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What if she’s not there for some reason?
All this will have been for nothing.
No. That’s not true. I’ll get to spend some time with Nash, and that’s always worth putting myself out for.
“How did it go?” Katie says, making me jump.
“How did what go?”
“You’ve obviously been texting Sabrina. So… what did she say?”
I smile down at her. “I can’t keep anything from you, can I?”
“No. Now stop prevaricating and tell me what’s going on.”
“She agreed.”
“So, you’re collecting Nash from school?” she says, a smile touching at her lips.
“I am. Although I wonder how much it hurt Sabrina to have to thank me.” Katie laughs, but I shake my head and she tilts hers, her laughter dying on her lips. “Should I be doing this?” I ask.
“Of course you should. You’re owed a little fun… a little happiness.”
“Maybe. But should I be using Nash to achieve it?”
She frowns and steps closer. “You’re not using Nash,” she says. “He’ll be thrilled to see you. Especially since it’s the first day of the semester. He’ll have so much to tell you.”
I smile, unable to help myself. “Yeah. He said he’d probably call me tonight.”
“In which case, you’ll have saved him the trouble. Don’t underestimate that boy’s love for you.”
I feel my cheeks heat under her compliment and step back. “Th—Thanks, Katie,” I say, stumbling over my words, and turn to find a man waiting to be served. He’s holding out a book about Ancient Egypt and I take it from him with a smile.
“You can’t afford to be late,” Katie says, checking her watch and ushering me around the cash desk.
“Will you be okay for a while? Once I’ve collected Nash, I’ve gotta take him back to Sabrina’s place.”
“I’ll be fine.”
She shoos me away, and I depart with mixed emotions. I still feel a little guilty over the way I’m going about things, and for involving Nash in my pursuit of the Kindergarten teacher. I’m also more nervous than I’ve ever been in my life. My stomach is churning and my legs feel like they’ll barely take my weight. I seriously need to man up, or I’ll make a fool of myself.
With that in mind, I glance up and down Main Street, sucking in a few deep breaths and trying to calm my nerves.
It doesn’t work, but I don’t have time to hang around wondering what to do about it.
Instead, I cross the street and walk down Mulberry Lane, entering the school gate, along with several other parents. Among them are Laurel and Brady, and rather than standing on my own waiting for the children to come out, I join them.
“Don’t you have any crimes to solve?” I say to Brady, who smiles at me, shaking his head.
“It’s been a quiet day, which in my line of work is not a bad thing.”
“I guess not.”
He puts his arm around Laurel. “Besides, I promised Addy I’d be here this afternoon.”
“And we dads can’t break our promises, can we?” I say, and his smile widens.
“Thanks for that.”
