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CHAPTER ONE
ZOEYHARTFORDHADbeen called to the principal’s office. Been a while sincethathappened. But here she was, sitting in a hard wooden armchair next to the thoroughly unrepentant reason for the call—her thirteen-year-old daughter, Hazel.
“Thanks for dressing up there, Mom.” Hazel eyed Zoey’s gray coveralls and the Hartford Fix-It cap that hid most of her dark hair. She’d had no intention of doing anything more than repairing Mrs. Franklin’s central vacuum cleaner—located in a crawl space—when she’d left the house that morning.
“Excuse me for rushing straight here from a house call.” She brushed her hands down the drab gray fabric. “That’s what a good mom does when they get a call that their child has been involved in an—” she raised her fingers to form air quotes “—altercationat school. Besides, I can’t take them off. I wore my It’s Wine O’Clock SomewhereT-shirt this morning, and I don’t think that would impress your principal.”
Hazel snorted. “He’d probably like it. Rumor has it Mr. Sheffield keeps booze in his desk.”
Zoey didn’t answer. If she was in charge of several hundred middle schoolers, she’d probably keep booze inherdesk, too.
Her coveralls were quite a contrast with her daughter’s colorful outfit. A fan of so-calledinfluencersZoey had never heard of, Hazel had belted a long purple shirt over a black top and leggings. Her bright green ankle boots were tied with lengths of sparkly purple lace. Hazel’s dark hair was loose, with sleek waves that looked natural, but Zoey knew the girl spent a half hour creating that effect.
She had no idea how she’d ever produced this little fashionista with the wisecracking mouth. Well...to be fair, there was no doubt the smart mouth came straight from Zoey. She glanced at her watch.
“Where is this guy, anyway?”
Before Hazel could respond, Principal Ted Sheffield entered, nodding a greeting before taking his seat in the oversize chair behind his oversize desk. He’d clearly read one of those executive books that claimed large furniture made him seem more powerful. That was wasted on her and Hazel. Hartford women weren’t easily intimidated.
“Okay...” Sheffield cleared his throat loudly, speaking to Zoey. “I assume Miss Carson in the front office filled you in on what transpired here this morning?”
Zoey gave him a thin smile.Game on.“Yes, she did. So did my daughter, by the way. I’m assuming she’ll be getting an apology at some point?”
“I’m sorry?” He coughed, his face turning red. “I mean... I’mnotsorry...um...who am I apologizing to? And for what?” Mr. Sheffield managed to regroup after a little huffing and puffing. “Mrs. Bennett, your daughterpunchedanother student. We have a zero tolerance policy on violence here...”
“First, I am no longer Mrs. Bennett. I’m Miss Hartford.” She’d dropped her ex’s last name, with Hazel’s blessing. “And secondly, Hazel only punched Micah after he snapped the back of her bra—my daughter’sunderwear—repeatedly.”
Hazel groaned. “Please don’t ever say the wordunderwearout loud again, I beg you.”
“Well...yes.” Sheffield nodded, still looking pained. “But your daughter should know that violence is never the answer.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s violence to harass a female student. Isn’t there a zero tolerance againstthat,too?” She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. She wasn’t helping Hazel by escalating this. “Mr. Sheffield...oh, hell...Ted...” He’d only been two years ahead of her in high school. “I’ve taught Hazel to never accept nonconsensual touching from anyone. Ever. And I’ve taught her how to respond to it.” She turned to Hazel, counting questions off on her fingers. “Did you use your words?”
“Uh...yeah.” Hazel rolled her honey-colored eyes dramatically. “I told him to knock it off, but he kept doing it.”
“Did you go to someone in authority so they could step in?”
Hazel tossed her hands in the air. “Itriedto. I told the study hall monitor, Mrs. Bailey, but she told me to sit back down.”
“So you defended yourself?”
“You bet your... I mean...yes, Mother, I did.”
Zoey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at her daughter’s sarcasm. She had to be the adult here. She turned back to Ted, with his giant desk and his giant chair.
“Are you suggesting my daughter shouldn’t have defended herself?”
There was a beat of silence, and Zoey knew the tide had turned. Ted Sheffield knew it, too. They negotiated a one-day suspension for bothZoeyandMicah Wilkins, the kid who couldn’t keep his hands to himself. There was only a month left in the school year, but rules were rules. Suspension wasn’t great, but the school’s zero tolerance policies were well-known to students and parents. Ted called Micah’s mother on the speakerphone and they all approved the plan. Tammy Wilkins laughed, saying her son’s pride had been injured by Hazel’s punch more than his nose had been.
She and Hazel rode home in silence. It had been an exhausting few months since moving into Dad’s house in January, with its peeling paint and rusted folk art “sculptures” in the front lawn. She’d inherited the place when her father died unexpectedly last fall. Behind the house was the barn that housed the business she’d also inherited—Hartford Fix-It Shop. It wasn’t until she’d parked Dad’s small white pickup behind the house that Zoey spoke.
“I had your back in there, Hazel. I always will.” She turned off the ignition. “But you and I both know that you had other options besides hauling off and punching Micah in the face. Just because the room monitor didn’t listen didn’t mean you couldn’t have gone right to the principal’s office. Or to another teacher.”
Hazel rolled her eyes. One of these days those teenage eyes were going to roll right out of her daughter’s head. “You’re always telling me to fight if someone tries to mess with me.”
“Yes, butfightdoesn’t mean literally using your fists.” She unzipped her coveralls and sighed as the cool air swept over her. Springtime was in full swing in Rendezvous Falls, with Upstate New York temperatures bouncing between freezing cold one day to hot and humid like today. “I know it’s been a bumpy year, but let’s not make it worse by getting yourself expelled from school, m’kay?”
She understood why Hazel’s reactions had been...edgier than normal lately. The divorce. Chris getting engaged to someone new in a hot minute once it was finalized. Losing Hazel’s grandfather—Zoey’s dad. Selling the only home Hazel had known and moving into Zoey’s dad’s place—a solid old house, but in desperate need of updating. Add in the hormonal roller-coaster ride of Hazel’s “tweenhood,” and it had been a wild ride for both of them.
