“No. Not by Gunner, by the Lucas situation. I’m worried about him and his mom.” Who was I trying to kid. Of course, I was also distracted by Gunner. Once I left the ranch and went home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the job he’d been willing to offer Ruth. He’d done that before I’d even spoken to him about Lucas. He’d figured out for himself that they needed help.
“At least you know that he’s not being neglected willfully.” Lily threw her sandwich down. “I’m so disappointed that it's not chicken.” She brushed the crumbs from her lap and then wiped her hands on a napkin. “I feel bad for her. It must be hard doing it all alone. That journey to Montrose is a trek in itself.”
“I know. Lucas is a good kid, but we know that even good kids can be a handful.” My gaze turned to the kids all running around enjoying their lunch break. They should all be carefree and happy and that can only come from being made to feel secure at home. Poor Lucas had to be picking up on the strain his mom was feeling.
“You think that maybe we should do more for those we teach?” I asked Lily, my gaze still on the excited children.
“Every day,” she replied with a sigh. When I turned to face her she was watching them, too. “When they seem upset when they come into class, when it’s clear their parents don’tunderstand the definition of a nutritious lunch, when they’re too shy to talk to their peers.” Her eyes were bright with compassion and empathy, the reasons why Lily was a great teacher.
“I think I might have an idea.”
She frowned. “About what?”
“About how we can give more to the kids.”
“Apart from the hours of prep, teaching and marking assignments. We are both supportive, there when they need us to be.”
“I know, every teacher in this school does an incredible job, but I think we can do more. Not more as such, but we can offer them something different. Well.” I winced. “Gunner can.”
Lily busted out a laugh. “Hah, I knew it. You’ve been thinking about him all weekend.”
“No, I haven’t. This is about the kids.”
“But it involves Gunner?”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “Maybe Nash and Wilder, too.”
Lily’s eyes narrowed as she moved closer to me. “Go on.”
“The ranch. Gunner said that he could give Lucas some stuff to do, and I was reading that horses, well animals in general, can be good for kids. It can help them with trauma and stress.”
“I don’t think many of the kids we teach are traumatized, though.” She patted my hand. “I’m not saying it’s not a good idea, though, because it is. In fact, I love it.” Sitting back, she looked thoughtful as she pulled her phone from her pocket. “Let me message Nash and get him to organize with Gunner about us all having a conversation.”
I watched as her thumbs tapped out a message, a cute little smile played on her lips.
“You’re sexting him aren’t you?” I tried to grab her phone, but she moved it out of my reach.
“Maybe.” She definitely was because a message immediately came back, and she gave a contented little sigh. “All good. Come around tonight and we’ll talk it through.”
“Just like that?” My chest swelled with gratitude. That ‘just like that’, after one short conversation, Nash was willing to listen to what I had to say. I’d not had a lot of dealings with him before Lily came back as I wasn’t Bertie’s teacher, but I knew he was unapproachable and grumpy. He was a totally different kind of man these days. A happy man.
“Just like that.” She giggled. “Although, I did have to promise something in return.”
“Ugh,” I groaned and threw a stick of celery at her.
When I knocked on the door of the ranch house, I half expected Gunner to be the one to open it, just to mess with me. Thankfully it was Wilder.
“Well, if it isn’t Miss. Turner.” His voice slid over my name like molasses and moonshine. He winked as he opened the door. “Come on in, sunshine. Try not to fall too hard for me. It’s a family trait.”
“Hey, Wilder, how are you?”
“I think I’m okay, although I’m worried about this meeting that you’ve requested.”
“God, you make it sound so formal.” I followed him across the foyer, noticing he had a slight limp. “What happened to you?”
“Sorry?” He asked.
“The limp.”
