“Hello, ladies,” I said, coming up to their table.My eyes settled on Ansel Gregor, their token male member.“And gentleman.”
Ansel, a beefy, thirty-eight-year-old firefighter and sanitation manager, grinned at me as his enormous hands dextrously moved two knitting needles through what looked like half of a sage-green baby beanie.“Hey, Naomi.How’s it going?”
I lifted up my pastry box.“Just came to feed the addiction.”
Jolene sat down, but her coppery-brown eyes narrowed.“You were talking with Kari for a while.What was that about?”
I shrugged.“You got a recording device in the bakery now, Jolene?Or at least a camera?”
Her smirk was cheeky as she picked up her knitting needles and the baby-blue yarn she was making into a blanket.
“Kari and I were just chatting.As people who like each other often do.”
“What was your takeaway from last night’s meeting at the school?”Jolene asked, switching subjects.“I was just telling the ladies that while I think Principal Paul will not be abadaddition to the island, I do wonder if he’s going to be too lax with the children.”
“As opposed to the tyrannical fascist who ran the school before him?I think the children—and the parents—could use an administrator with patience and compassion.”
Jolene’s face turned a little rosy.
“I know Otto’s wife was your friend, but even you have to admit, Jolene, that Otto Pickford was a monster and not fit to run a school—or shape the young minds of tomorrow.And from what Gabrielle’s read—because yeah, she’s done her research too—Lennox Paul is highly qualified for this job.”
“He’sawfullyyoung,” Jolene countered.“There’s something to be said for age and wisdom.Lennox Paul is but a baby himself.”
I huffed an unamused laugh.“He’s not a baby.And I happen to think that with youth comes energy, new ideas, new perspectives and, oftentimes, more patience.Something his predecessor lacked entirely.”
“How oldishe?”Alice Figgs asked.Her husband, Palmer, drove the school bus for all the children on the island.
“I’m not sure,” I said.“Old enough to have a kid.Old enough to have a master’s degree in special education.Old enough to be the principal—the fresh blood—our little community school has needed for a long time.”
“Do you think his child will be at the school?”Jolene asked.“He didn’t say last night.I’m awfully curious to know their age and gender.”
I lifted one shoulder.“Does it matter?”
Jolene’s cheeks became even ruddier, and she muttered something like, “No, but I’d still like to know.”
I took an ounce of pity on the gossiping goose and sighed.“I’m sure my children—or at least Honor—will come home with lots to say about the new principal and whether or not his kid is at the school.”
“Well, you’ll have to do your due diligence and let the rest of us know,” Jolene said, perking up.“Some of us don’t have school-aged children anymore, so we must learn information in other ways.”
Like wiretapping.
I glanced up into the sky, where the hawk still continued to circle.“I hope you all have a lovely rest of your day.You’ve certainly got the perfect weather for knitting on the patio.”
Ansel’s snort of amusement was subtle and thankfully lost on Jolene, but a few of the other women smirked.
I took my leave of them and finished my croissant by the time I reached my vehicle.It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to eat the other two on the drive to the grocery store.
Luckily, my favorite sea salt and caramel crunch chocolate bar from a local Seattle-based chocolatier was back in stock.So I chucked two of the decadent—and expensive—bars into my grocery basket as I reached the checkout.
“Hey, Naomi,” Jordana greeted with a friendly smile as I placed a bar between my groceries and those of the person behind me.“Were your kids as excited today about the new principal as mine were?”
I opened my reusable cloth shopping bag and started bagging my purchases as she rang them in.“They were.Particularly Honor.I think Sam and some of the McEvoy kids were the most excited though.”
Jordana gave a quick frown.“Yeah … Otto let them get so bullied.Poor Sam.How is she doing anyway?”
“She’s doing so much better,” I replied.“Like a new kid.Her daily dose of horse snuggles seems to have been the perfect prescription.”
Of course, Jordana was referring to my cousin Danica’s daughter, Sam, who had been almost the exclusive target of Clyde Whalley’s wrath.And of course, Clyde’s grandfather was the principal and believed his grandson could do no wrong.Clyde went so far as to smear dog crap on Sam’s head, pull her chair out from behind her, and put gum in her hair when he sat behind her on the school bus.The child was a menace.All of this, combined with Sam’s naturally shy and anxious nature caused the poor child to begin self-harming and suffer anxiety attacks.Luckily, she found refuge and peace among the horses at Tommaso Barone’s animal rescue sanctuary.That also led to Danica and Tommaso falling in love.
