Page 60 of Finding Hope

Five minutes later, she’s back in the same school teacher outfit I’ve dreamed about more times than I’ll ever admit.

Dropping her cell in her bag, she looks up with a beautiful smile. “I called a cab. It’s fine!” she adds as I open my mouth to argue. “It’s cool. It’s not three a.m. and I know where I am. I’ll see you around, okay?”

“I can drive you back to your car.”

“No, it’d take longer to load all those kids into the van than it’d take to walk.” She places a soft hand on my forearm and sends tingles racing through my chest. “Thanks for bailing me out last night. I appreciate it.”

“I’d argue that a grown-up date with Brad might’ve been more fun than babysitting, but Brad the Bore isneverthe better option, so you’re welcome.”

Smiling, she squeezes my arm. “You definitely offered me a better night.”

“Aww, shucks, Miss T. That’s whatallthe pretty girls say.”

Laughing, her eyes flip between mine and Evie’s as Evie watches us, owl-eyed.

Shrugging, Britt’s lips lift into a tiny smirk. “Yeah. Well… Anyway. I’ll see you at school on Monday, Evie.”

“Okay. You can call me Smalls, by the way. If you wanna. People only call me Evie when I’m in trouble.”

“Which is a lot,” I volunteer.

Nodding, Britt ignores the elbow Evie slams into my ribs. “Okay, I’ll work on it. See you Monday. Thanks for a fun time, kids. I’ll see you around, Jack.”

I nod.

A small part of me wants to stop her, maybe even ask for her number, but Annie’s restraining head against my hip has me reconsidering. Instead of stopping her, I hold the front door open and watch her get into the cab.

After the gates close and lock behind her, I shake my head and go back to the kitchen chaos.

I clean everyone up and send them all to the living room with chopped fruit, then I go back to the kitchen to find my own special stack of pancakes and bacon in the oven.

The heat is turned off, so they just sit in the residual warmth, but the smiley face she made with blueberries has me grinning like a fool.

I consider going to see her, perhaps asking my sisters where she lives, since they dropped her off that time, but I don’t.

Instead, I wait for everyone to get home, to roll in and tease me about having a girl over, then I have a shower, pull on my hat, and drive to the cemetery.

That fuckin’ elephant’s back in the room, and I feel guilty for smiling at a girl that isn’t Steph.

16

BRITT

MESSED UP

Sitting across from Laine, Jess, and Kari, a table of pancakes and muffins separate us as I agonize and press my palms over my eyes. “I need help, guys. I’m desperate.”

“What’s your problem?” Shoving a whole slice of bacon into her mouth, Laine smiles with greasy lips. “Tell us your woes, baby doll.”

“Brad keeps asking me out. He won’t take a damn hint.”

“Ugh,” she grunts like a pig. “I hate Brad. He’s weird.”

Jess’s eyes narrow. “I don’t know Brad, but why don’t we like him?”

“I don’t know. He’s nice, but I don’tfeelanything when I’m around him. He’s just not the one, so I don’t want to go out on a date with him. He won’t stop asking, and every time I say no, somehow,Ifeel like the bitch.”

“It must be hard being so beautiful,” Kari teases. “To haveallthe hot guys asking you outallthe time. I can see how that would be taxing on your sensibilities.” Rolling her eyes, she catches the wadded-up napkin I toss at her head. “Did you ever watch that movie How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days? It’s an old movie, but it comes with a really valuable lesson.”

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