Halle found herself face to face with none other than Brooke Aspen. She gasped, “What are you doing here?”
The woman’s penciled eyebrows flew upward. “Uh…I work here, the same as you.” She did a little jig. “Co-kindergarten teachers, co-chairwomen of the yearbook committee, and whatever else Dr. House decides to throw at his kindergarten power duo.” She thrust out a hand. “I’m Blaire Aspen.”
Aspen?Halle’s trepidation blossomed to the size of a mushroom cloud. “I take it you’re related to Brooke Aspen?”
“I’m her younger sister,” Blaire confirmed cheerfully. “She invited me to stay at the ranch untilI can find a place of my own, so you and I will be neighbors as well as co-teachers. How fun is that?”
Fun wasn’t the word Halle would’ve chosen. Now that she knew the connection, she could more easily pick out the differences between the sisters. Blaire had a rounder face. She was also shorter and curvier. However, her red pantsuit looked as expensive as Brooke’s wardrobe. She also possessed the same conniving glint in her eyes.
Halle’s heart rebelled at the thought of Ryder and Cooper being subjected to whatever the woman in front of her was planning. Her presence in Heart Lake wasn’t random. It was entirely possible she was involved in the trouble Brooke had been causing for Garrett Farm.
“Cat got your tongue?” Blaire’s laugh had a snide ring to it. “I was hoping we could discuss the twins Dr. House is moving out of your classroom into mine. I hear they’re a real handful.”
Something inside Halle snapped. She’d heard enough. “If you’ll excuse me. I have an errand to run first.” She hurried to her desk and yanked open the bottom drawer to retrieve her purse. If she had any say in the matter, Owen’s sons wouldn’t be coming within a country mile of Blaire Aspen’s classroom!
Blaire watched her curiously. “Is everything okay?”
Far from it!“All good,” Halle lied, “You’re so sweet to ask.” She stepped around Blaire, anxious to put some distance between them.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” Blaire called mockingly after her.
Halle didn’t bother answering. Nothing was okay about what had just transpired—neither her appointment with Dr. House nor the way Blaire had been lying in wait for her afterward. It felt strangely coordinated and ominous.
She kept her head down when she reached the main entrance, refusing to turn around when a woman called her name. It sounded like Naomi, but Halle was in no mood to rehash the website management issue. She bolted past the glass double doors into the parking lot.
When she reached her car, she yanked the door open and slid behind the wheel. She pushed the ignition button, but nothing happened. She pushed it a second time with the same result. No sputtering to life of the car’s motor. Nothing. Either her battery was dead, or the old car had finally given up the ghost. It had been on its last leg for months. She should’ve replaced it when she had the chance, and now she couldn’t afford to.
Feeling like the universe was against her, she stepped out of the vehicle and gave the hood a harried look. Smoke seeped out from beneath it.That figures.While she was debating whether to call a tow truck, her phone vibrated with an incoming call.
It was Owen. She eagerly accepted his call and lifted her phone to her ear. “Hey!”
“How’s your first day at work going?” The worry in his voice amplified the alarm zinging through her.
“Um…it’s not a short answer.” She debated how much to tell him over the phone. What she had to say was best said in person.
“Any chance you can break away for coffee or an early lunch?” Urgency resonated in his voice.
“Funny you should ask.” She confessed she’d been in the process of leaving campus before discovering her car wouldn’t start.
“I’m on my way,” he shot back. “The boys and I are already in town.”
No way!It was a relief to hear that something about her morning was finally going right.
“I’ll call for a tow truck,” he continued, “and have your car checked out by a mechanic.”
In no time, his pickup truck turned into the school parking lot.
She could’ve wept from happiness when he braked beside her and leaned her way to push open the passenger door.
She climbed inside and pulled her seatbelt over her. “Am I ever glad to see you guys!” She twisted around in her seat to drink in the sight of Ryder and Cooper thumb wrestling in the backseat. Waves of protectiveness rolled through her at the thought of Blaire Aspen coming anywhere near them.
“Dad took us out for pancakes,” Cooper informed her cheerfully, “but they weren’t as good as yours. We voted, and yours won. Three to zero!”
“Thank you so much!” She pressed her hands to her heart, genuinely flattered.
“The restaurant ones weren’t shaped like animals,” his brother grumbled. “We liked the chocolate chips, though.”
“Basically, you ate cookies for breakfast,” she accused with a smile.
