Home to Stay (The Long Road Home #2) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,70
She was multitasking by taking the call from John while hanging up classwork on the bulletin board.
“Me, too, babe. But each Keeper spends one evening every other week in the headquarters monitoring the security feeds and checking what might come in. This is the first time I’ve gotten the assignment.”
“Is it interesting to watch the security feeds? Are there famous people… oh, yeah, you can’t tell me. Never mind.” She laughed. “Well, for your sake, I hope it’s interesting.”
“I’ve been told it’s mostly boring, but it feels good to be taking on more of the responsibilities that the others shoulder.”
“I’ll miss you, you know. I’ve gotten rather used to some big guy sleeping with me.”
“Oh, yeah? Who’s this big guy and do I need to take him out?”
Laughing, she shook her head. “You goof. Go do your super-secret security thing, and I’ve got to ride herd over twenty-six fifth graders. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Disconnecting, her smile stayed on her face as she tossed her phone into her purse. Her classroom door opened. Knowing it was too early for her class to arrive, she jerked around to see who had entered. Seeing Paula, she cocked her head to the side, curious to see what she needed.
“Um, hey,” Paula said, entering but stopping just inside the door.
She’d seen little of Paula in the weeks since they’d gotten back from Canada, but she’d smiled at her in the hall and across the library during the faculty meeting. But it was harder to pretend that nothing was wrong, so she’d managed to have excuses for not being around her. Of course, that was easier since Paula had not been seeking her out.
“Hi, what’s up?”
“I Just thought that I’d pop in and see how you were. I haven’t seen much of you recently.”
She noticed Paula leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed in front of her either defensively or protectively, she wasn’t sure which. She smiled but continued to hang several pieces of her students' work on the bulletin board. “Oh, you know how the end of the year is. I’ve arranged for help to come in for our Field Day and end-of-year party. I’m trying to keep the kids on task as we finish out the year. Once they’ve had their state assessments, they tend to think the year is over.”
“Tell me about it. My third-graders are nuts right now.” Paula glanced to the side, then looked back toward Lucy. “I heard Mrs. Farthingale say your soldier was coming in for Field Day. Is that who you got to help?”
“Yes, and the kids are so excited to see him again.”
“And… um… she intimated that you two are dating.”
Lucy finished with the last work to go on the bulletin board and turned to face Paula. “That’s true, we are.”
“That seems kind of fast, doesn’t it?”
A bark of laughter erupted, and Lucy didn’t try to keep the incredulity from her voice. “Fast? Come on, Paula, I can’t imagine you thinking someone starting to date after knowing each other for a while would be fast.” It was a dig, one which she wasn’t proud of but felt Paula deserved, nonetheless.
Paula’s eyes flashed, and her mouth tightened into a straight line. She looked to the side and huffed before her shoulders slumped and she brought her gaze back to Lucy. “Look, I know things fell apart for us, and I’m really sorry. The truth is that I miss you, Lucy. I guess it’s hard for me to believe that you’re dating someone, and I didn’t even know about it.”
Some of the fire fled from Lucy in the face of Paula’s obvious discomfort. “Honestly, my relationship with John is still new, so it’s not like I’ve gone around and blasted it to everyone except you.”
Paula attempted a smile, but it still appeared tight. “Well, I’m happy for you. I also stopped by to see if you wanted to have a drink. We could hit one of the restaurants near me. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a glass of wine together and just chatted. But you probably have something going on with John, don’t you?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to decline, but she hesitated. Maybe Paula is trying to make amends. Maybe she’s seen the light and an outlaw biker is not who she wants to be around. Maybe I could be a good influence if she’s still not sure. Smiling again, she said, “As it turns out, he’s busy tonight. I’d love