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Lucky kid.
“Dakota?” She raised one blonde brow. “That name is far more interesting than my shoe collection.”
“Dakota’s got Native American blood inside him,” Luke said, releasing her hand. “On his mom’s side. Dakota meansfriend. Did you know that Miss Greenstead?”
“I did not, Luke.” She gave the kid a smile Dakota enjoyed more than he should have.
The boy beamed. “Hey, you taughtmeabout fractions and I taughtyouabout a Native American word.”
“I guess we’re even then, aren’t we?” The woman’s gaze shifted down to Ginger currently sitting on Dakota’s work boot. “And I’m assuming this is The Famous Ginger.”
Dakota reached down and covered the dog’s ears. “Don’t go filling her head with all that pomp and circumstance. There’ll be no living with her.”
“She could come live with me then.” Luke kneeled before Ginger and let her slobber all over his face. His giggles filled the space between Dakota and…
“So do you have a first name, Miss Greenstead?” he asked as he removed his sunglasses.
Again her cheeks were tinged with pink. “Leah.” She tentatively extended her hand toward him. “I’m Leah Greenstead, fourth grade teacher at Maplehaven Elementary.”
Teacher. Angel. Dakota didn’t see the difference.
****
The moment his hand touched hers, Leah knew this man had the potential to be trouble. Not that she was going to let him be trouble. Just an observation really.
“Dakota Brenton. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” His voice had a deep timbre that caressed her ears.
“Dakota takes people on adventures,” Luke said, still petting Ginger, a decidedly cute creature, exactly as the boy had told her.
Leah risked a glance up to Dakota’s eyes which were a light blue-green color similar to sea glass. An image of wandering along a beach as a child, searching for sea glass with her parents, maneuvered its way into her mind, but she quickly blocked that little nugget by taking in the way the sun picked up auburn highlights in Dakota’s brown hair. Scruff surrounded full lips and though Leah had never been into facial hair before, she rather liked the look of it on him. That shadow of a beard belonged on his face. Solid shoulders, cut biceps, and a defined torso did something nice to the hunter green Brenton Sawmill long-sleeved T-shirt he wore. A pair of blue jeans covered long, sturdy legs that ended in dark brown work boots. A part of her mind—a part she’d let go dormant since moving to Maplehaven from New York City—wondered if the view of Dakota Brenton was as nice when he was out of those clothes. She had a feeling she’d never know for sure.
“What kind of adventures?” She pointed to his shirt. “Don’t you work at the sawmill?”
Dakota ran a hand over the Brenton Sawmill logo and shook his head. “No. Not officially. My family owns it, but I’ve got my own business.” He reached around to his back pocket and extracted his wallet.
Leah couldn’t help noticing his hands. Long fingers deftly flipped through the wallet’s sections. Strong and purposeful hands, yet capable of gentleness perhaps. A few scars crisscrossed over the knuckles of his right hand and she wondered what kind of danger found a man like him.
“Here we are.” He pulled out a card and held it out to her.
“Birch Peak Adventures.” She fingered the edge of the card where warmth from his hand still lingered. The card had a simple mountain shape made with a single, thick black line. A sun outline peeked from one side of the mountain and the wordsBirch Peak Adventuresstreamed from the other side. His name, number, and email were printed on the card as well.
“Last year, for my birthday,” Luke began, “Mom and Dakota took me, Christopher, and Zach on a rafting trip. Dakota’s got his own rafts and everything. It was epic, the trip of a lifetime.”
“Your very short lifetime.” Dakota ruffled Luke’s hair. “Hopefully you’ll have more trips that fall into the epic category.”
“I will. I’m going to work for you, Dakota. Remember?” The boy’s hero worship of Dakota was adorable… and probably warranted if Dakota was anything like his father. Anyone who donated all that wood to the new school had to have a heart of gold.
“Of course you’re going to work for me. Just waiting on you, kid. You’ve got to hurry up and be old enough.” Dakota gave her a smile over Luke’s head. “Until then, I suppose you’re stuck learning from Miss Greenstead here.”
Luke shrugged. “That’s okay. Miss Greenstead is awesome. She doesn’t give a ton of homework.”
“Where were you when I was in fourth grade?” Dakota massaged his left hand. “I distinctly remember Mrs. Peters making us write spelling words a gazillion times.”
Luke giggled then caught sight of Christopher and Zach who were pointing to the playground. “Gotta go.” He gave Ginger one more pat. “See you tomorrow, Miss Greenstead. Bye, Dakota.”
The boy caught up with his friends, and Leah smiled over what a nice group of boys they were. She’d lucked out with this class overall. Though she’d had to teach the first week of school to them in the hastily cleaned basement at the local senior citizen home until the school was officially open, the boys and girls had been a delight to teach. They’d done wonders to improve Leah’s mood. She could leave everything that had happened in New York in the past and move forward.
Maybe. Her mind hoped it was possible anyway. Her heart knew it probably wasn’t.
