Page 53 of Reckoning

“Hello? Dad? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, honey. Everything’s fine. After the day you’ve had, you must be exhausted, so don’t go walking all the way to the Bandy house. I’ll be home in a few, so you can take the car.”

“Thanks. I’m just about to get in the shower. Remember we’re still on the sandwich wagon until the kitchen is put back together. You might want to pick something up for yourself from Sparks’s deli, if the deli is back up and running,” she added.

“Oh, good call. See you soon,” he said, and hung up.

Briar tossed her phone on the bed, made sure her bedroom door was locked, and then headed for the shower. She would have loved a long soak in the tub, but she wanted to see Tate more.

She thought briefly of her mother as she stepped into the shower, wondering how far down the road she’d gone. She didn’t wish anything bad to happen to her, but she already felt a difference in the energy of this house. It felt lighter. And then a thought slid through her mind. Maybe the tornado destroyed more than the house? Maybe all of the contention and anger, and all of the darkness that had gathered beneath this roof, was blown away with everything else, and that’s why Mariah made the decision to leave. Because she knew she didn’t fit here anymore.

But none of it was Briar’s problem to solve. Her dad would either be sad or relieved. Or a little of both. But that was for him to figure out. When it came to her and Tate’s relationship, both of her parents had lost the right to complain.

She hurried through the shower, then dug out a pair of clean shorts and a T-shirt and, since she didn’t have to walk to his house, decided on sandals instead of sneakers. She put her hair up in a ponytail and, as she reached for some lip gloss, saw the ring on her finger and smiled.

How had he put it? A piece of me will always be with you. She shivered with a sudden longing to be in his arms, swiped the gloss across her lips, and grabbed her shoulder bag, checking to make sure her wallet with her driver’s license was in it.

As she was going downstairs, she heard her dad in the kitchen. His timing was perfect. He was putting food in the refrigerator when she walked in to get the car keys.

“My clipboard is on top of the microwave. You can see what all was done today, what’s on the schedule, and what’s left to be done while you eat,” she said.

Roger gave her a quick hug. “You’re a marvel. One of my clients today was talking about her son going to retake his SAT test this year, hoping for a better score. You took your SAT in the spring, didn’t you?”

“Yes. Most of the junior class took it,” she said.

“So, did you ever get your results back?”

Briar nodded. “It’s with the other college info in my room. I’m really lucky my room and the stuff in it wasn’t damaged.”

Roger reached for a paper plate and a fork from the cutlery drawer.

“So…how did you do?” he asked.

Briar shrugged. “Well, the school counselor flipped out, so I guess it was good enough. She told all of my teachers what I scored.”

Roger stopped. “You never told us.”

“Dad. Neither you nor Mom ever asked me anything about school. All you two could do was worry what Tate and I weren’t doing.”

He flushed. “God…I didn’t realize…” He sighed. “I suppose it’s too late for ‘sorry,’ but what was your score?”

“Fifteen hundred and ten.”

Roger stared. “Wait! What? Isn’t that a really, really high SAT score?”

She nodded. “Well, sixteen hundred is perfect, so…yes.”

“My God! How did I not know my daughter is so freaking smart?”

“You signed my report cards for years. I have eleven straight years of all A grades. Best guess would be that you weren’t paying attention,” she said. “And…I’m just book-smart because I made it my business to be good at what I do. Tate is the one with a genius IQ. After it became apparent to so many people that he had a gift, the science teacher asked Tate and his parents if the school could test him. They agreed, so he did it.”

“When was this?” Roger asked.

Briar’s brow knitted. “Umm, I’m not sure, but I think it was right after his birthday this past January.”

“So how did he do on the test? What was their conclusion?”

“He scored one hundred forty-seven. The rating system has changed from the old days. Once he would have fallen into the genius category. Now I think they call it the highly gifted group. And he got a perfect sixteen hundred score on his SAT test. He’s flat-out brilliant, Dad. Thanks for the loan of the car. I won’t be late coming home. Tate is still in the healing phase and needs all the rest he can get.”