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To Soar on Eagle's Wings

By Renee Blare

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CHAPTER ONE

6 years later

The bell rang on her last class of the day. Rachel stretched in relief.
“Enjoy Spring Break, guys. I’ll see you in a week,” she called over the hustle of the room.
“Don’t forget to turn in your essays on photosynthesis before you leave.”
Groans met her belated announcement, and the students scrambled through their gear. One paper after the other landed on the desk as the kids filed through the door.
“Bye, Miss Fizz.” Cheerful farewells accompanied a few hugs with the start of a long week of relaxation.
Well, no rest for the weary. Rachel shuffled the cluster of papers into a pile and cleared her desk in preparation for the upcoming break.
“What are you shaking your head about, Pip?” A rough voice drifted into the room.
“Michael?” She jerked, the pencils slipping from her fingers. She dove for the doorway and threw her arms around her twin. She couldn’t believe he was here, in Timber Springs. In her classroom.
His embrace tightened for a few seconds before he pulled her hands away.
Rachel wiped at her face with shaky fingers. “Does Dad know you’re in town?”
Michael walked to the first row of students’ desks and shook his head. He traced a square tile on the floor with his shoe. After a minute of stoney silence, he met her eyes.
She’d been prepared for anguish or anger. A shiver slid up her spine at the icicles staring back at her. Rachel held her breath for a second. After a brief exhale, she bent to pick up the pencils.
“I haven’t called him yet. I thought I’d surprise you first. I knew this was your last day before break.” He scooped up a few as well. After sliding them into the cup on her desk, he walked to one of the windows lining the side of the classroom.
She ran her palms down her slacks. “He’ll be excited to see you. I’m headed over to the church office in a few minutes. I can tell him you’re home if you want.”
Pink scar tissue caught the glare of the fluorescent light when Mike tucked his hand behind him. She shifted her gaze to the mountains. Her throat burned, and she swallowed the tears.
After the wreck, she was thankful he was alive. They all were. And although his skin appeared raw and painful, her brother seemed to have adapted to his amputations. He used his right hand rather well without two fingers. But would he ever be normal again?
“No, sis, I’ll swing by the office and talk to Dad. I’ll be heading home to Jackson right after anyway.” He faced her. “I hear your knight’s back in town.”
Rachel tilted her head. “Yeah, you are.”
Mike’s unflinching gaze locked on hers and Rachel grew nervous. She fought the urge to fidget. She breathed a quiet sigh when he broke the contact to study the desks.
“How’s it going here for you?” He ran a finger along one of the flat surfaces.
She flipped her hair out of her face with a finger. “Oh, okay, I’m still getting used to the position, I guess. I went to school for it, right?”
“Rachel, you’re not their friend—you’re their teacher,” he snapped.
“I know.” Rachel caught herself before she rolled her eyes and walked behind the desk. “I’m not trying to be their friend.”
“And the hugs? What were they all about?”
Rachel crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Maybe it’s a way teenage girls say goodbye to a teacher they like? This is Timber Springs, Michael, not college. Oh, never mind. Don’t worry about me. Go talk to Dad.”
She sat down and picked up the stack of student essays. Silence stretched between them.
“All right, I’ll see you at Mom—”
Rachel’s head popped up and her chest tightened in anguish.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. As the memories waged war across his features, grief seeped from voice when he finally spoke, his words guttural. “I may see you at Dad’s tonight.”
Rachel approached him at the window. “Tonight’s Friday Game Night at the church with the
Singles Group. I’ll be there if you want to come.”
Silence swallowed the room. He flinched at her touch.
“Why don’t you come? We start at six o’clock.”
“No.” His reply was quick. And curt. “I need to go. I have an appointment.” He shrugged her off, marching to the door. He paused but didn’t turn. “Goodbye, Pip.”
Rachel stood in frozen silence as he stalked out of the classroom. She pressed her fingers into her eyes to ease the sudden stinging, and tears seeped between her fingertips. “Lord, what’s going on?”
She studied the distant peaks out the window. “What can I do? He’s hurting, but he won’t let anyone in.” A small sob worked its way to the surface. “Oh, Lord, please help me.”
Her voice cracked, and tears coursed down her cheeks. She walked to her desk to grab a tissue. Maybe game night wasn’t a good idea. She debated her options while packing her briefcase with her students’ assignments and gradebook.
“Oh, I don’t know anymore.” She kicked her plastic tote, slamming it into the desk drawer.
“Why do I go to these things anyway?”
She stared at the boards of her classroom and closed her eyes. She knew why…expectations. Hadn’t that been the purpose of her life? A lot of good it did. Her grip tightened around the stapler. The click snapped through the stillness of the room.
The staple tumbled to the floor. Rachel groaned. What a waste…and right now, that’s exactly what her life was—a complete waste.
She tossed the stapler on top of her study planner and shut the lid on the tote. With the walls closing in on her, Rachel needed to leave. Spring Fever coursed through her, and she wanted out of the school almost as bad as her students. Who knows, maybe worse?
“Hey Fizzy, what’d you do? Get fired?”
Balancing the tote on her hip, she locked the door, and turned toward the loud voice. A young student leaned against the gray lockers on the opposite side of the hall.
“Excuse me, Mr. Jeffries?” She stared at the boy with disapproval.
Peter Jeffries threw his thin shoulders back and smirked. Framed by jet black hair, the pimpled features lifted. “Yep, looks like it to me.”
Rachel frowned, “Actually no, I’m headed home. Aren’t you?”
“Oh sure, Fizz.” Peter pushed away from the lockers. “You want me to come with?” She stiffened. “My name is Miss Fitzgerald. And I think you should leave now, Mr. Jeffries.”
“Fine.” He jerked his pack out of the locker and slammed the door. His fingers spun the dial, and he glared over his shoulder. The kid stalked down the hallway without another word.
“Have a nice break, Mr. Jeffries.” She called after him.
Adjusting her grip on the tote, Rachel shook her head. Peter Jeffries was a confusing one.
She tried not to let him get under her skin, but she had to admit he had a knack for it.
After saying goodbye to the last of the meandering staff in the lounge, she hauled her gear out to the parking lot. While she approached her Jeep, the brisk wind pierced her. She ducked and scrambled for her keys. A shiver coursed through her. So much for spring…what happened to sixty degrees?
A truck slid to a stop next to her, and a shout brought her head up. Her best friend waved at her through the windshield. She cranked the window down on her old beater. “All done?”
“Finally, yes. As soon as I can find my keys.” The sound of tinkling metal drifted on the breeze.
When she climbed into the driver’s seat, the warmth of the old jalopy enveloped her due to the afternoon sun blazing down on the soft top. Rachel tossed her purse into the floorboard. Her ignition key still in hand, she paused to stare at the school.
“It sure is a beauty, isn’t it?”
Rachel grasped her throat. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” Melissa Hampton leaned her hip against the vehicle. “Ask you about the school?”
“No, of course not.” Rachel shoved her foot against the door to keep it from hitting her best friend. “You shouldn’t sneak—oh, never mind. Yes, the building’s beautiful. I’m really grateful for the new school.”
Melissa studied her for a moment before she nodded. “Yeah, sure. Still it has all the big time comforts right here in the boonies of Wyoming.”
“Hey.” She punched her friend in the arm. “I do love it. I graduated from the old school with you, remember? But this one has a computer lab with Wi-Fi, and even a pool.”
“The Pine Valley Lumberjacks on the Net.” Melissa joked, framing an imaginary banner with her hands. “You think the world can handle it?
Rachel laughed, “All five hundred of them? We’ll see, lady, we’ll see. What are you doing here anyway?”
“The last on-line class before break.” She gave her a thumbs up sign before shouldering her backpack. “I really need to get my laptop fixed. Tonight, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She grinned as Melissa walked across the lot and Rachel leaned against the headrest.
“You gonna start that rat trap? There’s no cops around, go for it.” Melissa flashed her a grin and waved from next to the school’s welcome sign.
After unzipping the window, she poked her head out. “Yeah, I’m going to start it.”
Her vehicle was a standing joke with everyone who knew Rachel. It was loud. Not just a little, either. And her pile of tickets kept climbing. Last month, her insurance cancelled her policy. They considered her high-risk, and premiums cost a fortune.
Even though she couldn’t prove it, Rachel knew her dad was in on the whole thing. He’d asked, begged, warned, and threatened her to get rid of it. She refused. She loved her Jeep. It was old, it was rusty, and yes, it was loud. But it was hers.
Rachel shoved the clutch to the floor and turned the key. A roar erupted from the tail pipes in front of the back tires, and the vehicle shook with power barely contained in the small CJ5 frame. She smiled at Melissa’s bark of laughter. She pushed on the accelerator and the glass packs popped in protest. If she didn’t know better, she thought the school windows shuddered.
On second thought, tonight may not be a bad idea. After all, Melissa would be there. She shifted into gear. But first to the church office. Maybe she could catch Mike.

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