Chapter 1
Present Day
Maisy sat with Annie Stefano working on the next unit for their classes at Pathways. It would be the last one before summer. They usually ended with milder readings and upbeat history lessons. They’d been working ten minutes when Seth Sanders came through the door. “Hey, Seth,” Maisy said.
“Hi, Maisy.” He nodded his head to Annie. “Hey.”
“Hello, Seth.”
“Have you heard about Jackson?”
Maisy tried to keep her voice neutral. “No, I have no idea where he is.” Damn him.
“That’s not what I mean. He’s back.”
Maisy’s heart thrummed in her chest. She took a deep breath to calm it and told herself her reaction was due to anger.
Annie said, “Thanks for telling us.”
“Yeah. See you around.”
When he left, Annie touched Maisy’s hand. “You’re upset.”
“I’m angry. I’ve worried like crazy this past week.”
“He should have let you know he was all right.”
She shook her head. “Let’s get back to this.”
They were in the middle of picking a topic when Jackson’s assistant, Harry Carson, came to the door. “Hi, Maisy. Annie. Jackson would like to see you as soon as you’re free, Maisy.”
“I’m free after school, Harry. Tell him I’ll come over then.”
When he left, Annie frowned. “You can go now. We can finish this later.”
“Make him wait this time.” She caught sight of the chain around Annie’s neck. “You’re probably right to keep Diego’s ring on a chain under your shirt. Seth would have seen it.”
“I’m going to be circumspect for a bit.” She rolled her eyes. “Though Diego wants to elope yesterday!”
“You couldn’t do that to your family.”
“He understands. His clan would be upset too. We’re planning to set a date today.”
“Good for you.”
“What are you going to say to Jackson?”
“I’ll let him talk.”
“Maisy, you—”
She held up her hand. “No, no more discussion about him. I’ve wasted enough time on Jackson Kane.”
* * *
Jackson Kane’s assistant walked to the door of his office. “Hey, did you set something up with Maisy for today?”
“You said asap but she said she’ll come over after school.”
Because she’s mad at me . “Fine. Send her in when she comes, then go on home to your wife and kids.”
He checked his watch. “One of my kids is sick.”
“Anything serious?”
“An ear infection. She’s on medication but Jodi needs a break.”
“Then leave now. I can get along without you for the rest of today.”
The man frowned. “I could, but I’m taking tomorrow off so she can go to work.”
“Pathways has a very liberal policy on sick days.” Which meant they were unlimited.
“You know what? I will go. Thanks Jackson.”
Jackson watched him exit the door. For a few brief minutes, he wondered what it would be like to have a wife and children. But that wasn’t in the cards for him.
He busied himself the rest of the day. One of his schools downstate was having problems that he had to solve. He talked to several people on the phone, ordered lunch in, then at three, there was a knock on the ajar door. He looked up. Maisy Shepherd.
One of the nicest women he’d ever met.
“Mr. Kane, you wanted to see me?”
“Yes. Please, sit down.”
She sat. Today she wore white cropped pants and a navy blue and white striped jersey shirt. Her hair was tamed back in a clip. “Thanks for coming. I want to apologize for taking off like I did a week ago.”
Her face remained passive. He noticed a few freckles. She just stared at him. Diego had bought a boat so he wondered if she’d been out on it.
Hell, he’d tell her all of it. “I—I couldn’t handle what happened to Denzi Lomax. Seven years ago, before Pathways was up and running, I took a temporary stint as a social worker in Syracuse. I wanted experience with kids like her.”
He saw Maisy’s face soften. “What happened?”
“I tried to get her out. Her brother had taken off so I thought I had a chance. But she was so attached to Marco Gomez that I failed. I wasn’t good enough at that, I guess.”
“How old were you?”
“Thirty.”
“She’s one of the reasons you eventually started Pathways and your other schools, isn’t she?”
“Yes.”
“I’d say you made up for your inability to get Denzi out.”
He shook his head. “I’ll never make up for that.”
“Of course you will.” She fidgeted with a bracelet she wore. “If that’s all…?”
He studied her. Her eyes flashed with anger, telling him his confession hadn’t diffused the emotion.
“You’re still upset with me.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Because I took off.”
“No, you did what you had to do to cope. But you could have answered my texts when I tried checking that you were okay. I was really worried.”
“I wasn’t okay. And I didn’t check my phone for a week. I’m sorry I worried you.”
She folded her hands over her waist. “All right. I accept your apology.”
“Your face says you don’t.”
“I do, as much as I can.” She stood. “And please don’t single me out anymore. It doesn’t look good.”
He felt a stab in his heart. “All right.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Kane.”
“Goodbye, Ms. Shepherd.”
After she left, he closed his eyes briefly. Perhaps her demands, her demeanor would keep him away from her. He was drawn to Maisy Shepherd, and he could never have her. Or any other woman. Or kids, like Harry.
No happily ever after for him.
* * *
Maisy swerved into the driveway of her big house on the outskirts of town. The windows and doors were open to the screens and a light shone in the den. She liked having someone to come home to.
She exited the car and walked in through the kitchen. Unable to do the plumbing and electrical, Maisy had hired professionals to put in new wiring and pipes before she moved in and Caleb came to live with her. After that, this room had been the first to complete. She took a second to admire the pale-yellow walls and the white trim on the woodwork which she herself had painted. Kitchen specialists had installed the bright white cabinets and the honey-colored engineered wood planks on the floor. In the six months since he’d been here, Caleb and Maisy had remodeled the living room, then two of the bedrooms upstairs. Now, they were working on the den.
Grabbing bottles of water, she went out into the living room and followed the hallway to the back, calling out, “Hey, I’m home.”
She found her brother up on a ladder in the den, taping the ceiling before they painted the walls. He’d made a lot of progress here. “Hi, kiddo. How was your day?”
He was always so pleasant. She wasn’t sure she would be if she was in his shoes. He’d lost everything in Binghamton. On the other hand, he was the kind of man who would suffer in silence.
“Classes went well. Jackson’s back.”
“That’s news. What did he say to you?”
“A lot of bullshit.”
“Still mad?”
“Yeah. I need a minister to set me straight.”
Laughing, he climbed down the ladder. She handed him the water and he took a swig. “You got that, sis. Want to talk about it?”
“When he explained his reasoning, I tried to forgive him. But the anger’s still there.”
“It might dissipate.”
“Maybe.”
“Exposure to him might help.”
“Are you kidding me? It’ll hurt to see him.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t mean to be in such a lousy mood. How about I get some old clothes on and help you with the cutting in.”
“How about you go out for a run? It’s a beautiful day.”
“I’ll go if you will.”
He smiled at her manipulation. “It might be good for me. Go change and we’ll hit the path.”
“All right.” She got to the door, then turned. “I’m glad you’re here, Caleb.”
“I’m glad I’m here, too, kiddo.”
She walked out thinking about Caleb. Hell, if he could deal with having his church bombed and losing his wife to another man, she ought to be able to get over a little grudge. In any case, it was something to think about.
* * *
Caleb had gotten himself to a place where he didn’t think about what happened to him constantly and could enjoy some aspects of the day. He let the sun beat down on his face and warm his soul. He’d arrived in Westwood in the dead of winter, so this weather was a blessing.
At one time he would have thanked God for the day, but he’d lost God in the bombing, too.
He and Maisy jogged to the path around Westwood and then ran at a clip; conversation was impossible. After half an hour, they’d done the route, cooled down with a walk and came upon a bench in the shade. “Let’s sit.”
“Gladly.”
Maisy watched him. “How’s it going today? I heard you up during the night.”
“Sorry. I had dreams. Nights are tough.”
She asked, “How are the counseling sessions going?”
“As well as can be expected after six months.” In actuality, he quit going to a psychologist because it wasn’t changing anything, so he told a little white lie. “But I want to talk about you.”
She sighed. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.”
“I’m acting so out of character with Jackson. I’m not myself.”
“Hmm. Yet you won’t admit there’s something pulling you two together.”
“Oh, God, Caleb. It can’t be like that. I work for him, a job that I love and will never give up.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“I’m not sure. He’s pretty much out of my league.”
“He’s a tortured soul if I ever met one. What did he say about your last encounter?”
“That he bolted out of Westwood when Denzi died because he should have been able to help her.” She told him about Jackson’s job seven years ago, and how he couldn’t save the girl. “But there’s more that went wrong in his life even before that. He didn’t talk about how he grew up but he told the kids he was in a gang.”
“Tough going in a gang. So, give him a break.”
“I should. I will. But I asked him not to single me out anymore, and he said he wouldn’t, so it should be easier to be understanding.”
“We were lucky to have the Mom and Dad we did.”
“Yeah, but neither of us can blame our problems on them.”
Caleb chuckled. His sister always cheered him up.
* * *
When one of the teachers had an emergency at home, Jackson strode over the campus grounds to take her class. The guys rolled their eyes when he entered their room.
Frankie Pecorino asked, “You gonna do this every time a teacher’s sick?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. But sit in a circle. We have to talk about something.”
“Yeah, why you bolted out of here and were gone for a week.” Bryce was a quick kid with good insights.
“I’ll tell you. Circle up first”. He’d already decided on how much to tell them. “I left when the girl, Denzi Lomax was killed because I—” here he swallowed hard “—I knew her when she was eleven. She hadn’t joined a gang yet. I tried to get her away from that life, but they got their claws into her.”
“She was in a gang when she was eleven years old?” This from Louis Gomez, who was here because he was busted for drugs.
“You that young when you were in a gang?” Louis asked. Jackson had confessed that when he participated in one of Maisy’s classes a while ago.
“I was twelve.”
“So, you couldn’t do that one thing.” Harlan Ford had come to Pathways because he’d been arrested for a burglary. He motioned to the room. “You set up all these schools. You help people.”
“It threw me, Harlan, when I saw her again. Remember, I was searching for your teacher, Annie Stefano. My group found her. Denzi asked why I didn’t save her.”
“That’s rough.” Harlan again. “So, where’d you go?”
“All I’ll say is I went to someone I knew would help me.”
“A chick?” Frankie Pecorino asked. Frankie’s situation was sad. He’d beat his father to a pulp to stop his dad from beating on his little brother.
“Time to change the subject. I’m here to teach you.” He’d picked up a folder off the desk. “Oh, Lord. This is a health class.” He looked at the kids. “You’re doing the Human Sexuality unit.”
Tim O’Malley raised his eyebrows. “It is time to change the subject.” Timmy had lost a lot. He was a star forward on his town’s soccer team and was in his buddy’s car when they hit a pedestrian, who was severely injured.
Frankie laughed. “We got the state curriculum. Ms. Shannon says we gotta talk about sexual responsibility.”
Wishing this didn’t have anything to do with sex, which had been on his mind too much lately, he smiled. “All right. Let’s start with what the topic means.”
“That’s easy.” This from Bryce. The smartest. The richest. The most entitled. He stole a car for a joyride with some older kids and when the cops stopped them, the others bolted. “Using a rubber and that stuff.”
“It does mean types of contraception. But isn’t there more to the idea of sexual responsibility?”
No one raised his hand.
“Looks like you gotta tell us,” Frankie said.
“I’d say the first thing to consider is your partner.”
“What does that mean?”
“Anybody want to take a guess? And no wise-guy stuff.”
Tim O’Malley spoke up. “I think it means you gotta be sure she’s ready.”
“Uh-huh. That’s the first thing. What about others?”
“You gotta be…you know, gentle while you’re doing it.”
“Yep. What else?”
“People talk about making it good for her too.” Quentin, introverted Quentin Wright, surprised him by speaking out on this sensitive subject. The kid was caught with a hit list in his locker and admitted he wanted to take his enemies out. A serious occurrence these days of school violence.
“Do you agree with that, Quentin?”
“I would, if…hell, I’m just gonna say it. If I knew how.”
“Tell us that, Mr. Kane.” Frankie pushed. “We all wanna know that.”
Hell! What had he gotten into here?