Page 5 of Wanting You

“When the heck did I apply for that?”

Not that it mattered. He’d posted his resume online as well as reached out to several school districts in the last month, and if they were reaching out to him, that meant there was a position available!

“Dear Mr. Westyn,” he began, before scanning the first paragraph. “Your resume was impressive and if you would like to set up an interview, please call…”

The phone was instantly in his hand and he quickly tapped out the number indicated before crossing his fingers and saying a quick prayer.

“Thank you for calling Sweetbriar Elementary! This is Susan. How may I direct your call?”

“Hi, Susan. This is Tanner Westyn. I just received an email from Principal Kincaid and wanted to set up a time for an interview,” Tanner said smoothly.

“Hold on for one moment, Mr. Westyn, while I check his calendar,” she replied.

“Take your time,” he told her before re-reading the email.

There was no mention of anything specific about the school or the community, so he opened another tab and did a little research himself while he waited.

“Sweetbriar Ridge is a town in…blah, blah, blah…population 1,200. Yikes. Currently going through a bit of a renaissance with the re-opening of the ski resort…interesting…”

“Mr. Westyn?”

Clearing his throat, he said, “Yes?”

“Principal Kincaid is actually available to speak to you right now if you have the time,” Susan told him, and Tanner had to hide his delight.

“That works for me,” he said evenly. “Thank you.”

“Hold on while I transfer you, and good luck!”

He thanked her again before the line went quiet. Letting out a slow breath, he prepared himself to give the best damn job interview of his life.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Westyn. Thank you for being so agreeable and speaking with me on such short notice. I’m Steven Kincaid. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too. I just received your email and figured I’d call and make an appointment.”

“That’s normally how we do things, but I was in between appointments and figured there was no time like the present.” He paused. “Your resume is very impressive, but I see this would also be your first full-time teaching position.”

“That is correct. I realize I may have started applying a little late for this school year, but I was hopeful to find a district that needed a fifth-grade teacher.”

“Tell me why you’re drawn to that particular grade. Most early educators are a little more open to where they get placed, except for kindergarten teachers. They are the most passionate about teaching that grade. So tell me your story.”

“My story?” Tanner repeated, shifting a bit in his seat. “Well, I feel like that age is on the verge of moving on to middle school and really figuring out what subjects they like or dislike, and a lot of times, they’re just discovering who they are. It’s an amazing age that’s filled with so many possibilities, and I love the challenge of helping to guide them into that next phase of their education.”

“I see,” Principal Kincaid murmured, seemingly unimpressed.

“Um…”

“Would you be open to perhaps starting out the year as a substitute in another grade? We have a situation where we just lost a teacher—not to anything dramatic, but she had a family emergency and took a position in a school closer to them. We’re getting ready for school to start back and we only have the one classroom available.”

Well…shit.

“So this would only be a short-term position?”

“Well…we haven’t had any other applications for it, so there’s a very good chance it would be for the entire school year. Then, once you’re in our system, any openings for a fifth-grade teaching position, you’d be given first consideration.”

“First consideration? Even after proving myself as an excellent teacher in another grade, the position still wouldn’t go automatically to me?”

Steven Kincaid laughed softly. “We haven’t seen how you are as a teacher yet, so I really couldn’t commit.”

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