Riding Tall

Readers Love Kate Sherwood

Beneath the Surface

“Overall another excellent story by Ms. Sherwood! I love that she writes different stories and doesn’t just stick to one theme.”

—Mrs. Condit & Friends Read Books

 “Kate made me cry again! Not the blubbering kind, just a little. But, the woman got me again! This is a sweet romance…”

—MM Good Book Reviews

Dark Horse

“This book really got to me… most of all, I loved these characters, a whole bunch of them, both men and women, working hard together. Lots of people from different walks of life and different ages too. They all seemed real.”

—My Fiction Nook

“… with Kate Sherwood I know that I’m going to get a story brimming with well-rounded characters and a journey that will touch my heart in all the good ways.”

—Leontine’s Book Realm

More Than Chemistry

“What a wonderful story! Kate Sherwood was a new author for me but after reading this short story, I will be searching out more books from her.”

—Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words

“I really liked this story and ended up loving the characters… Recommended for romantics (and it’s funny!)”

—Hearts on Fire

By KATE SHERWOOD

N
OVELS

A
GAINST
THE
O
DDS

The Pawn

The Knight

D
ARK
H
ORSE

Dark Horse

Out of the Darkness

Of Dark and Bright

Beneath the Surface

The Fall

Lost Treasure

Riding Tall

Shying Away

N
OVELLAS

More Than Chemistry

Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Copyright

Published by

Dreamspinner Press

5032 Capital Circle SW
Suite 2, PMB# 279
Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886

USA

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Riding Tall

© 2014 Kate Sherwood.

Cover Art

© 2014 Leah Kaye Suttle.

www.leahsuttle.com

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/.

ISBN: 978-1-62798-411-9

Digital ISBN: 978-1-62798-410-2

Printed in the United States of America

First Edition

February 2014

Chapter 1

“C
OME
ON
,
Mr. Bowerman,” Joe said with what he hoped was a charming smile. It wasn’t easy to be firm and still pleasant, wasn’t easy to seem respectful but still go after what he wanted. This was the sort of job he’d always sent his twin brother to do, and there was a reason for that. But Will had his own concerns now. This was Joe’s problem. “I know it’s not as tidy as it could be, but we’re working on it. The elementary school didn’t have a problem with the setup.”

“You’re asking us to register a student for whom you are not legally responsible and who has no fixed address.” Mr. Bowerman shook his head as if he were saddened by Joe’s irresponsibility. The man had been a vice principal at the school when Joe had attended, and then been transferred elsewhere, to the town’s general relief. Now he was back as principal, inching his way toward a retirement that couldn’t come soon enough for his students. He hadn’t been flexible when Joe had been a student, and he certainly didn’t seem to be mellowing with age.

Joe tried to be calm as he repeated what he’d already told the man three times. “She has a fixed address.
Our
address. She’s staying with us.”

“
Staying
,” Bowerman said pointedly. “Not
living
. That doesn’t sound like a fixed address to me. We can’t create schedules for every
couch surfer
in the district, you know.” He pronounced “couch surfer” as if simultaneously proud of his use of the vernacular and somewhat disgusted by its feel in his mouth.

“Lacey’s not couch surfing. She’s here for the rest of the school year, at least.” Joe wanted to make his point a little more vehemently, probably with a bit of volume. The school had a legal obligation to educate the students within its catchment area, and Bowerman should just admit that and stop wasting Joe’s time. Yeah, it’d feel good to do a little yelling right about now. But Bowerman seemed like the sort of guy who’d hold a grudge. Joe wasn’t worried about himself, but Ally still had most of a semester in the school and would be needing support for scholarships and graduation awards. There was no point in making things more difficult for her. “We’re hoping to have the paperwork sorted out in the next few weeks. Jean Carpenter’s the social worker on the case, Andy Stark is onboard—”

“We don’t take instructions from the provincial police,” Bowerman scoffed.

Joe tried to ignore the interruption. “The aunt down in Sarnia has said she’s happy to be rid of both girls. There’s nowhere else for them to live and nowhere else for them to go to school. Lacey needs to get registered here.”

“Once the paperwork’s in place—” Bowerman started, but now it was Joe’s turn to interrupt.

“They’re saying weeks for that, at best. It could be longer. Lacey’s already missed too much school, and this is her last year—her marks really matter.”

Bowerman looked pitying again. “Lacey Walton’s marks
don’t
really matter. She’s not heading for postsecondary education. She’ll be lucky to pass.”

“Okay, well, maybe her marks weren’t great in the past, but she’s a smart kid. She can do better if she gets more support at home. But if she
is
a weak student, that still means she shouldn’t be missing a ton of school while we wait for things to get formalized. She needs to be in class.”

“We’re not a day care, you know. We’re not here to solve your childcare issues.”

Joe frowned in confusion. “She’s seventeen. She doesn’t need a babysitter.” He wished Will was there. Or Mackenzie. Yeah, Mackenzie would definitely understand what was happening here. The guy could read people like Joe could read animals. If Mr. Bowerman were a stubborn steer refusing to go into a chute, Joe would know how to handle the situation. He wouldn’t push too hard, he’d try to figure out what the steer was thinking. Was the animal scared of something? Was he seeing an obstacle in the chute that Joe hadn’t noticed? “Lacey was okay when she was here last time, wasn’t she?” Joe didn’t know about any problems, but he’d mostly heard Ally’s stories, and it was quite possible his sister had cleaned things up to protect her friend.

Bowerman raised an eyebrow. “Well, here we get into one of the problems with a casual arrangement without paperwork. Until I have documentation of your legal relationship with Lacey, I’m afraid I cannot discuss any aspect of her history with you. The privacy legislation is
quite
clear. I also couldn’t discuss any aspect of her
current
behavior. So if she acted up and needed to be suspended, who would I contact? If a teacher had a concern…?”

“The teachers aren’t going to be stubborn jackasses about it,” Joe said. His calm was definitely slipping. “They’d call
me
. If
you
want to follow the letter of the law, I guess you could call the aunt in Sarnia, but good luck getting through the alcoholic haze—apparently she drinks worse than her brother did. That’s why Lacey’s back up here, and that’s why she’s going to
stay
up here, and that’s why she’s going to be attending this school.” Joe had tried to see things through the steer’s eyes, but cattle had never tried to use
privacy legislation
to defend their stubbornness. But if the animals
were
just being stubborn, if Joe had done everything he could to figure out the problem and still couldn’t see it, well, then he just needed to be firm with them.

He straightened up out of the uncomfortable plastic chair on the visitors’ side of the principal’s desk. “Lacey will be here tomorrow morning, ready to go to class.” Joe had already talked to the guidance counselor, a shy girl who’d been a student at the school the same time he was, and she’d assured him she could put a schedule together for Lacey in no time. But he wouldn’t mention that to Bowerman. Instead, he glowered. “She needs to be here. You’re legally required to educate her, so stop wasting everyone’s time. If she isn’t in class tomorrow, I’ll be in your office again, and I’ll wait out in the front for as long as it takes to get her registered, and I’ll tell every parent who comes in just why I’m there, and then
you
can try to explain to them why you’re trying to deny a teenager her education.”

Joe remembered too late about Ally’s scholarships and awards. Well, he’d just have to work extra hard to make sure there was enough money to make up for their loss, because he wasn’t backing down now. He stared at Bowerman, letting the principal see that he was dead serious, and then, when he was sure the point had been made, he shrugged. “I hope it doesn’t come to that. I’ll tag along with Lacey tomorrow to make sure she’s set up okay, and if she is, everything’s good.” He decided against offering his hand and instead just smiled politely and said, “See you in the morning,” as he headed for the door.

His phone rang as he was striding through the parking lot. He pulled it out, saw the name on the call display, and felt his shoulders relax. “Hey,” he said quietly.