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She laughed. “You should check your emails more often, bud.”
“Hold on.” Dan tapped open his phone to find a whole bunch of unopened emails, most of which were from her. He opened the first, a bigI’m sorry. The second and third were similar… She must have spent the day replying to each of his emails. Cute. He returned to the call. “Thanks, Sarah. Today hasn’t been the easiest of days, but it’s finished on the right note.”
She propped her chin on one hand, green eyes wistful. “I wish I could be there to give you a big hug and a bigger kiss so you know exactly how I feel.”
How he wished for that too. But with training starting in a few short hours, he needed to save that for his dreams. After wishing her goodnight, he lay on his bed reliving the past half hour. His birthday had miraculously turned into a happy one after all.Thank You, Lord.
Chapter 30
Everywhere Sarah went it felt like she was the lead in a Disney musical. The sun shone brighter, flowers looked like they might burst into song, small children laughed, and old people smiled. Hope danced in her heart as her spirits soared, and it was all she could do not to skip across the quadrangle at school or sing at the top of her lungs.
Even Mondays at work—never the easiest of days, for who didn’t prefer weekends after all?—were good, this school proving better than some she’d taught at. The staff and parents, even the students, were so supportive, and she’d been enjoying teaching this Year Seven class these past two weeks. They were practicing on their keyboards today. Thank God there were enough headphones for everyone. Listening to twenty kids trying to thump out a tune was a headache and a half waiting to happen.
“Delivery for you, miss.”
She looked up from her desk where she was marking a quick quiz. And gasped. The bunch of red roses was big enough to make every excitable twelve- and thirteen-year-old stop and stare in open-mouthed amazement. “Wow, miss, someone really loves you.”
“You think?”
She raised her eyebrows at the perpetrator of that comment.
“Sorry, miss.”
Sarah drank in the fragrance of the vivid blooms, moving some roses aside to discover a small envelope. After encouraging the class to get back to their songs, she opened the card.
Happy Valentine’s Day - and every day.
I love you, always. Daniel.
How? Oh. She’d wondered at her mother’s secret smile this morning. Dan must have organized this with her. Her heart glowed. How thoughtful was he?
Every teacher in the staffroom seemed to have heard about her amazing bouquet, and it set the mood for a really good day. Then later that afternoon at home, she discovered a small package on her bed. She carefully unwrapped the paper to find a velvet bag, like one might see from a jewelry store. Heart racing, she opened the drawstring and, through blurry eyes, saw the diamond pendant complete with a note.
Please wear this and know how much I love my princess.
She blinked back happy emotion.
Her mother’s voice came from the door. “Dan gave it to Ange, who gave it to us, even though she didn’t tell us what was inside. He sent the note later.”
Oh-h-h-h.
That night, she video-called him, gushing about the roses and especially the pendant and note. “You’re a man of faith, aren’t you?”
“How do you mean?”
“Believing we would be together.”
“We didn’t come this far not to be together. This long distance thing might be hard, but it won’t be forever.”
Please, God, no.
“Hey, that’s the door. I wonder who’s calling so early? Back in a sec.”
She waited, heart thrumming as she desperately hoped it was what she’d planned. Given the time zones, the only way they could spend any of Valentine’s Day together when he had a road trip and a game tonight was for her to stay up late while he snatched time first thing early in the morning before heading to the airport. And if all went to plan…
She heard a murmur of voices, a laugh, then the closing of the door. A few seconds later, she saw him holding his own bunch of flowers. Yes!
He smiled. “Someone sent me roses.”
