Love In a Small Town (29 page)

"Yeah," Dakota added. "I used my digital camera; the one I use for eBay."

"I'm impressed," Lynn said, "This was a wonderful idea, Emily. You have marketing talent. I've seen the label, too. Logan worked on it with Sarah's dad and ran off copies on parchment paper, in color. They had to be small to fit the bottle, so there's only a rose and the name of the fragrance."

"I finished the paper for the science project and handed it in," Sarah said. "My teacher will be at the show tomorrow to sample the fragrance."

"You're going to be surprised when we get upstairs to see what has been accomplished today," Lynn said. "Where are Karen and Anthony?"

"Here they come," said Dakota. "Karen had to get some stuff from her locker."

"Hi, guys," Karen said. "I'm so excited. It's like my mother used to tell me when I couldn't wait for Christmas. 'Only one more bedtime, and it'll be here.'"

"There's something I have to tell you guys," Sarah said. They expression on her face was so solemn, they all quieted and waited, knowing this was not going to be good news.

"I wanted to wait until we were all together, but Lynn already knows." She took a deep breath. "I might not be here tomorrow night. The judge wants to see me tomorrow morning in his chambers. I'll know what is going to happen to me before the show." Tears started to well in her eyes.

Lynn put her arm around the distressed girl. "Honey, it isn't going to be nearly as bad as you think. This is the first time you've ever been in trouble."

"I couldn't tell you because it made me sick to think about it," Sarah told her friends.

Logan put his arm around her, so Lynn let go. "You couldn't even tell me?"

Sarah started to shiver and Logan tightened his hold. "We have to be there at ten o'clock. My dad's bringing a lawyer."

"Honest, Sarah," he said. "It'll be okay."

"Oh, Sarah, that's terrible," Karen said, her distress prompting Anthony to take her hand.

"The lawyer's probably a good idea," he said, "but the court would have appointed one if this was a real hearing. It sounds like it's just going to be between you and the judge. Maybe that's a good sign."

Emily looked at him. "You know a lot about this."

Karen was pleased. "Anthony knows a lot about everything. You have to if you're going to be a writer."

Her words had no effect on Sarah. The fear showed in her eyes.

Lynn felt helpless, witnessing Sarah's pain and feeling so inadequate.

Stop it! I can handle this and anything else that comes along as long as I have David. I can be a positive influence on Sarah and all her friends. I can because of what my mother did for me.

Nerves from the pressure of the show and the wedding were beginning to exhaust her physically, as well as all the changes in her life the last two weeks.
All I want to do is get a nice hot shower and curl up in bed to dream of the wonderful times ahead with David and Sarah, and maybe this gift that may be growing inside me… Oh, I can't forget Iris. That puppy will be growing up with this little one.

"Sarah, honey. Please. Calm down. Don't do this to yourself." It sounded so ineffectual, but at least it was something. "Ashley is gone, and you, Madonna, and Tiffany were all, in a way, victims of her spite. No one is going to send you away with only one arrest, and you haven't been found guilty yet. I don't know about the other two, but the worst for you will probably be probation." She didn't know if that was true, but it might help.

Logan took over. "Sarah, stop this right now. You're not going anywhere. Lots of kids at school do worse things than this and nothing ever happens to them."

"Yeah," Dakota agreed, "and if you go to jail your dad can bake you a cake with a file in it." He brightened with anticipation. "Maybe macadamia nut with chocolate icing."

Lynn glanced at him, appalled.
How could he?
But she saw a glimmer of a smile in Sarah's eyes and thought what a wise friend he was.

"I've always wondered what the file was for," Emily said, reacting to the softening of Sarah's expression.

Anthony joined in. "I think it's to file the bars so you can escape."

"Well that wouldn't work," Logan added, "if the bars were tempered steel. It would take too long."

"Okay, guys." The tension left Sarah's voice. "I feel better now."

She gave them all a watery smile because Lynn knew that Sarah knew that's what they wanted.

"Hey, can we get off this subject and onto something important?" Dakota demanded. "Tomorrow night I'm going to show up in front of a couple of hundred people wearing a tuxedo and I don't know how to tie a bow tie. I'm going to feel like a dork. What are we going to do about that?"

"Not to worry, Dakota," Lynn said. "David will be there and nobody knows more about wearing a tux than he does."

The memory of David in a tuxedo awakened the nervous thrill that lurked in her stomach most of the time, whenever she thought of him. Lynn noticed Anthony and Karen looking at each other in a silent communication and wondered what was coming next.

"Uh, maybe we better tell you right now about another bad scene that might be happening," Anthony said. He looked at Karen for encouragement and she took up the story.

"Right when we were ready to leave school today, we saw Jim Holder and he was as hardcore mad as I've ever seen him. He shouted at Anthony, 'You can tell that bitch of a friend of yours that I'm getting even. She's going down.'"

"Yeah," Anthony added. "He was hacked pretty good."

Logan said, "What's he mean by going down? What's happened?"

"I heard the kids are bagging him big time about how lame he looks in that picture. They're making fun of the costume and saying it makes him look gay." Karen's voice reflected her worry as she told the story. "I'm sorry, Emily. It's a beautiful photograph.

"Anyhow, he and Audrey had a big fight and he said it was all her fault, she made him do it, and she said he was really stuck on himself and they broke up."

"Oh, Sarah," Emily cried, "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't make trouble for you. Jim has a lot of friends. I've only been here a few weeks and even I know his influence because he holds for the whole school." She stopped short, with a guilty expression. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you that."

"Jim Holder?" Lynn was aghast. She knew what holding meant.

Logan looked surprised that she hadn't heard. With a determined glance at the others, he said, "It's okay, Emily. It'll serve him right if everybody knows he's the local drug connection. Whatever you need—Oxy, Ecstasy, Roofies, weed, meth, even Molly—he has it, for a price."

Horrified, and sick at the revelation, Lynn said, "I've heard the names, but I'm not even sure what some of this stuff is. How can this be? Jim's an athlete. The captain of the soccer team. He's in line for a couple of athletic scholarships."

"So?" they all chorused.

"Nobody's going to drop the dime on the captain of the soccer team," Dakota said, gaining nods of agreement from the rest.

"Does Caro Anson know this?"

"The principal?" Dakota said. "No way. Frankly, Miss Keith, adults don't know a whole lot about what goes on in school. Jim can get really vicious. We'll watch your back, Sarah."

Drugs?
Lynn was reeling and felt like she was emerging from a dream, into reality. Apparently drugs were so easily available now and constantly changing. How could any parent keep up with what it took to raise a teenager these days? Doubts about how prepared she might be to fulfill a parental role crept into her mind again, as she listened.

"There's more," Dakota said. "I heard he's been hooking-up with Madonna. She's been jocking him for a long time, and Audrey found out about it."

"Oh, come on. Jim Holder and Madonna?" Karen said. "She's such a derpina. No way would he be with her. She might, but he wouldn't be interested. Be sure, he's just using her."

Logan nodded. "Friends with benefits."

"What does that mean?" Lynn asked. She didn't know anything. God, she sounded so dumb.

Logan, clearly embarrassed for having even mentioned it, tried to explain. "When you have sex with a boy or girl you don't care about. You don't even have to know their name. You only want the sex. A lot of kids do if they want to be popular."

The joy she'd experienced with David sped through her mind. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. How can anyone look forward to a true, loving relationship after that?"

Karen, head down, peered at Lynn. "We don't—I mean do that. Not everybody does and we decided a long time ago that we'd not get caught up in all that. Guys pressure the girls and they give in because they want to be popular. Being popular isn't worth the risk of a STD so we stay away and just hang with each other."

Lynn's shock reached critical mass. These kids were so far ahead of her. She'd been asleep for ten years and only now awakened. She thought of the love she'd found with David, and felt sorrow for those girls. They'd never know the thrill of discovering love. They were already too jaded. There was nothing to be said. Better get off the whole subject and get to the job at hand.

"Okay, everybody, let's go upstairs. Sarah, you're in charge of finding the clothes you girls will wear and putting them where you can find them tomorrow. Boys, I'll walk you through your jobs and show you what to do with the dogs."

"Dogs?" Alarmed, Logan stared at her. "There are going to be dogs?"

Lynn laughed. "Oh, did I forget to mention? Each year the volunteer models bring the dogs they adopted or the ones available to adopt and show them off to the crowd. The dogs love it."

"I wish Iris walked on a leash. She could be in the show," Sarah said.

"How is Iris doing?" Lynn asked.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You won't believe it. She slept on Dad's bed last night and this morning he was standing in the kitchen in his bare feet and sweat pants, holding her on one arm as he cooked, explaining how to properly scramble an egg. He's searching the Internet for a source for organic dog food."

The image of David, bare except for sweat pants, sent a shiver up Lynn's spine. Oh, how she loved him.
I can't wait to be able to walk up behind him and wrap my arms around him while he is cooking.
The conversation she'd had with Sarah and her friends made her wonder how to handle the drug and sex issue. How could she guide Sarah through these years? She and David could do it together. She would always have a shoulder to lean on. Her own attitude toward men and sex had been so twisted, but now she had the opportunity to impart advice to her
daughter
.

In her heart, she knew David was the only man she would ever love, and everything would be all right. No more fear. Together they would stand. After the fund raiser, they could focus on the wedding and moving.

"Stop the truck. Let me out. I'm going to hurl." Sarah struggled with her seat belt, fighting to get loose. Thursday morning had arrived, and she and David were on their way to the courthouse.

David glanced over at her, his face grim. "You are not going to be sick again, Sarah. Get a grip on yourself. It won't do you any good to be hysterical in Judge Arthur's chambers."

Damn. That sounded callous and inadequate, but he was at the end of his rope. He'd begged Lynn to go with them, because he felt Sarah needed a woman's presence, but she'd adamantly refused. Something was going on with her and he had a very bad feeling about it. She hadn't stopped by last night and she didn't want to have breakfast this morning.

Sarah had been sick twice and complained that her stomach ached and her head hurt. He felt so damned helpless. Her hand, when he reached for it, was cold and clammy.

Damn Ashley for putting his daughter through this. For the first time in his life he felt capable of wreaking vengeance on another person, no matter their age. It was a side of him he didn't like, but there it was. Fatherhood could stir up some pretty primitive feelings.

"Daddy," Sarah wailed, holding her hand to her mouth.

He stopped the truck and she stumbled to the gutter, retching. There was nothing left in her stomach, so he took the top off the bottle of water he had brought as an after-thought, and handed it to her when she crawled back into the truck, wondering why he'd never thought to bring a towel, in case something like this happened.

She'd been so worried about what to wear. He heard her on the phone this morning with Emily, asking how innocent people dressed. She settled on a white blouse, knee-length navy skirt, white socks, and plain tennis shoes—apparently her idea of childhood innocence.

"Get hold of yourself, Sarah. You're going to be calm and settle down." David used his 'I'm-not-putting-up-with-any-crap' voice, and was relieved when she took a deep breath, obviously willing the fullness in her throat back into her stomach.

"Being hysterical isn't going to help. Hang on. I've got Roy Beard, one of the best juvenile lawyers in Arkansas, meeting us there."

Sarah's hands fisted on her lap. "I'm scared, Daddy. I so do not want to do this."

"Stop worrying, honey. I'm with you all the way."