Daddy Wanted

“By himself?”

Mandy smiled. “He’s thirteen,” she said simply.

“Right. Of course he can take a walk by himself. I’m going to have to remember that he’s a teenager now.”

Brodie thought about what she had ahead of her, raising a teenage boy. Adolescence. Hormones. Anger. Girls. She wouldn’t like dealing with that last one, but even though it’d been twenty years, Brodie remembered what it felt like to be thirteen.

“Dylan had been having a difficult time before his mom died,” Mandy explained. “Willow asked if Daniel could help him, since he’s the youth minister at the church.”

“Help him how?” Savvy asked.

“Tutoring him in school, primarily,” Mandy said. “And also being there as a male figure in his life. He hasn’t had anyone but Willow, since she didn’t have a relationship with her parents anymore. No dad, no granddad in the picture. Kind of tough for a teenage boy.”

Brodie cleared his throat. “She asked about me tutoring him, too,” he said, pulling Willow’s letter from his pocket. This time, he noticed Savvy staring at his address in Willow’s swirling handwriting. “That’s why I wanted to find her today, to let her know I wanted to help her son.”

“You said you wanted to apologize,” Savvy reminded him.

“I wanted to do that, too,” he said, flexing his jaw.

Most people, particularly his athletes, were intimidated by his size, or his deep voice, or maybe even the way he looked at them.

But Savvy clearly wasn’t intimidated. She was irritated. And Brodie suspected he knew why. She didn’t like having him here, standing beside her, reminding her of the relationship that they’d once had and the way it had ended.

Because of him.

But Brodie had made a promise to God and to himself that he’d help Willow’s son, and he wasn’t going to break that promise. “I’m guessing Daniel is your husband,” he said, refusing to look at Savvy and focusing totally on Mandy. “Is he going to tutor Dylan?”

“He told Willow he could help out, but he wasn’t available as often as she wanted because of his obligations at the church,” Mandy explained. “She wanted someone daily, or at least every other day. Willow had been trying to help Dylan and the girls herself, but she’d recently realized that they still weren’t progressing quickly enough and that she needed help.”

Brodie remembered Willow struggling in school. It hadn’t come easy for her. Apparently, it didn’t come easy for her children, either.

“Do you know of anyone who tutors daily around here?” Savvy asked her friend.

Mandy shook her head. “No.” Then she looked to Brodie. “You said she contacted you about helping Dylan?”

“She wrote to me. I tried to call her and let her know I could tutor him, but I couldn’t reach her. So I decided to come find her and let her know that I wanted to help.” This time, before Savvy could prompt him, he added, “And I needed to apologize for treating her badly the last time I saw her.”

He didn’t miss the slight grunt from Savvy at his answer.

“Do you want me to ask around and see if I can find any tutors that could work with Dylan daily?” Mandy asked, looking at Savvy, but then adding to Brodie, “Or did you still want to work with him?”

“Yes, please ask,” Savvy said, at the same moment that Brodie answered, “I want to work with him.”

Mandy’s eyebrows lifted. “Maybe y’all should talk about it and decide what you’re going to do and then let me know.”

“Would you check around, just in case that’s what I decide?” Savvy asked. “I was called in to meet with the principal today, and if Dylan doesn’t pass the standardized tests next month, they’re going to hold him back.”

* * *

Savvy could only imagine how much worse Dylan’s anger would be, how much further he would withdraw from the world, if he were removed from his friends.

She’d sure been angry.

Mandy shifted from one foot to the other. “He’s gone through so much, maybe it would be good to hold him back a year.”

“It wouldn’t,” Savvy said. “I know from experience.”

Realization dawned on the young woman’s features. “Oh, Savvy, I’m sorry. I knew that, but I forgot.”

“It wasn’t your fault. But that was sixth grade for me, so I was retained in elementary school when all of my friends moved to junior high. Dylan is in the eighth grade, so he’d be held back when all of his friends move to high school. Probably an even bigger deal than what happened to me.” She shook her head. “I can’t let them do that to him—I won’t—so I’ve got to make sure he passes those tests.”

Mandy wrapped both arms around Savvy so quickly that she nearly knocked her off balance. “I’m glad the kids have you here. Willow obviously knew that you’d take good care of them.” She squeezed firmly. “Daniel and I will pray for you and for Dylan’s situation at school, and we’ll try to find someone who tutors daily. Everything is going to work out,” she said, holding on tight enough that Savvy’s eyes watered.

Or that was what Savvy told herself. She wasn’t crying because she missed Willow, or because she was now responsible for three young lives, or because she was back in the town that she’d told herself she hated. Besides, it wasn’t the town that’d done her wrong, necessarily. But the church. And the man she’d met there who crushed her heart.

Mandy finally released her and brushed her own tears away. “Okay, then... Kaden and I need to get back home. I left Daniel watching baby Mia, and he’s great with her, but he isn’t all that keen on changing diapers.”

“I’ll stay out with the girls and let them play a little longer.” Savvy glanced toward the wooded areas surrounding the trailer. “But how do I find Dylan?”

“He should come back on his own,” Mandy said, a slight frown pulling at her lip. “I think he needs some help with his grief. He hasn’t said a lot about the accident at Jasper Falls, but I know it was hard for him to leave her to go get help.”

“Willow died at Jasper Falls?” Brodie’s brusque voice hinted that he felt the same way Savvy did about the last place their friend had been alive. The three of them had loved Jasper Falls. It’d been their safe haven when the world gave them grief, and the thought that Willow had died there didn’t coincide with the blissful memories.

A pang of guilt stabbed Savvy. She’d merely blurted out that their friend had died without giving him any information. “Willow fell while hiking,” she said. “Dylan was with her, and he went for help, but she didn’t make it.” That was all she knew, and it was enough.

His eyes filled with agony. “I can’t believe...” He didn’t finish the sentence.

“Should I go look for him?” Savvy asked Mandy.

“We’ve got another hour until dark. He’ll come back,” she said. “He’s been doing this since the funeral. I think it’s his way of coping. Maybe he’s praying.”

Savvy nodded, uncertain about whether it was smart to let an upset teenager roam the woods, but also uncertain about whether she knew what was smart or what wasn’t regarding kids.

Before Mandy could go get them, Kaden rounded the corner of the trailer with Rose and Daisy at his heels.

“Who’s that?” he asked, tilting his head toward Brodie.

“I’m Brodie Evans,” he answered, offering Kaden a smile in spite of the fact that he still looked distraught over Willow. His dimples dipped with the action, and Savvy was reminded of the effect of a Brodie Evans smile.

She didn’t want to be affected.

“You play baseball?” Kaden asked, pointing at his Stockville jacket, and then, after reading the embroidered name on the chest, he continued, “You’re a coach? Seriously?”

“I am,” Brodie said.

“I play baseball. I’ll play coach pitch this year. Next year, I’ll be in kid pitch league.”

“That’s great,” Brodie said. “Maybe I can come see you play sometime, and then maybe you can come see my team play sometime at Stockville College.”