Breath of Malice(7)
“No one wants him to forget that.”
But when Ginny married Herb, her new husband would spend more time with Jonah than Sam did. Sam might find himself on the outside of his son’s life. There was no way Sam would let that happen.
The house phone rang. Ginny glanced at the phone, then at Sam, then back at the phone. “That’ll be Herb calling to let me know that he’s arrived at work.”
Breaking news, apparently, Sam thought sourly.
“If there’s nothing else, Sam,” Ginny said, “I need to get that.”
Sam’s lips firmed. He turned to the door. As he pushed it open, he glanced over his shoulder at Ginny and raised an eyebrow. “By all means, you get the phone.”
Paige pulled out of the parking lot of the building in the town of Caledon where she’d rented a two-bedroom apartment for herself and Ivy. The building was outside of what was considered the town center. She’d chosen a place that was as far from the flow of Kirk County traffic as she could find.
Paige had spent their first week in Kirk County scouting apartments, enrolling Ivy in school, arranging transportation for Ivy to and from school, and doing the routine things needed for them to start their lives in a new place.
Paige’s invitation to Ivy to check out apartments with her and run errands with her had been met with stony silence. Ivy hadn’t spoken more than a dozen words to Paige since they’d arrived in Kirk County.
Paige glanced over at her sister. Today was Ivy’s first day at her new school. Paige hated seeing Ivy’s sad expression. It wasn’t easy for Ivy to make friends. She was shy by nature and self-conscious of her wheelchair, which she felt made her conspicuous and a curiosity. All Ivy wanted was to blend in, to be like everyone else, and Paige’s heart broke for her sister.
“Kirk High School has a terrific academic program,” Paige said. Ivy had been an A student in New York and Denver, Paige thought with love and pride. Ivy’s grades were important to her, and Paige had been relieved that the move to Denver hadn’t affected them. When Paige’s declaration failed to get a response, she added, “I already mentioned that I enrolled you in the art program. In addition to the art class, there’s also a drawing and painting club you can check out. I was told about it when I was getting you registered. There are field trips scheduled around Kirk for club members to paint in nature, and the club puts on a couple of art shows each year to showcase student work.”
Paige was particularly pleased to learn of the art program. Ivy loved to draw and paint, and her art showed both skill and heart. Though Paige had taken little when they’d moved, she’d carefully wrapped and packed each of Ivy’s paintings and drawings and hung each one carefully on the walls of their new home.
Paige reached the school and parked at the curb by the front entrance. Car doors slammed as a trio of girls and one boy exited a compact car. Another girl strolled with a kind of rolling gait while her thumbs were busy texting on her phone. A boy slung his arm around her shoulders and fell into step beside her.
Ivy remained quiet. Her fingers, their nails recently bitten to the quick, now picked at the threads on the hem of her T-shirt. The nervous gesture said more about her anxiety than a dictionary worth of words. Paige reached out and touched Ivy’s hand. “I could go in with you, walk with you to your first class?”
Ivy’s hand stilled. She turned to face Paige, and the anxiety in her eyes turned to anger. “Leave me alone, Paige. Just leave me alone.”
Before Paige could respond, Ivy lowered the platform and was out of the van. In that moment, Paige felt defeated. She exhaled a shaky breath as she watched Ivy push the button to open the double glass doors. After Ivy disappeared into the school, Paige sat for a few moments, staring at the entrance.
Forcing herself to get moving, Paige drove away from the school slowly. It was a day of firsts for her as well. Glancing at the directions she’d written, she drove to the small Kirk County Bureau field office, her new place of employment.
In the parking lot, she lowered her sun visor and then the cover over the mirror and studied her reflection. Her shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a ponytail, baring her face. Beneath the light makeup she wore on the job, her skin was grim and pale. Her large brown eyes betrayed how desolate she felt. Not a good look for meeting her new boss.
She flipped the mirror back up and closed her eyes, working to get herself together. In the past year, she’d learned to disguise herself on demand, to conceal what she was thinking and feeling. She called upon those skills now. When she had her emotions in check, she left the car.