Catching Fireflies

“Katie’s friend Misty is in some kind of trouble. I’m trying to help one of her teachers put the pieces together. I thought maybe I could convince Katie to open up about whatever she knows. Those two kids spend a lot of time together. I’m sure Katie knows something.”

“But she’s not talking,” Maddie concluded. “Want me to give it a try?”

He shook his head. “Maybe later. Hopefully I planted enough seeds that Katie will start to worry about whether keeping silent is doing Misty any favors.”

“Do you have ideas about what might be going on?”

“I don’t think she’s anorexic or bulimic, which were my first concerns. From what Katie just said, she doesn’t think so, either. I think she would say something about that after Annie wound up hospitalized. That made a real impression on her, even if she was so young when it happened. And she saw it happening again with Carrie Rollins just a few months ago, before Carter and Raylene got married.”

“I agree. Katie would never let something like that slide. Annie’s near miss scared all of us,” Maddie said. “Which leaves what?”

“An unexpected bad grade, problems at home, boy troubles. It’s hard to say. At that age, everything turns into high drama, doesn’t it?” He sighed. “Remember when the toughest thing in a kid’s life was catching fireflies on a summer night?”

“Those were the sweetly innocent days,” Maddie confirmed, then added, “There are problems at home, by the way. I know because Misty’s mom dropped her spa membership the other day. She said she couldn’t afford any unnecessary expenses right now. Word around town is that her husband wants a divorce and she’s fighting it. I don’t know if that means money’s at the root of their problems, or whether she’s trying to sock away money in case of an eventual divorce or she needs it to pay an attorney.”

“I suppose that could explain it,” Cal said. He shook his head. “Somehow it doesn’t feel right, though. Most of the time when things like that are happening at home, school becomes a refuge. It’s the opposite with Misty.”

Maddie nodded. “That makes sense.”

“Besides,” Cal said, sorting through his thoughts, trying to get a handle on what might be happening, “a lot of people go through divorces. Would Katie feel a need to keep quiet about that, especially if the news is all over town already anyway?”

“Good point,” Maddie said. “That’s one of the reasons I love you. You’re so sensitive.” She kissed his cheek. “And smart.” The next kiss landed on his forehead. “And insightful.” The final, lingering kiss was on his lips.

Cal grinned, then gave her a slow once-over that brought a blush to her cheeks. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to seduce me, Mrs. Maddox?”

She gave him an innocent look. “And I thought I was being so subtle.” Her expression turned hopeful. “The little ones are down for the night. Katie’s locked in her room, either on the phone or hopefully doing homework and listening to her iPod. The timing seems excellent for a little alone time for you and me.”

Cal grinned. “Well, why didn’t you say so the minute you walked in here? We’ve already wasted a good fifteen minutes.”

“Talking to you is never a waste of time,” she replied. “It counts as foreplay.”

Cal laughed. “And that is why I love you.”

Marrying this woman, despite all the controversy it had stirred up all over town, was the smartest thing he’d ever done.

* * *

Misty had just finished her homework—all of it, even English and math—when Katie called.

“I just got the third degree from Cal,” Katie announced. “I think he was only minutes away from using torture to get the truth out of me.”

Misty’s breath caught in her throat. “The truth about what?”

“You skipping class,” Katie said impatiently. “What else? I told you it wasn’t going to stay a secret for long.”

“Who’d he hear it from?”

“Ms. Reed, of course. Like you said, Mr. Jamison is clueless. At least Cal never mentioned him.”

Panic immediately set in. “What am I going to do now?”

“Go to class, for starters,” Katie said as if it would be a breeze to walk in and face down Annabelle after all the nasty innuendoes she’d posted online and the sly little threats she’d muttered whenever she and Misty crossed paths. “I’ll be there, too. If Annabelle so much as looks at you cross-eyed, we can punch her lights out.”

Despite her dismay, Misty managed a faint chuckle. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.”

“I’m telling you, we could do it,” Katie said. “Ty’s taught me a couple of self-defense moves. He said I might need ’em if some guy gets out of line when I’m on a date. Taking Annabelle down would be a piece of cake. I’ve seen her in gym class. She’s a wuss.”

“I’m not sure getting kicked out of school for fighting would be much better than getting kicked out for skipping class,” Misty told her. “And you can’t afford to get suspended again at all.”

“If we told the truth about why we did it, I’ll bet it would be okay,” Katie said.

“But then even more people would find out what Annabelle is saying about me,” Misty protested.

“The kids at school already know,” Katie reminded her. “It’s online, Misty, remember? Everyone who knows you knows not a word of it is true.”

Misty heaved a sigh. “I know, but there are plenty of kids who believe her filthy lies. I hear them whispering behind my back when they see me. Why do you think I stay out of the cafeteria? Walking in there just gives them a chance to spout all that stuff right to my face. At least in my classes there’s a teacher around. That usually shuts them up, except for Annabelle, anyway. She doesn’t care who’s around. I wish just once Ms. Reed or Mr. Jamison had heard what she said to me.”

“I’ve heard her,” Katie said. “So have some other kids. We’d all back you up if you told someone.”

Misty thought about it. Heck, she’d thought about little else since the school year had started and Greg had asked her out that first time. That’s when the online posts had started, as well. It hadn’t been a coincidence. Katie was right about that.

But even though she knew she needed help, she couldn’t bring herself to ask for it. It would be humiliating if her teachers, especially the ones she really admired, like Ms. Reed, found out what Annabelle was saying about her. They’d think she was some degenerate sex maniac or something. If she’d done even a tenth of the things Annabelle had posted online about her, she’d have probably been knocked up by now. It was disgusting.

And then there was no question her mom and dad would find out. Things were bad enough between them as it was. She didn’t want them fighting over her and maybe even believing those awful lies. She could hear her dad blaming her mother for allowing her to become some trashy kid with no morals. God, it was a nightmare. Her whole life was a nightmare.

“I gotta go,” she told Katie. “I think my mom’s calling me.”

“No, she’s not,” Katie said knowingly. “You just don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

“No, I don’t,” Misty said candidly.

“Then we’ll talk about something else,” Katie said at once. “Want to see a movie this weekend?”

“I don’t think so.” The last time she’d gone to the movies, she’d run into Greg and Annabelle. Greg had looked at her with that knowing sneer that made her blood run cold and Annabelle had looked smug. She’d wanted to leave even before the opening credits rolled.

“I know there’s no point in asking you to go to tomorrow night’s football game,” Katie said with regret.

“Not a chance,” Misty said with feeling.

“How about this? We could go to Wharton’s for a burger while the game’s going on. There won’t be any chance Annabelle will be there as long as Greg is playing. In fact, half the town will be at the game.”

“But you shouldn’t have to miss out on the game because of me,” Misty protested, though she was touched by Katie’s offer.

“Believe me, I’ll hear every detail over breakfast,” Katie assured her. “Kyle’s coming home for the weekend. My big brother and Cal will do the entire play-by-play. It’ll be like being there, but not as boring.”

Misty chuckled. “With a baseball jock like Ty for a big brother and Coach Maddox as a stepdad, how did you wind up with such an aversion to sports? Even Kyle, who never played anything, at least goes nuts over the games.”

Katie laughed. “Just lucky, I guess. But at least I know enough sports trivia to fake it with a date. No guy will ever believe I am totally clueless. So, are we on for tomorrow night?”