Chapter 2
ASH
Ash Tailor finished chopping the last of the wood and sank the axe into the stump.
He took a deep breath of cold, pine-tinged air, held it for a few seconds, then exhaled slowly.
Ash had been frustrated all morning, though he wasn’t sure who he was really frustrated with—Maya, the school, himself?
He knew his daughter had a lot of energy, and that was fine. He’d been energetic and had a hard time focusing himself when he was a kid.
But it was different for Maya now, since she was in a brand-new school and no one here knew her.
It was hard to be angry with her for her nature, but he wished more than anything that the school had gotten the chance to know her better before she found herself in any kind of trouble. He knew how important first impressions could be.
She’ll be labeled a troublemaker, and she barely set foot in the door…
He regretted not making time for a walk before school yesterday.
Stretching her legs a bit always seemed to help Maya use up some of that excess energy.
He’d worked with her on self-control over the last year when she was getting ready for kindergarten, and thought they’d made some great progress, but maybe he could have done more to prepare her.
Mostly, he wished that the other kid hadn’t done whatever she’d done. Maya was high-energy, but she wasn’t mean. If she really did shove someone, Ash assumed she’d had her reasons.
But he couldn’t control any of that. What was done was done.
So instead of dwelling on it, he’d gone for a run down the path behind the house today and then chopped wood for an hour, hoping to shed his own frustrated energy before sitting in a meeting with the principal and the parents of the girl who Maya pushed.
He wouldn’t be any help to her if he came off as some kind of hot-headed flatlander himself.
Like he did with everything, Ash had done his homework before making the move to Sugarville Grove. After weighing all their options, he knew Vermont was the right place for himself and Maya right now.
Removing himself from the fast pace of the city and escaping the temptation of endless work was one big reason for the move.
His fierce competitive streak had always served him well…
until it hadn’t. Now that he was a full-time single dad, he was afraid his drive would ruin his daughter’s life if he didn’t find a way to put his focus on her instead of his business all the time.
Getting away from his company headquarters and living in the real world felt like a great way to quit his habit of overworking cold turkey. If he wasn’t in the office, then he couldn’t stick around doing just one more thing. Now, when a video meeting ended, he was already home.
Hopefully, with time and practice, he would become the kind of man who could be content with what he had, instead of constantly searching for more.
And besides, the legacy he’d always wanted to create seemed to finally be in his grasp. If that wasn’t enough, nothing would be.
More importantly, he knew that giving Maya a home where she had room to run and get plenty of fresh air would be a relief for a little girl with such big energy.
But he also knew that the kind of small-town community where he wanted to raise her would be hard to break into for a city guy like him.
So he’d bought a small house on a big piece of land not too far from town—nothing fancy.
He traded his Mercedes for a used pickup truck, and replaced most of his business suits with jeans and flannels.
It was sure to come out sooner or later that he had money—anyone who bothered to do a simple internet search would learn that in no time.
But there was no point flashing it around and making the two of them any more different than they had to be.
Besides, nothing the money bought ever really made him happy anyway.
Ash jogged up the porch steps, then kicked off his boots and headed into the warmth of the interior.
The cottage wasn’t big or newly renovated, but it had a ton of character and was just the right size for himself and Maya.
It felt homey in a way the penthouse back in the city never had.
He’d painted Maya’s room himself, and chopped all the wood that was burning in the little stove.
And he’d do as much as he could of the rest that needed doing, so that it continued to feel like it was theirs.
After a quick shower, he debated for a moment before dressing in a clean flannel and a pair of khakis.
In the city, he definitely would have suited up to meet with the school administration of one of the swanky private schools Maya would have attended.
But this was a different kind of battle, better fought quietly and with respect for the fact that this was a taxpayer funded institution. And as far as he could tell, every dollar of revenue in the community was hard-earned.
Not like mine wasn’t, he thought to himself grimly as he headed to his truck.
But working in a corporate setting wasn’t the same thing as being outside all day fighting to nurture plant or animal life in spite of harsh weather, a changing marketplace, and every other challenge the farmers and workers faced out here.
The pickup was a faded but cheerful red, and the engine turned over with an enthusiastic growl every time he turned the key.
Pulling down the long drive, he was reminded why he’d moved them out here in the first place.
Maya would grow up with woods and fields to explore.
The banks of Stone Creek were icy now, but in the spring the two of them would climb down and hunt for crawdads or search for pretty rocks, smoothed by centuries of water moving over them.
Remember that when you’re in this meeting, he told himself.
He turned onto Fox Hollow Road and followed it south. The countryside disappeared too soon into blocks of suburban homes and the next thing he knew, he was turning onto Maple Street and parking outside the school.
He headed up the walk as the last of the afternoon kindergarten stragglers came out to greet their parents.
Ash dropped Maya off himself in the mornings, but she attended the afternoon program at the church after school.
It made her day a little longer, but the church mostly had the kids out on the playground and doing fun activities, so it was pretty low pressure.
And those extra hours bought him enough time to get his work done before she came home.
But if I just brought her home after morning kindergarten she wouldn’t have been in that bus line…
“Hi there, Mr. Tailor,” Miss Wiggins, the school secretary, said in her quavery voice. “Principal Chittenden and the others are in her office.”
But Ash ignored her, because Maya was sitting on the bench across from the counter, looking dejected.
Another little girl with neat blonde ponytails and a pristine ruffled skirt sat on the other bench, swinging her legs with a pleased look on her face. He didn’t have to ask to know that this was the kid who had been pushed.
“Hey, Maya,” Ash said, crouching to look her in the eye.
But her little face stayed fixed on the floor tiles.
Ash waited.
She lifted her chin slowly at last, her dark eyes catching on his, so much worry in them.
His heart ached at the sight. She was too little to feel guilt like that.
“You’re my daughter,” he told her, keeping his voice low and steady. “I love you no matter what.”
Her expression transformed. She was still really sad, but he could see her posture lift a little and her chest puff slightly, like she’d taken a real breath.
He patted her knee and then rose and headed into the principal’s small office.
A pair of well-dressed and much more obvious flatlanders sat on one side of the desk. Tiny Principal Chittenden sat behind it, and a shy-looking middle-aged woman in a red sweater sat on one side.
“Mr. Tailor,” Principal Chittenden said, hopping up and extending her hand. “Thank you so much for coming in.”
The principal was so tiny that he was afraid he would crush her hand, but her grip was firm and confident.
“Of course,” he said, taking the seat she indicated.
“Mr. Tailor, this is Mr. and Mrs. Lewis,” she said. “And this is Miss Erin, the aide who walked the children to the bus.”
“Nice to meet you all,” he said politely.
The husband nodded and the wife just sniffed at him.
Miss Erin smiled and said hello.
“Circumstances like this one are often difficult,” the principal said. “But we have to remember that these students are very young, and they’re just learning how to handle their impulses in group situations.”
Ash nodded, grateful that she wasn’t starting off by vilifying his daughter.
“I don’t think there’s anything difficult about this,” Mr. Lewis said abruptly.
“Violence is unacceptable,” his wife added. “No matter the circumstances.”
Ash felt a flash of anger at their self-satisfied words, even though there was truth in them. But wasn’t this all a bit of an overreaction to a little push?
What if it was more than just a push?
He was pretty sure that was their little girl out there, and she looked all right to him. But worry began to eat at him before anger had a chance to fully set in.
“That’s exactly the lesson we want all our students to learn,” Principal Chittenden said with a gentle smile, instantly defusing the tension in Ash’s chest. “Now, Maya and Eloise have a real-world opportunity to think about positive ways of expressing their feelings.”
“Was Eloise hurt?” Ash asked, turning to the parents.
“It was very traumatic for her,” Mrs. Lewis replied.
“Maybe your daughter grew up in a more rough-and-tumble environment,” Mr. Lewis offered. “We know it’s farm country out here. But Eloise isn’t accustomed to children who haven’t learned to use their words.”
They think we’re from Vermont, he realized with a funny little pang of pride.
Principal Chittenden looked to him and he shook his head, signaling her not to correct them.
Her eyes twinkled as she turned back to the Lewises.