Donkey Whisperer
Keelie
I get up from my desk and walk across the counseling center to Tom Logan’s office.
Tom is younger than me by at least five years and landed this job when our long-term counselor had to retire for health reasons. Tom was a middle school teacher in the district who recently got his Master’s in counseling.
Tom counsels the end of the alphabet for the student body and manages both Beth and Maggie. I knock on his open door when I see him typing away on his phone. “Hey. I need to talk to you about Maggie Stockton and Beth Thorton.”
He’s distracted and finishes typing on his screen before looking up. “What about ‘em?”
“I had to look into them because of an issue with another student and noticed they’ve had a lot of absences lately—excused and otherwise. They’re both gone today, but have had too many similar absences to be a coincidence. Would you mind calling their parents and checking in on it?”
He looks at me curiously. “If they were called in, I’m sure it’s fine.”
I sigh. “Please? I think it warrants a call to their parents.”
He doesn’t look excited but agrees. “Sure. I’ll look into it.”
I hate telling someone how to do their job, so I try to justify myself. “The students are still reeling from the accident. Sure, kids are going to skip class—it can’t be stopped. But nothing good comes of it, and now more than ever, we need to keep a close eye on every single one of them.”
He gives me a small smile. “I agree.”
“I appreciate it.”
When I get back to my office, I give myself a pep-talk for the next agenda item on my to-do list.
He was just here yesterday and he’s a parent. I shouldn’t be anxious to talk to him. I pick up my office phone and dial.
Quicker than I expected, his deep, warm voice greets me. “Hollingsworth.”
“Hello.” I take a breath before continuing. “Mr. Hollingsworth, this is—”
His voice dips as he interrupts me. “Keelie. I thought we were on a first name basis.”
I close my eyes and give in. “Yes, sorry. Asa.”
“That’s better.” I hear a smile in his voice and all I can think about are those interesting little lines around his hazel eyes when it happens.
Shaking off my thoughts, I start in about Emma, explaining that for the most part her teachers have seen a similar behavior to what he has seen at home. She’s quieter, distant, and withdrawn compared to the beginning of the year. I relayed that her teachers don’t see her with the group of peers she used to hang out with, and they’re having trouble getting her to participate in class.
I’ve lost the smile in his voice, now being replaced with silence.
I lean back in my chair and keep talking. “I’m still working on the friend issue. Don’t give up on me yet. Let me see what comes from that. We can set up the conferences now, but maybe we should wait until we figure out what all this is stemming from.”
I hear some funny noises in the background, like he’s outside, when my email alerts me. It’s from Tom, stating both Maggie and Beth’s excused absences are legit.
So weird.
“If you think that’s best. You’ll let me know what you can?” Asa asks.
“Absolutely. I’ll call you as soon as I find anything.”
“Thanks.” I hear him sigh, and right when I’m about to say goodbye, he adds, “Tomorrow’s Saturday.”
I try not to smile, but it’s hard. “Since today’s Friday, tomorrow’s definitely Saturday.”
“I can try to make it a good one if you let me.”
Since he seems to have a quick comeback for everything, I decide it’s time to say goodbye. “I’ll call you Monday with any additional information. Have a good weekend.”
I hear his smile return. “You, too, Keelie.”
Hanging up the phone, I look at the clock. It’s the last hour of the day and I don’t have any more appointments. On a whim, I pull up the student profiles for both Maggie and Beth.
I print off their addresses. Maggie doesn’t live too far from me.
The bell rings for the last hour of the day, so I shutdown my computer for the weekend. Tidying up my desk, I grab my jacket and bags and lock my office door.
When I walk by the office, I make up an excuse for leaving. Checking in on students outside of school isn’t exactly under my job description. “I have an appointment, so I’m sneaking out a little early. You can forward any calls to voicemail and I’ll check them this afternoon.”
“Sounds good. Have a good weekend, Keelie.” She smiles.
“You, too.” I sigh, wondering what the hell I’m doing, while at the same time wishing I had more on tap for the weekend. Maybe it’s time to get the kids involved in more. It’s good to stay busy.
*****
Asa
I’ve been sitting here for hours, and when something finally happens, I can’t believe my eyes.
My new favorite high school counselor pulls into the drive, parking her minivan right next to that shithead’s piece of junk.
I cringe when I think about what she’s walking up to and start my engine. Pulling forward the two blocks from where I was parked, I watch Keelie walk up to the door wearing another sweet outfit—this time a dress. In her high-heeled boots, she walks with purpose, and I can tell she’s already talking to the three standing at the front door—Maggie, Beth, and some guy who looks as credible as the expired plates on his car.
Keelie’s arrival just interrupted the hand off. I can’t imagine what would’ve happened had she seen the girls take something from a guy I’m sure is a dealer standing on their front porch. I memorize the license plate, make, and model of the other car in the driveway before I do the last thing I planned on doing this afternoon—make an approach.
After pulling the info of both of Emma’s friends, I decided to drive by and see where they lived. Turns out, my new house is in the same development as Maggie’s. After driving by Beth’s house first, I swung by here and happened upon both girls walking up. My kids are still in school, so I bet they should be there, too. From the sounds of their laughs, I’m guessing they aren’t sick.
Climbing out of my truck, I hear Keelie questioning what’s going on. “So, you’re both ill today?”
Not knowing which is which, one of the girls starts speaking quicker than a bunny on speed. “I think something’s, like, going around. We both must have had it. But … um … I’m feeling better, so I decided to come and check on Maggie.”
“And who are you?” Keelie looks up to the man caught on the front porch with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He can’t be over the age of twenty-one.
No one has the chance to answer as both girls and the guy look to me. When I walk up behind Keelie—she doesn’t know what’s about to hit her.
Putting my hand low on her narrow hip, she startles from the surprise of my touch. I take the last step as she turns her head toward me and her eyes go big. I ignore that and give her a warm smile as I pull her to my side. “Hey.”
She freezes.
I give her a squeeze and enjoy her body pressed to mine. “I was on my way home and saw your car. I thought we were meeting later, so I stopped to see what’s going on.”
Her frown deepens. “Later?”
“Yeah, later.” I turn to our three spectators. “Hi.”
“Um…” the brunette mutters.
“Hey,” mumbles the blonde.
I look to the guy and narrow my eyes as I offer him my right hand. “Asa. And you are?”
He looks uncomfortable, but finally takes my hand in a quick shake. “Ritchie.”
“Ritchie. Good to meet you.” I don’t let go of Keelie and look to her when I point out, “I thought everyone would still be in school.”
Keelie tries to push away from me but I hold tight as she throws a hand out in front of her. “I was just checking up on these two. It seems they’re often sick at the same time. I have no idea who Ritchie is.”
“He’s…” the blonde starts but then pauses for a second, thinking up a lie. “He was delivering something. For my parents. For their business. I think stationery?”
I tip my head. “Stationery?”
“Yeah.” She gives me a little nod. “Or letterhead. I’m not sure which.”
“I gotta go,” Ritchie announces and makes his way down the porch steps to leave. “I’ve got more deliveries.”
“I bet you do,” I agree. “Good to meet you, Ritchie.”
“Ah … yeah,” he mumbles and before I know it, we all hear the growl of his old engine start up and he’s off faster than a blink.
“Asa—” Keelie starts and tries to push against me, but I don’t let her go.
I interrupt, “I hope you girls feel better soon. I’ve gotta say, you don’t look a bit sick. We’ll get out of your hair so you can rest up. I’m sure you’ll be anxious to get back to school on Monday. Everyone loves Mondays, right?”
The girls’ expressions are a mix of relief and confusion, but I ignore them and turn Keelie on the porch, leading her down the steps, and straight to her van.
“But, I need to talk to them,” she hisses under her breath.
“You girls have a good weekend,” I call over my shoulder. They don’t answer, but scoot into the house in record time.
I give her one more squeeze and murmur into the side of her hair, “Time to go.”
When I get to her minivan, I open the door for her. She stands there for a brief moment before letting out a frustrated huff and climbs in. I slam her door and head for my truck. She pulls out of the driveway and passes me where I’m parked at the curb. I fire up my truck and follow.
I have no idea where she’s going, but she’s got to stop sooner or later. We leave the development and I stay on her tail.
We head west about two miles—it only takes us five minutes to arrive at another property. Keelie pulls up the long drive when I see a garage door go up.
Ms. Keelie Lockhart lives here?
There’s no other house in sight, and when I drive around the gravel lane to the front of the old home, it’s a plain mess. The front of the house has been ripped off and there’s construction happening everywhere.
When I open my door, I’m bombarded with farm sounds. Dogs barking mixed with what sounds like goats, and, if I’m not mistaken, maybe a donkey.
I hear Keelie’s car door slam and when I make my way to her, she’s looking to where the animals are making a ruckus and yells, “I’m home. You can hush up now!”
They didn’t listen completely, but the volume drops plenty and the donkey quiets altogether.
She shifts back to me. “What was that about? I left school early to see what was up with those two and you dragged me off. I have a job to do.” Her arms come out low and fall to her sides. “And what were you doing there?”
I look at her, this beautiful tiny woman with the sexiest hair I’ve ever seen, and since I’ve pressed my face into it, I can attest I’ve never felt softer. She’s standing here in her gravel driveway in front of a house that’s torn to bits, and I now know she has the ability to hush dogs and a donkey while standing in a sexy-as-fuck dress and boots. She doesn’t seem to be able to tame goats, but as two medium sized dogs swarm her feet, I stand here surprised and impressed.
I cross my arms. “You live here?”
“Asa.” She bites out my name. “How did you know I was there?”
“Gotta say.” I shake my head. “Never pictured you as a donkey whisperer.”
“Jasmine is old. All you have to do is acknowledge her and she’ll hush up. I’m hardly a donkey whisperer.”
I nod and keep looking around, still finding it hard to see how Keelie fits in here.
“Asa?” she calls for me again.
I look to her from the barn, which seems to be in better shape than the house. “I decided to do a little looking of my own. Told you I’m new to the full-time dad thing, and thought it would be a good idea to at least know where Emma’s friends lived, even if she’s not hanging with them right now. Went by Beth’s first and when I got to Maggie’s, I saw the girls walking up. I guess they were supposed to be sick today, huh?”
She says nothing but narrows her eyes.
“I should be glad Emma cut herself off from them. Or they cut her out—whichever it may be.”
“I still know nothing more than I did an hour ago when we spoke on the phone. But had you not interrupted me—”
“I drove by her house,” I interrupt. “Saw the girls walk up and decided to sit and watch since they looked up to no-good. Thirty minutes later, that dealer drove up and you interrupted the handoff.”
Keelie’s face falls a bit. “So, he is a dealer? What did you see?”
“I didn’t see anything, but I’d bet my right arm he wasn’t there delivering stationery or letterhead.”
She shifts her weight and sighs, worry clouding her pretty face. “No. I thought the same thing.”
“I’ll check into him.”
Her eyes get big. “You can do that? How do you know his name is really ‘Ritchie’?”
I smirk, handing her back a little bit of what she gave me yesterday. “I’m not at liberty to talk about my work, Keelie.”
She rolls her eyes.
If she only knew.
“But I will tell you what I find out. And I might not make you wait ‘til Monday,” I add.
“You won’t?” Seems I’ve surprised her again.
“You think I want that shit in school with my kids?” I ask. “I might be new to the full-time parenting gig, but I’m not new to the ways of the world. That asshole could’ve been peddling something as simple as weed, but I’m thinking not since anyone can drive into the District to buy it now. My guess—they’re experimenting with something more. Or they were about to.”
She crosses her arms and even though she looks to the side, she doesn’t seem to be focusing on anything.
“Keelie?” I call for her.
She turns back and her voice goes soft. “You’ll let me know what you find out?”
“I said I would,” I promise and lower my voice. “You okay?”
She nods and takes in a big breath. “Yes. Sorry. It just seems this school year will never end. I do appreciate any information you can offer. I’m going to call the principal now, fill him in.”
“Give me your number.” I pull my phone out of my pocket.
She shakes her head and gives me a ghost of a smile.
“What?” I grin. “I can’t let you know what I find out without your phone number.”
She relents and I can tell she’s even a little amused.
“Gotta say. I never had to promise information about a suspected drug dealer to get a woman’s phone number before. You’re a hard sell.”
She smiles bigger. “I suppose I am.”
I make her another promise. “I’ll call you.”
She stands on her driveway looking something between amused and annoyed. “I’m not sure what to say, Asa.”
“You could high-five me, but that seems out of character. But I also didn’t expect you to have a donkey and goats. You’re a tough one to figure out.”
Her eyes get big. “Yeah? Well, I’m still trying to figure me out, too, if that makes you feel any better.”
I’m not sure what that means. But as much as I’m enjoying standing here talking to her and looking at her, even with goats wreaking havoc in the background, I need to get home before the kids do to keep an eye on Emma. “I gotta go.”
“Yes,” she agrees. “My kids will be getting off the bus in an hour.”
I lift my head, and as much as I want to touch her again, it’s a line I can’t flirt with.
Not yet anyway.
“Enjoy your Friday, Keelie.”
“You, too, Asa.”
I give her another smile before I get to my truck and see she’s typing away on her phone. The second I pull out onto the main road, I call Carson and give him all the information I have on the so-called Ritchie. It’s not much, I know, but I hope the tag will give me a lead.
I pull back into the drive of my new house. I haven’t had a house since Danielle and I split. I’ve always kept a condo in DC, but when I had the kids for more than a few days, I took them on vacations.
I groan as I think about having to make dinner and head in to wait for my kids.