Chapter Seventeen – Hannah

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come in with you?” Knox asked. They were in the parking lot of the school Dustin attended.

“No, I can handle Principal Collier.” Hannah leaned across the car and kissed him. “You taste like garlic.”

They had shared lunch together, which they had classed as their first date. “Good, maybe it will ward off your Principal Collier.”

“He is not my Principal Collier. You are insecure.” Hannah opened the door and got out of the car and pointed at him. “Stay. I mean it. I can’t very well go in there and argue that Dustin is going to have a mentor to help him deal with stuff, and then have that mentor use violence.”

“I wasn’t going to use violence, I was thinking more of intimidation.” As she slammed the door, Knox gave her a big grin.

“I’ll be back as quick as I can, and then I’ll drive you to Will’s place.” She walked away from him, her heels loud on the asphalt. Hannah had gone into power-dressing mode today, with a well-cut skirt suit, hair in a sleek bun, and impeccable make-up. Usually, she wore flat shoes, but had opted for heels to give her a slight height advantage over Principal Collier. They also might come in handy if she had to fight off his unwanted attentions. Hannah smiled to herself at the image of herself tackling the principal. Knox had been putting ideas in her head; the guy simply was not that kind of a man.

After signing herself in at the school office, she headed along a long corridor toward the principal’s office, her heels click-clacking on the polished floor. He was waiting for her, watching her walk toward him with a winning smile on his face.

“So you’ve accepted my invitation at last.” Principal Collier held out his hand and she shook it, pulling back from him when he didn’t let go. “It’s so good to see you, Hannah.”

“Principal Collier. Thanks for seeing me at such short notice.” Hannah fixed an amiable smile on her face: she wanted to appear friendly, but not open to his advances. Until this meeting, Hannah had wondered if she had misinterpreted the principal, but now, she was absolutely certain she had not.

“How could I say no?” He gestured for her to sit down, and went to the coffee maker to pour them both a cup. “White, no sugar, right?”

“Yes, thank you.” Hannah sat in the chair across the desk from his, and accepted the cup.

“Now, shall we get this messy business out of the way?” He sat down in his chair, looking smug. “I’ve gone over Dustin’s file and think the best course of action would be if he moves to a school outside of the area. I know we are the closest to his home, but I think that a new environment might be just the new start he needs.”

“I see.” Hannah sipped her coffee and let the principal carry on.

“Yes, I believe in fresh starts. Dustin was a good kid until his father died, but since then his behavior has been somewhat erratic, turning to violence on the last occasion. Before that there were a couple of cases of bullying.”

“Which I am surprised were not dealt with.” Hannah kept her voice amiable.

“They were dealt with. Dustin was warned his behavior was unacceptable.”

“But Dustin was not the instigator of any of these incidents.” Hannah opened her briefcase and took out a sheaf of papers. “I have Dustin’s statements, backed up by several other students. I also have a printout from Facebook of Ross Vardy goading Dustin about his father’s death. All the evidence points to systematic bullying toward him by a group of students ever since he beat Ross Vardy in the track and field event last year. An event Dustin trained extensively for and won despite having recently lost his father.”

Principal Collier frowned. “I’m not sure where you found this information.”

“From the students. Your students, who were very willing to tell me that Ross Vardy uses several methods of intimidation with fellow pupils.” Hannah placed another piece of paper on the desk. “I also found it interesting to discover that Ross Vardy is well connected at the school. And I would question whether the board should be told about the way this whole incident, and others, have been handled.”

Principal Collier’s face clouded. He glanced at the papers before him. “I’m not sure what you are implying.”

“I think you do. I have enough evidence here to go before the board and call your reputation into disrepute. Now, I have no wish to do that. This incident aside, the pupils of The Bluff High School are happy, and have nothing but good things to say about you. However, Ross Vardy has to be punished. Punished as if he were any other student. If you cannot do this, Principal Collier, I suggest you ask another senior member of staff to do so.”

He sighed and sagged forward, his head in his hands. “He’s my sister’s kid. Like mother, like son.”

“You need to man up, Principal Collier. I expect Dustin to be invited back to school, and for you to apologize to him and scrub this incident from his record. Ross Vardy started the fight, and threw the first punch. My witness statements, statements I will leave with you here, say that Dustin was trying to defend himself.” Hannah stood up, ready to leave. “I am willing to let this matter go if you deal with Ross appropriately since he is leaving in a couple of months. However, I want the incident shown on his personal record along with appropriate punishment.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Hannah slapped her hand down on the desk. “No, you will not see what you can do, you will deal with it! Appropriate punishment, Principal Collier.”

Leaving her statements on the desk, Hannah left the room, a sense of achievement filling her. She’d done it, fought in Dustin’s corner and won. Unless Principal Collier tried to wriggle out if it, but if he did, she would take this to the school board.

“You were quick,” Knox said when she got back in the car. “Did you eat him for breakfast?”

“Lunch.” She flashed him a smile. “Poor guy, I think he has issues with his sister. He’s going to have to man up to deal with this.”

“It’ll do him good. And it means no other kid is going to get shafted because the principal’s nephew has a grudge against him.” Knox was right, of course. Hannah guessed Principal Collier had been the geeky brother to the school mean girl, and the relationship had never evolved to take in the principal’s authority.

“Do you think Principal Collier’s sister will give him a wedgie?” Hannah asked as she drove out of the parking lot.

Knox laughed. “Maybe. You know, we were both only children. What do you think it would be like if you had a sibling?”

“Very different. Kids need someone to spar with.”

“So, four kids?” Knox asked, recalling their conversation a couple of days ago at the park.

“Well, as long as I have a man willing to pitch in and help.” She flashed him her dimples. “Although I might regret it, I hear from Suzie that Kit and his brothers act like big kids. So if we have four kids, I might think I have five.”

“Not me. I’m good at adulting.”

“You can prove that to me if you get a job with Will.” Hannah found the prospect of Knox joining Will’s team exciting.

“Are we collecting Dustin on the way?” Knox asked.

“Yes, I want to give them the good news about school, and try to get Dustin involved in Will’s project, I think it will do him good. It will also help Sandra, since she’ll know where he is. It’s going to take some time for her to get over all this. Kids heal fast, they move on and let go, but parents, it takes longer.” Hannah drove to Sandra’s house, excited to tell them the good news.

“I thought kids usually hated going to school,” Knox commented. “I know I did. I preferred to be out on the mountain, running free.”

“You will never share that with one of our children,” Hannah told him firmly. “Education is good, it gives kids choices.” She stopped at a road junction, and then turned left and drove down the street to park in front of the Linden residence.

“Point taken.” Knox opened the car door and got out. “I have an idea, Dustin and I can walk from here. It’ll give you a chance to talk to Sandra alone.”

“Are you sure? I was going to come with you.” Hannah shut the car door and locked it.

“It’ll be good for you to catch up with Sandra. She’ll open up more with Dustin out of the way, and I can grill Dustin on the walk. I might even take him for a run on the mountains afterward.”

“He’s not a dog.” Hannah knocked on the front door.

“I thought he might show me around since he’s lived here all his life. It’ll make him feel grown up, as if he is in charge.”

“Oh, you’re good. I’ll watch out for when you use that on me.” Hannah laughed as Knox’s eyes lit up.

“I just gave away my secret!” He grinned at her, as Sandra opened the door with an apprehensive expression on her face.

“Hi there, how did it go? Is Dustin allowed back to school?” Sandra’s questions spilled out of her mouth.

“It went well. Principal Collier couldn’t argue with the information we presented, and Dustin can go back to school. We decided that perhaps it would be worth waiting until after the weekend, to give the principal time to straighten a few things out. I hope that’s OK.”

“Thank you!” Sandra hugged Hannah. “I’ve been frantic with worry.”

“How’s Dustin?” Knox asked.

“He’s been an angel. Since he came back, he’s been more like his old self, I can’t thank you enough.” Sandra looked tearful, and Hannah placed her hand on her arm to comfort her. She quickly wiped her tears away. “Silly me. Things are good. Really good.”

“It’s still going to take time. You’ll have ups and downs.” Hannah put her arm around Sandra and guided her to the kitchen. “Let’s have a coffee and a chat while Knox takes Dustin over to Will’s.”

Sandra busied herself making coffee, pausing briefly when Dustin came in and kissed her goodbye before heading out of the door with Knox. “He’s a changed boy.”

“And how are you?” Hannah asked.

Sandra stirred the coffee cups, before placing the spoon down. “Sometimes I think I’m OK, and then it all crashes into me, and I…” She dashed her tears away. “I get so angry. Why did it happen to us? Why Lex?”

“You must miss him terribly.” Hannah accepted her coffee, and took a cookie when Sandra offered her one.

“I do. But more than that… It’s selfish really, but I get so lonely too. We were together for sixteen years. Now I just see a future alone. Dustin will grow up and lead his own life, and I’ll be alone.”

“Sandra, you might meet someone new.”

“But it won’t be Lex. That’s the worst of it. I can’t see anyone making me as happy as Lex did. We were fated mates, you know what that means.” Sandra sobbed quietly, before she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “But Dustin is OK, and I’m truly grateful for that.”

An hour later, Hannah got home, her earlier jubilation gone. If only there was something she could do for Sandra, but short of bringing Lex back to life, there was nothing. Sandra was right, they were fated mates, and although she wasn’t a shifter, Sandra knew the chances of her finding a man so devoted to her was almost impossible. Could she ever be satisfied with a normal relationship?

Opening the front door, she went inside, but before she closed the door, Jamie’s voice called out to her. “Hannah. Is Knox with you?”

“No, he’s gone over to Will’s, is everything all right?” Hannah held the door open for him as he slipped past her.

“I have this letter for him.” Jamie held up an official-looking envelope. “He gave my address for mail to be forwarded to when he left the army.”

“Is it from the army?” Hannah asked.

“It is.” Jamie looked down at the letter.

“Do you know what it is?” Cold dread threaded through her veins. “He’s so happy, he’s putting everything behind him, and I don’t want anything to jeopardize that.”

“I know.” Jamie nodded. “Shall I wait for him? In case it’s bad news.”

“Yes, please.” Hannah smiled. “You’re a good friend, Jamie.”

“We have to stick together.” Jamie gave her a lopsided smile. “You know, it could be a commendation. Knox was a hero, even if he doesn’t like to admit it.”

“He doesn’t really talk about it, and I don’t push him, I always figured he’d talk when he was ready.” Hannah made a fresh pot of coffee; it was going to be a long night.