Stella rolled her eyes.
Callie cackled. “She’s had a crush on him since middle school.”
“Ooh. You’ll probably see him at the farm,” Ashley said. “He grew up on the farm next door. He’s your landlord’s cousin.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Stella chirped. “You’re renting from Josh Lawrence.”
Shoulders tensing, I nodded and left it at that. The last thing I wanted was to discuss my confusing and somewhat infuriating landlord.
Stella hauled a messy stack of construction paper out and put it on a desk. “He’s a quiet guy. Keeps to himself.”
“Unlike his parents,” Ashley said. “They were everywhere. Always volunteering, and they were at every town event. Such a lovely family.”
I busied myself sorting folders into bins by color, ignoring the talk of Josh. So far, he’d been kind of a jerk. But as long as he was a decent landlord and left us alone, I could tolerate it. My goal was to be pleasantly distant, so there was no sense in learning more about him.
“He was a heartbreaker in high school.” Stella sighed. “He graduated with my older sister Ruby. Literally every girl in town had a crush on him.”
“I can see that,” Ashley said. “He seems like the type that came out of the womb a full lumberjack—beard, axe, and all.”
As they giggled, I headed for the other side of the room to move bookcases. That would give me something to do and also keep my face hidden.
“I’m married,” Callie said. “But I get the appeal. He’s all rugged protector on the outside and sweet softie underneath.”
My cheeks heated immediately. Dammit. I was so damn weak.
“How do you know he’s a softie?” Ashley asked.
“Because when I called him and asked if he’d rent his cottage to Celine, he agreed immediately. Reduced the rent to below market rate and everything. He was more than happy to help out. He may put on a grumpy front, but he’s always the first to offer help and he does a lot for the town.”
I stood with my back to them, listening, regardless ofhow badly I wanted to ignore the topic of my landlord. Farmer Josh was a bit of a softie? That was news to me. So far, he seemed to spend most of his time judging me.
The arrangement was already a bit uncomfortable, but now that I knew he’d offered me a deal on rent, that was magnified.
After Callie offered me the job in July, I’d immediately started looking for housing, but most of the rentals in the area were cute apartments in town, and with three growing kids and Julian’s hatred of noise, I wasn’t sure any of them were right for us.
With this new information, guilt washed over me. Josh could make a lot more if he rented to anyone else. The cottage was gorgeous. And far nicer than what we were used to. The oven that Julian had nearly destroyed with his Lego birthday cake alone probably cost more than my minivan.
I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed. Dammit. I was softening to him already, and the last thing I needed was to let my guard down. As I pinched the bridge of my nose, I reminded myself to stick to my plan of polite distance and friendly indifference.
Needing a moment to reset, I took the box of muffins to the cafeteria to share with the kids. The three of them were happily coloring while Ellie played Julian’s favorite songs from the tiny portable speaker Chloe had given her for her birthday. God, I had the best damn kids.
We worked for another hour, running back and forth to the supply closet, leaving items I wouldn’t need and bringing others I would back to the classroom. Callie drifted off to attend a meeting, and not long after, Ashley headed to her own room to finalize somethings.
The two of us had been silent for a while when Stella spoke again.
“I’m very excited to meet Julian,” she said, wearing a genuine smile.
My heart stuttered. Often it was hard to draw the line between teacher and mom. And given Julian’s history with educators, I usually had to brace myself for these conversations.
“We’ll have the official IEP meeting soon, obviously. But I’ve read through his files already, and I’m working on plans to make sure he has a successful year.”
The tightness in my chest loosened a little.
Stella kept shelving the books, seemingly unaware of how intensely this conversation was hitting me. “We have a quiet corner and alternative seating, and I keep a visual schedule and allow for frequent movement breaks.”
I swallowed thickly, my eyes heating. “That’s great.”
“The file said he stims. That’s not a problem. I won’t prevent him from doing what he needs to feel comfortable.”
