Saved By The Firefighter: A Small Town Single Dad Romance by Roya Kingsley

Author:Roya Kingsley [Kingsley, Roya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-06-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Ellie

THREE WEEKS LATER

The last bell rings and my students rush out the door, eager to begin their weekend. I wave and call out, "Have a great weekend!" receiving a chorus of "You too, Ms. Carter!" in response.

As the last of them disappears, I turn to my desk, papers scattered like leaves in autumn. I start sorting, organizing what I can into neat piles—slips, art projects, homework—all the little artifacts of learning and growth.

Danielle finishes straightening up the students' desks then walks over, the big yellow, chunky necklace she’s wearing catching my eye. Somehow, she pulls that look off. "Not tutoring Charlotte today?" she asks.

I glance up, shaking my head with a rueful smile. "Not today. Charlotte's having a sleepover at her friend’s for the weekend. She told me yesterday."

Danielle nods, picking up a stray crayon gracefully. She moves like a ballerina sometimes; I can't help but envy that kind of poise.

“You look bummed,” she comments.

I touch my face. “Do I? I’m…no I’m fine.” As I speak, even I can tell my words sound like bad acting.

“You sure? You don’t get to walk her out to see her hot firefighter dad and then try to give him a casual wave like you’re not missing him.”

I give her a pointed look. “Well, someone needs to stop spying on me.”

She laughs. “I’m not spying. I only happened to see the interaction yesterday since I stayed late grading papers. I’m just assuming you always blush that much whenever he’s around.”

She’s got me there. Now I’m regretting telling her all about my time on Jake’s ranch. She took an oath and swore to keep it secret, but I should’ve made her promise not to tease me too.

She leans against my desk, her keen eyes observing. “It’s okay if you’ve been thinking about Jake a lot.”

"Like a song stuck on repeat," I mumble, feeling the corners of my mouth twitch as I stuff a small stack of papers into a folder. I take a breath and glance around the empty classroom. I nod at the open door, and Danielle goes to close it as I sit in a chair. Danielle sits across from me like this is an impromptu therapy session.

"Charlotte mentioned Jake seems, well, sadder lately," I say. The words tumble out, heavier than I intend. "He's not ready to move on, not really, but there's something between us I can't deny. And I don’t think I’m the only one feeling it, though I may be feeling it more. It scares me a bit because he clearly has walls, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about any man and—”

“Woah, girl. Take a breath.”

I inhale, holding it for a few seconds before releasing it. “Okay. I know. Sorry. I just didn’t think I wanted a relationship, but now it’s clear I had been telling myself that all along because, um, I wanted Jake. I mean, we’ve been neighbors for almost a year.”

Danielle leans back in her chair like she knows all and sees all.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.