Redemption Read Free

aware of. A decent cook would come in handy. As it was, his only household help was a widow lady who picked up their laundry once a week, then delivered it back to them a day or so later.
    Beyond that, he and Jason were on their own, except for the occasional visit from his brother’s family. That the boy needed a woman’s touch was true. That he was likely to be the beneficiary of such a luxury was out of the question, unless some miraculous creature turned up on their doorstep and waved a magic wand over the household.
    The woman who stood before him did not fit that description. Yet, she held his interest, as had no other woman in his recent past.
    “I repeat, madam—what’s the boy done?” Hearing the harsh tone of his own voice, Jake restrained himself a bit. If Jason was really in trouble, he needed to know. “I’m sure I can handle the problem, once you fill me in on the details,” he continued, forcing his voice to be civil.
    From the kitchen door, a scurrying sound that might have been mice, but was, no doubt, Jason’s attempt at eavesdropping, caught Jake’s attention. It was just as well, he decided, that the boy hear what his teacher had to say.
    “He broke the windows in the schoolhouse today,” she said quietly. Her eyes offered a mute appeal, glancing up at him, shining with a film of tears, unless he was mighty mistaken. “Not all of them,” she was hasty to add. “But the two closest to my desk.”
    “Where were you when it happened?” he asked, his gaze focused upon her person.
    “Sitting at the desk, going over my pupils’ work. I’d just let school out for the day.” She looked at him directly. “Before you ask, I have to tell you that Jason did not attempt to hide his mischief. He stood not more than ten or twelve feet from the building, and when I looked out through the first broken window, he lifted another rock and threw it at the one closer to where I normally sit.”
    “You’re telling me you saw him break the windows?” His heart sank within him. Jason was belligerent at times, hard to handle for the past year or so, but his actions today went beyond mischief .
    The woman only looked at him, as if she would not further verify the story she’d told. It was no doubt true. She had no reason to lie, or even stretch the truth. “What do you want me to do?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I don’t know. The boy needs help, and he won’t accept it from my hand. He resents authority.”
    “I’ll talk to him,” Jake said. “I’ll find some appropriate punishment to deal out, and settle the matter.”
    “At least he’ll know you’re paying attention, won’t he?” she asked quietly.
    Jake’s head came up abruptly, and his glare dissolved any small amount of amity he’d projected. “And what is that supposed to mean?”
    “He seems to be asking for you to notice him,and he doesn’t care how he accomplishes it, Mr. McPherson. This isn’t the first time he’s been in trouble.”
    Jake winced inwardly. She was right. He’d received a note from the sheriff, asking for reparations when Jason had ruined the flower bed in front of the bank. The boy had come home with a black eye more than once, and his trousers were continually needing repair, where he’d fallen in the dirt, tussling with several boys in town. But then, fighting was something all boys indulged in, Jake had told himself.
    Now he viewed the signs he’d ignored—and didn’t relish the picture they drew.
    “Do you have another idea, Miss…” His voice trailed off, wondering for the first time just who this woman was.
    “I’m Alicia Merriweather,” she said. “I teach the first six grades at the schoolhouse. Jason has been a student in my classroom for almost two years.”
    “You’ve been in town that long?”
    Her smile was cool. “You don’t get out and around much, Mr. McPherson. I’ve lived here for a bit over two years.”
    “My social life has nothing to do with you,” he said