Willow Brook Road(62)

Carrie laughed. “It’s so nice to be wanted,” she told them. “Javier, I’ll play with you first, then we’ll switch. How about that?”

“Works for me,” Reed said.

Carrie looked into their happy, expectant faces and concluded maybe she wasn’t quite as bad at handling controversy as she’d feared.



Sam discovered a whole new side to Bobby when he took him over to the school to get registered and take a look around. Since his dad had been pretty mellow and easygoing, the kid’s stubborn streak had to have come from the Winslow genes, but he couldn’t recall Laurel or him ever digging in their heels and throwing a royal tantrum.

“I’m not going,” Bobby declared mutinously, arms crossed tightly, his jaw set. His eyes welled with tears.

“The school looks really nice,” Sam said. “And did you see the playground? It has lots more equipment than the one on the town green.”

“I don’t care. I want to go to my old school.”

Sam clung to his patience by a thread. He understood what was going on, but coping with it was something else entirely. He was way, way out of his depth. He was sure Carrie could have coaxed Bobby out of the car and into the school by now, but short of dragging him, he didn’t have a plan for accomplishing that. Reason didn’t appear to be working.

“You already know lots of kids here from playing T-ball,” he reminded Bobby. “I’ll bet some of them will be in your class.”

“I like my old friends.”

Sam seized on a bribe. “And maybe we can take a trip some weekend to see them, but you live here now and this is going to be your school.”

“NO!”

The emphatic shout echoed in the car.

Sam took a deep breath and tried to imagine what it must be like for his nephew. He’d lost his mom and dad. He’d moved to a new town with an uncle he barely knew. It probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise that sooner or later Bobby was going to dig in his heels. Sam tried another tack.

“It wasn’t that long ago that I was new here, too,” he reminded Bobby. “I didn’t know anybody in town except my boss. Starting a new job is a lot like starting at a new school. It can be pretty scary.”

“I’m not scared,” Bobby declared, though he couldn’t quite bring himself to meet Sam’s gaze.

“Of course not. You’re the bravest kid I know,” Sam agreed readily. “You’ve been handling stuff that would be hard for anybody. This is just one more thing you have to face, but I know you can do it, Bobby. And a couple of weeks from now, I’ll probably have trouble getting you to come home, because you’ll be having so much fun with all your new friends. It’s just this first step that’s hard.”

“What if my teacher’s mean?” he asked, his voice small and filled with the fear he’d been trying so valiantly to hide.

“I can’t imagine any teacher in this town being mean,” Sam said. “We haven’t met one single mean person yet, have we?”

“I guess not,” Bobby conceded grudgingly.

Inspiration struck. “I have an idea,” Sam said. “Davey went to this school. I’ll bet his mom knows all the teachers. Want to go by the bookstore and Shanna can tell you all about her?”

Bobby nodded eagerly. Anything to delay the inevitable, apparently.

“Okay, we’ll do that first.”

“And then lunch at Sally’s?” Bobby wheedled. “I’d probably feel better after a grilled cheese sandwich.”

Sam nodded. “But after lunch we come straight back here and get you registered. Deal?”

Bobby clearly realized it was the best deal he was likely to get. “I guess,” he said eventually.

Sam started the car and drove into town. Five minutes later, he’d explained the situation to Shanna. “So, do you happen to know the first-grade teacher?”

Shanna’s expression brightened. “You bet I do. Her name is Amy Pennington.”

“Is she mean?” Bobby asked, trepidation in his voice.

“No way. She’s very nice. She’s been here for a very long time.” She sat down on one of the low chairs in the children’s section right next to Bobby, then leaned in to confide, “You know who she reminds me of?”

“Who?” Bobby asked.

“Mrs. Claus.”

Bobby’s eyes went wide. “Santa’s wife?”

Shanna nodded, a smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t ever tell her I said that, though. Here, I’ll show you.” She pulled a Christmas picture book from a nearby shelf and flipped through the pages, then pointed. “There you go. You wait till you meet Mrs. Pennington and then tell me if I’m right.”