I said, when I was sure I could speak normally. Well, as close to normal as I was going to get. I still warbled a little. “It’s great. Did you make it yourself?”
“Yeah!” Dustin beamed.
Joey grinned. “He’s really proud of his work.”
“He should be. A plus.” I looked at Joey, still overwhelmed. “What’s this all—why—how?”
I wasn’t very coherent, but Joey seemed to understand what I meant. He looked down at the ground like he wanted to scuff his foot, if he weren’t afraid of throwing Dustin off-balance.
“Scott called yesterday,” he said, his voice barely audible over the din of the crowd. “He was mad, and talking about getting even with people. Said he was going to go to the board meeting tomorrow. Try to get you fired.” Joey looked up. “I didn’t even know there was a meeting, but once I found out—” he cleared his throat. “Well, I talked to some of the other parents. You’ve done so much for our kids. We wanted the board to know that we want you here.”
“That’s—” I shook my head, struggling for words. “Thank you, Joey. Really. Thank you.”
“It’s not just this rally, either,” Joey said. “We’re all coming to the board meeting tomorrow, too. We’re not going to rest until you’ve been rehired for next year.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I held my hands out helplessly. “This is above and beyond. I’m grateful, but you didn’t have to do this.”
“We wanted to,” Joey said.
Hearing the echo of Connor’s words made me turn to him. He’d taken a step back as I’d talked to Joey, but his smile was bigger than ever. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Connor look that happy in public, actually.
“Do we still have to go to school today?” Dustin asked.
“Sadly, yes.” I laughed. “But I’ll tell you what. If you and your dad come in early with me, you can help me set up and write our schedule on the board.”
“Yeah!”
“Guess you should go inside then,” Connor said, coming to stand in front of me. That broad grin still painted his face.
“Guess so.” I tilted my head to the side. “Did you know about this? You don’t seem as surprised as I am.”
“I had no idea it was happening,” Connor said. “But I’ve loved you too long to be surprised by other people loving you too.”
I closed my eyes against a fresh batch of tears that threatened to spill out. I was supposed to be an adult. A professional at his place of work. Some dignity would be nice.
“See you after school?” I said, when I opened them again.
“Yeah.” Connor leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. “See you then.”
Epilogue
Connor
Three weeks later, life felt exactly the same, and entirely different.
I was waking up in Julian’s bed more often than not these days, only sleeping at the Wisteria on the odd nights when Deacon and Mal needed someone to cover for them at the inn. I still had to go back to Tennessee to close up my cabin and get the rest of my things, but what I had in Georgia had all moved over to Julian’s house. Katie still laughed every time she saw my boots on the porch, teasing Julian about how he’d ever expected her to believe they were his.
Tom’s meeting with the mayor had led to the creation of a joint task force for overseeing park management and maintenance, and Tom was setting up a position in his organization for me here on Summersea. It was pretty much exactly what I’d already been doing—trail maintenance and site management—but now I’d get healthcare and benefits. I wasn’t complaining.
The investigation into Scott Nash was ongoing, but each week seemed to lead to more revelations of cover-ups, bribes, and corruption. Lyles & Blackstone had a formidable set of lawyers defending their conduct, but I had a feeling it would be a while before they, or Scott, convinced anyone on Summersea to trust them again.
The school board had officially rehired Julian for the fall, and there were rumblings about a new principal for Adair Elementary too, which I was grateful for. Julian said he was just happy to have his job back, but he deserved to have a boss who appreciated him, too.
Julian’s dad had taken an unexpected leave of absence from his church a week after he and Katie reported him to the police. His parents’ house had been unoccupied when an officer had stopped by, and no one seemed to know where they’d gone.