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“Never,” he says. “You could never fuck this up.” He takes a step down and reaches his hand out to me. “Now, let’s round up those three kids,” hitching his thumb over his shoulder to where Ronnie is hiding behind a tree playing hide and go seek with the kids, “and take this crazy lady inside to get settled in.” He whistles for the kids and strides up the porch to grab Ronnie’s b
ags, pulling his spare key out of his pocket. The kids and Ronnie make their way back across the yard and into the house and I can’t help but feel so fucking happy and so sure about the decisions I made that brought me to Alabama.
???
The next morning, I wake early and drag my tired self out of bed, feeling too old for all the fun we had with the kids yesterday. Throwing my robe on over my sleep shorts and tank, I make my way to the kitchen and stutter to a stop, taking in the sight in front of me. Ronnie in her housecoat, making her way around my kitchen to brew a pot of coffee. My heart soars again.
“Good morning,” I say as I come into the kitchen, pressing a kiss to her wrinkly cheek. She grins at me.
“Good morning, child. Did you sleep well?” She asks, reaching into the cupboard for some mugs.
“I did,” I say, opening the fridge for creamer and closing the door. “I wish you would have taken my bed though and let me sleep on the pullout.” I narrow my eyes at her. She’s so stubborn. She insisted that she was not taking my bed last night and told me I could either shut up about it and go to sleep or she was driving to the nearest hotel and sleeping there. I quickly shut my mouth because there was no way I was letting her crash at a hotel after she just drove all this way to see me.
She waves me off. “Oh, enough with that piddly shit. It’s time for you to dish to Mama Ron about that fine piece of man meat you’re boning next door.” She saddles up to the bar stool with two coffee cups and motions for me to sit. I snort-laugh, sitting beside her and taking a sip of my coffee, trying to wrap my head around everything that has transpired in the last twelve hours.
I look at Ronnie and she’s staring at me, waiting for me to say something.
“I love him,” I shrug, taking another sip from my cup. “I love him and those kids so fucking much it scares me,” I admit to her, tears welling up in my eyes. Ronnie reaches over and pats my hand.
“Oh I know, baby. I knew you loved him the first time you told me about him on the phone. And don’t think I wasn’t watchin’ the two of you on the porch last night while I let you have your moment. He loves you just as much as you love him.” The tears are spilling down my face now.
“I’m just terrified. I can’t imagine losing him. I’m not sure I’d ever live through it,” I blow out a shaky breath. If Ronnie knows about anything, it’s about loss. She lost her husband young at thirty-seven. Thought she’d have the rest of her life with him and that they’d raise babies together and grow old together. She offers me a sad smile, taking a sip from her coffee cup.
“I know, baby. And trust me, it sucks. Losing Asher the way I did destroyed me. Destroyed me so much I never found love again. I couldn’t imagine doing life with anyone other than him. Couldn’t imagine having babies with anyone else. I still can’t ever see myself falling in love again. Asher was it for me. And I’m sure your man knows a little about loss, too. Losing his wife, thinking he’d only ever love one woman for the rest of his life. And then, this beautiful, long-legged blonde moves in next door.” She cuts me a sly smile, taking another sip of her drink. My jaw drops. She set me up with this house. Said she knew a lady who was moving into a retirement home and wasn’t sure she wanted to sell her house, so she got it for me as a cheap rental. Insanely cheap.
“You set me up!” I cry out. She starts laughing.
“Of course I did, child. I heard all about the young man that lived next door to Mrs. Jenkins and how broken he was. And I know a little about being broken, plus I had just spent all those years putting you back together. I knew you were ready. You just needed a little push.” I sigh, loving her and hating her all at the same time.
“You’re a sneak,” I laugh and so does she.
“Nah, not a sneak. Just an old lady who was broken until she found a young woman on a train, who was absolutely destroyed. A beautiful young woman that didn’t know how worthy of love she really was. I may have never wanted my own kids, but God knew I needed you, Alexis.
I wipe the tears that are streaming down my face away and stand to wrap my arms around her frail little body. She reciprocates and clears her throat. “Alright then, enough of this blubbery bullshit. What say you and I go shopping and have lunch?” Ron stands and puts her cup in the sink. I laugh a little because that’s how she has always been. Not one for much affection.
“I think that sounds fantastic,” I say, and I head to the bathroom to get ready for the day.
???
We are closing in on a month of school. Thirty whole days that I’ve been doing what I love, teaching students and mentoring them along the way. That also means thirty days of Crawford James. Just thinking about Ford sends a shiver down my spine. He’s incredible. It’s my planning period and the end of the day. I swing into the office to grab my mail and make copies of Monday’s homework.
“Happy Wednesday afternoon, Miss Carter,” Holly, the high school secretary says as I make my way to the copier.
“Same to you! How has your week been?” I ask, punching some buttons and propping myself up against the counter while I chat.
“Oh good, good. Same old riff raff in and out, parents angry that their kids are already failing, ya know. Normal high school drama,” she says. I laugh at that because it’s so true. I’ve already received nasty emails from parents that can’t believe their precious child just isn’t doing their work or showing up to class.
“I hear ya on that,” I say, shaking my head and making my way over to the mail slots, snagging the papers out of my box and sorting through it. A small envelope catches my eye, my name scrawled on the front. I rip it open and pull out the slip of paper.
“Holly, did you see who put this in my box?” I ask, my voice shaking and barely above a whisper. She tilts her head.
“No, but I did have to escort a student back to class earlier so I was out for a minute or two. Alexis, are you okay?” She asks, concern lacing her voice. I clear my throat.
“Y-yeah. Fine,” I laugh nervously and re-read the note. But I read it correctly the first time.
Leave town now bitch. No one wants you here. Leave. Before you get hurt. Or before I hurt someone you care about.
I can only think of one person that would want me to leave town. Jason. But this doesn’t look like his handwriting. And I’m not sure how he would have gotten into the school and the office to drop this note in my mailbox. I stuff the paper back in the envelope. I look up and Holly is still looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. Shit, maybe I have.
