Along Came Mr. Right (15 page)

An hour later and very much against her will, Paige went into her group therapy session at the Group Health Hospital on Capitol Hill. She headed down the stone staircase to the meeting rooms, locating the sign outside the door for her group.

Her anger had faded, replaced with resignation. She stopped just inside the doorway, listening to the other kids talk in the large, open room. Their chattering voices sent her heart racing. She hung there at the door for a moment longer, seeing if anyone would notice her. Only Dr. Fisher did.

“Come on over and have a seat, Paige,” the tall, thin man with round, wire-rimmed spectacles said, motioning for her to come inside.

When she couldn’t come up with an excuse not to, she joined the group. She’d never been to one of Dr. Fisher’s group sessions before, but she’d heard other foster kids talk about him. Some said he’d helped them; others said he hadn’t. Guess it would be up to her to decide for herself.

There were five other kids there besides her. Four boys and one other girl. She recognized one of the boys from her school. They had English together.

“Heya, Chicken Little,” Dwayne taunted her as she joined the others. “Never thought I’d see you in here.”

Paige looked away. Dwayne knew she hated it when he called her that name.

“That’s enough, Dwayne. Since Paige has joined us, let’s all take a seat.” Dr. Fisher sat down, expecting them all to do the same.

Paige waited until Dwayne sat down, then sat in a chair away from him, next to a nervous-looking boy with bright-red hair. “I’m Paige,” she said, with a quick look at his ruddy face.

“Brad.” Two bright spots of color tinted his cheeks. “Whatcha in trouble for?”

“How do you know I’m in trouble?”

“That’s what we’re all here for,” the boy said.

Paige leaned back against her chair with a pout. “Well, I’m fine. I don’t need to be here. I only came ’cuz they made me.”

“I need to be here. You do, too.”

She gave him a flinty look.

“I’m serious.” Brad sat forward and gingerly touched her hand where it rested on her knee. Color flooded his cheeks again, and he pulled his hand away, but he continued talking. “Dr. Fisher can help. When I came here, I was out of control. I’d just lost my parents and I landed with my aunt and uncle. They already had two kids, but they took me in anyway.” He dropped his gaze to the floor. “And I repaid them by drinking and smoking and making their lives a living hell.”

Paige was startled. The boy looked as though he was fresh off the farm, plaid shirt and all. What did he know about drinking or smoking? “Yeah, right.”

He brought his gaze to hers once more, and the sincerity in his eyes stole her breath. “I’m serious. Dr. Fisher helped me see I’m not the sum of my mistakes, or the mistakes thrown at me.”

Paige eyed him suspiciously. “You sound like Oprah.”

He grinned. “Give the session a try. Just for today. See if it doesn’t make you feel better about yourself and your life.”

The angry ball of emotions she always carried inside her started to unfurl as a shard of hope cut its way through the tangled mess. “All I want is to feel normal.”

“You will.”

She gave him a hesitant smile as she studied him, really studied him, and saw he wasn’t a country boy at all. He was a younger and less polished version of Chris Pratt, and suddenly she realized he also went to her school. “I should know you, shouldn’t I?”

He shrugged. “We have math together.”

“Math isn’t my best subject,” Paige admitted. “I keep my head down and hope the teacher won’t call on me.”

“Math isn’t my best subject either.”

Paige shifted slightly toward him in her chair. “I’m sorry I’ve never talked to you before.”

His smile increased. “Well, I always wanted to talk to you.”

The subtle compliment warmed her as she settled back against her seat. Dr. Fisher started talking, though she couldn’t focus on the words over the rabbitlike patter of her heart. Paige pushed her hair away from her eye and stole another sideways glance at Brad.

She’d done lots of things she hadn’t liked before. What could it hurt to sit through one therapy session?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“I’m so nervous for her,” Olivia said while she watched Paige walk into the hospital where her group therapy session would take place.

“She’ll be fine,” Max said in a reassuring voice. “She needs to do this to help her realize there are other ways to deal with her anger.”

Olivia pushed her hair away from her face and sighed. “I agree, but I still worry.”

“I know just the thing to take your mind off Paige.” Max started his car and headed out of the parking lot. “Trust me. You’re going to love this.”

Olivia tensed. People made that kind of statement only when they weren’t totally convinced of the truth of their words. “Where are you taking me?”

“Bike riding.” Max turned down Broadway, then headed for Fairview Avenue, following it until they were beneath Interstate 5. “No one will be able to get the two of us in a picture together here,” he said, stopping the car in the parking lot before a sign that welcomed them to the Interstate 5 Colonnade Mountain Bike Park.

“We don’t have bikes,” Olivia said, stating the obvious.

“Sure we do.” As soon as they exited the car, a tall man stepped away from one of the columns and headed for them with a welcoming smile on his face. He had sandy-blond hair and the greenest eyes Olivia had ever seen. The two men shook hands a moment before Max cocked his head toward her. “Connor, this is Olivia.”

“Greetings.” He gave her hand a firm shake. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Olivia offered him a hesitant smile as she drew her hand away. “Likewise. And you are?”

“Connor is a good friend of mine and the supplier of our entertainment this morning.”

Connor laughed. “You owe me for this one, buddy.”

“That makes two favors I owe you. I know you won’t forget to remind me of that fact any chance you get,” Max responded with a laugh. He pulled a mountain bike out from the shadows.

“Yeah,” Connor agreed. “I won’t forget.”

Max withdrew a second bike and steered it toward Olivia. “This one’s for you.”

Olivia shook her head. “I haven’t been on a bike since . . . I can’t remember the last time.”

Max gave her an encouraging smile as he held a helmet out to her. “You know what they say—you never forget.”

She was absolutely certain that she’d forgotten every little nuance of riding a bike. Max waited patiently for her to secure her head protection and mount the bike.

When she did, he looked pleased. “Get ready for a good time.” He snapped on his helmet and waited for her to start on the bike trail ahead of him. “Thanks, Connor,” he said over his shoulder before joining her on the path through the colonnades. Above them the sound of cars driving over the expansion joints in the elevated viaduct echoed rhythmically, mixing with the cry of the waterfront gulls floating on the morning breeze.

Despite her fear of not remembering how to ride, especially over the uneven terrain, Olivia couldn’t help but be impressed at the creative use of otherwise dead space beneath the major highway.

“You good?” Max called out after riding over an area covered with cobbled stones.

Other than the fact that her teeth rattled in her head, Olivia had to agree this was fun. “Yeah, as long as there are no more surprises ahead.” The words had barely left her lips when seven jumps appeared before her, ranging from a minor bump to a gravity-defying curl. With a squeal that was equal parts surprise and anxiety, Olivia opted for the bump.

Max took the jump in the middle. He sailed through the air, then landed as though he’d performed that jump a thousand times.

“Do you come here often?” Olivia shouted at him.

“Never been here before. I wanted to come up with something new.” Pleasure and excitement rang in his voice.

“Lucky me,” she cried as they came to a series of hills that were composed of dirt, concrete stones, and wooden boardwalk. She tensed through the first two hills, then forced herself to relax as the handling of the bike and balancing over the wheels became more natural.

The second time around, Olivia took the second jump, which was three feet off the ground. An overwhelming sense of accomplishment moved through her when she landed with both wheels on the ground.

The next hour and a half passed quickly, and when Max informed her they had to stop in order to pick Paige up on time, Olivia was surprised at the flicker of regret that rippled through her tired and abused muscles.

Connor met them as they entered the parking lot once again. “How was it?”

“What a way to challenge yourself on a Saturday morning. Wouldn’t you agree, Olivia?” Max asked as he surrendered his bike to Connor.

Olivia dismounted. “It
was
fun,” she admitted, surprising herself. “Next time I’m going to try one of the more challenging jump ramps.”

Max smiled. “Next time. I like the sound of that.”

Olivia did, too.

Exactly two hours later, Max and Olivia returned to the hospital where they had left Paige for her therapy session. Olivia could hardly believe the change in the girl as she slipped into the backseat of the car; Paige was smiling and agreeable.

“Dr. Fisher is going to have an extra session for us on Tuesday night at seven.” Paige shut the car door and buckled her seat belt. “I can go, right?”

Olivia and Max shared a look—a startled, what-just-happened look. “Sure,” Olivia said in a hesitant voice. “That sounds great.”

“What are we gonna do now?” Paige asked in a bright voice.

Max started the car. “I’m taking you both to lunch.”

“That would be cool,” Paige said. “As long as we’re home in time for me to do my math homework. The teacher’s kind of a pain when we don’t come to class with our homework done.”

Max laughed, the sound rich and warm. “We’ll make sure you get home in time so that slave driver of a teacher will be happy with you.”

“Dr. Fisher told us today that it’s important to express ourselves and our needs. Not to fear losing our personality in the shadow of what others want,” Paige said, parroting back some of what she’d learned today.

“You okay with lunch then?” Max asked with a smile.

“Yeah, that’s what I want, too,” Paige joked in response, then put in her earbuds, leaned back, and listened to her music.

Olivia turned to Max, slightly baffled by the whole exchange. “Paige had a meltdown this morning. Why is she in such a good mood now?”

“There’s a boy involved,” Max replied with a shrug.

Olivia gaped at Max. “How can you know that?”

He smiled. “I’m a teacher. You don’t think I recognize the look of infatuation when I see it on a teenage girl’s face?”

“A boy? From the therapy session?” Paige had denied having a special boy in her life this morning. “What if he’s a thug?”

Max chuckled. “She’ll be fine. Most girls her age experience heartbreak and survive.”

“Oh, God,” Olivia groaned. “Being her mentor is much harder than I expected.”

“As a teacher, I’ve heard many parents say they eventually figure out how to survive the ups and downs,” Max said, turning his gaze back to the road as they made their way toward restaurants on the Seattle waterfront. “You will, too.”

The following Monday, Olivia arrived at the school to pick up Paige early since it was a half day for a teacher in-service program. Max had given the teenager the afternoon off from tutoring. He was more than pleased with her progress so far. If her most recent test scores were any indication, Paige would pass all her classes and move on to her junior year of high school.

In addition to her new good grades, whatever it was that’d had her in such emotional turmoil last week seemed to have vanished. Was it because she was finally starting to have confidence in herself thanks to her new therapy sessions, or did it have more to do with the boy she’d met there?

Olivia didn’t have to ponder that question long. When she stepped out of her car, she saw Paige standing near the front steps of the school with a boy who could only be
that boy
. They were holding hands. Paige looked at her as she approached with a too-bright smile that masked a sharp desperation in her eyes.

Olivia steeled herself as a million scenarios flashed through her mind. “What is it, Paige?”

“Olivia, this is Brad. The guy . . . ,” she said, raising her brows as though the words clarified everything.

Then suddenly they did.
The guy. The thug.
Only he didn’t look like a thug. He looked like your everyday boy next door. But Olivia knew looks could be deceiving. “Oh, Brad.” Olivia held out her hand to the young man. “Nice to meet you.”

He took her hand and gave it a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, Miss Tyler.”

Olivia had to give him credit for a proper handshake.

“Brad asked me to the spring fling dance at our school. I already asked Mrs. Miller and she said yes, but because of our Gals and Pals connection, I wanted to ask you, too. Your opinion is important to me.” The words spilled out, one on top of the other until Paige sagged against the railing at her back.

Would the surprises ever end? “Isn’t that a dance for juniors and seniors?”

“Brad’s a junior. Please say yes. We really want to go. Together.”

Brad grinned sheepishly, although he waited, body tense, for her answer. “I’ve never been to a dance and I’d really like to take Paige.”

Paige dropped Brad’s left hand and steepled her hands as though in prayer. “Mr. R. is chaperoning. Maybe you could, too. Please?”

“Sure,” Olivia agreed with a laugh. She’d never seen Paige this excited or this happy. “When is spring fling?”

“This weekend. On Saturday,” Paige said. “Maybe we can go look for a dress sometime before then?”

Dress, shoes, a purse . . . all the things Paige didn’t own and would need. Then there was figuring out how girls wear their hair to school dances and all the other things Olivia didn’t know because she’d never been to a dance during her own high school years.

“All right,” Olivia agreed. Hopefully she and Paige could figure it out together.

Paige said good-bye to Brad and walked with Olivia back to the car. The sun was out, and despite the chill in the afternoon spring air, the day was perfect for shopping. “How about we go right now and look for a dress?” Olivia asked.

“Yes! Where are we going?” Paige asked as she slid into the car.

“How about Nordstrom? Or maybe—” Olivia broke off at the sudden welling of tears in Paige’s eyes.

“What is it, Paige? What’s the matter? Have I said something wrong?”

“It’s just that . . .” Paige batted at her cheeks with the back of her hands, wiping her tears away. “It’s been a while since I’ve had new clothes.” An odd thread of tension pulled at her voice. “And suddenly I missed my mom, even though she was the worst parent ever.”

Unable to do anything more while driving, Olivia reached over and took Paige’s hand. She squeezed her fingers. “I understand.”

“I know you do,” Paige whispered. “Nordstrom, really?”

“I’m paying for everything you need.” Olivia squeezed the teenager’s hand once more before releasing her fingers. “You’re going to the spring fling dance. You need to look your best.”

Paige laughed. “Good luck with that. I’m a skinny teenager with big feet.”

“You’re lovely. Just you wait and see. When I’m done with you, you won’t recognize yourself.”

“As long as Brad will still know who I am, I’m cool with that.”

“He’ll know, as will everyone else at the dance.”

Paige leaned back against the seat with a dreamy smile.