Page 1 of Taught By the Mountain Man

Barrow

It’s my least favorite time of the school year.

And, because I’m that kind of guy, it’s also my favorite time of the school year.

It’s the start of a new year, with Heartwood School practically gleaming after a summer of hard scrubbing by the custodial staff. There’s that clean, fresh September smell lingering in every hall and classroom in the small school that handles the education of youth of the small mountain town of Heartwood, Montana, kindergarten through high school.

In a little town like this, my students are not new to me in September. We’ve all brushed shoulders at one time or another.

But this is the first time that this particular bunch of tenth graders has sat in together in my classroom. Call me a big nerd, but I find that pretty damn exciting. I’m looking forward to discovering more about what these teenagers know, are curious about, and will become over the next school year.

Unfortunately, a new school year also means one thing that Lillian Bird, school principal, insists on: the annual back-to-school Meet ’n’ Mingle event. One weeknight not long into September, the school’s parents, teachers, and staff enjoy a catered dinner in the gymnasium complete with speeches, get-to-know-you games, and even dancing.

What can I say, Heartwood doesn’t get much action. Folks like to make the most of every event.

Me? I hate it.

Not because of the mingling or the speeches or the dinner or, hell, even the dancing.

No, I hate it because all teachers and staff are expected to come with a date. Most of the rest of my colleagues are married or matched up in some way, but the only lady I’m in a long term relationship is Sugar, my cat.

Not for lack of trying, either.

But Heartwood isn ’t exactly brimming with women eager to date a teacher with an affinity for Shakespeare and geometry rather than a burly, calloused lumberjack type.

I don’t blame them.

But I’ve lived in Heartwood for more than a few years now, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t starting to get pretty lonely. Sugar can only make up for so much.

As if like I’ve summoned her, Principal Bird pokes her head through my door after school just a few days into the academic year.

“Don’t forget,” she says cheerfully as I pause in my lesson planning. “Meet ’n’ Mingle is next week. Date strongly encouraged.”

I raise my brows skeptically. “Only strongly encouraged this year? Not required?”

“It’s never been required,” she says with a frown. “But you know that if you don’t bring a date, you’ll be one of very, very few. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

I stifle a groan. What I wouldn’t give to be able to avoid being one of the un-partnered loners. “Got it. I’ll see what I can do.”

My boss beams at me. “Sounds great.” She disappears as quickly as she materialized.

I slump in my desk chair, raking a hand through my hair. I’ll look for a date for the Meet ’n’ Mingle, as I always. But I don ’t expect I’ll have any more luck than usual. I might as well wish upon a star tonight — that’ll do just about as much good as scouring the small town for a single woman who loves literature and cats as much as I do.

Turning back to my work, I find my enthusiasm for the new school year very much dampened, just like every other year when the Meet ’n’ Mingle rears its damned head.

One year it’ll be different. I’ll find myself a woman…but I very much doubt that this will be the year my luck turns.

Star

“He’s coming,” Ruby hisses.

I swat my coworker away with the soapy rag I’m using to write down the espresso machine. “Stop it,” I hiss back as we both watch through the Snowpack Cafe’s wide front window as one of our regulars make a beeline down Heartwood’s main street toward us. “I’m working.”

The older woman rolls her blue eyes. “No reason you can’t combine work and play.”

“There is,” I retort. “For one, because it’s unprofessional.”

“Yeah, but I’m your boss.”

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