Suzie thrust her arm out from under the covers, feeling for the snooze button on the alarm clock. Eyes still closed, she touched the hard plastic, pressing on the button on top, but the ringing kept coming and going. Not until she lifted her head from the pillow, eyes blurry, did the ringing stop, and it was followed immediately with “Hello?” in a deep, masculine voice.
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Someone had answered the phone. As Vin was still in the hospital, and Ben was too young to sound sexy, the voice must belong to Drew.
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Ben! Suzie squinted at the alarm clock. It was already half an hour past when the school bus should be picking him up. Her alarm hadn’t gone off.
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Panicked, Suzie threw off the covers and snatched up a robe.
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“Ben? Ben! It’s time for school.”
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The door to his bedroom stood open. His bed was made and his backpack gone. She whipped past Drew, who stood by the phone in the upstairs hall, and headed for the kitchen. A bowl with some of Ben’s favorite cereal sat in the sink. There was no sign of Ben. Suzie slumped against the door frame and groaned.
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She’d let him down. She hadn’t meant to, but that wasn’t much consolation to a kid. Ben had become awfully careful around everyone since well before the divorce. The boy tried so hard to please her. Sometimes she was afraid he tried too hard, like he was afraid the world would come crashing around his ears if he did anything wrong. Couldn’t she at least send him off to school?
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“What’s the matter?” Drew looked alert, glancing around the room like a cop in an emergency before focusing on her face.
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“Something’s wrong with my alarm clock. I didn’t get up to send Ben to school. This makes two days in a row.”
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“I know. I sent him off yesterday.” Drew passed her on the way to the coffee maker, oblivious to her humiliation. “He’s a big boy. He can handle himself.” Or maybe Drew wasn’t so oblivious. “But I think we should have a talk with him about the situation here in the house.” He poured himself a cup of coffee.
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The situation? Suzie sucked in a gulp of air with a hiss. She pushed herself away from the door frame, every maternal nerve in her body going on alert. “You think Ben is in danger?”
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“Up until a few days ago I thought the only ones in danger in this house were Drew and I, and only while we were on the job. I have to tell myself it’s still true, but we all need to take precautions. Ben shouldn’t be walking to the bus stop by himself.”
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Suzie spun on her heel and headed for her bedroom. Now that Drew had planted the idea in her mind she would not be satisfied until she saw for herself that her son was still fine. Drew caught up with her half way to the stairs.
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“He’s all right, except for a little disagreement with his English teacher. That was her on the phone a minute ago. She said he acted up in class today, and she wants you to arrange a meeting.”
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“Oh.” Suzie’s relief took the edge off her concerns. She climbed the steps in a much more leisurely manner than she’d come from the kitchen. “I’ll call her back as soon as I’m dressed.” Then she paused, and turned toward Drew. “Do you think I should spend the day with him?”
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“No.” Drew said firmly. “You can’t follow him from class to class without ruining his self confidence, not to mention his reputation. You’d be better off sending him away. I don’t suppose he has grandparents out of town somewhere.”
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He was serious. Drew thought she should send her only child somewhere else. As if the time he spent with his father wasn’t hard enough to take. She couldn’t imagine living without Ben for very long.
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But if his safety lay in the balance, she’d have to do it. Assuming she could find someone in the family willing to take him. Suzie pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Taking boarders in was turning out to be a much worse idea than Suzie had ever suspected.
The previous was Suzie’s House 23: The Forgotten One
This is Suzie’s House 24: A Mother’s Love
Next is Suzie’s House 25: The Times, They Are A Changing
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