Page 5 of Wild Bliss

“Because we’re building a school from scratch,” he said inlow tones, as though they’d gone over this. “I’m not going to trick her.”

Rachel frowned his way but was all smiles when she lookedback at Sabrina. “He’s making it sound like so much work. You’ll have a ton ofhelp. Everyone in town will pitch in. Paige is about to start school, and Ican’t stand the thought of sending her miles away every day. I want her here inBliss.”

Oh, she was starting to see the problem. “There aren’tenough children in the area to support one school, much less a normal system.You would need to have elementary, middle, and high school in the samebuilding. It’s challenging but not impossible. The real problem is going to begetting funding. Is this a public school? Because funding is why most ruraltowns rely on bussing to larger towns.”

“Money isn’t a problem,” Callie said with a grin. “We’regoing to play all the billionaires off one another. Between Stef, Seth Stark,and Caleb Burke, you’ll have all the money you could want.”

“Or you could say we all want what’s best for our kids andwe’re willing to pay for it,” Stef countered with a shake of his head. “Ms.Leal, I’m not trying to turn Bliss into some bigger town. I only want the kidswho live here to have the best we can possibly give them. My son will beeducated here. All of our kids will go to school in the town they live in. Iwould like for you to be a part of it. Maybe the biggest part. It would be anenormous amount of work, but think about it. You have to let your kids go everyyear. They move on to another class. Not these kids. These kids would be yours.A whole generation to educate.”

Tears filled her eyes. A whole generation to love.

She would likely never have kids of her own, but what Talbotwas offering her was the next best thing. To watch over a child fromkindergarten until she sent them off to college. To be a part of their world.

“He will pay you anything you want,” Rachel announced.

“Rach,” Talbot huffed.

“We’ll work it out.” Sabrina Leal knew a good thing when itopened in front of her. A whole future flowering. She’d worried about finding ajob. This wasn’t a job. This was a calling. Her calling. “I’ll do it. I have tofinish out the year…”

“We can work remotely,” Talbot said quickly as though he wasafraid of losing her. “What we mostly need is your input on things likesupplies and how to build the school. We’ll hire some helpers, of course.”

“And you’ll have all the volunteers you could ever want.”Rachel looked positively giddy.

“Someone want to tell me why my sister is crying?” Elisafrowned at Talbot, stepping between them.

Her sister was an Amazon of a woman. A few years older,Elisa had always protected her, sheltered her. There had been no mean sisterantics or jealousy from her. Elisa had been a solid presence in her life. She’djoined the military and there had been years and miles between them, but she’dalways loved her.

She got to live in the same town with her sister.

“I’m going to run the new school,” Sabrina said, her voiceshaking. “I mean if the fact that I’m about to burst into tears doesn’t scarethem off. They don’t understand how much I wanted to find a way to live herewith you. They don’t know the gift they just gave me.”

Elisa turned, and now it was her eyes shining with tears.“You’re moving here? You’re going to live in Bliss?”

Sabrina nodded.

“If I wasn’t pregnant I would drink a whole bottle ofchampagne,” Rachel said before turning and shouting out. “We got her!”

The whole hall erupted in cheers, but Elisa had wrapped herup in a bear hug.

“Oh, I don’t have to give up my new baby?” Cassidy Meyerjoined in, her husband, Mel, looking on with a big smile on his face.

Sabrina welcomed her. “I’m staying. I wouldn’t want to missyour pancakes.”

Sabrina stood there in the middle of the town that was tobecome her family and felt the love she’d been missing for years.

A brief thought of the man who’d dissed her floated throughher brain, but she dismissed him. She didn’t need some man to be nice to her.

This was what she needed.

This was bliss.

* * * *

Wyatt Kemp sat back, the heaviness of the night pressing inon him and the cold threatening to shake his bones.

Maybe it would be good if he looked super pathetic. MaybeSawyer would take pity on a dude and not force him to sleep in the snow.

It was almost Christmas.

---