Not Quite Over You
Page 48

“I’m going to go,” he told her. “I don’t want to waste a minute of my time with Autumn. I wish...” He shook his head. “Never mind. You’re right. She couldn’t possibly help so why would you be interested in meeting her? If nothing else, Mom, you’re exactly who you claim to be.”
* * *
JASPER TOOK THE back way down the mountain. It was longer than the highway, which was what he wanted—time to clear his head. He’d been writing, putting in fourteen-hour days. Transitioning from his book to the real world was sometimes challenging and the drive helped.
He turned into a residential neighborhood relatively close to where Wynn lived. A quick glance at his car’s clock told him it was late afternoon and Hunter would be out of school, so no quickie for him or Wynn.
He was still smiling at the thought of her when he saw Hunter riding his bike a little farther down the block. There was a girl about his age with him. Jasper didn’t recognize her, but then he didn’t know Hunter’s friends.
He was about to drive by when he saw Hunter and the girl stop in front of a house with a For Sale sign. The kids got off their bikes and approached the sign. Without considering his actions, Jasper pulled over to watch.
Hunter pulled a small garden spade out of his back pocket and dug out the sign. Together he and the girl carried it across the street and down two houses before putting it in place there. Even from nearly a block away, Jasper could tell they were laughing. They got on the bikes and headed off.
“Damn,” Jasper muttered as he picked up his phone.
Wynn answered on the first ring. “Hi, what’s up?”
“There’s a problem. Can you meet me?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SILVER STILL COULDN’T believe what Wynn and Jasper had told her. Even knowing the kids had come clean as soon as they’d been confronted wasn’t much of a comfort. Autumn had been involved in something that was, if not technically illegal, really wrong. Worse, she’d admitted it had been her idea!
“You have to say something,” Autumn announced from the passenger seat. “Just yell at me and you’ll feel better.”
Silver waited until they were at a stoplight to turn to her. “Do you think this is funny?”
“No, but it’s not like it’s really bad. We didn’t steal anything or break anything. It was just a joke on five or six houses.”
Silver drove through the intersection, then turned on her street. After pulling into her parking space in the alley, she shut off the engine and faced Autumn.
“You think it’s that simple? What about the signs, Autumn? You don’t remember where they go. Right this second, Jasper and Wynn are taking Hunter door to door, trying to figure out who had their house for sale.”
Silver had wanted to stay and have Autumn help, but Wynn had insisted Hunter explain to the people what he’d done by himself. Silver had been so stunned by the events that she’d agreed without thinking.
“You should be helping them,” she said. “You should have to explain to these people why you thought messing with their property was a good idea.”
Autumn sighed.
“You don’t get it, do you?” Silver told her. “What if some family is desperate to sell because they need the money, or their mom or dad got transferred for work, but because of you they miss the one person who would have bought their house? What about the person who’s going to have strangers knocking on their door and not know why? What if someone’s home sick and they have to deal with all that? This isn’t about you. This is about other people. I can’t believe you were so thoughtless and selfish. I can’t believe you came up with this idea.”
Autumn’s face paled and her lower lip trembled. “Some kids did it back home. I thought it was funny.”
“Maybe to you, but not to anyone else. I have to tell you, I’m shocked that you’re capable of acting like this. You knew it was wrong and you did it anyway. I never thought you were like that. I guess your mom doesn’t tell me everything.”
Autumn’s eyes filled with tears. She scrambled out of the truck. “Silver, no! Don’t say that. I didn’t think it was a big deal. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “Don’t be mad at me. Please. I’ll do anything.”
“It’s not being mad,” Silver told her quietly. “It’s being disappointed by your behavior.”
Autumn started to cry harder. Silver ignored her and got the bike out of the back of her truck. She took it into the downstairs storage room, then headed upstairs. Still sobbing, Autumn followed.
When they were in the loft, Silver turned to her. “You won’t be riding your bike anymore with Hunter and I’m taking your phone away for forty-eight hours. You can talk to your mom on my phone.”
“That’s too much! You’re not being fair. You can’t do that.”
Autumn raced to the bathroom and slammed the door. Silver shook her head, then opened Autumn’s backpack and took out the phone. She went downstairs and put it in the small safe in her office, then called Leigh.
“Hi, you,” her friend said. “I’m on a beach in Hawaii. What are you doing?”
“Questioning my parenting skills.”
Leigh sighed. “Tell me what she did.”
Silver explained what had happened. “I put her phone in my work safe. Is that all right? Is forty-eight hours too long?”
“No. You did the right thing. I can’t believe she did that. It’s horrible and thoughtless.”
“I shouldn’t have let her go bike riding with Hunter.”
“Don’t blame yourself. I love that she had the chance to do that. Our neighborhood at home is safe, but we’re so close to some busy streets, I never let her go by herself. She got a taste of freedom, and then totally messed up. It happens. Now she’ll deal with the consequences. Silver, you were right to do what you did. She’s going to pout for a while, and then she’ll be fine. Autumn is a pretty reasonable kid.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Leigh chuckled. “I nearly always am. Now, how is everything else?”
“Good. Autumn met her great-grandfather yesterday. That was fun for her.”
“Any Drew news?”
“No. It’s not like that.”
“Too bad, because you two make beautiful babies. Anything else?”
“That’s it. Thanks for listening and have a good rest of your honeymoon.”
“Will do and I’ll call Autumn on your phone tonight. Bye.”
Silver ended the call, then went upstairs. About five minutes later, Autumn came out of the bathroom. She’d washed her face, but was still a little weepy-looking.
“Did you call my mom?” she asked.
“I did.”
“Is she mad?”
“She’s sorry you were so disrespectful of your privileges here and hopes you’ve learned your lesson.”
Autumn drew in a breath. “Okay. I finished all my homework already.”
“Good. Then you can help me with dinner. We have our movies for tonight.” Drew wouldn’t be by. He was giving them a girls’ night together, which she appreciated. He would have Autumn to himself the evening she had her first bachelorette party in the space downstairs.
Autumn surprised her by rushing toward her and hugging her. “I really am sorry,” she said as she hung on. “I’m going to work really hard to learn my lesson.”