Page 46 of Gifts

“And she was agreeable?” Steph, like me, is in awe.

I lift my head and swipe the hair out of my face. “Yes. It was a Christmas Miracle in March.”

“Wow. If he manages that again, you’d better lock him up in your creepy basement and not let him get away.”

“I thought for sure Saylor would be the one to scare him off, but I should’ve known better. It’ll be me.”

Stephie’s voice becomes harsh. “You’d better not. Not before I get the chance to vet him. It’s your turn to host Sunday Brunch. If he’s not there, I’ll let Aunt Lillian Rose kick your ass with her cane and I’ll finish you off. I need to meet this man.”

“No!” I exclaim. “I’m not ready to bring anyone to Sunday Brunch. Mom and Dad are worried enough about us as it is. I can’t introduce them to a man—they’ll start looking for wedding venues and Lillian Rose will try to get his phone number. You know how she is about calling people. No way. That is not going to happen.”

She sighs. “I guess that’s true. Aunt Lillian Rose is like a teenager from the 90’s with a private line. But I need to meet him soon. Tell me when he’ll be there and I’ll just happen to stop by.”

“You live thirty minutes from me. No one just happens to stop by my farm.”

“He doesn’t need to know that,” she sing-songs, like I’m an idiot.

What I don’t tell her is he seems to know everything from reading my background through his so-called CIA clearance. This is something I’m still coming to terms with, but since he said not many people know about his work, I’d better not tell Steph. She doesn’t know many secrets.

I look at the clock and realize time has gotten away from me. I need to get off the phone and back to work so I’m not late for my department meeting with the administration.

“Fine,” I lie. “I’ll let you know when he’s coming next. I gotta go. I have a meeting.”

“Are you just saying that to get rid of me?” she demands.

“Why would I do that?” I smile. “Seriously, gotta go.”

She ignores me. “The kids have soccer practice tonight, but I can surprise-stop by tomorrow—”

“Bye.” I ignore her this time and hang up. I know my sister, so I silence my phone since she’s not one to give up.

I grab my things and head for the conference room. I can’t wait for this day to be over.

The meeting sails along and we go over the details of graduation, college prep testing, and the list goes on. The end of the school year is hectic at its best and a massive headache at its worst.

When the topic of the memorial arises, the meeting becomes heavy. Brett goes over all the ways the school will remember Brandon Sutherby and Kyler Jakes.

When Brett wraps up, Tom Logan leans back in his chair and shakes his head. “Maybe it’s just better to let the students move on, get over it, rather than keep dredging it up and throwing it in their faces at every possible moment.”

My eyes go big, but Marcia snaps before I have the chance. “Two of our students who would be graduating in two months were killed in a tragic accident. You want to sweep that under the rug?”

Tom’s face turns sympathetic. “All I’m saying is when it’s brought up, the students have to deal with it all over again. I’m not saying forget about them, but maybe we can lay off the waterworks at every school event.”

“We have two months of school left. Next year we’ll start fresh, but they need to be remembered. It doesn’t matter if they had their fair share of trouble,” I point out. Kyler and Brandon might not have hung in the best crowds and both knew detention well, but that doesn’t change anything.

Brett rubs his face in a way I can tell he can’t wait for the school year to end. “Sorry, Tom. They’re right and the last thing I need is blowback from the parents for not doing our part. You three are here to guide them through the end of the year and that’s what we’ll focus on.”

We go through the rest of the agenda and now I have more on my list of things to get done than I want to think about. I, too, cannot wait for this year to end.

When I walk back to the counseling center to wrap up my day, I stop in my tracks. My … I’m not sure what to call him. My pantry kissing partner? The man who makes my days fly by? He’s definitely the one capable of lighting my fireworks by simply walking into a room. Whatever he is, he’s standing outside my office leaning into the wall with a sexy smirk on his face. I find myself wishing we were in my pantry.

“You’re early,” I note.

With no other clues as to what’s bothering Emma and her still being closed off, Asa decided to set up a conference with her teachers. It’s scheduled right after school.

Hitching a shoulder, his tone says all kinds of sexy things besides, “Thought I’d stop by.”

I bite the inside of my lip as my eyes slide to Tom and Marcia. Tom is eyeing me wondering what’s up. Marcia is eyeing me in a whole different way, also wondering what’s up.

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