Happily This Christmas (Happily Inc #6) - Susan Mallery Page 0,70

feelings, nor did she rush over to hug him. He had to manage this on his own.

“All right,” she said. “You’ll make an appointment and text me the time?”

He nodded.

“Okay, then. Want some breakfast?”

“I’m not hungry.”

He rose and walked out of the kitchen. She stared after him, her heart aching. Nothing about this was easy, but she knew it was the right decision. Hunter would learn from what he’d done—at least that was the plan. As much as she didn’t like the idea, she was also going to have to punish him herself. She wanted to say not getting into the program was enough, but she knew there had to be more. He’d in essence lied to her—and he’d betrayed her trust. That had to be dealt with.

She turned on the coffeepot and thought how life had been so much easier when he’d been little and most of his transgressions could be solved with a time-out.

* * *

MAJOR ORIN RUMSEY was a stern looking man, with graying hair and glasses. Wynn would guess he was in his late fifties—still fit and strong, and plenty intimidating. His desk was neat. The only seemingly out-of-place object was a small ceramic cat wearing a red bow tie and glasses, sitting next to his computer. The incongruous item added a touch of whimsy to an otherwise plain space.

As promised, Wynn met Hunter at the JROTC office just after three. Hunter was pale and she suspected he was shaking, but she didn’t try to comfort him. She was there as a witness and possibly to answer any questions, but this was her son’s meeting.

Major Rumsey smiled at them as he indicated chairs in front of his desk.

“What can I do for you, Hunter?” the older man asked.

“I need to withdraw my application.”

The major raised his eyebrows. “All right. Want to tell me why?”

Hunter looked at her, then at the floor, before raising his gaze to the instructor. “I lied on my application.”

Wynn gave the other man credit. His expression didn’t change at all.

“In what way?” he asked.

“I faked my mom’s signature.”

“I see.” Major Rumsey looked at her. “So you didn’t know Hunter had applied.”

“Not until I got a call from Camilla, asking a few questions.”

The major’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’m sorry to hear that, Hunter. Why didn’t you talk to your mother about the program?”

His shoulders hunched. “I don’t know. I really wanted to do it, and I was afraid she’d say no. A couple of my friends wanted to apply and their moms said they couldn’t.”

Major Rumsey kept his gaze on the teen. “But you never discussed the program with your mother?”

“No. I thought...” He sighed. “I was wrong. I should have had the conversation with her. She’s not unreasonable. I just kind of reacted and that was dumb. Then I signed her name.” His shoulders hunched more. “I don’t know why I thought that was a good idea. It wasn’t.”

He straightened. “It’s all on me. She didn’t know any of it. Once she found out, she said she was in an impossible situation. If she ratted me out, I’d get kicked out of the program. If she didn’t, she was teaching me the wrong lesson.”

“I see. So how did you come to be in my office today?”

“She said it was up to me. That she would do whatever I decided.”

Major Rumsey looked at Wynn. “You took a chance.”

She managed a slight smile. “I hoped for the best.”

“And it happened.” He glanced between them. “I assume that your presence here today means you’re not opposed to JROTC.”

“No. I’m not sure what I would have thought before, but from what I’ve read about the program, I’m impressed. I think Hunter would have done well here.”

Major Rumsey turned his attention back to Hunter. “How old are you, son?”

“Fourteen.”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “I made a lot of mistakes when I was fourteen, and they all had consequences. What have you learned from this?”

Hunter shifted in his seat. “That I need to tell the truth. That there’s a price for screwing up and it’s really high.” He stared at Major Rumsey. “I really wanted to do this. I think I would have been good at it. I like the training and the guys already in the program. I wish...” He hung his head. “I’m sorry.”

“How are you going to punish him?” Major Rumsey asked her. “Take away his phone?”

“That’s an ordinary punishment. This isn’t an ordinary infraction.” She glanced at Hunter. “I’d planned to talk