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Chapter 1
Candy
High School Graduation
I watched as the boy I’ve had a crush on since middle school crossed the stage to get his diploma. A swell of joyous pride filled me even though I knew he had no clue who I was. Ezra Martin, the resident bad boy, had more than a few bumps thrown his way. Unfortunately, many of them came from my father, the town’s sheriff.
I smiled with tears in my eyes as I heard a very loud group of people in the stands cheer for him. The Dragon Skulls MC were his family now, that much is obvious. They’d done more than anyone else for Ezra and his sister after their parents died. My father despised everything the MC represented but all I saw were people that took care of a brother and sister when they most needed it.
I remembered the first day Ezra walked into my eighth-grade math class. Every girl was instantly interested in the handsome boy. I stayed in the background. I sat at the front of the class in a corner. He sat at the back with a laissez-faire attitude. He was so incredibly good-looking with his dark hair and eyes. I instantly fell for the boy that day and loved him from afar.
For the next five years, I watched as the boy turned into a man. My crush never once waned. It steadily grew with every year. As I watched him sit back down, I half-heartedly listened as every senior was called up to the stage. I was leaving our town in a few days, going away to college “to learn a skill” as my father called it. I would miss seeing Ezra every day. I didn’t want to ever return to the town where my father controlled everything. So, I doubted I’d ever see Ezra again after graduation.
I looked down at my diploma and the cell phone I had in my hand. I re-read the message from my father telling me he couldn’t make it. That didn’t surprise me, we’d never been particularly close, and when Mom left us both it just got worse. We could go days without so much as a word passing between us.
I sat there getting lost in my thoughts and memories until finally, all the names were called. Everyone around me stood and celebrated so I joined them. Today represented so much to me. Most of all a sense of freedom filled me. I threw my cap up in the air but caught it to save it. It was a final memento from my youth.
I smiled as I thought about my plans for the next few days. I would leave the stigma of being the sheriff’s daughter behind. The stigma of always being the perfect good girl. Never quite wanted but always invited because of who my father was. I hated that feeling of being on the outside looking in. I craved freedom from the loneliness that was my constant companion.
I slowly moved out of the auditorium. Taking in everything this day represented to those around me. I glimpsed the rough-looking group of men that surrounded Ezra and his older sister, Tiffany, all of them wore proud smiles. I smiled as I watched them for a short time. I was so glad Ezra had a family.
Finally, I headed outside and after a few random hugs from people in my classes, I found myself standing by my car. I paused after opening the door and looked at the sea of people in front of me. I took in the entire campus and silently said goodbye to it before I climbed into my car and drove off into the sunset. Life would be different moving forward.
*~*~*~*
Present Day
I looked over my decorated classroom and smiled. After I received my teaching degree I was contacted by the elementary school principal. She offered me a job working with Kindergarteners. It was my dream teaching position. The only drawback was that I had to return to the town I wanted to stay away from. After I spent days thinking of every pro and con, I said yes.
So now I lived quietly in my hometown. My father and I attempted to repair our relationship but it meant nothing more than the occasional dinner with me. He seemed to approve of me being a kindergarten teacher, which was probably why he was willing to meet up. More than likely he would use it to improve his image. If the people of the town only knew how dishonorable and dirty their beloved Sheriff was.
I shook my head a bit to dispel my dark thoughts as I smiled at my students. I loved each and every one of them. Even when misbehaving they were the cutest little people. Only one little boy had some attitude issues but his mom and I had been working with him and he was flourishing. “Ms. Hall, Caleb pulled my braid,” little Amy Collins complained with a sniffle.
Amy was the princess of drama, everything brought on her tears. “Did he really pull it, or did he just touch it? Your hair is very pretty and those pink strands look so soft.”
She thought hard about my question before she answered. “Well, he may have been touching it but he didn’t let go until I told him to.”
I looked up and called out, “Caleb Martin. Come here, please.” I watched as Caleb sighed heavily and made his way to my desk. He looked resigned as I asked, “Caleb, did you purposely pull Amy’s braid?”
“No, Ms. Hall. It was so pretty and I wanted to see if it was soft. I know I should have asked first. I’m sorry, Amy.”
Amy smiled brightly at his apology. “That’s okay,” she said before leaving us and going back to her seat.
“Thank you for being honest, Caleb.”
“Am I in trouble? Momma said if I got in trouble I couldn’t hang out with my Uncle Wrecker and I love spending time with him.” Caleb looked up at me with a sparkle in his eyes. “He shows me how to fix up cars and even motorcycles. He said if I was good he’d let me help again this weekend.”
I couldn’t help the smile that filled my face. “You have had a very good week and worked so hard on your letters. Let’s just ignore this silliness since it’s Friday afternoon, how does that sound? But, I expect you to be on your best behavior for the last hour of school. Okay?”
Caleb nodded his head furiously. “I will, I promise.”
“Okay then, return to your seat and finish your picture.”
“Yes, Ms. Hall.” I smiled wider as I looked over the smiles of my students as they colored a picture. I was so happy Caleb had a man in his life that took an interest in him. Even I wished I had that growing up. It was my goal to help these little minds grow in the best ways possible even if they couldn’t remember my name later in life. Turning back to my desk, I went back to work on my lesson plans while I kept an eye on my class.
A short time later, I led my students who didn’t ride the bus to the parent pickup area. One by one each student hugged me and then went with their guardian until it was only Caleb and I which was worrisome. Caleb’s mom was always one of the first ones to arrive. We waited patiently when I heard the roar of a motorcycle approaching the school.
Caleb gasped and jumped up and down in excitement. “It’s Uncle Wrecker, YAY!”
