Offshore

Chapter 17

Grace had grown very fond of JD. He was a good kid under the sullen mask he liked to wear, and he was slowly beginning to come out and show his true self. The only problem was that Grace was constantly reminded of Shannon's role, and of course, every time she looked at JD she saw his brother's dark eyes and impossibly long eyelashes.
She was so tempted to just avoid him, but she couldn't because he was her student and he needed her guidance. That Friday, at the end of the school day she found him sitting on a bench near the parking lot and she took the opportunity to chat with him.
"Is Shannon picking you up?" she asked.
"No, Sam is. He's late as usual."
Grace's heart squeezed at the mention of Sam and she was tempted to quickly leave before he arrived, but she seemed glued to the spot, unable to move.
"Shannon's gone back home," JD said sadly.
"Oh," Grace said with surprise.
"Some guy she's been seeing turned up last night," he continued. "A big guy in a suit. I didn't like him."
What was JD talking about? Shannon was seeing Sam. She was pregnant with his child.
"There was a lot of shouting," he continued, staring at the car in front of him. "The big guy was shouting at Sam, and then Shannon was shouting at the big guy." This was probably the most Grace had ever heard JD say. He turned and looked at her and whispered, "I think Shannon's having a baby and she kept it a secret from her boyfriend."
"The big guy?" Grace asked, just to be absolutely sure.
JD nodded his head. "He was pissed, but then he started crying! What a tool!" And he laughed.
"So he took Shannon back to Bakersfield?"
"Yes," said JD, no longer laughing. "Sam was mad, but he said it was for the best. I think he's worried about her though."
"Yes, he probably is," Grace murmured and managed to unglue herself from the bench and somehow drive home.

***

She poured herself a large glass of wine and sat in the gloomy kitchen and thought about what an idiot she had been. Just from overhearing a couple of sentences that were part of a much longer conversation she had jumped to all sorts of conclusions. She had branded Sam an irresponsible womanizer so easily. A terrible flirt he may be but he clearly had a strong sense of responsibility. It was now obvious that he had been helping a friend. He had even been prepared to go to the extremes of moving to another city to help her out. The responsibility he felt for JD was also obvious. Sam was not only clever and gorgeous, he was also kind.
Grace put the glass down on the table. Now she had to decide what she was going to do next.