Well, it isn’t the person I would be most shocked to see here, but Rhonan is a close second. “Yeah. Turns out I know one of the speakers.”
Stacey laughs. “Oh, honey. That’s what happens when you move to a small town. Everyone knows everyone. We’re all connected somehow. Don’t be surprised if this person is the first of a long list of people you didn’t realize you had a connection with.”
My smile is forced when I look at her. “Oh joy.”
Laughing, she flips through the papers on the podium in front of me. “Now, you sure you’re up for announcing our speakers? I can take over if you want.”
I brush my hair from my face and find my strength. “No, I’m fine. This will be a good way to make it look like I know what I’m doing, you know?”
“Oh, honey. Those kids are going to need a lot more proof than that if you’re going to keep them under control until summer.” She pats my shoulder and then takes her seat by her class on the left side of the cafeteria.
The kids are seated on the floor, staring up at me, waiting for the event to begin. When Sandra, the principal of the elementary school, called me about this job, I thought she was joking. I applied for it on a whim. I was intent on settling in a town on the coast like Carrington Cove and renting a beach house for a few months while I regrouped. But when I saw the posting, I thought working in a school would be the perfect way to start this new chapter of my life and figure out if teaching is something I still want to do.
I never got to teach like I planned. All that schooling, all that work was for nothing after college. The degree hung on a wall in a fourteen-karat gold frame, but the price I paid for my decisions leading up to that were far more expensive.
“Welcome, everyone, to Career Day at Blossom Peak Elementary School!” I turn on the voice I was raised to perfect and slip into the role of someone who knows what they’re doing, even though I feel the complete opposite right now. “I’m Ms. Lewis, the teacher who has taken over for Mrs. Allen while she’s on maternity leave, and I’m so honored to be here at this school for this event. I wish they had something like this when I was a kid.”
A few laughs trickle out from the audience, so I call that a win. “Anyway, we have many amazing speakers lined up, so let’s get started. Each speaker will introduce themselves and tell us a little about what they do. Afterward, students will take a short recess to burn off some energy, then they’ll come back inside and get three tickets to visit the speakers of the careers they are most interested in. Sound good?”
The kids collectively convey their understanding.
“Perfect. Well, first up is Dilynne Clark, the owner of Clark Customs & Automotive Repair. Let’s give a hand for Dilynne.”
Applause rings out as a woman who looks like she could have been transported from the 1950s struts to the front of the cafeteria—pin-up styled hair, bright red lips, oil-stained coveralls, and a wrench held casually in her hand. She looks like Rosie the Riveter’s doppelganger, and I’m instantly obsessed.
I take my seat next to my class, and Ellis, one of the least shy kids in the group, slides across the tile floor toward me. “That’s my Aunt Dilynne,” she whispers proudly. “She loves cars and says I can be anything I want when I grow up.”
I glance back up at Dilynne as she speaks with such confidence that I want to be like her too. “Well, she’s absolutely right. Now let’s listen.” I bring my finger to my lips, giving her the universal sign to be silent, and she mimics me, making me chuckle behind my hand.
When Dilynne finishes, I announce Fletcher Adams. I didn’t know little kids could scream as loud as they did when he approached the stage.
As I glance down the list before returning to my seat and see the name of the next speaker, my stomach tightens.
Rhonan Hart. Deputy Sheriff for the Blossom Peak Sheriff’s Department.
Well, at least he wasn’t lying about being in law enforcement.
“Wait… Hart?” I mutter to myself.
My eyes drift to Ellis, who’s listening intently to Fletcher, Blossom Peak’s own celebrity NFL player, who is also Ellis’s uncle, apparently. Each time someone new approaches the stage, she echoes a similar sentiment. I swear, at this point, I’m curious if this little girl is related to everyone here.
And then my mind catches up.
Ellis Hart.
Of courseshe’s related to the man whose fingers I can still feel on my face. The same man I walked away from without explanation. Must be another one of her uncles.
I don’t have time to process what this means before Fletcher finishes speaking. The applause swells as he leaves the stage, and I head back to the podium, ready to announce Rhonan to the room while fighting the nerves racing through me.
I grip the edge of the podium, steadying myself before I speak. “Thank you, Mr. Adams. Up next, we have Rhonan Hart, a deputy sheriff with the Blossom Peak Sheriff’s Department. Come on up, Mr. Hart.”
I watch him stand from his seat, swallowing roughly while adjusting his belt on his waist, and then he’s heading toward me in long, purposeful strides.
God, he’s just as attractive as I remember, which is both a relief and a problem because I’ve tried to convince myself I was making that night out to be more than it was.
But as my eyes trace the curve of his biceps peeking out under the hem of his short-sleeved, olive-green button-down and the rugged lines of his jaw framing those lips I remember wanting to kiss more than I wanted my next breath, and my gaze dips lower to the impressive bulge in his pants, I can confidently say I didn’t imagine any of it.
That night was supposed to be fun—a chance to let loose and feel liberated, just like I told him. It was me taking back control of my life and experiencing something new and completely out of my comfort zone.
