Love Is in the Air (71 page)

“Principal Snyder, thank you for taking the time to speak with me,” Regina said as she sat down.

“Can I be blunt, Mrs. Togglehorn?”

Regina squirmed as she nodded.

“Mrs. Togglehorn, we have tried everything to manage your son’s education, but he has resisted every attempt to help him. And to be frank, I do not feel there has been much support from home.”

“I’ve tried—”

“You know what I’m talking about, Mrs. Togglehorn.”

Even here, in the closed confines of his office, the principal would not speak directly of her husband’s shortcomings.

Regina sighed. “Yes, I do.”

The man continued, “Michael skipped school today—”

“But how? I dropped him off and walked him to his classroom.”

“He went into the bathroom and pried the wire mesh away from the window and escaped the grounds.”

“I’ll make sure he stays tomorrow.”

The principal rose and walked around his desk, sitting on the corner. “There will be no tomorrow, Mrs. Togglehorn. Michael got into a fight with some other teens. There were injuries. The police are sorting it all out to see if any charges will be filed.”

Regina sank further into her chair. “This is it, then? Michael is being expelled?”

Nodding, the principal walked behind his desk. “And let your husband know that there will be no buying him back into this school again.”

Why don’t you tell that to him yourself
? Regina wanted to retort, but what would be the point? No one in this town would stand up to her husband, yet everyone was extremely comfortable telling Regina to get up in Wayne’s face.

This time, though, she might just challenge her husband. Michael had just crushed any hope of getting into college next year. Did the boy not know that a university education was his only way out of this damn town? Michael’s father would pay anything to have his son go to an Ivy League college. Now they would be lucky if the junior college in Bend would take him. That was if Michael did not land in jail over the summer. There were some crimes that not even his father could cover up.

“Can I take him home now?”

“The deputies have released him, but they need him to be available for more questioning.”

Regina nodded sadly and rose. The principal held out his hand, and she shook it with little warmth. What happened to her son was not this man’s fault, but neither had he been very helpful. Everyone, including the principal, ran for cover when Wayne bellowed with rage. Regina could not help but notice that she had been the one to get the call from the school instead of Wayne.

Numbly, the woman retraced her steps back out into the hall and down a side corridor. Regina did not even have to ask where Michael was being held. She knew from previous experience where the troublemakers were detained until their parents showed up. All the classrooms had large locks on the doors to keep the students in, but the room that held her son was especially battened down.

The guard stoically unlocked the three different dead bolts. Michael just sat sullenly in a metal chair, not even acknowledging her presence when she walked in.

Signing the release form, Regina tried in vain to keep her anger in check. “Michael, out to the car.”

“I’m not the dog!” the teen snarled as he stomped past her.

No, but I could probably handle you a lot better if you were
, Regina thought. But taunting her son did no good. The two needed real communication, but when was the last time that had happened? Instead, they sniped at one another, always looking for a weakness in the other. Sometimes, she was as bad as he.

Once outside, Michael’s pace became a crawl. Looking at her watch, Regina realized they had to hurry if they were going to make it across town in time to pick up Meryl. “Would you please hurry?”

The question served to slow his footsteps.

“Michael! Your sister’s practice ends in ten minutes.”

The boy moved no faster as he threw himself into the backseat. Only by threatening to call his father did Regina get him to put on his safety belt. The drive across town was no better.

Michael glowered the entire ride and refused to speak, even when asked a direct question. Regina sighed. Once his father got home things would only worsen.

“Mom! Michael!” Meryl yelled as she ran across the soccer field. The adolescent girl was all bounce and joy; so unlike her brother. She opened the back door and went to throw in her gear, but Michael silently refused to move. Shrugging good-naturedly, Meryl hopped in the passenger side of the Suburban and tucked her stuff under the seat.

“How’d practice go?” Regina asked.

“Great!”

“And school?”

“Even better!” Meryl answered again.

Regina noticed in the rearview mirror that Michael sarcastically copied his sister. She did not bother to correct him.

“I got an A on my math test.”

“That’s great, Meryl. Good job.” Even to her own ears, the words sounded hollow. Regina tried to sound happy for her daughter, but it was a little difficult with the news that she had just received from the principal. How she had managed to raise a daughter as bright and outgoing as Meryl when Regina was obviously such a lousy parent was a near miracle.

Meryl could not help but bubble with all the news of the day. She had so many friends and so many activities that Regina had made an actual scorecard for her daughter’s last birthday. They had it posted on the refrigerator.

Most days, Regina welcomed the adolescent’s exuberant attitude, but today it annoyed her. She tried to nod and smile at the appropriate times during her daughter’s story. Yet all Regina wanted was to get home before Wayne. There would be fireworks tonight, and she would rather Meryl be at a friend’s house before they started.

“Can I, Mom?”

Regina had no idea what Meryl was talking about. “Can you what?”

“Go over to Sabrina’s after I get my homework done?”

“Call Sabrina. You can head over as soon as we get home.”

Meryl pumped her hand in joy. “Oh, yeah!”

“No fair!” Michael broke his self-imposed exile.

Regina did not bother to answer her son’s protest as they pulled into the driveway. As soon as the car stopped, both kids jumped out of the car and raced for the front door. Meryl beat her brother, but got pushed aside for her efforts. Once the door was opened, Fury, the family’s Doberman pinscher, burst out of the house. For a supposed guard dog, Fury was a little too playful for her own good. The dog jumped and leapt, nearly over the kids’ heads. Michael actually laughed for a moment before he caught himself.

Wayne’s hopes that the dog would help Michael be more responsible had fallen by the wayside months ago. It appeared his firstborn would let the dog starve before the sullen teen would commit to any set feeding schedule. Despite her husband’s objections, Regina had taken over the care of the dog. The irony being, she was the only one who had not wanted the darn thing.

Regina could not help but grin as well, though, when Fury jumped up and licked her cheek. Well, at least the dog was a female. Regina could not imagine trying to deal with a huge male dog that insisted on marking his territory all over the furniture. Wayne and Michael were more than enough testosterone for her to handle.

Regina smiled secretly. There was another reason she was so pleased that Fury was a female. She could remember when Wayne packed them into his Wagoneer and took them out to the breeder’s house. Wayne had promised Michael a dog if he would stay in school.

Of course, their son had gotten kicked out of yet another institution, but Wayne still put down the deposit on the puppy. When they got to the ramshackle house, the woman had refused to part with the only male of the litter. No matter how much Wayne screamed or yelled, the breeder would not give in. Needless to say, the family had to move out of town once Wayne fired the woman’s husband from the mill, but it was nice to see someone actually stand up to him, if only for a bright shining moment.

Meryl had been the one to pick Fury because she was the only little puppy that did not run away when Wayne started hollering. Of course, it turned out that the pup was partially deaf, but that was probably for the best. Regina’s husband had a habit of being a bit loud. Tonight, Regina was sure that Wayne would give them all an earful. Patting the dog, she slowly made her way toward the front door.

Everything was so much nicer out here. There wasn’t the smell of fear that lingered in the house. Taking off her filthy boots before entering, Regina found Michael lounging on the couch, the TV already full blast.

“Turn that off and get to your room.”

Michael sneered. “Make me.”

Regina held back her initial retort. Threatening her son with Wayne was useless anymore. Wayne’s behavior was so erratic that she could not count on her husband to back Regina up on something as fundamental as homework before TV. Accordingly, Michael had no respect left for her.

They both heard Wayne’s car before they saw it. The Jeep Wrangler must have burnt rubber all the way down their driveway. Michael’s demeanor changed, and his feet flew off the side of the couch. Wayne was through the front door before Regina could even change her shirt.

“Say hello to the new owner of Backwash Mills!” Wayne shouted as he entered the house.

Regina was stunned by his exuberance, not trusting the apparent good mood. There was an edge even to his celebration. “That’s great, honey.”

Her husband’s voice took on a dangerous tone. “Damn right, it is. Do you know how long I’ve been badgering those assholes?” Turning to Michael, his voice upbeat again. “Put it there, son!”

Michael stood up and shook his dad’s hand, but even her son looked confused at Wayne’s bizarre mood.

“Wayne, we need to talk,” Regina said, hoping to get her husband alone before he heard the bad news.

“I think we need to celebrate. What do you think, Michael?”

Before her son could answer, she cut in, “We really need—”

“You talking about the trouble at the school? Please, that’s already been taken care of.”

“But… but the principal said—”

Wayne snorted. “That pencil-necked geek? He’s nothing.” Her husband’s tone lowered, and he gave Regina a hard stare. “Don’t ever think anything in this town happens without me knowing about it.”

Unconsciously, the woman took a step back. Many times that tone signaled a backhand coming. She had to look away. Regina could not take the pain of his gaze, but he just laughed at her, right in front of their son.

Wayne put an arm around Michael’s neck like a bear hug, only it did not look that fun to her son. “Snuck out through the wire mesh. Damn, but you are my son! I don’t know if I’d have the guts to do that at your age.” They turned to Regina. “What’s for dinner?”

Panicking, but trying hard not to show it, Regina scrambled for an excuse. Through all the turmoil, she had plain-out forgotten to start dinner. Wayne’s fragile good mood could turn to rage if supper was not ready.

Before she could open her mouth, Michael stepped in. “She’s been chopping stuff for a stew, but I don’t feel like that tonight. Can’t we go out to celebrate, instead?”

“Now that’s the best damn idea I’ve heard all day.” Wayne shouted down the hallway, “Meryl, get your butt out here. We’re going to dinner!”

Regina did not move for a moment; she was so surprised. Her son had to know that she had not spent the afternoon preparing dinner. Why had he said that? Had Michael just lied for her? Had he just protected her? She stared at her son, but the boy would not meet her glance.

Meryl came halfway down the hall, her schoolbag ready. “But Daddy, I’m going over to Sabrina’s to do homework—”

“You’ll do what I say you’ll do,” Wayne harshly replied.

Her husband’s brusque tone brought Regina out of her shock. “Meryl, honey, we’ll go to dinner, then drop you off over there.”

Her daughter shook her head. “But I haven’t even started my homework yet.”

Wayne was nearing explosion level. “What kind of damn daughter are you raising here, Regina? She can’t get her nose out of a book and—”

“Meryl, you’ll have plenty of time over at Sabrina’s.” Before her daughter could interrupt again, Regina rushed on. “Now go get in the backseat. Okay?”

Looking less than satisfied, Meryl headed out the door, but made sure to give a big sigh as she left. Wayne was still busy play-boxing with Michael. Not that the blows looked very playful to Regina. Her husband looked over his shoulder at her. “Well, you’d better put that pathetic excuse for a dinner away. And get changed, woman. You shouldn’t run around in public looking like that. We’ve got a reputation to keep up.”

Regina mumbled something. She was not even sure what it was, but it got her out of the room. As she entered the kitchen to pantomime cleaning up, her mind spun. How had her husband gotten Michael back into the school? How had Wayne convinced the Stahler Brothers to sell their mill? But most importantly, why had Michael lied for her?

CHAPTER 3

After the grueling drive and disappointment of being stood up by Mr. Togglehorn, Quinton would have been perfectly happy driving through the town’s sole Dairy Deluxe. But, no, Ralph wanted a sit-down dinner. And did his assistant just pick any restaurant in town? No, Ralph had to pick the one all the way across town, and then insisted on walking to feel the night air. This kid really was a tree hugger.

Dusk had fallen, and even Quinton had to admit that the sunset was spilling a thousand different hues upon the horizon. The mist that crept into the forest had a certain aura to it, but he certainly was not going to admit that to anyone but himself.

“How many trees do you think they cut down per year?” Ralph asked.

Not wanting to get into yet another debate about clear-cutting, Quinton hedged. “We’ll find that out tomorrow when we take a look at their books.”

To Quinton’s surprise, Ralph did not press the issue. His assistant was a bit preoccupied with the stars overhead. “I grew up in the city, you know? All bright lights and traffic. I never had a night sky like this.”

The town had few streetlights. Even walking down the main drag, they had a clear view of the night. Before he could think, Quinton continued the conversation, “Where I was raised, we didn’t have a neighbor around for miles. You can imagine my surprise when I saw my first traffic jam.”