Unexpected Attraction. Stella MacLean

That’s why I asked that there be a psychologist at this meeting.”

       CHAPTER FOUR

      JAKE SAW THE anger in Andrea’s eyes and realized that not much had changed with this woman in the four years since he’d last seen her. She was still angry, still determined to have her way and still fighting for control. The things he’d found so unlikable about her four years ago were the same traits that would make helping her daughter a challenge no matter who tried to work with her.

      Could she not see it was critical to put Shannon’s interests ahead of her own? If they were to help Shannon, they had to focus on her. He kept his expression neutral as he met Andrea’s hostile gaze. When the school had explained the dramatic change exhibited by Shannon Taylor, Jake felt compelled to do what he could to help. Faced with Andrea’s aggressive behavior, he realized that he could not allow this woman to set the agenda. “Your daughter needs your help and support—”

      “She has it!” Andrea said, her fists forming balls against her thighs.

      Jake held up his hand to prevent her from going further. “Let me finish. Once I do, I won’t say another word. Understood?”

      She nodded.

      “I’m here for only one reason. I want to help Shannon. You do, too. As does Melody. We’re all here to support your daughter. Agreed?”

      Andrea nodded again, although her expression left him with no doubt about her feelings toward him. Seeing the tense set of her shoulders and the fidgeting movement of her hands, he continued carefully.

      “It’s in your daughter’s best interest to get to the bottom of what’s going on, wouldn’t you agree?”

      Andrea made a small sign of assent, anguish visible on her face, and he felt empathy. Every parent deserved support in dealing with issues around their children. Andrea was no exception. “Let’s try to work this out together.”

      “Have a seat, please,” Melody said.

      “As long as you do not try to tell me what I should do,” Andrea said to him. “And if I ask you to leave, you will.”

      Why was she being so aggressive when her daughter was in serious trouble? But maybe Andrea didn’t know the full extent of the issues around Shannon’s behavior. “Agreed.”

      Jake chose a chair next to the wall, making himself as unobtrusive as possible so he could observe the meeting.

      “As near as we can determine, Shannon’s problems started about a month ago, around the third week of September,” Melody said after taking a seat. “She didn’t show up for volleyball practice one week and didn’t offer any explanation. After that she often arrived late or seemed distracted on the court. The coach is concerned about her performance on the team.”

      Andrea straightened. “Shannon loves to play volleyball. I’m sorry, but I didn’t know about this. I’ll speak to Shannon.”

      Jake saw the genuine surprise in Andrea’s expression. If she hadn’t known about this, there was a communication breakdown between her and Shannon.

      “I understand your alarm, but there’s more. She and Stuart Jameson were yelling at each other outside the classroom after a math test a week ago. A teacher had to intervene. Shannon has also left the junior prom committee, something she wanted to be involved with when school started in September. She’s been late to class on a couple of occasions, which has never happened with her.”

      “I don’t understand,” Andrea said, her voice sounding shaky. “Shannon has never, ever behaved this way. She loved working on the junior prom committee, and I can’t see her yelling at Stuart Jameson unless she had a reason... All I know about Stuart is that Shannon doesn’t like him very much. But if she yelled at him, he had to have said or done something.” She seemed to struggle to maintain her composure. “I drop Shannon off at school most days unless Kyle drives her. How could she be late for school?”

      “She didn’t say. We asked her to make up the time. She stayed late to do extra math, the class she missed those days, and it was after one of her makeup sessions yesterday afternoon that the incident occurred.”

      “There has to be an explanation.” Andrea rubbed her temples as she mumbled, “This is so not like Shannon.”

      Jake wanted to ask if anything had changed at home, if there was anything different in Andrea’s relationship with her daughter. But he had promised not to say anything, aware that she might take his questions as an attack on her parenting, as she had four years ago. They needed to gain her cooperation in addressing these issues before he could take any active role.

      Melody shifted uneasily. “Based on your reaction, I’m assuming you didn’t get the phone call I made to your home, and your cell, after the yelling incident with Stuart. I left a message for you to call me.”

      Andrea’s expression was one of misery. “No. I didn’t...but sometimes when I get home late I forget to check messages. And it’s been really busy at work and Shannon’s never had trouble in school...” Her voice trailed off.

      Melody continued, “She’s had a verbal altercation with Stuart and was injured yesterday in an incident involving at least one of her classmates. We are still trying to determine exactly what happened and who else was involved. We believe that Shannon has problems she hasn’t shared with anyone other than, possibly, Kyle Donahue. Is there any reason you can think of that would have caused these changes in your daughter?” She glanced toward Jake. “Has anything happened at home?”

      Andrea shot Jake a look before turning her attention to Melody. “I don’t know what’s going on. Shannon is a wonderful daughter. We have a good relationship. We’re going away on vacation next summer. She’s been fine.” She picked up her purse then stood. “Thank you for telling me about this. I’ll talk to Shannon. I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.”

      The school had a responsibility to protect Shannon from harm. They needed to investigate these sudden changes in her behavior to get to the source. Jake had to speak up, to try to get Andrea to see how grave this situation was. “Shannon needs help. I can’t emphasize that enough. These sorts of changes in behavior can be caused by anything from drugs to bullying. Those are serious issues that have an impact on more people than Shannon. We have a responsibility to act in her best interest, and that includes uncovering the facts.”

      Andrea’s gaze swept over him, her disdain evident. “She’s my daughter. I’ll look after her. I always have.”

      Jake wanted to scream. Could she not see Melody’s genuine concern? Did she not understand the possible ramifications of whatever Shannon was hiding from everyone?

      A fleeting expression in Andrea’s eyes told him she knew something...something she wasn’t willing to share.

      Deliberately he stepped forward to block her route to the door. He held out his business card and concentrated on making his expression nonthreatening. “You are not alone. A lot of teenagers have issues that can be resolved with a little help. You’ve been given an opportunity here to help Shannon before this situation escalates. And you’ve been offered the support of her school. Why not take it?”

      “Does that include your support?” she asked. The defiant tone was in direct contrast to the desperation in her eyes.

      “Call me if you need me before the school psychologist gets back.”

      She turned the card over in her hand slowly as if considering. He mentally crossed his fingers. As much as he didn’t like Andrea, he felt empathy for her, for her dilemma as a single parent. He saw a lot of parents struggling to do the right thing by their children. He had to believe that when it came down to it, Andrea would do the right thing by her daughter.

      She carefully placed Jake’s card in her pocket then stepped around him. Without looking back, she headed down the corridor.