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“Everything is fine. Thanks, give your family my best. Talk to you later.”
We hung up. I grabbed my keys and headed to good old Blossom Berry Falls High School to check in on a sexy art teacher and put another idea in motion.
* * *
Blossom Berry Falls’ school office hadn’t changed much since I had first walked through the door ... the day I met Hannah. Mrs. Higgins, who was the school secretary when I went to school there, still held her post behind the tall counter. She looked up over her reading glasses and greeted me with a familiar warm smile, then slid her glasses off until they hung by the chain around her neck. “Well, if it isn’t Cash Jameson. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes. Everyone told me how handsome you were, but they didn’t do you justice.”
I bowed my head once and brought my hand over my chest. “Thank you, Mrs. Higgins. It’s very nice to see you, ma’am. And might I say, you haven’t aged a bit.”
She laughed and waved her hand back and forth. “Still sweet as sugar, too, I see. What brings you by?”
“I was hoping you could tell me where I could find Hannah Hall’s class.”
“She’s wonderful, isn’t she? And so pretty, don’t you think?”
“Yes, very much so.”
“I knew you two were perfect for each other the day you walked into this office. It’s why I paired you together.”
Narrowing my eyes, I remembered it differently. “I thought it was because we had the same homeroom.”
She conspiratorially glanced around. “Who do you think made that happen?” She winked, and a smile spread across my face. “Heard you two got reacquainted at the reunion.”
“Reacquainted ... yes.”
“That girl is special. And her son is a wonderful, smart boy. Well, you met him at the game. Reminds me of you a little bit.”
A lump formed in my throat. All I would need is to spill Hannah’s fourteen-year-old secret. That was the last thing I wanted for her or Jimmy. As for what I wanted, I wanted to shout from the rooftops that he was mine. As far as the sweet lady’s comment, I let it roll off my back.
“Is Hannah in class?”
“Oh, right.” She flipped through a binder on the desk, completely ignoring the computer screen in front of her, then glanced at the clock. “Miss Hannah doesn’t have a class or lunch duty this period. My guess would be she’s probably in the teacher’s lounge. It’s down the hall, past the cafeteria, turn right, and across from the bathrooms. Here’s an ID”—she reached into a basket in front of her and gave me a badge from it—“not that everyone doesn’t know who you are, but it’s the rule.”
“I’m happy to oblige. Thank you, Mrs. Higgins.”
“Please call me Annie.”
“Annie,” I repeated with a wink.
As I walked out of the office, nostalgia washed over me. The squeak of my shoes on the linoleum flooring bounced off the metal lockers, sparking memories from my past. Vibrant displays of artwork decorated the pale-yellow walls. I couldn’t help but wonder if they were from Hannah’s students or if Jimmy had created any. Did he have a talent of hers as well?
When I reached the teachers’ lounge, I pushed open the door and walked in. The room was small enough that my arrival had three heads turning and one person gasping.Hannah. She set down the book she was reading, abandoned the muffin in front of her, and hustled over to me.
She looked beautiful in a pair of dark jeans, a red shirt with the school’s logo over her left breast, and what looked like blue chalk on the side of her neck.
“Cash? What are you doing here?”
“Hello to you too,” I said. “I came to see you.”
The two female teachers who sat next to a water cooler glanced in our direction before leaning toward each other and whispering.
Hannah wrapped her fingers around my arm and pulled me to the side and into a little kitchenette. “How did you know I was in here?”
“Annie told me.” When her perfectly shaped brows pulled together, I explained, “Mrs. Higgins. And I hate to tell you this, but I think she knows about Jimmy, or at least suspects.”
“Great.” She rubbed her temples. “What else is going on? Did something happen with Jimmy last night after we spoke?”
“No. It was a calm evening. Just watchedThe Sandlot. And talked.”
