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Khloe glances up when I block the sun from her table. Her eyes are alive, full of happiness.
“You really do like coloring,” I say, and she sets her crayon down.
“The girls were just telling me a funny story about the time you went scuba diving and panicked when you thought you saw a shark, but it turned out to be a sea lion.” The girls all laugh again, and Khloe joins in.
“My goggles were foggy.”
“Sure,” Khloe teases.
I shake my head, defeated. “I’m going to have to have a talk with your mother, Chardane.” I say, and she just grins up at me. “No more talking about me.” I turn to Khloe. “And you...didn’t you have your own incident where you thought you encountered a shark?”
Khloe stands. “All righty then,” she says quickly, a grin playing on her mouth. “Thanks for letting me color with you, girls.”
I put my arm on the small of Khloe’s back, and we head back to the car. “Sweet kids,” she says. “I’m glad they’re getting a new school.”
“Now we just need to find teachers to fill the classrooms.”
“There’s a shortage?”
I nod. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of Granddad, to check the staffing agency for qualified English teachers.”
“Will,” she says quickly, and touches my arm to stop me.
“What?”
I turn toward her. “I can help out. I have an English degree, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” I stare at her for a moment, and see nothing but open honesty on her face.
An odd lump settles into my throat. “Are you serious, Khloe?”
Her eyes widen like she’s excited by the opportunity. “Very serious.” But then her demeanor changes, her enthusiasm waning, and she frowns. “Oh, but wait. I already have a job here.”
“Well, so far you’re pretty shitty at it,” I tease.
“Hey,” she says, feigning offense. A second later a grin pulls at her lush lips. “Okay, well, maybe you are right. But your granddad—” She stops talking, like she’s about to say too much.
I frown and narrow my eyes. “What about him?”
“I don’t want to let him down.”
“Okay, so maybe you can’t cook, and you break things, but he is going to lose his mind when he hears you’re going to help out in the classroom.”
“I think he’s already lost his mind,” she says.
“You’re probably right.”
Her teeth dig into her bottom lip, and it draws my attention. Once again, I can’t help but wonder how her lush mouth would taste. “Would you mind? I could work around what you need.”
“You could take a few hours in the afternoon to help while you’re here. If that’s what you really want.”
“I do,” she says, a new purpose about her. I start the car and can’t help but feel this woman is too good to be true.
Could I be right?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Khloe
