A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,80

him by her side.

21

Samantha

Sam inserted her credit card into the gas pump and crossed her fingers that the transaction would go through. When it did, she breathed a sigh of relief. Although she’d been actively seeking a teaching job, nothing had panned out so far. Now that the school year had been in session for a few weeks, it was time to start looking for something else or her dwindling bank account would soon be as empty as her gas tank. She finished pumping gas and took her receipt, wincing at the total before getting back into the car.

She was running a little late for dinner at her parents’ house, not because she had a valid reason, but because she was trying to prolong the inevitable. No one in her family knew that her teaching contract hadn’t been renewed for the school year, and she wasn’t looking forward to telling them. After how upset they’d been about her breakup with Brant, she’d hoped to find a new job before telling them she’d lost her former position. Unfortunately, she was getting to the point where she’d have to move into the apartment over her parents’ garage as soon as Meg vacated the premises.

As she was pulling up to the curb outside their house, her purse vibrated. She put the car in park and grabbed her phone quickly in an attempt to answer before the caller hung up.

“Hello?” she said.

“Hi,” a man answered. “I’m trying to reach Samantha Briggs.”

“This is she.” She held her breath, hoping he was calling about a job at a local high school, although that seemed unlikely so many weeks after school had started.

“My name is Andrew Hodgins. I’m calling from Bayside Prep School.” He cleared his throat. “We received your application a few weeks ago.”

Her brain quickly ran through the applications she’d sent out. Bayside Prep wasn’t ringing any bells. After seeing that there weren’t any jobs at the other local high school, she’d cast a wide net and applied for so many positions that she couldn’t remember them all. Where was this school anyway? She hoped it wasn’t too far, because she really didn’t want to move away from her family and friends.

“Ms. Briggs?” he asked. “Are you still there?”

“Yes, sorry.” Even if she didn’t remember applying to his school, a job was a job. “Thank you for calling me.”

“Well, thank you for submitting an application for our Physical Education department.” He hesitated. “You’re probably wondering why I’m calling.”

“I am, a little,” she admitted. “School has been in session for a few weeks, so I wasn’t expecting to hear back about any jobs at this point.”

“Well, we weren’t planning on hiring anyone else this year either, but things have changed. Are you still interested in a position at Bayside Prep?”

She glanced at the front window of her parents’ house. People moved around inside, readying everything for dinner. If she had to move away from Willa Bay, she’d miss these family get-togethers.

She took a deep, silent breath, then said, “I would love to hear about the job.”

“I’m not sure how much you know about our school, but we’re a small private school just north of Willa Bay and we have about three hundred students between grades six through twelve. About two-thirds of our students board with us and the rest come from the local communities.”

A boarding school? She hadn’t realized the area had any boarding schools. But, then again, she didn’t have kids or had any reason in the past to look into jobs at such places. It sounded like something she’d like to know more about though.

“Interesting.” She nodded, even though she knew he couldn’t see her. “What is the position you’re looking to fill?”

“It’s for a middle-school PE teacher. Our current teacher had to leave suddenly for a pregnancy that became high-risk.”

“Oh.” Sam’s good mood deflated. “So, you’re looking for someone for a short-term absence.”

“Yes, but it will probably last until the end of the school year.” A door opened in the background and he said, “Can you hold on a moment please?”

“Sure.” She glanced at her parents’ house again. In all likelihood, she’d already been spotted, and they’d be wondering why she was still sitting in her car.

A minute later, he came back on the line. “Sorry about that. My assistant had an urgent question.”

“No problem,” she said automatically.

“So does this sound like something you’d be interested in? If so, we’d like to set up an interview for later this week.”

She nodded vigorously. “I’m