“Neither did we. And if it hadn’t been for Donny’s teacher, I don’t know how this would have played out.”
“What do you mean?”
“She ran Justin down and took him out with a karate kick. Like a ninja, Donny said. Then she sat with Donny, trying to stop the blood loss, until the ambulance came. As far as I’m concerned, she saved his life.”
“God forgive me, but I hope Justin dies in prison, and that will still be better than he deserves. How can I help?” Rita asked.
“Could you please pick up the boys and just take them home with you? I won’t leave Donny.”
“Yes, I will. They can just stay with me until you and Donny go home.”
Frieda sighed. “Thank you, Mama. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“That works both ways, sweetheart. You’re my family. Family sticks together,” Rita said. “Keep us posted on Donny. And if you need anything from home, just text me and I’ll bring it to the hospital for you.”
Frieda’s eyes welled. “Oh, Mama, he’s so hurt. Justin didn’t just break his arm. He broke his heart.”
Rita was fighting back tears. “He’ll heal, and one day that man will just be a bad memory in their lives. Tell Donny that Granny loves him, and we’ll see him soon.”
“I will,” Frieda said, and disconnected.
Rita managed to get her groceries in the car and took off for home to put them up before she had to go get the boys, crying all the way, while Frieda was sending her oldest son a text explaining what was about to take place.
***
Cheryl Phillips had just signed a contract for the sale of her house. All she had to do now was find a place for her and Ree to live in Jackson, then pack up their things.
She had both beds and mattresses hauled off and didn’t care what happened to them. Raymond had defiled them, and she wasn’t taking anything to do with that man into their future.
Ree was still Ree. Quiet. Withdrawn. And leaning toward panic without her mama. But Cheryl knew they were still in their first days of rebirth, and all she could do was hope her little girl would respond to the new, happier environment. She wasn’t expecting miracles. Not at first. But she was counting on God to make one in His own time.
***
It didn’t take long for word to get around about what Justin Tiller had done, and that the new teacher had stopped an attempted kidnapping on the school playground. Word was that Katie McGrath had taken Tiller down with some karate chops, ending with a ninja spin and kick to Justin’s jaw.
The local paper was gathering info for the story they were doing on the attack. But they only had a police report and the skimpy details the school principal gave them about Katie, so the journalist started research of her own, and what she learned blew her mind. The Katie McGrath who had taken down Justin Tiller was also the heroine from the school shooting in Albuquerque! She began searching for and reading every story about the incident, learning how close Katie came to dying, and that of all the adults shot during the massacre she was the only one who had survived. She had saved her whole class, then gone back for two of her students who’d fallen and saved them by sheltering them with her body.
By the time the journalist ran with that info and turned in her story, she knew she had a scoop no one was going to believe. The next day, the headline in the Saturday issue shocked the town to the core.
HERO TEACHER DOES IT AGAIN
And the story spun out from there.
Katie hadn’t been up an hour when Sam called.
“Hey, baby. Have you seen this morning’s paper?”
“No. It’s still out in the drive.”
“Then fair warning. Your secret is out. Somebody at the paper did some research on you. Don’t panic. Don’t be upset. Wear your truth like a badge of honor. Do you hear me?”
“Oh lord,” Katie muttered.
“I said, don’t panic. Just read the piece. You shine, baby. You shine.”
The call ended. Katie darted out of the house and down the drive, then ran back like she was being chased and locked herself inside.
When she unrolled the paper, the first thing she saw was the headline.
“So much for burying the past,” she muttered, and began reading.
She was halfway through the story when she started to cry, and by the time she was through, she was a wreck. Seeing this in print was like pulling the scab off an old, festering wound.
Susan called her to make sure she was okay.
Then Louise called her to make sure Katie knew she hadn’t told.
And then Frieda Tiller called her and began crying, thanking her all over again for being the caring teacher and phenomenal person she was.
Katie was so scattered she hadn’t noticed Roxie’s car was in Sam’s drive until she saw him walking into her yard. She opened the door and walked into his arms.
Sam held her until she had her emotions in check and then stepped back enough to look her in the eyes.
“I’m so proud of you. I can’t believe someone as beautiful and as awesome as you loves me…loves us.” And then he took a little black velvet box out of his pocket and opened it. “I did this backward already, so I’m starting over. Katie, darlin’, will you marry me?”
“Yes, again,” Katie said, and held out her hand as he slipped the ring on her finger. “It’s beautiful,” she said, turning her hand for the single, square-cut stone to catch the light, then threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you for loving me. I am so blessed.”
Sam kissed her long and hard, wanting to take her to bed for the rest of the day and knowing that wasn’t going to happen.
“Come back with me so we can tell the girls together,” Sam said. “And just so you know, I fully expect them to lose their little minds, but in the very best way.”
Katie nodded, then took Sam’s hand and followed him across the street. The moment they walked in, Roxie was in the hall, grinning at them.
“Well, did you do it?” she asked.
“I did it,” Sam said.
Katie held up her hand. “He did it.”
Roxie grinned and clapped her hands. “I am so happy for all of you. Now, I’m going to run errands. Anytime you two want to get away on your own for a bit, just call.”
Roxie left, and Sam and Katie went to the girls’ room.
Sam could hear them arguing over the iPad as they came down the hall, but when they walked into the room, both girls looked up and the argument ended.
“Miss Katie! Are we baking today?” Beth asked.