Adam put his hands in his pockets. His coach jacket sleeves pulled against his arms. “I was wondering if it might be easier if we exchanged numbers. Between the fundraiser and our role as permanent cookie testers and what not?” Adam shrugged but didn’t meet my eyes. “It might be an easier way to communicate.”
Aah!! Was he asking for my number as a friendly gesture? A teacher-parent kind of I need your number? Or could it be that he actually wantedmynumber? I spun my ring as my gaze flicked to his. I took a fortifying breath and told myself to chill out.
“Sure.” I grabbed my phone from my little shoulder bag, unlocked it, opened a new message, and then held it out to him. “Just put your number in here and I will text you.” My fingers brushed against his palm and I walked faster.
That sounded normal, right? Did I sound too excited? Or did I maybe sound like I wasn’t excited at all?
Chapter Nine
ADAM
Iwalked out of the school toward my truck, exhausted from the surge of adrenaline seeping out of my muscles after I’d realized I was going to be late to pick up Danny. Ever since Danny’s mom left, he hasn’t done well when he thinks he’s been forgotten—understandably so.
Danny’s backpack slipped on my shoulder as I helped him navigate around the icy patch on the sidewalk.
The relief I felt when Margo told me he was waiting with Ms. Faith was almost palpable. Maybe that wasn’t fair, but I knew Danny didn’t handle unexpected changes well, and I could tell he felt safe when he was with his teacher.
As we crossed the parking lot, Danny reached up and took my hand. I stiffened at the unexpected physical touch and tried not to react. He rarely sought any physical contact, and that he did now made me want to scoop him up in my arms. I squeezed his hand gently as I helped him into the truck.
I thought about Danny and his problems with eye contact and being overwhelmed. I probably should look up the neurodivergent thing, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to admit that something mightbe different with him. Then I would be faced with the questions of why or what it meant.
I closed down that thought process and focused on buckling Danny.
“I’m glad Ms. Faith makes better cookies than Grandma.” He smiled, showing his gapped tooth grin. He’d lost another tooth last weekend.
“Let’s keep that info just between us.” I winked.
Danny got a serious look on his face as his eyebrows scrunched together. “Like a secret mission?”
“Sure, bud.” I shut the door and started walking around the truck.
I’m not sure that asking for Faith’s…I mean Ms. Faith’s number was a good idea. I kept replaying the feeling of her hand in mine as she stepped down off the chair. She smelled sweet, like flowers or something, and was close enough to me that I could feel her breath on my skin. I shook off the thought. Maybe I was just craving physical attention?
I opened the door and climbed into the truck. I thought back to Jessica’s hand on mine. The feeling I got was definitely different.
What was I expecting out of this? Surely not dating Danny’s teacher. I started the truck.
Then what? I continued to search my mind for a reasonable excuse to rationalize my behavior and feelings.
A friend?
A friend to Danny or to me?
I put the truck in reverse and backed out of the parking lot. I shook off all thoughts about Ms. Faith and focused on the little boy beside me.
“Are you excited for tomorrow?” Danny didn’t get excited about a lot of things, but picking out a Christmas tree was one of them.
“Yep!” His little legs swung off the bench. “Do you think Ms. Faithknows to dress warm?”
“I’m sure she does, Champ.”
“I think she will like getting trees.”
So much for keeping my thoughts away from Faith. My thoughts swirled like the snow flurries drifting across the windshield. I came up with a bunch of reasons it was a bad idea to spend time with her based on how I was drawn to her, but I couldn’t deny I was still excited about tomorrow.
The morning airwas sharp in my chest as I loaded the four wheeler in the back of the truck and strapped it down. I loaded the ramp for later. There was a skiff of fresh snow, which meant we probably had a good foot or so of new snow in the hills.
I walked inside through the tight hallways that brushed the side of my jacket as I made my way to Danny’s bedroom. He was still on his tablet and hadn’t touched his clothes, let alone his breakfast I set at the table. I sighed.
