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Emma’s eyes widened. “Oh wow! I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Here’s Mrs. Anderson’s classroom roster and the keys,” the principal said, handing them to her. “In case you want to check her lesson plans, she mentioned having them in a file cabinet behind her desk.”
Emma took the items from him. “Okay, well it looks like I have my work cut out for me. Thanks for letting me know.”
As she walked to Mrs. Anderson’s classroom, Emma chuckled to herself. She had never held a full-time substitute position for that long before.
Glancing down at the roster, Emma read through the names written on it. Charlotte Walker, Jeremiah Grayson, Tate Harmon...She would have all of them in the same class. “This should be fun,” she thought to herself with a wry smile.
Chapter 16
Luke
The warm August sun was still high in the sky as Luke eagerly finished his afternoon conference call and looked up at the clock. It was almost time to pick up Jeremiah from his first day of school. He hadn’t gotten any frantic phone calls from the principal yet, so he took that as a good sign to the start of the semester.
With the windows of his Range Rover down, Luke put on an upbeat country song to set the mood. As he drove through the scenic coastal town, he realized the small-town charm and peaceful atmosphere were starting to grow on him.
As he pulled up to the school, Jeremiah came rushing out of the main doors and over to the SUV. After he was inside, Luke rolled his window up and switched off the music.
“So, how was it?” Luke asked. “Did you make any new friends?”
Jeremiah turned away, looking out the window.
“How about lunch? How was the food? We can get something at the market later if you want to take your lunch in tomorrow.”
“Don’t act like you care,” Jeremiah told him.
That was it. Luke had enough. Feeling his body tense and coil like a tightly wound spring, he pulled the car over to the side of the road. Jeremiah whipped his head around to face him.
“What are you doing? I can’t be late to the rescue. Right?”
Luke took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves before speaking. “Look, Jeremiah, I’m not perfect, and I know we’ve had our differences. But since Mom passed, I’ve been trying to reach out and make things right between us. I lost her too. And I don’t think we should grieve alone. We can make it through this together.”
As Luke spoke, Jeremiah kept his eyes fixed out the window and didn’t respond. However, Luke noticed a subtle change in Jeremiah’s demeanor—his steely exterior seemed to soften. Maybe something he just said had resonated with Jeremiah. Encouraged by this, Luke decided to drop the subject.
He pulled back onto the road and drove a few miles to Second Chance Rescue, silence hanging heavily between them. When they arrived, Luke saw Kara and Charlotte getting out of their car.
“I’ll be back here in three hours. We can pick up some pizza for dinner, your choice.”
Jeremiah gave a small nod before hopping out of the car. Luke felt hopeful as he watched him walk toward the main doors.
With three hours to kill, Luke didn’t feel like going home. The beach was nearby, and the weather was perfect for a stroll. He drove over and found a parking space right by the entrance. After locking the car, he fell into step with the other people on the sand. The smell of saltwater taffy and popcorn wafted toward Luke from the nearby vendors. It was late afternoon, and the tide was low. Seagulls circled overhead, their cries blending with the sound of the waves. He passed by dunes covered in tall grass, swaying in the gentle breeze. Beyond them, the water sparkled in the sunlight, reflecting the blue sky above. The sand was cool under his bare feet, and the water felt refreshing as it washed over his toes.
Walking further down the beach, he thought of Kate, Jeremiah, and about uprooting their lives and moving to this small town. Was it the right move? Kate always seemed to think it would be. She didn’t mind the big city, but he knew she only lived there for him. She belonged in a small town near the water. And, strangely enough, now so did he.
In the distance, Luke’s heart skipped a beat as he spotted a familiar sandy-colored dog bounding toward him. “Riley!” he called out with a smile, kneeling down to pet the friendly dog he had gotten to know during his weeklong stay at his house. Riley wagged his tail, clearly happy to see Luke, as if they were old friends. “What are you doing out here boy?”
Looking around, he couldn’t help but wonder where Emma was and began to get his hopes up at the thought of seeing her.
“Riley! Riley, where’d you go?”
Luke turned around to see a woman he hadn’t met before. She smiled at him with an odd familiarity, as if she already knew him.
“Luke, right?”
Luke chuckled. “That’s right. But I’m sorry. I don’t have the faintest idea who you are.”
The woman burst into laughter. “I’m Lisa. Emma called and asked me if I could bring Riley down here for a walk since she got stuck at school.”
