“You’re very lucky,” I whisper to her, then point back up to where her dad is finishing his introduction.
“So, if you want to know more about my job and how I help keep Blossom Peak a safe place for everyone, then come see me later. Thank you.” He lifts a hand in farewell and walks back to his seat as applause fills the room.
I introduce the final few speakers, and once everyone has spoken, the teachers take the kids out for their fifteen-minute recess before the question groups begin.
While I’m out on the playground supervising, I keep going over that night with Rhonan in my mind, wondering if he ever mentioned that he lived here. I had only found out about the job a few days before I drove through Asheville and saw that flyer for the bull riding contest that I didn’t even stick around long enough to find out if I won. Honestly, I forgot all about the contest because I was far more preoccupied with Rhonan, which was better than any inconsequential prize I could have won.
Besides, I did it for Lydia. And for myself.
Fifteen minutes pass in a blur and then I’m leading twenty-five kindergarteners back into the cafeteria. Each child gets three tickets for the speakers they want to hear more from, and the teachers move around the room helping keep order.
My eyes keep finding Rhonan no matter where I’m standing, but he’s focused on speaking with the kids. He’s thoughtful, takes his time with each one, and hands out sheriff’s badge stickers to every child that comes to see him. Fletcher Adams’ line is the longest of all, but that comes as no surprise to anyone. Apparently, since he got engaged toLaney Hart—who I found out is also Ellis’s aunt—his popularity has only grown.
I’m busy watching Fletcher help a boy try to hold a football with his too-small hands when a voice beside me makes me jump.
“So, seems like we’re in a bit of a pickle here.”
Rhonan.
I look up at him to my left, finding him looking right back at me. “Dill, sweet, or butter?”
He frowns in confusion. “What?”
“The kind of pickle. Personally, I’m a dill gal, but I can go for a sweet pickle on a pulled pork sandwich.”
His smile falls. “Vienna, this is serious.”
Sighing, I turn away from him calmly and fix my attention on the kids, even though my stomach is tying itself in knots that are going to be a bitch to untangle later. “Look, I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t think you did.”
“Really? Because the look you gave me earlier felt pretty accusatory.”
He clears his throat. “It wasn’t meant to be. I just…don’t know how to feel, seeing you here.”
“I—I’m sorry, Rhonan,” I say on a shaky breath because, even though he might not believe me, it’s the truth. The second I left that night, I regretted my decision. But there was no way for me to explain why I did without giving away too much.
There’s too much at stake.
“You left without saying goodbye.”
“I know.”
He clears his throat. “I thought…” Shaking his head, he says, “You know what? It doesn’t matter what I thought because now…”
“Now I’m your daughter’s teacher,” I finish for him.
“And the last thing we need is gossip.”
“Agreed.”
He straightens his spine. “Good. And by the way, your dog is a menace.”
My head whips back in his direction. “My dog? How do you know about—”
“Daddy!”
Ellis runs up to us, cutting me off, and I’m left wondering how he could know about my puppy, Roscoe.
