“Jillian Johnson,”Tripp said softly, his blue eyes widening slightly. “I mean Jillian Price.”
There was an awkward pause, in which her mind tried to call up why she didn’t like him.
At the same time, her eyes catalogued every muscle, right down to the clench of his chiseled jaw.
“Hi,” she said at last, dragging her eyes away from him.
“So, you’re the new school nurse,” he said, his voice brightening with what she was pretty sure was forced cheerfulness. “That’s a good gig. Did Mr. Price get a job in town too?”
She had practiced so many times in the mirror.He’s not in the picture anymore. He’s not in the picture anymore.
“He left me for another woman,” she heard herself admit instead.
She was so surprised at herself that she made the mistake of letting her eyes go to Tripp’s.
He looked as surprised as she felt. And there was a flash of something in his eyes. Anger, maybe? Though that didn’t make much sense since he barely knew her.
“Coach,” a kid yelled fromthe hallway.
A strange sense of déjà vu went through her, and she almost looked around for her grandfather. She’d heard high school boys yellingCoachfor him so many times in the past that it was a habit. But of course he wasn’t here.
Tripp used to be one of those boys. I used to pretend not to watch him when I hung out at practice, reading my book.
“That’s me,” Tripp said. “I’d better go. It was good seeing you.”
He gave her a wave with a hand that was holding a large adhesive bandage, and then headed out of the supply room.
He’s coaching hockey?
“Oh hey,” Tripp said over his shoulder as he crossed the threshold. “He was a fool.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Price,” he called back to her as he disappeared down the hallway.“What an idiot.”
Jillian stood in the supply room for a moment, trying to take it all in.
He’s not a nice person,she tried to remind herself, even as her chest filled with warmth at his words.
4
JILLIAN
Jillian awoke the next day just before her alarm, and thanked her lucky stars. Her phone chime had woken the girls yesterday morning, since they were sharing a room. But she was glad to let them sleep a few extra minutes today, since the bus wouldn’t come for them until well after she had to leave.
She’d expected to be restless with everything she had going on right now, but something about the cold drafts under the old wood windows made her sleep like a baby, and she suspected it was the same for Posey and Mari. The two of them were sharing a bed for now, and they looked so cozy in the predawn light, all soft cheeks and dark hair spread on the pillows.
Slipping out of her own bed, Jillian grabbed her things and headed downstairs to use the bathroom there, since the one in the upstairs hall was leaking so they couldn’t use it.
If she had thought the bedroom she shared with the girls was cold, it had nothing on the rest of the house.Her bare feet turned into icicles as she crossed the wooden floorboards downstairs, and she was shivering by the time she made it to the bathroom where the tile felt like a skating rink.
But she was getting more into her routine than yesterday, and soon enough, the steamy water from the shower had chased away the chills, and she was planning out her day.
Jillian had always been a morning person. Her sister Amberlee was more like a sloth, wanting to sleep late and go to bed early. But Jillian liked to get a head start on her day, which meant she had a little extra time to adapt when things went wrong, as they so often did.
She was dressed and headed to the kitchen to start the coffee before she realized what had gone wrong today. As she passed the dining room windows, something bright caught her eye, causing her to turn back.
Stepping closer to the window, she could see the trees outside were frosted with snow. Pink dawn was just beginning to sparkle in the falling flakes.
