Where's Stanley? by Donna Fasano

Author:Donna Fasano
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2006-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

The Race

“It’s him. I know it’s him.”

Angry frustration glazed Sam’s watery gaze, and it distressed Di to see Fiona’s son so upset. He was already nursing a bruised elbow and a scraped knee from a tumble he’d taken, compliments of Senior Snot, on the bus ride home from school.

If black looks were laser beams, the Rowland telephone would have melted into a gelatinous blob of plastic. The teen tossed the cordless phone onto the couch.

“Why won’t he just leave me alone?” Sam lamented. “I go out of my way to avoid him. At school and on the bus. Why can’t he do the same?”

Di felt ill at ease. She knew Sam needed comforting, but she wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. He was nearly six foot tall, all arms and legs. Hugging all that gangliness would be awkward, she suspected. Cuddling was probably the last thing he wanted from her right now, anyway. What he needed was his mother, but Fiona had been asked to attend a fund-raising meeting at St. Anne’s, Cassie’s old school. Apparently the committee was finding their efforts floundering since their star chairperson had left the ranks.

“I’m proud of the way you handled the call. Put that back on your elbow.” Di pointed to the ice bag he held in his hand. “I could see you were shaken when no one responded, but you stayed calm. That’s good. Never Let the Bastards See You Sweat is my motto.”

Fiona had warned her about her language, but she wasn’t here, and if ever a situation called for strong language, this one did. Di could plainly see that Sam felt helpless, and he was angry and physically injured. This Brian Lowe—Senior Snot, as Di had dubbed him—was a real jerk for causing Sam to get hurt on the bus. And the fact that he went about it so sneakily irked Di no end.

“It might not be him.” Her attempt to calm him fell flat.

“Oh, it’s him. I know it.”

“You know where this kid lives?” she asked Sam.

“Yeah, he gets off the bus before me.” His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“I think we should pay him a visit.”

“Oh, no. Thanks, but—” he let the ice bag drop away from the lump on his elbow “—that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

The more Di thought about, the more perfect the idea sounded to her. “Sure it is.” She grabbed up her purse and her keys. “That kid needs to know you’re not alone. That you have friends and supporters. Old Snot-boy doesn’t understand that some people get pissed when those they love get bullied.”

“Please, Di.”

When she realized Sam wasn’t following her toward the front door, she snapped her fingers twice in quick succession. “Come on, Sam!”

“But Mom wouldn’t—”

“We’re going!” She held open the screen door, waiting for him to pass. “Your mother has enough problems on her mind right now. You and I can handle this. And if that kid gives me any lip, I may tear him a couple of new nostrils.

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