Seven minutes later, Connor replied.Congratulations! Did you know that Ben Coleman is one of my teacher friends? I’d be happy to introduce you anytime.
Ben was another member of the Miracle Five. Connor was willing to set up an introduction simply because he knew it would mean a lot to her.
See? Connor was good.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to date someone who’s just good, without fine print?”Gabe had asked. It would be nice. At what point was she going to grow up and start choosing men who were great for her?
Not at this point, apparently, since Connor was off-limits.
I’d be delighted to meet Ben, thank you.She followed that with another text a few seconds later.Do you remember the dating strategies you and I discussed yesterday?
We discussed that, if I listen to Molly, I’ll get a grasp on what types of activities she enjoys. In Molly’s case, she enjoys ice skating at Christmastime. So, I can simply ask, “Would you like to go out with me sometime?” Then suggest that we go ice skating.
Precisely! Ice skating is a good choice because there can be a lot of pressure associated with spending a first date sitting across a table from someone. This way, you’ll have an activity to think and talk about. If the ice skating goes well, you could see if she wants to grab a coffee from the stand beside the rink. But only if it’s going well. If it’s not, go your separate ways and reassess.
Got it. Can you and I practice the ice-skating date soon?
Tomorrow after work? I can meet you at the high school.
If so, I’ll introduce you to Ben.
It’s a (pretend) date! See you then.
Chapter Five
At the appointed time, Shay turned in to the parking lot of Misty River High School. The lot had cleared out significantly, but not totally, at this hour on a Friday.
She enjoyed staying at least slightly connected with her alma mater. In the spring, she always set up a Papery booth at the high school’s fundraising farmers market. In the fall, she made it a point to attend a handful of the home football games.
Whenever she returned to campus, a landslide of memories greeted her. Her brother, peeling onto the main road on those rare and precious occasions when he’d taken her, Ash, and Danielle off campus for lunch. How she’d felt, waiting on the starting line of a cross country meet, her anticipation and adrenaline buzzing. The beloved red dress she’d worn to the Midwinter Dance her senior year, and how she and Nicolas had slow danced to “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.
She parked and observed a trio of girls talking and laughing as they crossed in front of her. They were so young! They were experiencing what Shay had once experienced on this campus. She felt linked to them and, at the same time, separate from them. They were going to the school she’d attended, but the campus and the staff and the world had changed since then.
She walked in the direction of the beige brick administrative building, where Connor had suggested they meet.
Today, gauzy clouds hunkered low against hills arching into cold, pale blue sky. These Blue Ridge mountains were more than her literal home. They were the home of her heart. Though her family situation had long been hard, the place in which she’d been raised had always been right.
She spotted Connor before he saw her. He wore some of his new clothing. The beige twill shirt open over a black T-shirt. Jeans. His gray jacket.
Her heart tugged toward him even as her rational self tugged it back. She could not jump from a romance with Nate the Disappointment straight into a doomed infatuation with Connor.No thank you, self-destruction.
She recognized the man chatting with Connor as Ben Coleman of the Miracle Five. Ben had closely cropped black hair and a warm brown skin tone. He’d been a stand-out baseball player in high school and college. Nowadays, he taught eleventh grade science, yet he still carried himself like an athlete. His family was one of the most well-known in town. Large and loving and boisterous—the type of family she’d always wished she had.
Connor raised a hand to her in greeting and smiled with what looked like genuine pleasure.
She’d told him when they started this process that she was simply shining the diamond. The minor exterior changes she’d made so far had already shined the diamond to brilliance. She’d continue to help him to the best of her ability, even though doing so would lift him out of her league. By the time this was all said and done, she’d be the one asking him if he could be her consultant because she was going to be the one sitting at home on Friday and Saturday nights, and he was going to be the one using a cattle prod to keep women away.
“Shay,” Connor said when she reached them, “this is Ben Coleman. Ben, Shay Seaver.”
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Shay said to Ben just as a blond woman joined their group.
Ben’s posture tightened subtly.
“And this is Leah Montgomery,” Connor said, nodding to the blonde. “She teaches the school’s most advanced math students. Trust me when I say she’s very impressive. A genius.”
“If only my students found me impressive,” Leah said wryly to Shay.
Was this Molly? If Connor had fallen for someone at work, that would make sense. He spent a lot more time here than he did out in social situations. And Leah was lovely... very much so. Intelligent blue-gray eyes were the highlight of her delicate face. Side-parted hair fell in loose waves to her jaw line.
