Farrah clears her throat, handing me a few printed pages with boxes and scores pertaining to my son’s education. “Finn is a wonderful kid. He’s more empathetic than is probably healthy, but he’s always paying attention to the other students. He speaks up if someone needs help, or he’ll help them himself. He learns things astonishingly fast, and I’m going to recommend having his first-grade teacher test him for the gifted program. It’s too late to do it now, but I think they’ll find that he’ll grasp most every concept they throw at him within minutes. He’s brilliant, Knox, and he’ll need to be challenged. Otherwise, he’ll just get bored.”
I always thought Finn was intelligent, but I was never sure if it was just parental pride that made me believe that. Having Farrah confirm it makes me wonder… “Should I be doing anything at home to help him?”
“Fostering his interests is the best thing. He loves reading chapter books, but we don’t have many in our library suitable for his age. He could read more challenging books, but I don’t think he’s old enough to comprehend what he’d be reading. If he has an interest in a subject, giving him the space and resources to pursue it would be ideal. It will allow his brain to focus on new things and keep him from getting too bored.”
I nod. We already do most of those things at home, but I might have to search for some books for advanced young readers. “Anything else I need to know?”
She opens her mouth before closing it again.
“Say it,” I demand. I probably won’t like it, but I want to hear it. As frustrating as I find her, she’s very good at her job.
“Please be careful with his emotions. He has the softest heart of any kid I’ve ever met. It would be so easy to break it because he’s so trusting.”
My hackles rise. “You think I don’t already know that about my kid? You think I coulda raised him for six years and not known how hard he feels? I was the one who held him when he bawled his eyes out after finding a dead frog on the side of the pond. I was there when he accidentally stepped on a spider in the house and cried for ten minutes. I know my son better than anyone. I don’t need some trumped-up fairy princess telling me how to raise my kid.”
After I end my tirade, Farrah looks at me with wide brown eyes. Her body is tight with tension, and I realize she’s suddenly frozen with fear.Of me.
“Fuck, Farrah. I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me there. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
She blinks as if coming back into her body. She looks down at her desk and starts to straighten her already perfect files. “No, I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. It’s not my job to tell you how to parent your child. I’m sorry. Finn is wonderful, and he’ll do great in first grade.”
Before I can respond, Farrah has her stuff in her hands, and she’s sprinting out the door as if a ghost is chasing her.
“Fuck,” I whisper, running my fingers through my hair. I’ve said some stupid shit to her since she started teaching my son, but this might’ve just been the worst.
CHAPTER 4
Farrah
My stomach cramps from how hard I’m laughing. Gwen and Gia aren’t faring any better than I am. We’re probably pissing everyone off at the Chateau, but I couldn’t care less. It’s the lightest I’ve felt since that disastrous meeting with Knox.
I still can’t believe I ran away like a scared little mouse. I thought I’d kicked that habit, but the second Knox’s face grew thunderous, my body shut down. It was all I could do to get out of there without breaking down in front of him. The only thing keeping me on my feet was sheer stubbornness.
I hate that my instinct is to flee, but it saved my life before. I refuse to see it as being a coward because without it, I’d probably be dead by now.
So sitting at this table with my two best friends, laughing my ass off, is a blessing I won’t ever take for granted.
I love these two crazy women. Gia’s been telling us ridiculous stories about her college days, and Gwen and I have been cracking up at every detail.
Gia’s life sounds like it’s been one big adventure. I still have a hard time understanding why she’d move to Pine CreekFalls, where cows outnumber the citizens. I’d think she’d want to live somewhere with constant excitement, but every time I see her, she seems more settled than the last. I’m sure Holt has something to do with it. She’s found a man she can rely on. I can’t imagine how reassuring that must be.
I’m not sure I can trust a man again. Between my alcoholic father and…my ex…I doubt I’ll ever be comfortable around a man.
I do my best to give them the benefit of the doubt, like Holt and even Knox—when he’s not being an asshole. But after the things I’ve survived, I’m not sure I’ll feel safe enough to put myself in that kind of position again.
“Okay, enough about me,” Gia says, holding up her glass of red wine. “Tonight, we’re here to celebrate Farrah being an absolute badass and getting into her master’s programandbeing awarded a full-ride scholarship. I am in awe of you, friend.”
“To Farrah,” Gwen cheers.
My face flames at their attention. I accidentally let it slip that I’m starting an online master’s program in the fall. Gia and Gwen insisted on going out to celebrate. “You guys are silly. It’s not that big a deal.”
Gwen scoffs at me. “Farrah, it’s a huge deal. Getting into such an excellent program is incredible on its own. Add in that you’re also getting a scholarship to attend, and we’re seriously blown away.”
“No joke, I’m a little in awe of you,” Gia says. “I barely made it through my undergrad. I can’t imagine going back to school while working full-time.”
I shrug. “If I want to stop working two jobs, I need to go to school.”
“It’s fucking dumb that we don’t pay the people who are literally shaping our next generation more.” Gia huffs out an annoyed sound that makes me grin at her. She’s sucha warrior for the right causes. I love that about her. She’s strong and doesn’t put up with any kind of bullcrap.
