Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Hayden pulled into the school’s parking lot, shut the truck off, and stared at Oyster Bay School, or OB, as the locals called it, where he’d spent his entire youth. The K–12 building had grown over the years as the population increased but was still small.
“Maybe you want to try homeschooling me?” Conor asked.
“You’ll like it here,” Hayden said as he looked at his son. “People will like you, and you’ll make some great friends. Don’t forget, baseball sign-ups are coming up.”
“Yeah.”
“When I played, we were good.”
“Back in the olden days?”
Hayden smiled and chuckled. “Come on, sport.”
Conor walked two steps ahead of his dad and kept his eyes trained on the ground. Hayden felt for his son. He’d been through so much in the past six months; adding a new school to the mix was yet another stressor for the boy. Still, Hayden stood by his decision to move back to Rhode Island. He needed his mother’s help—not only with Conor but with himself. Being among family was what they needed.
“Hayden McKenna, is that you?”
The stout woman in front of him caught him off guard. It took him a moment to recall her name. “Mrs. Pierson?”
“Of course. Who else would I be?” she said with a laugh.
Hayden couldn’t believe the school receptionist he had back in the “olden days,” according to Conor, was still the receptionist now. He figured she would’ve retired ages ago.
“Now this must be Conor. I’m Mrs. Pierson. I’ve known your dad since he was in diapers.” That was a slight exaggeration, or at least Hayden thought it was.
Conor looked at his dad and grinned brightly. A lot of times over the next few weeks, someone in town would say something like this to Conor about Hayden. But this one would stick with Conor for a long time, and he’d never let his father live it down.
“Hi, Mrs. Pierson,” Conor said after Hayden gave him the eye.
“Follow me into the office.”
Hayden held the door open. She passed through, followed by Conor. As soon as the door slammed shut, Hayden’s heart lurched at the sound, reminding him of the one too many times he’d spent in there, sitting on the hard wooden chairs, waiting for the principal to call him back to the office for something he likely did but would deny until the cows came home.
Mrs. Pierson walked around the tall counter, which she was barely tall enough to rest her elbows on. “Let’s see, I have your schedule right here,” she said as she handed it to Conor. “You’ll spend most of your day with Mr. Raze, but sometimes you’ll go to other classrooms. That’ll all depend on your testing.”
Conor groaned. “Testing?”
“You’ll be fine, bud. The school needs to see where you are intellectually with your peers,” Hayden said, and then he looked at the receptionist. “Testing won’t be all day, right? I really want Conor to have a chance to get to know his teachers and his classmates.”
“Nope, one hour a day for the week. We have another new student, so he won’t be alone.”
“Perfect.” Hayden set his hand on Conor’s shoulder. “Want me to walk you to Mr. Raze’s class?”
“Do you know him?”
Hayden hesitated and then shook his head. “No, but I believe I had his dad as my math teacher.”
Conor rolled his eyes. “I really hope you were a good student.”
Hayden laughed, as did Mrs. Pierson. All his antics would need to remain under wraps. He didn’t need his son learning about the things he did in elementary school. Or junior high. Or high school, for that matter.
Mrs. Pierson handed Conor a map of the school, then gave a stack to Hayden. “You have homework, Hayden,” she said with a hint of laughter. “And you: Mr. Raze is waiting.” She gave him directions and then shooed them out of the office.
“You sure you don’t want me to walk you to class?”
“I’m not a baby.”
“Making sure you find your way doesn’t make you a baby.”
Conor stared down the hall and sighed. “I’ll be fine. See you after school?”
“Yep. If the rain stops, we’ll walk so you’ll know how to get back to Grandma and Grandpa’s.” Hayden waited for Conor to acknowledge him. When he didn’t, he sighed. “I love you, sport. This will be good for us. I promise.”
“Yeah, bye, Dad.”
Hayden watched as Conor walked down the hall, looked at the map, and turned around. He was tempted to sneak down the hall but didn’t want Conor to spot him. He had to let Conor grow up.
With his head down, Hayden pushed the metal door open and stepped out. He barely had time to stop himself from bumping into the woman hiding under the awning from the current downpour.
“Shit, sorr—” He paused and took her in. Hayden wasn’t great at recognizing people from the past, but this face he knew, without a doubt.