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Chapter One
Lily
Nothing beats leaning back in a big cozy chair at the library to pop open the newest Brynn Taylor book. She’s my all-time favorite romance author and the woman knows what she’s doing. Somehow, she manages to take the roughest, gruffest, grumpiest guy and make you fall head over heels for everything he does. This particular character is my favorite yet. He’s protecting the heroine from an ex and they’re slowly falling in love. She doesn’t see it yet, though. I squeal internally at their situation, ignoring every reality floating around me. When I’m in the story, nothing else matters.
Flipping the page, I take my time to rub my fingers between the crisp edges of the paperback. At home I read on an e-reader because it’s convenient. When I’m in the library, I like the smell of paper, the touch of the pages, the crinkling sound of a story unfolding.
“Sorry to bother you, Lily…” My friend Grace creeps around the corner, holding what looks to be my phone in her hand. “You left this on a shelf in the romance section. It’s buzzing.”
Considering no one ever calls me but Grace, and she’s two feet away, a streak of panic flushes through me as I reach for the cell. I dropped Austin off at school two hours ago. He didn’t seem sick, and I can’t imagine that we’d forgotten anything. Sure enough, it’s Mountainside Elementary.
God, what if he tried climbing up the fire escape again? They called twice last week with warnings about his behavior. I’m not sure how many more he’s going to get.
My stomach clenches. “This is Lily. Is everything okay?”
“Hello, Ms. Waters. This is Mrs. Freeman down at Mountainside. How are you this morning?” Her tone is soothing, but I know her better. “I’m calling about Austin.”
My stomach tightens more. “Is everything okay?” I’m repeating myself now, but I feel like she should have led with his safety.
“He’s fine, Ms. Waters. I’m calling today because I wanted to give you a heads up on a discussion administration has been having.”
“Administration?”
“Yes. As you know, Austin is a very sweet boy…”
Here comes the ‘but.’
“But… he’s extremely disruptive to the rest of the class. Today, he decided to play the floor is lava during math class.” She lowers her voice as though she’s about to tell me a sin. “He jumped on all of the desks and nearly knocked a child over. We feel he may be better suited for an alternative form of schooling.”
Okay, that does sound disruptive. I agree, but I’m stuck on her plan. “I’m sorry, an alternative form of schooling?”
She clears her throat. “Yes, homeschooling. I’m sure you know how small the town is, and we try our very best with every student, but occasionally the parameters unto which we can handle behavioral issues outweigh our capacity. We believe that Austin would receive a more fulfilling education in a home setting.”
I try not to laugh. Sure, I’m sitting in the library lounging right now, but six days a week I’m on my feet at the hotel cleaning. Long hours, long days. There’s no time to homeschool. “I’ll talk to him about his behavior.”
“Right.” The woman’s tone turns curt as she says, “We’ve had that conversation before. Remember? Last year we talked multiple times, and now this year three times already and it’s only the start of the year. I know you have your hands full, Ms. Waters… being a single mom and all.” I swear she says it with snark. “And we’re all doing the best we can to help Austin, but our resources are limited, and in cases like Austin’s, we believe the best option is homeschooling. We’ll need to make a plan by next week.”
Next week?On spite alone, I wish I could take him out of that schooltoday.I can’t believe they’d employ someone who’d give up on a kid this easily. Unfortunately, that’s not an option. Mountainside Elementary is the only school in town, a tutor would require money, and homeschool requires time. I drag in a deep breath, checking myself before I speak. “Thank you for calling, Mrs. Freeman. I’ll be sure and do some research.” I disconnect the line before she gets a chance to respond.
“What was that about?” Grace’s face is about as contorted as my attitude.
“Austin is causing trouble again.” I blow out a heavy breath. “The teacher thinks I should consider homeschooling.”
Grace bursts into laughter. “What? No. Did you tell them you barely have time as it is?”
“I think she knows. This is my punishment for sitting down for three seconds. You know that, right?” I blow out a heavy breath and stare down at the book I was about to get lost in. These days, it takes me a year to finish a short novel.
Grace lowers into the chair next to me and reaches out for my arm, squeezing gently. I don’t know what I would do without her. Some days, she’s the only other adult I talk to outside of work. “I’m going to be mouthy, and you’re not going to like it… okay?” She commonly starts sentences like this. I’ve gotten used to it. Actually, I appreciate her‘tell it like it is attitude.’I don’t have time for the beat around the bush stuff.
“Okay. Hit me with it.”
“Are you sure? I’m going to be blunt.” Her face is flat and serious.
I nod, though my stomach clenches. Sometimes her blunt, straightforward ways can hurt, despite how helpful it is.
She reaches out her hand, locking it in mine as she talks. “Austin doesn’t need homeschool. He needs to see his mom happy.”
I roll my eyes. “What? I’m happy.” We both know I’m trying to convince myself.
