Page 146 of You Fall First

“Let’s meet at the Stony Peak campus instead of the district office. That’s where you’ll be the lead.”

“Perfect,” Jo says. “Just don’t tell Dex I’m coming, or he might try to mess with me. My brother loves his pranks a little too much.”

“Oh, you mean, like when he had the football team move my car onto the field on my first day at school?”

Jo’s laughter tumbles through me, her dimples on full display. “He’s such a weirdo, but I love the guy.”

“Everyone loves Dex,” Nina says.

Yeah. True story.

And I’m falling hard for his little sister. So as Jo and Nina firm up times and locations for their first official meeting, I slip my phone out to text my friend.

Me

Just to tell you … when it comes to Jo, I’m all in, man. All the way.

I shove my phone in my pocket, confident Dex will know what I mean. And I do mean every word.

I’m all in, all the way.

With one hundred percent of my heart and not an ounce less.

Nina leaves us soon after, so Jo and I are able to resume the rest of our date, just the two of us. The food is delicious, but the company’s even better. Then dessert turns out to be the best of both worlds. I ordered the raspberry soufflé, and she got apple cinnamon, so we take turns feeding each other bites.

Watching Jo pretty much kissing my fork makes me want to plan our next date before this one even ends.

On that note, over espressos, we talk more about how our schedules might mesh going forward. One major saving grace is that both our work responsibilities will now mostly fall during the regular workday, unlike when she’d been expecting to work nights at Mockingbird.

And yes, establishing the program might require some overtime upfront, but her meetings with other teachers and coordinators will typically fall within the hours I’m at Havenwood.

That’s just the job I get paid for.

Then there’s Dutton.

Both commitments matter, and yes, I’m fully committed to giving the Havenwood community my best, but I love Dutton.

Full stop.

Paige always wanted a father figure in her son’s life, and now Dutton’s actually going to grow up with me, a privilege I don’t take lightly. On a strictly practical note, I’m already off the professional clock in the evenings, which was one of my top selling points to Paige. I’ll be watching Dutton for her overnight, but she won’t have shifts seven days a week. So whatever time she has off would theoretically leave me available for Jo.

Of course, some of those nights I should also spend with Paige and Dutton. We’re a family, and that’s the whole point.

But we can com-promise, as Dutton says.

Jo and I discuss other potential conflicts too, getting everything out in the open. For one thing, Stony Peak is a high school. Between sports, music, theater, and various clubs, they’ve got evening functions almost every night. In her position, Jo will want or need to attend a lot of them. As for me, I have the occasional meeting or staffing issue that extends beyond my usual workday.

On both ends, we’ll have to be flexible.

Will seeing Jo once or twice a week feel like enough? Not even close. And even coordinating that might require finagling on both our parts.

But is Jo Michaels worth every bit of energy and sacrifice?

Not even a question.

“Don’t forget, we can do things with Dutton sometimes, too,” I point out. “I like a couch snuggle as much as our little space ranger does, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

Jo presses her lips together in thought. “He has to be your priority, though, and so does Paige’s peace of mind. Especially at first. Any plans with him should be a fallback. Only when we’re desperate.”