Page 9 of Back in the Saddle

I opened the message—form teachers, English, Maths, Science and Art.

“We aren’t expecting any surprises, are we?” Ciaron asked Isabelle and Callum.

“It depends on what you consider a surprise,” Isabelle said, a smile in her voice. “Callum, thinking lunch is the best part of his school day?”

Ciaron laughed. “No. He’s been like that since prep.”

“No surprises then.”

We were quiet for the rest of the drive. Here, with the three of them, silence didn’t seem so awkward. Not like it was sometimes if it was me and the kids. I needed to find my way out of that. I couldn’t rely on Ciaron for that. Ciaron and I were no longer.

We parked and followed Isabelle and Callum into the school. I pulled on the hem of my shirt. This was the first outing we’d had as a broken family. What would people be thinking? This was a small town. Everyone was bound to know Ciaron and I weren’t together anymore. I took another breath to calm myself and smiled as I looked around. Some of these one-storey buildings had been here when I was at school.

Mr McKinnon, my former maths teacher, and now vice principal, greeted us at the door and gave me a big smile. “Well, if it isn’t Taylor Longmire.” He faced the kids. “I taught your mum when she was your age.”

He gave me a sideways glance, and I shoved my hands in my back pockets. What was he about to share?

“She was a lot like you, Isabelle. She studied hard. She never wanted to disappoint her parents.”

Isabelle glanced at me. OK. That revelation wasn’t so bad.

“But don’t let that fool you. She was the mastermind of many devious acts.”

Oh shit. I peeked at each of them. Their attention was held by Mr McKinnon.

“Like the time she convinced some senior students to bring sheep into the main building early one morning for the new principal to find. There was sheep excrement everywhere.”

Callum’s eyes widened as he spun around. “Mum!”

I shrugged. Ciaron chuckled.

“Ha,” Mr McKinnon exclaimed. “I knew it was you.” He guffawed. “Your mum covered her tracks. We could never prove it.”

I elbowed Ciaron, who laughed with Mr McKinnon. It made him laugh harder.

I smoothed my shirt down. “We have some parent-teacher interviews to get to.”

Mr McKinnon waved us through. “Sure. Sure.” He moved aside. “I’m grateful neither Callum nor Isabelle have inherited your talent.”

I leant towards him as I passed and said, “Yet.” I grinned at his gasp.

Callum was practically bouncing beside me. “What other devious acts did you come up with, Mum?”

“This is not the place,” I said, trying to hide my smile. I didn’t know how I was going to get out of this. He would pester me until I told him something. The best thing to do would be to tell him the tamest things.

Ciaron moved in close. His warm breath brushed my ear, sending a shiver through me. “Everyone pays for their crimes in the end.”

I whipped my head around to retort. My words stuck in my mouth as my lips brushed against his. They tingled. Ciaron stepped away, his cheeks flushed. My chest squeezed. Once, he would have kissed me right then and there. Now he wouldn’t even look at me.

I turned my face and concentrated on the back of Callum’s head. I missed Ciaron’s lips, their tenderness, their warmth. The way that every time he claimed mine, I was his. I couldn’t even remember the last time we kissed. And sex? That was almost non-existent in the months before our breakup. I needed to stop thinking about it. It didn’t matter. He’d made up his mind, andI wasn’t his anymore. It was only a matter of time before he’d return to Ireland and leave us all behind.

I couldn’t simply will the memories away, because they were a part of me. Kissing Ciaron was a part of me, burnt into my muscle memory. It was tender and sweet, possessive and hot…

Ciaron wrenched me towards him;his grin and gleaming green eyes filled my vision. His soft lips enveloped mine, warming them instantly. Blood rushed to my head and then whooshed to my toes, making me dizzy all over. I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold him close and myself upright.

His strong hands were firm on my hips, securing me in place. They didn’t need to; I wasn’t going anywhere. My lips were willing. My whole body was. My tongue caressed his. His groan infiltrated every part of my body, and I held him tighter.

He grabbed onto my arse, pulling me against him.

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