Page 13 of The Fence Between Us

Ateacher.

Rabble’s brain short-circuited the minute she said the word kindergarten.

A teacher.

She studied at one of the most sought-after universities…to become an elementary school teacher.

He’d been ready to follow her to whichever school she chose, albeit at the community-college level, maybe, and support her goals. He had been prepared to work as many jobs as necessary, whatever hours needed, if it meant she could focus on her studies and achieve everything she wanted.

And yet he immediately saw her surrounded by tiny humans with dirty hands, messy grins, and a thirst for knowledge they didn’t understand. It suited her and felt significantly more natural than a political career. Rabble had always struggled picturing her stuck behind a big desk and pushing papers on someone else’s behalf.

He felt her gaze lock on him as he worked through his thoughts. Could she see it delighted him that she’d gone with her gut and not the career her father had pushed her toward all her life? Not that Rabble had the right to feel pleased. He didn’t have the right to feel one way or the other.

Still, he recognized that familiar pressure in his chest, especially when it came to her. Pride.

“Do you enjoy it?” he asked, his voice light and low.

Skye blinked, once, twice, and a peaceful smile graced her face. “I love it.”

His answering smile was unstoppable, even as he read the emotions that flitted across Skye’s expressive face: puzzlement, confusion, and something else. Something like joy. Honestly, that felt about right to him. Skye’s quiet defiance had always been one of his favorite traits and here she was again, throwing him for a loop.

“So, you came back after you got your degree, to teach?” He’d always wondered which of those fancy schools she’d decided on, if she enjoyed the pomp and circumstance. When she had only a week left to decide, he was already gone.

Digging into a bag of fake flowers, Skye shook her head. “No, I stayed here and went to community college.”

The screw he held poised between his fingers clattered to the wooden boards beneath his feet, and he gaped.She hadn’t gone? Why?

Skye’s eyes took on a subdued impish glint, like she wanted to surprise him but didn’t have the heart to play. Would she gain a sense of satisfaction by completely throwing him off? If so, she’d succeeded.

He lapsed into silence, letting Skye off the hook for more conversation despite the burning questions swirling in his head, causing his head to pound behind his temple. What had changed her mind? Why hadn’t she gone off to one of those fancyuniversities or even one a little further away than fifteen minutes down the road?

They worked in silence for a few more moments before Skye muttered, “What, not even going to ask me?”

Rabble turned back toward her slowly and drawled, “Do you want me to ask?”

“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if you did.”

“Why didn’t you go, Skye?”

A contemplative look stole over her, and her gaze became unfocused. “You were gone. Maybe it’s silly. We were only eighteen after all, but it seemed like the very reason I pushed myself was suddenly missing. I didn’t care if I pissed off my parents anymore. And I kept dreaming about those early days when we first met and just thought if more people had been there for you, maybe things would have been different. I wanted to be someone who could help kids like you. And me. Someone they could trust to care for them without any ulterior motives.”

He heard what she didn’t say.Maybe he wouldn’t have left.

Rabble would be damned if his entire heart didn’t shatter into a million pieces right there in the middle of the warehouse with townspeople making loud noises all around them.

“And your parents were just okay with that?”

“I started school with political science as my major and almost immediately changed it.” A beautiful determination set her jaw. “Oh, Dad was mad, but I just stayed away as much as I could until he could be civil again.”

His jaw flexed, and he clenched his molars as irritation flashed through him. Skye was a dreamer, and that had always been an issue for Max and Gayle Wellington. They didn’t want a dreamer for a daughter; they wanted someone who would be worth something to society, at least, something that matched their idea of worth.

The little girl who lay near him, their faces parallel on either side of the fence, their cheeks almost touching beneath the six-inch gap, saw animals and shapes in the puffy clouds that floated by. Her imagination had baffled and bewildered Rabble, but the stories she’d tell got him through the days and nights when his mother worked long hours. He clung to those stories, memorizing every detail, reciting them to himself as he fell asleep.

Yes, he could definitely see her as a kindergarten teacher, and he bet she was a damned good one at that.

He tilted his head and leaned against the post he’d just secured to the trailer. “What’s your favorite part of teaching?”

She straightened, her eyes widened in surprise, and studied him curiously. “No one has asked me that before.”

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