A Father's Pledge

“I’ve been helping Mel with Wayne’s birthday present,” he said. “It’s a secret, though, so don’t say anything.”

They fell into step together. “As if I would,” she objected. “I don’t really know Mel, anyway.”

“Well, I’ve worked with Wayne a long time and I want to make his birthday special. Even if he is my boss.” Luke laughed, and she was amazed at the way it transformed his features.

“You should laugh more,” she said. “It suits you. He seems nice, Wayne,” she added when he didn’t respond.

Luke nodded. “He organizes everything around here. I just help him make it all work. At the moment, he’s trying to get funding for an adventure trail on the grounds. You know, like an obstacle course. I’ll help build it, but money’s tight for things like that.”

“That sounds great,” Kat said, though she wondered if she’d have the same problem getting funds for her animal therapy. She’d need buildings and feed and enclosures.

“Yeah, he’s the best. And so is his wife.” Kat had only met Mel in passing, but she seemed sweet. Luke continued, “In fact, all the staff here are great. The place wouldn’t function without Mike and Gwen, and Tim has the classes running like clockwork. You’d think this was just an ordinary boarding school if you didn’t know better.”

“You get difficult children in every school,” Kat agreed. “I’ve worked with children from private schools who appear to have every advantage in life.”

Luke slowed down. “Ben isn’t bad, though, not really. He’s just lost his way.”

“No child is bad. Their problems usually stem from their upbringing and circumstances.”

“He just needs some boundaries,” Luke insisted. “I learned that very early on in life. Discipline’s important, don’t you think?”

“Not necessarily.” Kat chose her words carefully. “I mean, it is to a degree, but respect is more important...and love. Children need stability in their lives to build their confidence. They need to know that they are loved.”

Luke frowned. “Love is important, obviously, but my dad was very strict and it didn’t do me any harm. A child could have all the love in the world, but do you really think it’s going to solve behavior issues? Is that why we send criminals to prison—to love them? That’s the problem with your courses, Kat—you let the kids run too wild.”

Kat saw red. How dare he lecture her on something she was highly trained for.

“Says the man who abandoned his son.” As soon as the words left her lips she regretted them. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No kidding.”

He took off without another word, running ahead of her with huge, loping strides. She watched him go with a lurch of regret. No matter, she decided, increasing her pace. She had confidence in her work, and she wouldn’t let him interfere with it.

* * *

TRUE TO HER PROMISE, within two days of Kat’s phone call, Elsa May Malone Evans, the owner of Number Three Cove Cottages, emailed Kat a lease and Kat responded by sending her new landlord two months’ rent, sealing the deal. She had arranged to pick up the keys in the village later that afternoon, from a man named Ted, and she couldn’t wait. She’d already done some online shopping and had ordered several items. The cottage was fully furnished, but she wanted to make it feel like her own as soon as possible.

During her lunch break, she stopped into Mike’s office to let him know she would be moving out.

At first he just laughed. “But won’t you miss Luke?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “I know how well you two get along.”

“Very funny,” she responded. “He’s obviously been complaining about me.”

“Actually, no, he hasn’t said anything about you personally. It’s general knowledge that you and he aren’t exactly the best of friends.”

“He’s against my therapy methods, that’s all.”

“Luke just worries about Ben. It’s a big deal, suddenly being introduced to the son you’ve never met. You should give him a chance, Kat. He’s a decent bloke.”

“I’m sure he is, but I’d love it if he could back off and let me get on with my job.”

Mike frowned, and his tone grew serious. “You and Luke really must try and put your differences aside. You have to cooperate with each other for Ben’s sake—you, of all people, should understand that. I couldn’t care less about your petty arguments. This is about the life and future of a vulnerable young boy.”

“Well, yes, of course it is,” Kat said, her cheeks growing hot. She hadn’t meant to sound churlish in front of her boss. “And that is what I care about more than anything—helping the children.”

“So figure it out,” he said. “Ben isn’t in a good place right now, and it’s showing in his behavior. To be honest, he seems to be getting worse rather than better. I’m sure you heard about the incident with Mr. Mather yesterday, when he refused to do the work he was given then ripped his notebook up. You’re a professional. Talk to him, Kat. Gwen tells me Ben listens to you. It’s what we hired you for.”

“I hadn’t heard about that incident yet,” Kat admitted. “The report from his teacher doesn’t come in until this afternoon. I’ll discuss it with Jed before my session with Ben later. I’ve seen him improving in the sea-therapy course, and his sessions have gone well. Frankly...”

Mike waited for her to go on.

“Frankly, I don’t think Luke is helping. He interferes all the time, criticizing everything I do. He’s been complaining about my therapy sessions and I think it’s because he wants all the funds he can get for the adventure trail he wants to build.” The idea had been percolating since their encounter on the path the other evening.

“Well, Luke hasn’t said anything to me about the way you run your courses. You’re right that it’s not his place to criticize you—you’re the expert, after all—unless the kids are in danger.” Mike leveled her with a stern look. “And I sincerely hope I won’t hear anything like that. But if he’s worried about the animal therapy using up valuable funds, that’s quite understandable. We only have so much to go around here for special programs. As I’ve said before, I’m open to the animal-therapy idea, but I’ll need to see a full proposal, including costs, before I can approve anything.”

Feeling suitably scolded and unprofessional, Kat apologized. “I’ll talk to him,” she promised. “And I’m really sorry. I know it’s up to me to make the effort.”

“Then we’ll say no more about it,” Mike said, smiling. “I don’t like to interfere but you do have to try and get on with him...for Ben’s sake.”

CHAPTER FIVE (#u4bfd1649-88da-5881-924d-3357804c4c0d)

AFTER THE HEATED conversation between him and Kat, Luke kept on running until he reached his apartment. Her words rang in his ears. Says the man who abandoned his son... Truth was, she was right: he had abandoned Ben. But for her to put it so bluntly was...harsh, to say the least. Okay, so she’d apologized, but that wasn’t the point. And she was wrong about him being against her courses; this fatherhood thing was new to him, and the responsibility was overwhelming.

A hot shower and a change of clothes made Luke feel more objective about the situation. Surely there was a way to work around the issues between him and Kat. A knock on the door shook him out of his thoughts. “Kat!” he cried when he opened it. “What are you doing here?”

She stood her ground, but appeared slightly uncomfortable. “I thought I’d... I mean, I just wanted to let you know I’m moving out.”

Luke frowned. “Okay...thanks for letting me know.”

“And I wanted to talk to you about Ben. To explain myself, I suppose.”

He nodded. “Go on...”

“I believe what Ben really needs is attention, and more than anything, to know that he’s loved. I don’t have all the details about his home situation, but there’s clearly some underlying cause for his insecurity. All we can do is talk to him and make him feel wanted.”

Luke tried to be straight with her. “Look, I respect your role as Ben’s therapist, but he’s my son and I worry about him. It irritates me when you go on about love—of course I love him. But I also believe boys his age need discipline as a first priority, an awareness of what’s right and wrong and consequences for their behavior.”

The expression on her face told him she was about to make some sarcastic comment, but instead she turned a bit pink and nodded. “Okay, why don’t we just agree to disagree...again. We both want what’s best for Ben, don’t we? I can tell you that my methods are tried and tested, but you are his dad and I respect that. For now, he just needs to settle in here and feel safe. Of course he needs discipline in the long term, but if you step back a bit I think you’ll find that my nature and animal therapy really puts kids in touch with the reality of life, makes them aware of what really matters and teaches them to love unselfishly...to care.”

Despite his reservations Luke had to admit that he was touched by her intensity. “I’ll keep all that in mind.”

“No more arguments?” she said with a shy little smile that he found quite intriguing.

“No more arguments,” he agreed.

As she walked away, he couldn’t help but notice her strong, determined stride, which belied the sensitivity she’d just shown. Maybe he should sit in on her next sea-therapy session, not to be critical but to try to understand where she was coming from. And who knew; getting involved might even help to break the ice a bit with Ben.

Feeling good about his decision, Luke headed for Wayne’s office to see what jobs were on the list for today. Wayne was sitting at his computer, frowning at the screen, his graying head tipped forward in concentration. He glanced up with a smile when he heard Luke come into the office.