Dream by the Fire by Noelle Fox

Author:Noelle Fox
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Noelle Fox
Published: 2016-04-04T00:00:00+00:00

Lucy didn’t see Deacon at all on Sunday, giving her the impression he was avoiding her. She’d been disappointed that he’d asked one of the other officers to dust for fingerprints. The same officer had hauled the mannequins away when he’d finished making a mess. Lucy cleaned away the black powder so Crystal would come home to a sparkling salon, then kept herself busy reviewing some of the lesson plans she’d put together while teaching third-grade in Seattle.

Crystal didn’t stop by. Then again, Crystal didn’t know that she’d arrived a week early. She’d called Crystal’s cell several times, but when her friend didn’t answer she decided against leaving a message.

Now, the delay in telling her seemed even more awkward. Why bother Crystal the minute she returned home from Fairbanks? Since Lucy would be gone the next morning before the salon opened, she thought it best to talk to Crystal after school. Hopefully, Crystal wouldn’t regret allowing her to stay.

She tried not to feel hurt by Deacon’s abrupt absence, especially since he was the one who tended to bark orders as if she were one of his officers. If reminding him to be polite made him mad, then she was better off without him.

If only she could find a way to pry him out of her thoughts.

Monday morning she arrived at Saint Nicholas Elementary five minutes before her scheduled meeting with the principal. Shannon O’Malley seemed nice enough, looked over her credentials, her immunizations and said she’d contact her references, leaving Lucy to fill out the W4 form that would allow her to be placed on the payroll.

“We’ll see how this week goes,” Maureen said, when she’d handed over the paperwork. “If your references are fine and things run smoothly, then you can probably stay on for the four weeks Mrs. Potts will be off her feet.”

“I won’t let you down,” Lucy promised.

By seven-forty-five, Lucy was sitting in Mrs. Potts’ classroom, pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Upon reviewing Mrs. Potts’ lesson plan, she was relieved to find it congruent with what she’d taught in the past. She spent the remainder of the time going through her list of students, trying to memorize names.

Grade school students generally gave substitute teachers a hard time, and she expected nothing less today. But for the most part, the kids were happy to have her there, rather than the principal, who’d apparently stepped in to teach at the end of last week.

The day flew by quickly, and when the final bell rang, Lucy waited until all her little students left to go outside, before dropping into the chair behind her desk.

Whew! She’d made it through her first day.

“Ms. Harper?”

Lucy turned in surprise to find little Olivia Shipley standing beside her desk. “Hi Olivia, did you forget something?”

“No.” Olivia crossed over to her desk, opened it up and then closed it again. She sat for a moment, then walked up to where Lucy sat, leaning close. “Ms. Harper? Can you keep a secret?”

A secret? For a moment Lucy’s stomach clenched.

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