Garrett chuckled. “Nothing I can’t handle. I’m just happy to be here with you now. How was your day? How are the kids treating you?”
“Good. I think they’re loving the idea of making junk journals, and they seem to be really engaged during the lecture part of the lesson, too.”
Garrett smiled. “That’s great.”
“Thanks. You know I’ve never actually taught an art class before.”
“Well, don’t tell them that,” he chuckled.
Reese laughed. “I’m not. I’m telling you. This is just me winging it.”
He glanced over at her for a moment, then brought his gaze back to the road. “Winging it looks good on you, but we still have to be careful. I’m thinking about having a patrol car parked outside your classroom just in case.”
“No,” Reese said adamantly. “Absolutely not. With the school’s private security and you being just down the hall, it’s totally unnecessary.”
He sighed, and took her hand in his, resting their joined hands on her lap. “Reese, we can’t ignore the fact that someone who is out on bail kidnapped you right from my backyard. And if it hadn’t been for the GPS locator I gave you, I don't think we would’ve found you in time.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Reese said. “But I think you’re forgetting just how big of a bad ass I was. You said so yourself.”
Garrett glanced her way again. “I would feel so much better if you would just accept some kind of formal protection, just until we -”
“No,” she interrupted. “Russell is a cop. Anything legal or official wouldn’t protect me from him. The only thing I can actually do to protect you and your friends from Russell is to leave. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about him, or them, or -”
“You?” Garrett asked, his voice rough and raw. “You think I wouldn’t worry about you if you weren’t here? Who do you take me for, Reese?”
She swallowed, taken aback by his sudden change in tone. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I was practically going out of my mind when I got the alert that you were in trouble. I dropped everything. My friends dropped everything. We weren’t going to stop until we found you. I kept picturing you being hurt, or lying dead somewhere.Not being able to get to you in time. Do you really think leaving would change how I feel about you now?”
Reese hadn’t realized until that moment how selfish her words had been. “No, of course not. I’m sorry, Garrett. I just wanted to make it easier for you.”
He pulled into a parking spot in front of Soleil Art Shop, killed the engine, unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to her, keeping his gaze low so she could see his features when he spoke. “Reese, my life stopped being easy the night I walked into that motel room and found you shackled to a bed with a bucket for a toilet. And you know what, I don’t regret a single second of what’s happened between us since. Do you?”
Reese’s breath caught in her throat. “No. Everything that happened to me led me to you, and if I could go back and do it all over again, I’d make sure I did it exactly the same way just so I could meet you and have this time with you. No matter how long it lasts. But -”
Garrett took both her hands in his, holding them tight but not hurting her in the least. “It’s going to last, Reese. I didn’t find you then, or again the other night, only to lose you because of some crazed murderer step brother, or a stupid misunderstanding. You and me, Reese. We’re going to last.”
Reese found herself nodding at his words because he was right. She didn’t want to go anywhere. She wanted to stay. Here. With him.
Garrett leaned over the center console and kissed her, soft and sweet. She loved how his kisses weren’t demanding or possessive unless she wanted them to be. Then he went all out and claimed her like a caveman, and she loved that, too. “Alright, let’s go art shopping. You know, I’ve never taken a woman shopping before?”
“You mean art shopping,” she corrected.
“No, I mean shopping. One of many firsts for me that I only want to share with you.” He got out of the truck before she could utter a response and met her on the passenger side. Helping her out, he shut her door and took her hand.
Stepping into the art store felt like meeting an old friend she hadn’t seen in forever. The familiar scent of paints, glue, and paper filled the air, instantly transporting Reese to another time and place, before her troubles with Russell started, when she was just living her life and making art. She didn’t often think about those days anymore, mostly because it hurt too much. Reese wasn’t sure what lay ahead for her, but she knew one thing for sure - there was no going back. That life she once led and had planned for herself was over now, and she needed to start fresh. Maybe this really was her second chance.
“Hello, welcome to Soleil Art Shop, let me know if I can help you find anything,” a blond woman said from behind the register.
“Thanks,” Garrett said, then turned his attention to Reese. “Where do you want to start?” He asked, taking a basket.
“The clearance section,” she said easily. She led the way down the main aisle to the clearly marked section and started sifting through the treasures.
She immediately spotted several packets of construction paper that only seemed to have a bit of damage to the packaging. She also found various painting supplies, ribbons, washi tape, and other fun things that would be great for junk journaling.
Reese placed several things into the basket, before moving on to the next aisle. She spotted a bunch of blank canvases up ahead and beelined for them. They were all too big for her students though, so she turned to see if they had any in a smaller size. Distracted by all the art supplies, she didn’t notice the man standing near her until she lifted her gaze and their eyes locked.
Even as she recognized Principal Ryker, her vision was blinded by the image of him in a prison cell, being shanked in the kidney, once, twice, three times - she jerked her head away, her breaths coming out in loud pants.
