “So, how did it go at school today?”

“I finally had a candid talk with Misty,” she said. “Oh, she’s still pretty circumspect, but at least she’s no longer denying that there’s a real issue between her and Annabelle.”

“That ought to be enough to go to the principal, then,” he said, relieved that the matter might soon be resolved.

“Afraid not. Misty’s adamantly opposed to it. I have a feeling if I try to force the issue, she’ll deny it.”

“Why would she do that?” J.C. demanded in frustration. “She has to know this is wrong.”

“She knows. She’s just convinced that taking this to the principal will make everything much worse.” She gave him a weary look. “She could be right. I’ve heard plenty of stories about Mariah Litchfield and how she works. She’s already put in a few calls to Misty’s mother. Misty is pretty sure she intends to lay all the blame on Misty.”

“It would probably be a good thing to get Diana involved,” J.C. said. “Surely she’d come to Misty’s defense.”

“I’d have thought the same thing, but after talking to Misty, I’m not so sure.”

“I know Diana. She’s a terrific mother.”

“I’ve always thought so, too, but I think there’s something else going on at home. I have no idea what it might be, but I don’t think Misty believes she can count on her mother right now.”

“What a mess!” J.C. muttered. He drew in a deep breath, then said decisively, “Then it’s up to us.”

Laura looked startled. “Us? J.C., I know how much you want to help, but you haven’t witnessed a thing.”

“I’ve seen how distraught Misty is,” he contradicted her. “She wanted to quit school over this. She came to me to get a medical excuse.”

“But for all you know, she could have been having a bad day or wanted to quit for no good reason.”

“I know the signs of bullying when I see them,” he argued stubbornly. Probably far better than she did. He also knew the potential for disastrous consequences if it was allowed to continue.

“And I know Betty,” Laura argued. “She’s going to want solid evidence, incidents that were witnessed. Not because she won’t believe us or Misty, but because she’s the one who’s going to have to deal with Mariah Litchfield’s wrath.”

“It just doesn’t seem right that so much consideration goes to the girl who’s creating the havoc, while the victim’s left to suffer.”

Laura regarded him curiously. “You’ve very passionate about this. Does that go beyond Misty?”

He thought about just how personal the issue was for him, but it wasn’t something he talked about…ever. Well-guarded secrets were apparently something he and Laura had in common. “I care, that’s all.”

She didn’t look as if she believed him, but thankfully, apparently taking a page out of his book, she let it go.

“Will you be sure to let me know if there’s something I can do?” he pressed. “Anything, okay?”

“Of course I will.”

“And how about you? You must be as frustrated about this as I am.”

For the first time, he saw the weariness and regret in her eyes. “You have no idea, but my hands are tied either until Misty gives me more information or I’ve witnessed more myself.”

“You’re not just worried that Mariah would take her anger out on you, are you?”

As soon as he’d uttered the question, he saw the flash of real annoyance in her eyes.

“There’s nothing Mariah Litchfield can do to me,” Laura retorted. “Nothing that I can’t handle. But I’ve been around the system long enough to know that without solid proof, an accusation like this could do more harm to Misty than it will to Annabelle. Surely you know that, too.”

J.C. sighed heavily. “I do, and I’m sorry for even suggesting otherwise. I just find it all so infuriating.”