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Then you have Cord. My bar owning, rebel brother. And the one person who knows my deepest, darkest secret. Cord’s dream was to open a bar and, to my father’s disapproval, he owns a country western bar in town. Of course, he still works the ranch when needed. It’s in all our blood and none of us could ever walk away from it.
The baby boy in the family was Trevor. He grew up to be one hundred percent my father’s son. Loves the ranch. Loves being on top of a horse…and a woman.
Last but not least, Amelia, the baby in the family and what my father likes to call his gift from God. My mother was told she wouldn’t have any more kids after a hard pregnancy and delivery with Trevor. But two years later, our baby sister was here. She is the apple of my parents’ eye.
“Steed, did you hear anything I just said?”
My eyes lifted to my mother. “What was that, Mom?”
“Is Chloe excited for school?”
“Yes. I had to explain to her that the school wasn’t going to be like her pre-school. It’s going to be smaller.”
My mother lifted her brows and asked, “Well how big was her pre-school?”
I laughed. “Mom, I lived in Portland, Oregon. Hundreds of thousands of people live there. How many people live in Oak Springs? Six hundred?”
“We’re getting closer to twelve hundred. If you count the outskirts of town,” my father said as he took a drink.
Lifting her glass to her lips, my mother gave me a smirk that hinted she was up to something. “I have a feeling Chloe is going to love Oak Springs elementary much better than she would love some overcrowded school in Oregon.”
I sighed. “I hope so. Hopefully Mrs. Bagnet isn’t still the kindergarten teacher. That woman was mean as hell.”
My father and mother exchanged glances. Dad acted like he was about to say something when my mother cut him off. “Oh, no, she retired four years ago. We have a new kindergarten teacher who’s been there a few years.”
“Thank, God,” I mumbled as I finished off my drink.
Chloe walked between my mother and Amelia as we made our way down the long hall. I couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at my mouth. I hadn’t been in these halls in a long time. A small part of me panicked, thinking I’d see Paxton. It had been her dream to become a teacher, but I made it a habit to never talk about her. My mother had tried to get me to tell her what happened, but if I told her the truth, she’d hate me. I made her vow to never talk about Paxton after my mother told me Joe Miller’s mother said he and Paxton were close to becoming engaged. I guess they had started dating their senior year at Texas A & M.
That little bit of information is what sent me into Kim’s bed and threw me into a depression that lasted for months. It was part of the reason I asked Kim to marry me. I was running from the past desperately. After that one conversation about Paxton and Joe, I never asked about her again, and if my mother brought her up, I’d threaten to end the call. She quickly learned it was a subject I didn’t want to breach.
“I can’t wait to meet my teacher!” Chloe said. “I hope she’s pretty!”
Amelia laughed, and my mother replied, “Oh, she’s very pretty. You’re going to love her, Chloe.”
“Mom, do you know who the teacher is?” I asked as they rounded the corner and slipped into the classroom before answering. I stopped to let another family go first. The guy seemed familiar, but I couldn’t place him. We stared at each other for a moment before we both let it go. When I walked in, I quickly scanned the room. It was cuter than any of the pre-school classrooms Chloe had been in. I grinned when I saw the reading nook. When my eyes landed on the beanbag chair, a memory of Paxton hit me so hard it took my breath away.
“One day when I’m a teacher, I’m going to have a special reading area for my students. One where they can curl up in a beanbag chair and get lost in the words of a book.”
“What grade do you want to teach, Pax?” I asked, holding her in my arms as we looked at the stars.
“Kindergarten. I think that’s where my calling will be.”
I took a few steps back. My head spun and my heart slammed against my chest.
Oh, holy fuck.
When I turned around to search out my mother, Paxton’s blue eyes met mine. We stood there for a few moments, staring. Her brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail with a few loose curls hanging down. My eyes swept over her body. The young girl I fell in love with had turned into a beautiful woman. The most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
