Page 23 of Choosing Forever
I snort. “Have you told him that?”
“Too many times to count. So, don’t take his criticisms to heart. It looks good on you. Daisy was gushing about it the other day.”
“Oh, good. Were you jealous?”
“Of you? Not a chance.”
“Ouch.”
“Didn’t you already get enough compliments from me?”
“I figured you were changing into the warm and fuzzy type, that’s all,” I tease, some of the pain in my chest easing for the time being.
“Now I’m leaving. Walk me out?”
I do so without hesitation. She shoves her feet and the hems of her long PJ pants into the black boots she wore over. I hide a laugh behind a cough.
“Drive safe, Ice,” I say.
She gives me a long look, checking me over before nodding. “I’ll text you.”
“I’ll be on the lookout.”
And I am. The text that comes in exactly five hours later sends a zap of fear through me from head to toe.
Bryce: Drive-in is a go. Time to talk to Caleb.
8
DELANEY
“Hi, Della!”Daisy sings.
I pause halfway through shutting my classroom door and glance down the hall. The twin buns on the top of her head don’t move an inch as she bounces my way. Space buns and yellow overalls are hard to pull off, but Daisy Mitchell can pull off anything with ease. I’ve seen it happen on more than one occasion.
“Hi, Daisy.”
“Gosh, when’s the last time we even had a staff meeting? Any bets on what this one’s about?”
“Nothing good, most likely.”
The email was sent out halfway through the day with no warning or explanation, just the order for every staff member to attend if possible. It’s the last thing I want to do today.
Last night was one of the worst nights I’ve had in a long time. Poppy stayed for a couple of hours before I kicked her out, demanding she go home to her man and catch up on as much sleep as possible. It was probably pointless, considering they’re staying at Steele Ranch while their new house gets built, and from what I’ve heard, it’s impossible to sleep past sunrise out there.
The only thing I could hope for was that one of us would get a couple of hours of sleep. I knew it wasn’t going to be me.
“I’m hoping for a raise,” Daisy says.
I finally close the classroom door the rest of the way before joining her in the hall. “That’s the only way I wouldn’t be annoyed spending my evening here.”
“If they have food, I’ll keep my complaints inside.”
“That’s fair. I’ll even settle for a hot coffee.”
Daisy laughs and adjusts the strap of her massive book bag where it rests on her shoulder. That thing could knock someone out with one swing.
“Speaking of coffee, have you noticed that the pot in the staff room isalwaysempty recently?”
