Black Creek Burning (The Black Creek Series, Book 1) (3 page)

"Very well. If you don't mind, I have some things to finish in the workroom. Please
let me know if there is anything else you need. Thank you for your time, officers,
Sandy." She walked out calmly and with purpose down the hall, stopped, leaned against
the wall and closed her eyes.

* * *

The class was wired for Christmas. How could her lesson plans compete with the excitement
of Santa? Brie decided to give in and just go with it. Writing was to be about what
they wanted for Christmas. Math included the use of geometrical shapes to create Christmas
trees.

She grinned as Sean raised his hand to read his story made up of a full page of misspelled
words. She remembered the first few weeks of school. The boy had been insecure and
barely able to write his name. He had been afraid to try, afraid to speak. Now, he
was confident and writing extensive, coherent stories. She laughed out loud as he
explained that he drew a new snowmobile, since that was what he asked Santa to give
him for Christmas. She wondered if his mother knew. She decided if this boy got a
snowmobile before she did, there was something very wrong with the world.

Suddenly, she felt better and remembered why she loved this job.

* * *

The intense morning meeting with the Department of Children and Family Services had
left her tapped before her class even arrived. Brie started putting up chairs for
the custodian and shook her head in disgust as she thought about young Aaron Babb.
His explosive father would have a lot to answer for. He would be furious, but she
didn't care. She did her part to end the cycle of bruises Aaron had likely put up
with since birth.

The rest of the day flew by teaching twenty-five first-grade students, then a meeting
with the assistant superintendent. She was spent and ready for a breather. After putting
the final touches on her report cards, she loaded her bag down before heading to turn
out the fluorescent lights. As she walked to the door, she glanced back at the plywood
covering her windows. Her shoulders jerked as she felt a chill.

She flicked the lights, just when her sister stormed around the corner. "All right,
spill." Liz was as direct as she was selfless. "Why do I work in the same building
as my baby sister and am only now hearing your windows were shot out again?" Liz set
her hands on her hips as she blocked her way while peering over Brie's shoulder at
the plywood.

She could make excuses by taking Liz step-by-step through her hell of a day, but instead
she let out a sigh and simply answered. "Sorry, I was just coming to find you, and
they were not
shot out.
It was mostly rocks," she lied. "After several questions from the kids, they moved
on to obsess about Christmas. Are we still on for tonight?" She changed the subject,
walked around her sister and headed toward the school office for her last stop on
her way out.

Liz adjusted her heavy bag and took up stride with Brie's longer legs. "Of course
we're on. It's tradition. I heard it was another rifle. And my students are too old
to admit they're obsessed with Christmas."

"I need to take a shower, then meet with Mrs. Melbourne before we go. Is eight too
late? Will you owe Tim for having to put the kids to bed?"

"Tim knows the drill. Detox time at Mikey's the last day of school before any break."
Liz draped her free arm around Brie's shoulder. "And he knows his payment will be
well worth it," she said with a sexy grin. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am, thanks. I'll meet you there. I think I'll get a cab tonight."

"I'll pick up you at eight and have Tim drop us off; we'll share a cab home," Liz
said.

Brie pulled open the door to the front office to let the secretary know she was leaving.
Mrs. Seward was as big around as she was tall, and as scary as they came. She was
also conscientious and made sure to keep everyone on their toes. Her walls were wallpapered
with neatly displayed schedules and calendars.

"Theme tests are due before you leave, Miss Chapman, Mrs. Brownley."

Brie pulled out a small tin of cookies with a bow. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Seward."

"Thank you, Miss Chapman. Theme tests are still due before you leave," she said as
she stapled a phone message to a note card.

She smiled at her favorite secretary. "You're welcome, and I turned them in yesterday."

Liz flipped through the papers she had pulled from her office mail slot as she followed.
She grinned and glanced up. "Don't look at me. I turned mine in last week."

"You're getting a new student when we return from break, Miss Chapman, and Dr. Tyman
wants you to call her. Something she forgot to mention in your meeting this afternoon."
Mrs. Seward turned to peck furiously at her document.

Liz's eyebrows went up at the mention of the assistant super.

Blowing the hair from her face, Brie stopped and turned back to Mrs. Seward. "What
is the spelling of their first name? Do they ride a bus or a car, and did you tell
Dr. Tyman I would call her back today?"

"Sylvester, spelled the regular way. Bus fifty-one, and I told her you were already
gone for break." Winking, Mrs. Seward dipped the few files left on her desk neatly
into drawers. "Enjoy your break, Brianna."

* * *

Four wide eyes looked out of a shiny black truck as they turned onto the gravel drive
of their new home. The snow had to be a plus, Nathan decided. His nephews had played
in snow when they visited their grandparents up here, but they'd never had it in their
own backyard. He could tell Duncan, the older of the two, was wondering if people
could actually live in the place. He'd tried telling them it would be an adventure.
He said the three of them would be like pioneers.

Snow crunched under his tires as the truck pulled to a stop. He looked over at the
boys' cautious expressions. "Come on, men. We'll get her put together in no time.
We're bachelors now." He laid a reassuring hand on Duncan's shoulder.

"Do you think Goldie will like it here?" Duncan asked.

He figured his nephew wasn't really asking about the bouncing yellow Lab in the backseat,
although taking care of Goldie and his little brother were first priorities for Duncan,
even if he was only eight. He thought about how much Duncan looked like his dad with
his deep brown, wavy hair and serious sable brown eyes. Duncan's soft nose and chin
were the only features he had inherited from his mother.

"I think he already does. What do you think, Andy?" He glanced over at his younger
nephew.

Goldie, not quite two yet, yelped and jumped in the backseat. With his tongue hanging
to one side, he pressed his wet nose against the window.

"'Course he'll like it. Look at the creek and the lake," Andy defended. "He can fish
and chase birds."

Andy not only inherited his mother's looks, but her personality. Optimist. Adventurist.
Like his brother, he had his father's wavy brown hair. But his eyes were light brown,
soft and full of wonder.

The extended cab, eight-foot-bed pickup was packed full. Bungee cords tied down mattresses,
sleeping bags, suitcases, a card table with chairs and a cooler of food along with
a handful of puzzles, Legos and Duncan's drawing supplies. It was enough to get them
through until the first moving van came with more. The rest would be retrieved from
storage as the house became ready.

The boys climbed out and stretched from the last hours of driving like they'd just
woken from a long nap. Nathan grabbed Andy, tossing him effortlessly onto his shoulders.
With Andy's hands wrapped under his chin and his feet tucked around the sides of his
back, he couldn't resist pulling out the new notebook he had ready in his back pocket
and the pencil from behind his ear.

He opened it to the first page and jotted down notes about the shutters. They would
need to be discarded and completely rebuilt. The porch was littered with rotting boards
that needed to be replaced. Some were still in good condition and just needed to be
planed, stained and sealed. The railings, however, were going to be all new and all
his, part of a giant wrap-around porch he envisioned. The wood siding needed to be
scraped and painted. Some boards needed replacing there, too. He jotted down notes
about finding a good painter and roofer. He wouldn't have time for that if he was
going to finish the beauty by summer's end. The outside of the house would have to
wait for better weather, he decided.

"Dad, Goldie wants out. Let him out and let me down." Andy squirmed as he fumbled
the notebook back into his pocket. "Can we go around back?"

"I'll come with. Stay where I can see you." He let Andy down and took Duncan's hand.
He noticed that Duncan held on a little tighter than usual.

He opened the door of the packed truck for the jumping, barking dog. Taking a giant
leap, the dog tried to run before his legs hit the ground. Stumbling and rolling twice
before regaining his footing, he took off around the side of the house. They followed
through the deep snow as they zipped coats and pulled on gloves that were too thin
for staying out very long. Snow already began dipping into their shoes, but they didn't
seem to care.

A floodplain encompassed the creek, twenty-five yards on each side and seemed to flow
downward toward the house, away from its adjoining lake. Between the small lake and
creek was a spillway built with a concrete wall and watermelon-sized rocks. Hundreds
of rocks that looked like they were keeping the lake water from running like a river.
Houses lined around, and the floodplains boasted fields on both sides, butting up
to generous backyards. Several of the yards around the lake ended abruptly with snow-covered
docks over the frozen water.

Patches of tall grasses and frosty cattails lined the creek. He learned it was named
Black Creek due to the dark mud lining the bottom. The lake looked frozen, but near
the spillway crystal water slipped stealthily under the ice, trickled down the rocks
and flowed through the dark creek bed. The frigid water ran around snow-piled patches
of grasses and rocks, making them look like huge marshmallows floating in black coffee.

As they made it to the back yard, one corner of his mouth curved up as Duncan finally
dropped his hand. The boys ran, squealing as they slid down the slope that led to
the field. Goldie ran circles around them and rolled in the white. He noted the weeds
poking out through the yard and added a landscaper to his list of people to hire.
This was a far cry from the tight rows of yards in the South Carolina neighborhood
they'd moved from. He would need more than a little flower box this time around.

While he watched the boys, movement from across the creek caught his eye. A woman
with a light blue coat and brown hair pouring out from under a matching hat was running
full speed around the side of a traditional Victorian home. He tilted his head as
he watched the cape of hair that flew behind her and stopped at the middle of her
back. It wasn't until he noticed the charging, growling dog at her heels that he found
himself running.

Chapter 3

The dog leapt at the woman, trying to get at her back. Nathan was nearly to the edge
of the floodplain when the sound of laughter made him skid to a stop.

The woman rolled in the snow with the dog in apparent delight. He watched as she grabbed
it by its cheeks, nuzzling their foreheads together. Jumping to their feet, they both
stood with wide stances. The woman leaned over with her hands on her thighs. The dog
seemed to mimic the position with its front legs flat on the ground and head down.

He couldn't help but stare at the playful standoff. At seemingly the same time, they
broke their freeze, took off around the side of the house and disappeared as quickly
as they'd appeared.

"Is it okay to go in, Nathan?" Duncan tucked his arms inside his coat. "I think Andy's
cold."

"Am-m-m n-not!"

"Of course. The bank promised they would have at least arranged for running water
and all the parts of the bathrooms in working order if we just agreed to take it off
their hands. Pioneers, remember?"

Andy rolled his eyes and followed him with Duncan around to the front of the house.

* * *

He worked on scrubbing the floor of the enormous master bedroom. Nathan decided after
he finished with the master bath, he was definitely hiring someone to clean the rest
of the house. They would camp in here for now. He had plans for a small walk-out balcony
in the back with French doors, where he could sit and watch the boys play.