The Deputy's New Family Page 4

  For Corey and maybe, with time, him, too.

  Chapter Three

  “Here, Corey, try this one.” Beth handed him a beginning-level reader book about puppies.

  Corey glanced at her and then cracked the cover. He stared at the page, muttered a couple of correctly read words and then pushed the book away. “I don’t feel like reading.”

  She smiled at him, knowing this was the excuse he hid behind. “It’ll get better with practice. I promise.”

  “Can I go across the street now?”

  “Let’s get through this book first.”

  The boy slumped lower in his chair.

  “I know you can do it, Corey. And I’m here to help. Let’s try again.”

  The boy let out a sigh and picked the book back up. Hearing the kid stumble over several words in a row, Beth’s heart sank. Her suspicions had been correct. Corey Grey was nowhere near a second-grade reading level. “Let’s sound this word out....”

  It took a while to get through only a few pages. Beth was glad she’d called her mom before they’d even started and let her know that Corey was going to hang out with her after school. This was going to take patience, something she wasn’t sure Corey’s father had.

  Nick Grey’s reaction to Beth’s concerns a few days ago still bothered her. He’d displayed such vehemence that his boy pass second grade. Was it a pride thing? Nick seemed to have more depth than that. She hoped he did.

  Holding back a child to repeat a grade was openly debated within the LeNaro school district. Beth believed in some cases the hard choice was needed. Might even be needed here. But she wouldn’t get Nick’s cooperation, that was for sure. He wasn’t offering up any information about Corey’s old school, either. Beth called to rush those transcripts. The sooner she reviewed what was there, the sooner she’d figure out what to do. And find out why Nick had allowed his son to be pulled out.

  She couldn’t ignore Corey’s failure to meet reading benchmarks, move him forward and hope for the best. The chances of him becoming more lost and falling further behind were too great. He excelled with math, proving the boy both was bright and could see. The need for glasses wasn’t the issue here. So why did he lag so far behind in reading? What had he missed? And more important, could he catch up before the end of the school year?

  By the time Beth and Corey finished the book and made their way to Beth’s home across the street, Beth knew it’d take a lot of work to get Corey reading where he should. She had a theory, though. If she was correct, maybe they could go back and fix what Corey had missed.

  “What took you two so long?” Beth’s mom was decked out in a ruffled apron she’d purchased off a home-shopping show.

  Beth smiled at Corey. “We were working.”

  Corey didn’t look amused. Frustrated for sure.

  Her mom clicked her tongue. “Corey, did you have anything to eat since lunch?”

  “No.”

  “Well, dinner’s almost ready. Go wash up and we’ll eat right away. Your dad called. He’ll be a little late.”

  Beth watched the boy do as her mother asked without hesitation, before she let loose her irritation. “This better not become a habit.”

  Her mom lifted her chin. “What are you talking about?”

  “Corey’s dad being late.”

  Her mother gave her a hard look. “That’s between him and me. He promised to pay me extra when he’s late.”

  Beth sighed. She couldn’t really argue with that. Her father used to be late a lot, too. At least Nick had called.

  “So why’d you keep Corey at school so long? The poor kid needs an afternoon snack.”

  Beth scrunched her nose. How much could she really share with her mom? “We were reading.”

  “He’s behind, isn’t he?”

  Beth’s eyes widened. “How’d you know?”

  Her mom shrugged as her gaze shifted behind her before she focused back on Beth. “Set the table, would you? Corey, you can help.”

  The boy had returned. Reason enough for her mother’s quick change of subject. But still, how’d she know? And if it was that easy for her mother to figure it out, why hadn’t Nick? Or Corey’s grandparents? Even worse, why hadn’t someone done something to help the child?

  Beth set the table, letting the dishes clunk hard as she laid them down.

  Corey gave her a quick look with wide eyes. “Are you mad?”

  That question stopped her cold. It wasn’t exactly fear she read in his face but something close to it. Almost as if he’d braced for impact. It made her sick to ponder the implications of that single glance from a sad-eyed seven-year-old.

  She wouldn’t jump to conclusions. Not before reading those reports from Corey’s previous school, if they ever got here.

  Beth smiled, feeling like a heel. “No. I’m not mad. More irritated that I have to set the table, something I don’t like to do, but I shouldn’t take it out on the plates, huh?”

  Corey surprised her with a big grin. The fear was gone, replaced by a sardonic expression that looked much too old for the child giving it. He looked so much like his dad. “They could break.”

  Beth grinned back. Had she read way too much into Corey’s expression? “I suppose my mom wouldn’t like it if I broke her dishes.”

  “No.” Corey shook his head. “I don’t think she would.”

  Beth watched him lay down forks and knives around each plate. He’d been through a lot at a young age, but were there additional concerns she should worry about?

  A fierce sense of protection for Corey filled her. She’d find out, real quick. Starting with the boy’s father.

  * * *

  Nick pulled into Mary Ryken’s driveway. A few raindrops splashed against the windshield of his patrol car, promising more soon. He got out and rushed for the front porch and made it before the deluge.

  Beth Ryken came out looking darker than the rain clouds overhead. “Can I talk to you a minute?”

  That sounded like trouble. She looked stern. Still beautiful, though. Always beautiful. He took a deep breath. “Hey, sorry I’m late. I had to finish up the paperwork of an arrest.”

  “It’s not that.” A crease of worry marred her otherwise-perfect forehead. “Nothing serious?”

  He let out a bark of laughter. “Maybe for the drunk and disorderly seventy-eight-year-old woman who refused to get out of the vehicle of the man who picked her up hitchhiking. The poor guy didn’t dare touch her, so he called us. I thought the whole thing was pretty funny.”

  That didn’t earn him any points. Beth’s gaze grew cool. Icy. “Have you been using the books I sent home with Corey?”

  He nodded. “Every night before bed we read one of those storybooks.” Nick enjoyed revisiting that quiet time together.

  “Who’s doing the reading?” Her gaze narrowed.

  “Both of us. Corey struggles, but I help him out.” What was up with this woman? Two days ago she sent home the books. Why the grief when he followed her directions?

  “They’re barely first-grade level.” Her voice had dropped to nearly a whisper.

  The rain pounded the ground, but that was nothing compared to the bomb his son’s teacher had thrown at him. “But I’ve seen him reading the backs of cereal boxes, and comic books.”

  “Probably following the pictures.”

  Nick stared at her with dread crawling up his spine. He didn’t know what kinds of books kids read in what grades. Nick clenched his fists. Had she sent those books home to entrap him? To prove her point? That wasn’t fair. Not fair to his son. To him.

  At that moment Corey flew out the door. “Hi, Dad.”

  Nick looked at his boy. “Corey, can you wait in the car?”

  His son glanced at Beth and then back at him. “Okay....”
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br />   “I’ll only be a minute. Don’t touch anything.”

  Corey’s shoulders slumped and he flipped up the hood of his rain slicker and dashed for the vehicle.

  Nick watched him get into the SUV cruiser and then focused on Beth. “There has to be something I can do.”

  “This late in the school year, I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Beth Ryken didn’t beat around the bush, that was for sure.

  “But there has to be something—”

  The front screen door opened with a squeak, and Mary Ryken had a loaded plate wrapped in foil. Dinner? “We had more than enough.”

  Mary had made enough for both him and Corey to take home the previous night, too. “Thank you.”

  Nick’s focus followed to where Beth pointed, toward the sheriff patrol vehicle. Corey was messing with something. “I’ve got to go.” He stared hard at his son’s teacher. “But this conversation is far from over.”

  He saw how Beth’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say another word as he ran for the car. His uniform got soaked in the process.

  Nick slipped behind the wheel and set the foil-wrapped plate on the backseat. “I asked you not to touch anything.”

  Corey looked at him. “Are there games on this?”

  Nick turned his computer monitor back around. “No. No games.”

  As Nick backed out of the Rykens’ driveway, he glanced at the porch. Beth waved. Corey waved back. “What did you do at Mary’s today?”

  “I was at school with Miss Ryken.”

  “How come?”

  Corey shrugged.

  Nick drove with care, slow and sure. “Did she ask you to read?”

  His boy’s face fell. “Yeah.”

  “And you had trouble, huh? Like with the books we have.”

  More dejection. “Yeah.”

  Nick swallowed hard. “Corey, why didn’t you tell me you were having a hard time reading words? I could have helped.”

  “You weren’t there.”

  The barb hit hard and true, piercing his heart with bitter regret. “Grandma and Grandpa would have helped you to read better.”

  Corey shrugged again.

  It wasn’t the kid’s fault. Why hadn’t Susan’s parents picked up on it? Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose. They were dealing, too. He couldn’t blame them. Maybe if he’d made Corey read more. If he’d been around...

  “Dad?”

  “What?”

  “I think I made Miss Ryken mad.”

  Nick felt himself frown. “I’m sure you didn’t, son.”

  “But she slammed the plates on the table. But not like Mom. Miss Ryken didn’t break any.”

  Nick couldn’t breathe. He never had the right words to explain Susan’s odd behavior. Couldn’t excuse it, either. They’d argued so much toward the end. Way too much.

  “Don’t worry. Miss Ryken wasn’t mad at you.” She was probably madder than a hornet at him, though, for letting his boy down. And rightly so.

  Nick turned left onto the road that took them north of town to where they now lived. He needed to talk to Beth Ryken.

  “Hey, bud, do you have recess before your lunch break or after?”

  “After,” Corey said. “Why?”

  “Just wondered.”

  Nick knew his son ate lunch around noontime. So, maybe he’d stop by tomorrow. And see if he couldn’t have a chat with Miss Ryken.

  * * *

  Beth checked her watch and growled. She was late. Way too late for her early-morning dentist appointment. She pushed down on the gas pedal and picked up speed. And then spotted the flashing lights.

  “Really?” Beth slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.

  Another growl escaped while she checked her glove box for registration and proof of insurance. Beth jumped at the quick tap to her driver’s-side window. And then her stomach sank.

  Deputy Officer Nick Grey with a shining gold star on his chest opened the door for her. He stood there tall and solemn. His mouth twisted into a crooked grin. “In a hurry this morning, Miss Ryken?”

  Her stomach, which had dropped somewhere near her sandal-clad feet, now fluttered back to life. Why’d the man have to look so good in that brown uniform?

  She let out a sigh. “Late for an appointment. I guess I was going a little too fast, but there’s no point now—I’ll never make it in time.”

  “Do you know what the speed limit is on these roads?”

  She squinted at him. Seriously? “My dad was a cop, remember? Fifty-five.”

  He cocked one eyebrow, but there was a definite twinkle in his eye. “I clocked you at sixty-eight. Not wise on back roads with deer roaming in the fields.”

  Irritation filled her. Irritation that she’d get a ticket, irritation that Nick Grey might be a low-down scoundrel who not only scared his little boy but didn’t attend to his education. Even more irritating still was despite all that, Nick Grey grew more attractive every time she looked. “Just give me the ticket and we’ll both be on our way.”

  “Would you step out of the car?”

  Her eyes flew wide. “What! Why? I’ve got my papers right here. Look me up and you’ll see I don’t have a history of speeding tickets. This will be my first one.”

  His brows drew together and he looked stern. Downright scary, too. For a skinny guy, Nick was pretty intimidating. “I’m not giving you a ticket.”

  “Then why...?”

  “I need to talk to you. Please?”

  Oh, there was no denying that pleading look he gave her. And that only fueled the anger simmering inside. She got out of her car and slammed the door harder than she’d intended. “What do you want?”

  “What’s with the attitude?”

  Beth didn’t hold back. “I saw fear in your son’s eyes last night and I’d like to know why.”

  Again the man only cocked one eyebrow, cool as can be. “When you slammed the plates on the table?”

  Beth gasped and then sputtered, “I, uh—”

  “Corey told me. Look, Miss Ryken, there’s something you should probably know. My wife had mood swings. During one of her more manic ones, she smashed a stack of plates because I was late for dinner. Corey’s a little sensitive.”

  Beth’s mouth dropped open, and she slapped her hand over it. She was going to be sick. Corey wasn’t afraid of his father; he’d been afraid of her!

  “It’s okay. No harm done. But it hasn’t been easy for Corey, and I didn’t make it any easier by sending him to live with his grandparents. But I’d run out of options.”

  Beth’s heart broke all over again. “I’m so sorry.”

  “For what? Thinking ill of me? You should. I let my boy down.”

  “No, for scaring your son.” Beth leaned against her car and stared at the cherry orchard across the street. She’d called that one all wrong.

  The sun shone on dewdrops clinging to the tree buds, turning them into sparkling crystals. Those cherry buds would soon burst open into white blossoms. Just one of many breathtaking sights in Northern Michigan. She sidled a glance at Nick. Yup, breathtaking sights everywhere.

  “It’s okay, really. No harm done. His grandparents sugarcoated everything, afraid to raise their voices. I don’t know, maybe they thought they were protecting him.”

  “Is that why you moved here? To get away from them?”

  He shook his head. “I need to reconnect with my boy. His mom’s issues forced us into a partnership, but then I left my partner behind and abandoned him.”

  “Living with his grandparents for a while is hardly abandonment,” Beth pointed out.

  “Tell that to a seven-year-old.”

  Beth gave him a sharp look. “I see what you mean.”

  He nodded and then leaned against
her car, too. Right next to her. “You see why I won’t let him repeat second grade? He’s had so much taken out of his hands beyond his control. This will feel like one more failure for him. Another left behind.”

  It would feel that way to a seven-year-old. What a tough spot. Beth dropped her head back to look up at the clouds above. Her arm brushed against Nick’s, connecting with what felt like a hard beam of steel.

  She scooted away and faced him. “But it’s so late in the year. I don’t want him to get lost in the shuffle if he’s moved ahead.”

  “It’s never too late.” Nick’s voice was soft.

  Beth drew in a sharp breath. Awareness hummed between them as he watched her. In his eyes she saw something stark and lonely and her heart responded. But she couldn’t erase his worries and fix what had gone wrong in his life. He was off-limits.

  She wasn’t stupid. Beth knew mutual attraction when she saw it. When she felt it. There was no way she’d let herself get romantically involved with this man. Not when Beth knew how quickly his life could be snuffed out.

  “I want to ask you a favor.”

  Beth tipped her head. Sounded like a big favor, too. “What’s that?”

  “Will you tutor Corey in reading?”

  Beth stood straight and stepped away from her car. Away from him. He made her dizzy.

  “I’ll pay you, of course. Whatever it takes.” He straightened, as well.

  Beth whirled around. “I can’t accept your money. I won’t. He’s my student. It’s my job to help where I can....”

  “But?”

  She looked Nick in the eyes. So easy to do. “Repeating second grade might be the best thing for Corey. Have you considered that? He’s new—it’s not like there’s peer pressure to deal with. Not yet. He could even go to the other second-grade class so I’m not his teacher.”

  “It’s not the best thing. Not for Corey. And not for me.”

  Beth felt her spine stiffen. “That sounds like pride talking.”

  Nick laughed at her then. “Is that what you think?”

  She folded her arms across her chest and stared down the deputy officer in front of her, knowing that wasn’t it at all.