“He would have to want to actually date, and then want to date me.” I forced a soft laugh.
Rose rolled her eyes. “Oh please. No one actually means that, it’s just an easy excuse until they find someone they want to date.
I shook my head no. “Nope. It would never work, he is too intimidating.” I shuddered. “He stops and talks to everyone.”
Rose chuckled. “Maybe some eye candy is worth being social for?” She raised her left shoulder.
“Nothing is worth beingthatsocial for.” I turned and grabbed the sugar out of the cupboard.
Rose wiggled her eyebrows. “Maybe…”
“Stop!” I tried to force my smile away.
She grabbed her earrings. “In the meantime, you better learn to cut your recipes down to quarter batches or start giving them to Adam.”
Maybe I should bake him something as a thank you for helping me out? I immediately started feeling antsy and tight in my chest.
Or maybe I would just eat it all.
“If you fatten him up, maybe some other men in this town would stand a chance at getting a date.” She stood and grabbed her boots. “I’m going to go shower,” she called over her shoulder. “I have another date with Blake.”
I stared after her. “Wait, the guy from Haven Falls?” I left the sugar on the counter and rushed after her. “That makes three dates!”
Rose smirked. “Well, tonight we are going bowling, and I don’t plan on losing, so we will see how things go after that.”
Chapter Eight
FAITH
Istapled the last reindeer with the red cotton ball nose in the hallway near our classroom door. It was a Friday, and my headache had been growing for hours, but the kids would love coming in Monday morning and seeing their artwork.
I went back into my room and grabbed the stack of homemade snowflakes attached to a string from my desk.
I didn’t want to go through the trouble of finding a ladder, and I took my step stool home last week and forgot to bring it back. I grabbed my chair and pushed it near the wall. High heels on a chair would be asking for an accident. I removed my shoes and stepped onto the chair.
The best part of being in the old part of the building was the ceilings were lower. With the strings in my lips, dangling snowflakes swung back and forth as I reached with the stapler posed above my head. I stretched up on my tiptoes. I could almost reach the ceiling. I pressed up on my tiptoes harder. There! The door flew open with enough force that it crashed into the wall. I sucked the string farther into my mouth as I nearly fell off thechair.
Danny rushed into the room with tears streaming down his face.
I hopped down and rushed over to Danny, snowflakes left on the ground around me. I reached him and placed a hand on his back.
“Danny? What’s wrong?” I leaned down.
“My dad wasn’t at parent pickup, and I couldn’t find him in his office or the gym.” He rocked back on his heels and tried to hold back his gasps. “I think he forgot me.” With that confession, a fresh wave of tears was released.
“Hey, it’s okay.” I rubbed his back gently. “I’m sure your dad is here somewhere.” I grabbed a tissue from my desk and handed it to him. “Maybe we could find him together?”
“No, he isn’t here. He left me.” Danny’s shoulders drooped.
“Oh Danny, your dad would never forget you. He may lose track of time, but he will never forget you.”
Danny’s breath calmed. His eyes took in the classroom and snowflakes littered on the floor. “What are you doing?”
“I’m putting up some Christmas decorations.”
He wiped his tears with the back of his arm. “Can I help?”
It might be good to keep his mind busy, but I’m sure Adam was looking for him somewhere. “How about we look for your dad first, then we will decide?”
