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“Congratulations,” he said before pulling back, a big smile upon his face. “I know it’s not official until the end of the day, but… I’m just so excited for you. And the possibilities that may come for my brightest student.” He said it all with such conviction, so proud of her. It was hard to believe.
But she was trembling and hoped he’d think it was only due to the cold, then keep her in his arms just a little bit longer. He was so warm and smelled so clean. Not of hay and manure like so many of the farmers around.
“Thank you,” she managed, breathily, as her eyes fluttered up at him.
“But I don’t know what I can do next. My father needs help on the farm and...” she trailed off, trying not to let her morose mood sour his celebration for her.
He rubbed her slender arm through her jacket and nodded.
“I understand you’ve got some obligations at home. You need a paying job, right?” he said, with a faint smile. “That’s just where I might have some good news,” he said, then gestured around him. “How’d you feel about being a teacher?” he asked, brow raised, an expectant, burgeoning smile upon his face.
“A teacher?” she asked, her nose crinkling as she looked up at him, head tilted to the side. Her french braid ran over her shoulder, along the navy blazer and grazing over his fingers.
“I don’t have any college, though.”
Her teacher shrugged his shoulders.
“This is a small country school, college isn’t necessarily required…” he explained, “especially not for a teacher’s assistant.” He cracked a smile at her, looking quite excited by it all. “The school’s small, you know that, but we don’t have any teachers good with handling the youngest children, right? That’s where you could come
in, Amy.”
He sat back upon the corner of his desk and folded his arms, he looked so confident and sure, like he’d solved all her problems. Her saviour.
She tried not to part her lips in her excitement, not get too caught up in it, but it was difficult not to let her excitement bubble over. She was thrilled, and quickly threw her arms around his neck, her large breasts pressing into his chest as she almost crawled up in his lap.
Her sudden lunge set him off balance but he managed to regain his position and balance back out as he touched his big, strong hands to her waist.
“Hey now Amy, just a sec,” he said, unable to fight his grin as he grasped her rather firmly, a tight, comforting sort of hold around her waist. “There’s just one thing you have to do,” he said to her in that calm, instructional tone he’d used to teach her all her life.
She backed away from him, just a little, her vibrant blue eyes seeking his out as she tilted her head curiously.
“Anything, Mr. Muran,” she said, and meant it with every fiber of her being.
His handsome face contorted and he stood back up. With a slow once-over, he seemed to inspect her, a mischievous look crossed his face.
“As you know of course, the school’s budget is tight. We’re funded almost entirely by the township, and the local parish. So though we have tentative approval for a new teacher’s assistant, there are two people you need to meet with first, to convince you’re the right candidate,” he said with a proper amount of gravity to the statement.
“Okay,” she agreed, without hesitation. A way out of being a farmer and still able to provide for her father? There wasn’t any question in her mind that she’d do what she had to in order to convince them.
“You’re going to have to meet with Father Mackay at the parish church. He’s the first one you’ll have to convince. I’m sure it shouldn’t be a problem, right? How could anyone not fall for you upon first sight?” he remarked with a grin.
“Sure,” she nodded easily, her heart thumping louder as she realized she was still standing so near to him, chest brushing against his with her eager breaths.
“Who else?”
Her teacher gave her a momentary look before he spoke, as if bracing to deliver the news.
“The mayor,” he said softly. “And I know he’s been a bit of a nuisance for your father in the past, but hopefully he doesn’t hold their feud against you. Which he shouldn’t. That was ancient even when it started, had no business exploding up like that.”
Amy had never quite learned the reason for why the mayor and her father had such an ongoing rivalry, though it had all started shortly after her mother passed away. Her father had always been a gentle man, so it didn’t make sense to her that he became so enraged towards the man who ran the town.
But for all her curiosity and enthusiasm at school, she understood her father’s desire not to talk about it or let it hurt their time together so she’d never pried.
Still, she let out a soft sigh and nodded at her teacher, fingers lightly brushing over her braided hair.
“What should I say, then?”
He gave a shrug but smiled reassuringly down at her, the angle causing his glasses to slip a bit and he had to push them back up the bridge of his well-shaped nose.
