Buried in Secrets (Carly Moore #4) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,57
she walked out with two glasses of iced tea. She handed one to me and took a seat in the loveseat perpendicular to the sofa. “I hear you’ve started a tutoring club at the tavern.”
“Oh, yes. Twice a week,” I said, taking a sip of the tea, pleased that it wasn’t sickly sweet. Iced tea in eastern Tennessee meant sweet iced tea, and some people overdid it to the point that it tasted like tea-flavored sugar water.
“How did that come about?” Her voice had a wary tone.
I could understand why she was leery. If someone who didn’t know what they were doing started incorrectly teaching the kids, it could do more harm than good. “I used to work as a tutor in Atlanta,” I said. “One of the kids who came into the tavern this spring with her parents was struggling with her math homework, so I offered to help. The mother of one of her classmates heard I knew how to do it, and they came in for dinner and asked me to help too.”
“So you’re doin’ this to bring in more business to the tavern?” she asked in a firm tone. “I hear you aren’t charging.”
“I love helping kids, and three-thirty to five is our slow time. So it gives me something to do, and it’s a way to give back to the community. Win/win.”
“But you don’t have a degree,” she said. “You don’t understand the state standards.”
I took another sip of my drink, stalling. I did know the state standards. I’d looked them up, but a retail clerk likely wouldn’t know. “I can assure you that I’m not harming their education in any way. I’m only bolstering them.”
“I know you aren’t harming them,” she said, her tone still direct. “The mother of one of your students showed me what her child had been working on. It’s obvious you know what you’re doing.”
“I only want to help.”
“The elementary school is full of tenured teachers who don’t give a crap about those kids. They want to finish out their thirty years and collect their pension.”
“I don’t know anything about that, ma’am.” I said. “I only know that several children needed help, and it all just grew from there. I’m grateful that Max has agreed to host it.”
Her gaze pinned mine long enough that I started to feel uncomfortable. She definitely had the teacher look down. I needed to change the topic.
“You knew Seth,” I said. “Did you have him as a student?”
“For two years,” she said. “That boy was smart as a whip. I had high hopes for him.”
“I know he was a talented artist.”
She nodded. “Once he set his mind to something, his determination helped see him through.” Tilting her head, she said, “I hear you’re living with his grandfather.”
“I am.”
“And how do you find that situation?”
I wasn’t sure what to make of her question. “I find it just fine,” I said with a tight smile. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I want to talk about Ashlynn.”
She sat back in her seat and took a sip of her tea. “It had occurred to me.”
“Like I said, I know Pam Crimshaw from the tavern. She and her three friends used to come to lunch every other week or so, so I was beyond shocked when I heard what she did. I took the kids a chicken and rice casserole this morning, and Ashlynn said she needed a ride to Ewing for work.”
She studied me for a moment. “That was certainly thoughtful of you.”
“Ashlynn told me that her mother had stepped in to help after Chuck walked out on her a few weeks ago. When I told her that I was worried about her being alone, she mentioned her Aunt Selena would be there for her.”
Her eyes narrowed. “And you thought you’d stop by and…?”
“Miss Selena,” I said, scooting forward on the sofa and setting my glass on a coaster on the coffee table in front of me. “Ashlynn asked me to drop her off at the county jail so she could see her mother. She said her father had forbidden them all from visiting Pam, but Ashlynn wanted to go anyway. Since I was already headed to Ewing, I took her. I dropped her off at the jail, and she told me to be back in forty-five minutes. Only she didn’t come out when she said she would. I waited nearly a half hour longer, and when I went in to check on her, they said she’d never signed