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Fey, her new kitten, jumped up onto the couch armrest and let out a high, squeaky meow.
“You’re right, Fey. It’s one day. No big deal.” Leah reached over and scratched the kitten’s gray cheeks. Striking green eyes squeezed shut and Leah was once again hit by how beautiful a feline Fey was. The lady at the animal shelter speculated that Fey was a Russian Blue, but what Leah liked most was the way the kitten had stuck a paw between the bars of her cage when Leah had walked by. She’d seemed to be saying,Pick me.
So Leah had. So far the kitten had dispelled the loneliness quite well and Leah had ordered a pair of shoes that had gray kittens and tangled balls of yarn all over them. She couldn’t wait until they arrived. Her students would get a real kick out of them. So far they’d liked her skeleton-themed ones the best, but she had a feeling the kitten ones would at least get the girl vote.
She glanced at the clock on the microwave. Time to leave for work. Oh, how she wished it was a typical day. This field trip business was twisting her stomach into knots upon knots and that miffed her. Teaching helped her maintain order. She didn’t like that Dakota could create chaos that shehadto participate in. Sneaky on his part.
With a final pat for Fey, Leah headed to the bathroom for one more peek at her outfit for the day. Black cargo pants, a fitted purple thermal T-shirt, and a black Maplehaven Elementary hooded sweatshirt complimented her purple hiking boots nicely. She’d corralled her hair into a low ponytail, hoping for a sporty yet professional style—something that would keep her hair out of her face as she trudged through the forest, trying her best to keep an eye on her students andnoton the way Dakota’s toned ass filled his pants.
No, no, no.Not going there.
She reminded herself that she wasn’t going there on the short drive to school, as she crossed the parking lot, and as she walked down to her classroom.
Heidi popped her head out of her room next door as Leah passed by. “Hey. Ready for your adventure?”
“What?” Leah grabbed her friend’s hand. “You want to switch classes today? I’ll stay here and teach your kids and you take mine on this stupid trip? Okay!”
Heidi shook her head, her red curls bouncing over her shoulders. “No way, girlie. You’re going on this trip and you’re gonna like it.” Squeezing Leah’s hand, she said, “Be open. See what happens. If you don’t feel anything worthwhile stirring, then fine, but don’t deny yourself something that has the potential to be outstanding. I always think about what would have happened if I’d never said yes to Kyle when he first asked me out after I moved here. We might not be married right now. We might not be living the dream, Leah.”
She was right. Leah knew that, but she’d had a dream once too. A dream that had been torn apart by circumstances that never should have occurred. How many dreams were people allowed anyway?
“Is it 3:05 yet?” she asked instead of voicing any of her other thoughts.
“Aww, c’mon. The day will fly by. You know how field trips are,” Heidi said.
“I know how field trips are that I plan myself, not ones that are thrust upon me.” Leah clenched her teeth, her ire rising again.
“If I wasn’t married, I think I’d be rather flattered that Dakota Brenton wanted tothrustsomething upon me.” She wagged an index finger at Leah as she backed into her classroom. “Be open. And tell me everything after school.”
Children soon filled the hallways and Leah got wrapped up in attendance and the daily morning routines. Of course everything was laced with an exaggerated excitement over the field trip, but her students had the respect to at least try to contain themselves.
And then… at 9:45 a.m., Dakota filled her doorway.
“Hey,” he said amid the students’ clapping.
“Hey.” Her heartbeat sped up as she took in his black hiking boots, then traveled up his legs encased in army-green cargoes, and rose up to his chest covered by a gray T-shirt with the long sleeves pushed up to reveal his forearms. Her gaze settled on some ink on his left forearm that disappeared under his sleeve. Why hadn’t she noticed he was tattooed the other times she’d seen him?
Because I was too busy pushing him away.
But she had no choice today, so she may as well see what else she could notice about him.
He looked past her to the students. “You guys pumped for an adventure?”
Leah almost had to cover her ears as the students roared their readiness. “That sounds like a definite yes to me.”
He set his gaze back on her as the students talked excitedly amongst themselves. “And what about you? Are you ready or are you mad at me?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
His smile faltered enough to have her feeling like a bitch. Probably time to show the poor guy some mercy.
She arrowed a thumb over her shoulder. “But how can I be mad at you when your little plan has made them so happy?”
The smile was back in full force. A dangerous smile. He leaned forward, his arms braced on the doorjamb. His woodsy scent spiraled around her, making her flesh goosebump and her heartbeat ratchet up another level.
“Oh, there’s nothinglittleabout my plans, Miss Greenstead. In fact, I’d call today merely the first step in my master plan.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she said, shouldering her red emergency backpack and grabbing her clipboard with the class list attached. “Today could be a total disaster.”
