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Samantha was wiping down the desks and grinning at her. “Are you down for some tacos and margaritas tonight?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say no. She wanted to go home and scream into the void. Maybe burn some frustration out on her stationary bike. But then again, maybe her frustration could be eased by venting to a friend and shoving tacos down her pie hole.
“Yeah. That actually sounds amazing. Just let me grab some things from my classroom and lock up.”
An hour later she had zero regrets accepting the offer. Samantha had been a sympathetic ear and was as protective as a mother hen.
“You know what? Screw them.” Sam crunched down another tortilla chip. “Seriously, they’re only looking out for their bottom line. Maybe this Wentworth prick isn’t being too crazy yet, but you never know when they’ll snap. Some guys do. You got a gun?”
“Yeah, that would be a ‘no.’” She shook her head. “I’m not really the gun type.”
“Just think about it. That’s all I’m saying. I got my ass a nice little Sig, has the cutest pink trim.”
“Sounds fun. But I’d... probably just shoot off my own foot or something.”
Sam nodded. “Yeah, I had a friend who did that. Though it was his hand.” She paused. “Have you ever taken a self-defense class? Kickboxing? Something?”
“I took Taekwondo as a kid. Actually, my uncle has a school and he’s been bugging me to come back.” Hannah pursed her lips and tilted her head. “I guess I could sign up again. It’s a pretty good workout, too, from what I remember.”
“Yeah, do it. You’re a tiny thing. You’re going to need whatever advantage you can get.”
“Hey. I’m little, but I’m fierce. That’s Shakespeare, right?”
“I think so. Or vintage Nora Roberts.”
That had her belting out a laugh. Sam was her fellow romance novel addict. They were always talking about their latest favorite releases.
Their food arrived and Sam gave her a serious look over her tacos.
“But seriously, Hannah. Take that class. Or get a gun.”
“Definitely the class.” Hannah lifted her taco. “You don’t think I’m overreacting?”
“I think you’re listening to your gut. Women are way better at this intuition stuff. We have to be.”
Now there was a dead-on remark if she’d ever heard one.
It was on her way home later, when she was feeling a little more confident with it all, that her phone rang.
A quick glance showed James’s name on the screen.
Biting back a sigh, she debated whether to ignore it. Just like she’d been doing all week.
No. She’d done enough running from her problems. Maybe she couldn’t completely control the situation with Mr. Wentworth, but with James, she could.
Hannah pulled the car to the shoulder of the road, under one of the giant fir trees that lined the street, and answered the call.
“James.”
“You answered.” Disbelief laced his words. “I can’t believe you actually answered my call.”
“I think it’s time we talk.”
“Are you okay? That’s the most important thing I need to know, right now. Eric told me what happened.”
Her breath caught as she was momentarily thrown from her focus. “Eric told you?”
“Yeah. Said he had to make some aggressive parent back off.”
