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“They’re both downstairs with Sally.” He told her where the stairs were once she stepped in the front doors, and gave directions to their classroom. “I asked my mom early this morning before I left, so I could help you out.” His grin said he was pretty proud of himself for thinking of them, and she had to admit, she appreciated his thoughtfulness.
“Thank you.” She supposed her look was slightly besotted, but she couldn’t get her face to do anything else as she met his eyes before he walked away, swinging his arms with a confident stride she remembered from years ago.
She wanted to stand and watch him, but her girls pressed closer, grabbing her hands and seeming like they weren’t going to let her out of their sight.
“Come on, girls. Let’s see if we can make some new friends today,” she said, as she pulled her eyes away from Ryan and headed toward the church doors.
Several people greeted her as she walked in and went down the stairs, following Ryan’s directions to Sally’s classroom. She’d not met Sally before, but she assumed the friendly-looking woman who was about her age, who was directing children to take a few extra minutes to study their memory verse was the teacher.
“Hi! You must be Dakota. I’d heard you were coming with your girls.”
“You have good informants.”
“My spies are everywhere,” she winked as she bent over introducing herself to Dakota’s girls. She directed them to a pile of stickers and told them they could choose whichever one they wanted to put on the attendance chart.
“I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Sally,” Sally said as the girls skipped away, holding hands.
Dakota took her hand and shook it. “You already know my name.”
“Ryan’s mom told me he was bringing you today. I’m excited to meet you. Ryan deserves a great girl.” Her smile was a little sad, as though she wanted to be someone’s girl. Or maybe Dakota was being fanciful, since the idea that she might be just the girl for Ryan made her happier in a way she wasn’t expecting.
“Teacher! I want this sticker!” a little boy called.
“Duty calls,” Sally said, her bright smile back in place.
“Do you need help?” Dakota had to ask. There were a lot of kids and Sally was the only adult.
“Nope. I’ll have these little ones in hand,” she said with confidence. Dakota didn’t argue, just nodded, thinking Sally seemed like a woman she would like to be friends with.
She waved good-bye to Sally. Her girls seemed to have totally forgotten about her existence, since they were bent over the pile of stickers with three other sweet little heads, chattering and smiling.
There was a small tug on Dakota’s heart. She wasn’t upset that her girls did so well without her, but more that they were growing up. Life was changing. Her gram was gone, she had moved to a new town and everything seemed new and slightly scary.
She swallowed. This was where her faith was supposed to see her through. Being sure that she knew she was doing what God wanted her to do, and having faith that He would take care of her whatever happened.
She smiled at the people who greeted her, all the while saying a quick prayer that she would trust in God and consider this an adventure and not something that terrified her. After all, so far God had not let her down, had actually brought Ryan back into her life.
And Lana.
She’d barely thought that, when a soft, warm hand landed on her arm. “Dakota. Did Ryan remember to ask you if your girls could come to my house this afternoon?”
“He did. Are you sure it’s okay? It won’t be too much?”
“I’m sure.” Lana gave her a reassuring look. “We were going to make cookies.”
“Ryan told us that. They are so excited. It might be because they think they’ll be eating cookies as well as making them.”
“They’re right. You can hardly not taste them to be sure they’re okay, right?”
They chuckled together. Then Lana grew serious and her voice dropped. “Thank you for whatever it is that you’ve done to Ryan. I was worried about him after he quit the rodeo. I thought our small town might not be exciting enough for him. But ever since you came, there’s been a big change in him. He smiles more and he seems like he has his zest for life back, if that makes sense.”
“I guess it does.” Was she responsible for that? “I’m not sure I can take any credit for that.”
“I know you can. I think Ryan always thought you were the one that got away.”
“We were mostly just friends.” She hadn’t thought to ask if Lana knew about Maddie, but she assumed she probably did.
“Sometimes friends make the best spouses.” Lana winked, then as the music began to play, she hurried away.
