A Daughter for Christmas (5 page)

“I think she just listened. Didn't say much about how she felt.”

The sound of the front door slamming closed jerked Rachel around toward the kitchen entrance. Her heart pounding, she rushed toward the foyer. She glimpsed Taylor stomping up the stairs.

“Taylor, what's wrong? Why are you home from school at eleven?”

Her daughter whirled around at the top. Her bottom lip quavered. She bit her teeth into it as tears filled her eyes.

Rachel ascended a couple of steps. “Honey, what happened?”

Taylor opened her mouth to say something, snapped it closed and spun on her heel. As she fled down the second-floor hallway, her sobs resonated through the house.

“I'm leaving. Go talk to her.” Jordan sent her a reassuring look. “Maybe she's ready to talk.”

Or not. Rachel hurried up the stairs as her sister left. At Taylor's room she knocked, waited a few seconds and turned the knob. Entering, she found her daughter on her bed, crying, her body shaking from the force of her sorrow. Her legs were curled up against her chest while her back was to Rachel. The painful throb in her chest expanded. Hearing her child so upset tore Rachel up more than if she were the one in distress.

She sat on the bed and laid her hand on Taylor's arm. She stiffened beneath the touch and hunched her shoulders even more. “Taylor, talk to me. Tell me what's going on.”

For a long moment her daughter didn't say anything, then she muttered, “I'm the dumbest kid in school.”

“What happened?”

“I made the lowest score on the science test on Monday and then today in history. Everyone knows it.”

“Did they say anything?”

“No. But they don't have to.” Taylor turned to face her. “I saw the pitiful looks I got. I'm not going back to school. Ever.”

“You just got up and walked out?”

“Yes, in the middle of class. I want to be homeschooled. It can't be worse than what this year has been like.”

“Okay, if you're sure.”

A tear rolled down Taylor's cheek. She swiped it away only to have it replaced by another. “Yes. I can't go back.”

“Then we'll start tomorrow afternoon. I'll go up to school this afternoon and talk with them. I want to know where you are academically. Tomorrow morning you have an appointment to see Dr. Reynolds.” The office had called earlier that morning to say there was a cancellation, and the receptionist moved up her appointment from next week.

“Why?”

“I want to talk to Dr. Reynolds about Attention Deficit Disorder.”

Taylor shot up in bed. “You think I have it?”

“I don't know what's going on with you, but something is. You haven't been for a check-up in a while. I
want to make sure everything is all right.” She reached out to her daughter. “I'm concerned about you. You're always upset and angry.”

Taylor shrugged away from Rachel's touch. “I'll be fine now. Ashley told me about homeschooling. I can work at my own pace. I won't feel so lost.”

Something in her daughter's expression doubled Rachel's concern. “Yes, you'll be able to, but you'll have to work. Just because you won't be in school doesn't mean I don't expect you to learn everything you need to.”

“Whatever.” Taylor rolled over and presented her back to Rachel.

She counted to ten, still wasn't calm and headed straight for one hundred.
Lord, I'm going to need lots of patience. I've always thought I had some, but now I don't know if that's true.

 

Finishing up with a patient, Max exited the exam room at his new office and nearly ran right into Rachel and Taylor. “Kevin said you and Taylor were coming in this morning. How did the appointment go?”

The smile Rachel gave him warmed his insides. “It went well.”

“There's nothing wrong with me,” Taylor said, then flounced down the hall.

“That's good.” Max watched his daughter disappear through the doorway into the waiting room.

“It will be once we get into a routine. I'm starting home schooling this afternoon. Kevin diagnosed Taylor with ADHD. He gave me some stuff to read about it. Some tips for teaching her, which I'm very grateful for.”

“Have you gotten a chance to read the book I gave you Sunday on ADD?”

“Yes. Good thing I've got support through Helping Hands Homeschooling Group and my sister doing this. I don't think I could do it alone. And Kevin suggested the science class he teaches.”

She might not know it, but he would be there to support her, too. “That'll be good. He's already recruited me to teach it the week after next. He's going to a conference.”

“Great. I won't have to deal with science then.”

“She'll have homework.”

“Something my daughter doesn't like to do. We've had battles over it at the kitchen table.” She glanced toward the direction of the waiting room. “What was I thinking? How is homeschooling going to be any different?”

“You guys sound like you need something fun to focus on. Tell you what. I'll take you all out to dinner tonight to celebrate the first day. I owe you for helping me on Sunday.” He wanted to spend as much time with his daughter as possible.

“Sam and Will, too?”

“Sure.” Like a regular family dinner.

“You're a brave soul.”

“Are you warning me?”

“Yep, if we don't pick a fast-food restaurant, I don't know how long the boys will last.”

He snapped his fingers. “I've got a better idea. I fix a great pizza. Why don't you all come over to my house tonight at say six? You can now walk through the den. My boxes are only confined to the living room.”

“Are you sure you're up for this?”

No, but there was no way he would tell her that. He hadn't figured out how to get to know his daughter without being around Rachel. And if he got to know her well, how was he going to be able to tell her he was
Taylor's biological father and he'd come to Tallgrass to be a parent to his only child? If he wanted to be in Taylor's life, he didn't have a choice.

“Yes, or I wouldn't have offered,” he finally said as he began walking toward the waiting room with Rachel.

When she got to the entrance, a frown crinkled her brow. “Where's Taylor?” She took several more steps and made a slow circle.

“Maybe she went to the car?” Although his voice was calm, his gut knotted.

“Yeah, that's probably it. I'd better go before she decides to walk home.”

“I'll come with you. If she isn't out there, I'll help you look for her.”

Rachel made her way toward the office door. “I don't want to take you from your patients.”

“You aren't. We're shutting down for lunch.”

They rode the elevator to the first floor in silence. The whole way Max couldn't dismiss the thought that Taylor was hurting and upset. Many children with ADHD did impulsive things with no thought to the consequences. Had she?

“My car's in the second row.” Rachel pointed toward her Lexus SUV.

As they neared, Max noticed the vehicle was empty. Glancing around, he saw no sign of Taylor. The tightness in his stomach hardened into a rock.

H
er heartbeat thundering in her ears, Rachel checked the car's interior to make sure Taylor wasn't hiding. Its emptiness mocked her. She'd handled this all wrong. Lately, that was all she seemed to be doing with her daughter—taking one step forward and two or three backward.

“Where would she go when she's upset?” Max asked, concern edging his voice and expression. He made a slow circle to scan the parking lot.

Rachel did likewise. The glare of the noonday sun glinted off the vehicles' surfaces and hurt her eyes. “Maybe a friend's. But since they're in school, I guess that's out. Maybe the arcade. Maybe to Mom's. She's at work, but Granny will be there.”

“Call your grandmother while we go to the arcade. I'll drive.” Max led her to a red Mustang she'd seen in his driveway.

After she settled in the passenger seat, she dug her cell out of her purse and called Granny. She let the phone ring until the answering machine came on. She left a short message about Taylor being gone.

“Where's this arcade?” Max started his vehicle and backed out of his parking space.

“Three streets over on Sheridan near First. In the middle of the block.”

“Does she go to the arcade a lot?”

“She's been there a few times. She likes to play video games. Some of the teens hang out there. It's a safe environment thankfully. But dark and noisy. I don't know how she can stay there for more than a few minutes.” The tremor in her voice leaked into her body. She clasped her hands together to still their shaking. She wanted her little girl back—the one who wasn't moody. The one she could talk to.

“We'll find her.”

As he turned down Sheridan, Rachel peered toward him. “I appreciate your help. I'm sure she's okay, but I'm at a loss what to do about Taylor anymore. I'm hoping homeschooling will help, but what if it doesn't?”

“Then you'll find another answer.”

The tightness in his voice caused her to study the hard set to his expression. He caught her look and some of the tension eased from his features. “My brother went through a similar time with his son.”

“What happened?”

Max parked in front of the arcade. “He ran with the wrong crowd. Did some stupid, even some dangerous things. The last one, joyriding, woke my nephew up, but not before Brendan had gone through the wringer.”

“How old was he?”

“Fourteen. He's seventeen now and doing much better.”

Would it get that bad with Taylor? The thought sent terror through her. As she climbed from the Mustang,
she gripped the door frame to steady herself. She felt so alone in that moment.

Max appeared at her side. “She'll be okay. My brother refused to acknowledge anything was happening until the situation got bad. You know Taylor is having problems and are willing to find a solution. And you've got my help. I may not be a parent, but I've worked with children, teens. Some very troubled.” He held out his hand.

She fit hers in his, and for a brief moment she didn't feel so alone. Walking toward the entrance, she thought about Max coming into her life at just the right time when she needed someone who understood what was going on with Taylor.
Thank You, Lord, for sending him to Tallgrass.

After inspecting every dark corner, the music and bells and dings on the machines booming through the air, Rachel emerged outside in the sunlight, relishing the quieter atmosphere on a street several blocks from the main thoroughfare through the town. “I really didn't think she would be here, but I needed to check it out since she was caught sneaking in here during school last Friday.”

“Where do you want to go next?”

“Home. I want to see if she is at Mom's. Sometimes Granny doesn't pick up the phone because she doesn't move fast. She actually told me once she doesn't understand the need of us youngsters—me included—needing to be available 24/7 with their cell phones. She wanted to know when I had any downtime.”

“She's got a good point.”

“My grandmother usually does.”

“I'm still going to find a way to wheedle that fudge recipe out of her.”

Rachel tried to suppress her chuckle but couldn't. “I wish you the best with that one. She would be a great spy. She doesn't give anything away she doesn't want to.”

Max pulled onto their street. “Do you want to check your house or your mother's first?”

“Mine. Maybe she came home. I can always hope.”

“Yeah, hope is important.”

The way he said that last sentence alerted her that there was more behind his statement than the mere words. She locked gazes with Max as he brought his Mustang to a stop in her driveway. “If it wasn't for the Lord and my family, these past few years would have been so much worse than they were. And believe me, it hasn't been easy holding a family together when your husband dies suddenly.”

“I'm glad you had something.”

She slid from the front seat and stood, staring at him over the top of his car. “It sounds like you didn't.”

“Let's just say I haven't found the Lord there for me when I needed Him.” He pivoted and strode toward her house.

She quickly followed, wanting to pursue the subject, but the tense set of his shoulders and clenched hands forbade it. Music blared behind the closed front door. “She's here or at least she was. When she turns the music up loud like that, she's really upset. She usually uses her iPod otherwise.”

Inside the foyer, the vibrations blasted Rachel. “I'll go up and see if she wants to talk. Thanks for helping.”

“I'll be here when you come down.”

“You don't have to be. You'll need something to eat before you go back to work.”

“My next appointment isn't until one-thirty. It won't hurt me to go without lunch. You might need someone
to talk to, and besides, someone will have to take you back to get your car.”

“Oh, I forgot.” Which she was discovering she did a lot around her new neighbor. As she hurried up the stairs, she felt the heat of his look on her, and instead of sending her into a panic, she responded to it with a quickened heartbeat.

Rachel didn't bother to knock on Taylor's door this time because the music was so loud she wouldn't hear, anyway. When she entered the bedroom, Taylor sat on her bed cross-legged with Rachel's laptop, studying the screen intently. She marched over to the CD player and switched it off.

Blessedly, silence ruled for a few seconds before her daughter jerked her head up and glared at her. “Mom, I was listening to that.”

“And the whole neighborhood. Use your iPod.”

Taylor returned her gaze to the computer.

“What are you doing?” Rachel crossed to the bed and stared down at the screen.

“Reading about ADHD.”

“And?”

Taylor lifted her head and looked directly at Rachel. “This sounds like me. I do a lot of these things. I don't like to sit for long. I have a hard time paying attention. I…” Wonder replaced any hostility from earlier in her voice. “They say here there's help for it.”

Rachel sat beside Taylor. “That's what I wanted to tell you. There are things we can do to help you cope with it. I'm reading about it and learning everything I can so I can do that.”

“I need to do that, too. I want to understand what's wrong with me.”

“Hon, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I do.
You do. Your brothers. We'll take your strengths and build on them and work to deal with your weaknesses. We're in this together. You aren't alone.”

Taylor threw herself into Rachel's arms and hugged her so tightly for a second she couldn't get a good breath.

When she pulled back, Rachel asked, “Are you okay?”

Taylor nodded as she turned back to the computer. “Can I read some more about it?”

“That sounds great. I have to go pick up my car at the doctor's office.”

“How did you get here?”

“Max brought me. We went looking for you. He didn't want me to drive since I was so worried about you.”

“I'm sorry.” Her gaze focused on the Web site about ADHD.

“After I get back, we'll have lunch and talk some more. Okay? We need to get started on homeschooling today.”

“Fine.” Taylor agreed but there was no enthusiasm in her voice.

Rachel waited a moment to see if Taylor would say anything else or ask another question. When she didn't, Rachel left, feeling for the first time in a long while a ray of hope even if her daughter wasn't excited about schoolwork.

When she descended the staircase, Max sat on the bottom step, his elbows perched on his thighs, his hands clasped loosely between his legs. He glanced over his shoulders, a question in his eyes.

“She's reading about ADHD on the Internet. She's better. I think she's actually a little relieved to find there's
a name to what she has been privately struggling with, especially the past few years.”

He shoved to his feet and rotated toward her. A smile ignited his eyes and enveloped his whole face. “Good. I'm so glad to hear that.”

His expression, as though they shared something, nestled a warm feeling deep in her heart. “I told her I was leaving for a little while to pick up my car. She wanted to read more about what she'd found. Which is great because Taylor doesn't read if she can help it.”

Max strolled toward the front door and stepped out on to the porch. “She struggles with reading?”

“Yeah. I intend to do a program to help her read better. Dr. Baker gave me a suggestion, and I ordered it. One of the reasons she has difficulty is because it takes her a long time to read. She would often give up before she finished a selection for school. At least at home, I'll be able to adjust the instruction with that in mind.”

At his car he pulled the passenger-side door open for her. “That sounds like a good strategy. A lot of subjects hinge on the ability to read.”

“I'm counting on it to help my daughter. I just hope I'm doing the right thing. Jordan struggled with that issue, too, and Nicholas is doing great with homeschooling.”

Max rounded the front of his Mustang and climbed in behind the steering wheel. “What Taylor was doing wasn't working. Maybe this will.”

“That's what I'm hoping. Lately, I've felt helpless where Taylor is concerned. Nothing I'm doing is getting through.”

As he backed out of the driveway, his look brushed over her—as though he'd physically touched her. Her throbbing pulse coursed through her. His clean, fresh
scent surrounded her, vividly making her aware of the man sitting only a foot from her.

“From what I've seen, you're a great mother. You care for your children and want what's best whatever that is. You're willing to try homeschooling to help your daughter. That'll be a time commitment for you.”

“Before I married Lawrence, I took a few classes toward being a teacher. I always wanted to be one. I guess I'll find out how well I would have been. If it works for Taylor, I'll consider doing it for Will and Sam. They'll be starting kindergarten next year.” She grinned. “But I appreciate your vote of confidence.”

“I'm pretty good at science. If you need any help there, I can help.”

“Thanks. I may take you up on that once we get into the classes with Kevin.”

“Call me if you get frustrated.”

“I'm good at math and English. I think I've got that covered. Jordan and her sister-in-law do a history class together. They said Taylor can join them.”

“Sounds like you've given this a lot of thought and got everything covered.”

She drew in a deep, composing breath. “Then why do I feel like I'm out of my comfort zone?”

“Because you are,” he said with a laugh. “You aren't a teacher and have never homeschooled so it will be scary at first.”

As he drove into a parking space near where her Lexus was, she couldn't shake the feeling this man understood her. The loneliness she'd felt these past few years after Lawrence died dimmed some.

She put her hand on her handle, twisted toward him and said, “Thank you. You don't know how much I appreciate the help today.”

“You're welcome.” He switched off his engine while directing his full attention to her.

Looking into his eyes, the color of sun-kissed grass, she swallowed hard, a link between them strengthened in that moment. When she first met Lawrence, she'd connected with him. The realization she was experiencing the same sensation excited her and yet scared her, too. As she got out of the car and closed the car door, she peered down at the wedding ring on her hand. Skirting the back of his Mustang, she twirled the band on her finger, part of her feeling guilty as though her thoughts betrayed her husband's memory.

“See you this evening,” Max said when she passed him in the parking lot.

She gave him a smile, full of gratitude and something else. Interest? Her last expression stayed in Max's mind all the way up to his office. Seeing the struggles that Rachel was going through with Taylor sobered him. Rachel was a good mother. How could he do a better job? And what was going to happen when Taylor discovered he was her biological father? Would she hate him? The same could be said about Rachel. How would she take the news?

When he'd seen both Taylor and Rachel in the office hallway earlier, he hadn't planned on asking her and the children to dinner. But the invitation had tumbled from his mouth before he could stop it. Rachel's nearness affected him in ways that he hadn't anticipated. Alicia had never been that caring or warm. He'd had little of that in his marriage and being around Rachel illustrated what he had missed.

 

“Mom, do I have to? We've been working for three straight hours. I've got to have a break.” Taylor threw
down her pencil on the paper and pushed back her chair.

“We stop when you have finished that row of problems. You only have three more to go.” Rachel moved closer to her daughter and pointed toward the pre-algebra on the workbook page. “You had a break before you started this math. We've only been working on it for twenty minutes.”