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Hannah straightened, and drew in a deep breath. “We had an incident at school today. I wanted to make you aware of it, but it’s up to you what you do with the information. Ruby may be more comfortable talking about it with a woman.”
I frowned. I’d done my best to be whatever Ruby needed, and I hated her insinuation that it might not be enough. “Get to the point.”
“Right.” She rested her elbows on the desk and leaned forward. “Ruby got her period during class. From what I understand, it was the first time. She didn’t realize it was happening and bled through her uniform. I had one of her classmates take her to the health nurse to make sure she had whatever she needed, but some of the other kids teased her. Especially the boys. We managed to get her a fresh skirt so she wouldn’t have to wear the stained one, but it was rough for her, and she might need to talk about it with someone who understands.”
My face flushed. My poor little girl. I’d tried to have a talk with her about periods and hormones a while ago, but she hadn’t wanted to listen. She’d told me that school had everything covered and she didn’t need me embarrassing her more. I should have tried harder. Ruby didn’t have many female friends, so I could imagine how confused and alone she’d felt. No wonder she’d been upset earlier. But why hadn’t she talked to me? I’d told her hundreds of times she could come to me about anything.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
Her expression turned sympathetic. “She hasn’t said anything about it, has she?”
“No.” The word came out sharper than intended. Something about Hannah made me feel defensive. She reminded me of everything I couldn’t offer Ruby. Softness, understanding, a female perspective. I’d tried to be everything for Ruby, but apparently I’d come up short. “I’ll ask her about it later today. She’s in the car at the moment. She didn’t want to come in.” Probably because she’d known what this was about and was embarrassed. The teenage years were hard, especially for girls, and I guessed even more so when they didn’t have a woman around to normalize it for them. “Is that everything?”
Hannah nodded. “Thanks for coming in.”
I stood, grateful that my hard on had subsided. “I appreciate you calling me.” I hesitated, wondering if I should address the remaining tension between us. “I’m sorry for how I reacted earlier, but when you left the hotel in Wellington, I never expected to see you again. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have gone there with you.”
For a moment, hurt flashed across her face, but then it vanished. “Understood. I don’t make a habit of sleeping with my student’s fathers either, so we’re on the same page.”
Of course we were. I doubted she wanted her new employer knowing anything about it, and gossip in Destiny Falls traveled fast, so it would be best if neither of us mentioned it again. I tipped my head to her and left.
2
HANNAH
The next day, I still hadn’t recovered from the shock of seeing Warren again. He’d been stuck in my mind all evening. God, he’d been even more striking last night than he’d been at the motorcycle show, all mussed up and covered in engine oil. Especially when I saw how much he dotes on his daughter. The man clearly adores her, and even if he was prickly toward me, I’ve always turned into a marshmallow around men who love kids. But what was with his attitude? He acted as though I’d tracked him down or something.
The humiliating thing was, while I hadn’t consciously remembered that he lived here, I was afraid my subconscious mind had made the connection and that it might have fed into my decision to apply for the short-term maternity cover position. I tended to be clingy. I fell fast and hard for whomever I was dating, and it would be just typical for me to subconsciously recall that the gorgeous alpha male who’d made me come several times over the course of a night lived in this little tourist town, setting me up to see more of him. If I couldn’t even trust my own mind, how was I supposed to make sensible decisions and protect myself from more heartbreak?
I looked up at the class, who were working on essays about a young adult novel they’d all had to read, checking whether any of them were lost or off task. They’d been fidgety earlier. It was Valentine’s Day, and they were at the age when a few of them had brought treats or cards to class for their crush. Fortunately, they now all seemed to be doing something that at least resembled essay writing. I glanced at the clock, noting there were only a couple minutes remaining before the school day ended. Much as I loved working with kids, I was always grateful for the brief period of silence at the end of the day. The bell rang, and I instructed the kids to pack their bags and place the chairs on the tables so the cleaner could vacuum the floor. They left in a rush, some of them calling goodbye or waving as they went, others not bothering with any niceties. But one girl lingered. Ruby Atwater.
“Um, could I talk to you for a minute, Miss Olson?” she asked, chewing nervously on her lower lip.
“Sure thing, Ruby. Pull up a seat.”
She grabbed a chair and sunk into it. Ruby had the same dark hair and green eyes as her father, but where he was a solid, commanding presence, she seemed like she’d be perfectly happy blending into the wallpaper. From what I could tell, she got on well with most of her classmates, but wasn’t especially close to any of them other than a sporty boy named Baxter. She rarely raised her hand in class, but never misbehaved either. She was polite and friendly, but didn’t engage a lot. I got the feeling her heart was in sports rather than academia.
“What can I help you with?” I asked.
Ruby looked down at her lap. “I just, um, wanted to say thanks for talking to my dad.” Pink spots appeared on her cheeks. “I felt way too awkward to do it myself. We had the most cringe-worthy conversation ever when we got home yesterday, but we, uh, cleared up some things and I think it really helped.”
“That’s great.” I was so glad I’d been able to assist, even in a small way. I offered her a smile. “I was raised by a single dad too, so I know it isn’t always easy, no matter how much you love each other.”
She looked surprised. “You were?”
“Yeah.” I paused for a moment, wondering how much to share. I’d only been teaching for a couple of years, and sometimes, I still wasn’t sure how much to let the kids know about my personal life. “I can tell you a bit more about that, if you’d like.”
Ruby nodded shyly.
“Right, well.” I grabbed my coffee mug, realizing belatedly that it was empty. “My dad went to prison when I was little.”
Ruby’s eyes bugged out. “He did?”
“Yes. He stole a car. My mum looked after me while he was away, but she didn’t do a very good job of it, and once he was out, he got custody of me.”
She frowned. “Wouldn’t that have been hard since he’d been in jail?”
I smiled wryly. “It might have if she’d fought it, but she was happy to sign me over.”
