Page 39 of Home Field Advantage
“Great,” she says, taking a seat. “Is Sage getting acclimatednicely? I’ve been nervous about how she would transition into a new school.”
“I understand those feelings, and it’s normal for you to feel that way. I’ll tell you with confidence, there’s no need to be nervous, Mrs. Westbrook. Sage is transitioning perfectly. She’s so bright, funny, and smart.”
Her shoulders fall with relief as the nervousness leaves her body with my assurance. “That’s all I want for her.”
“Before your husband returns, I wanted to ask you about something Sage said yesterday. I’m sorry if it’s too personal, but I wanted to ensure everything was okay.”
She waves her hand in the air. “Oh, he’s not?—”
A knock on the door interrupts her, drawing both of our attention. The atmosphere in the room shifts. My eyes go wide, and my stomach sinks. I think my soul leaves my body when I see Dallas standing in the doorway.
“Did you get everything handled?” April asks him.
He doesn’t reply or move. He stands there with one hand on the door frame, staring at me with lips parted in shock, his eyes narrowed in confusion. My heart pounds in my chest, and I feel frozen, papers clenched between my fingers as I realize that I not only shared a drink at the bar with the father of one of my students but also a married man. A married man who is said to have a penchant for murder!
Oh my god, is this really happening right now?
And how in the world did I not put two and two together?
If I weren’t trying to remain professional at work, I would swivel my chair to the side and vomit into the trash can because this cannot be happening right now.
Apparently,Rachel isn’t the only one going to hell.
Dallas shakes his head as if snapping out of whatever was going throughhishead and makes his way into the room, keeping his head to the ground. “Yeah. I took care of it.”
April beams, clapping her hands together, oblivious of the tension in the room. “Perfect. Here, take a seat and meet MissBarlow.” She pushes the seat next to her out for him. “We chatted briefly while you finished in the office, and she said Sage is transitioning nicely.”
He reluctantly sits down, making the chair feel much smaller than it is. His body is most certainly not made for these types of chairs.
Once he settles in, he leans forward on the table, intertwining his fingers, and slowly lifts his gaze to meet mine. I suddenly can’t breathe. The flirty man I met at the bar is long gone, replaced by a serious and stoic version of Dallas. Forcing myself to breathe before I pass out, I look away and focus on the papers laid out in front of me.
I straighten my spine to maintain a professional composure. “As I said before, yes, Sage is settling in nicely. I think she has about eighteen new best friends.” I laugh nervously, looking down at the papers in front of me. “However, there was something she said yesterday that I was just about to ask your wife?—”
“She’s not my wife,” he cuts me off. My head snaps up again, instantly connecting with his. The corners of his eyes crinkle as his lips twist into a smirk. “We’ve been divorced for a while now,” he adds.
I know I shouldn’t feel relieved, but I can’t help it because now I don’t need to feel guilty about ogling over a married man. The problem is that he’s still the father of one of my students, still making him completely off-limits. I simply can’t. But it’s hard to deny the way he makes me feel. It still is, especially with how he looks at me from across this small table, while his ex-wife sits beside him.
“Is Sage okay?” April cuts in. “What did she say?”
Clearing my throat, I turn to face April. “We were doing introductions around the classroom. Each student told a little about themselves, and Sage took a turn. The last thing was to give us a fun fact about yourself. She said she loves doing puzzles.”
“She does.” April smiles. “She’s always loved them. She can tackle a 500-piece puzzle at six years old in two days.”
“She told me that you planned to bring one for her one day,” Dallas chimes in.
I nod, trying to avoid eye contact because I did tell her that.
That’s when it hits me: I’ve been so focused on Dallas sitting right in front of me that I didn’t even consider that he’s my neighbor. Dallas is my freaking neighbor. Oh my god. This means Sage lives right next door to me. Or does she live with her mom? I have so many questions, but it’s not my place to ask them. I don’t want to learn anything more about Dallas than I already have.
Except, there’s one thing I need to know to bring me some peace.
“After she told us about liking puzzles, she continued to say that she wishes her dad were good at puzzles.” I shift my focus from April to Dallas. His eyebrow knit in confusion. “She said you prefer murder. And listen,” I say quickly, “I don’t judge anyone by what they choose to do. I just want to make sure my students are safe at home.” I rattle out the words quickly as if to defend my accusations. My cheeks heat with the grin that spreads across his face, and I want nothing more than to crawl into a hole now.
April smacks his arm with the back of her hand. “I told you to stop watching those murder mystery shows when Sage is in the room, Dallas.”
Dallas keeps his eyes fixed on mine, not reacting to April’s smack on the arm while his smile grows. It causes my stomach to somersault with guilt for even thinking her father was a murderer. Granted, I didn’t know her father is Dallas. The comment would throw up a red flag for any teacher.
“I’m sorry,” I admit, letting my shoulders fall in relief. “Like I said, I just want to ensure my students are safe.”
