reached for the shell, then held it to her ear. Her eyes lit up. “No way.”
Amanda wished she’d been the one to show Hailey that. Why hadn’t she thought to do that with the one they’d found?
“It’s pretty cool.” Matt seemed pleased with himself.
Just then his mother and father walked over.
Oh no! Amanda had relaxed too soon, but she pasted a smile on her face as she tried to decide how to answer questions about Jack. Lie and tell them she’s divorced? That had been the plan all along, but then she’d been unable to live with the lie to Maeve. And she was in the church parking lot, for goodness’ sake.
“Hi. We’re Matt’s folks. I’m Matthew, and this is my wife, Nikki.” He extended his hand.
“So nice to meet you. I’m Amanda.”
“Did I hear your daughter say she’d be going in the first grade too?” Nikki asked.
“You did. At Whelk’s Elementary.”
“That’s wonderful,” Nikki said. “I’m a teacher there.”
What were the odds? “Well, it’s a small world. I’ll be teaching there this fall too. Fourth graders.”
“Oh, fourth grade is so fun. I’ve got the second graders. This will be great. How old is your youngest?”
“Jesse is four. I’d hoped there’d be a pre-K session at the school, but I guess I’ll need to find a day-care program for him. I’ve been putting it off.”
“I did the same thing. It was so hard to let go of Matt at that age.” She grimaced. “I don’t envy that. I cried for a solid week.”
Amanda wondered who the adjustment would be harder for: Her or Jesse?
“You know, we have an outstanding pre-K and day care right here at the church. Remind me next Sunday and I’ll introduce you to Anna. She can tell you all about it. They are really wonderful. Plus, they do some evening activities for all the youth. It gives us a night off.”
“We do love that.” Matthew playfully bumped Nikki’s shoulder.
Amanda ached for when she’d been part of a couple like that, with their teasing jabs and knowing looks. “Thank you. That would be really helpful.”
“Do y’all live right around here too? We’re over on Wake Forest Drive.”
“Yes.” Amanda recognized the name. “One street over. At the end of Bayberry Drive.”
“Did you happen to buy the bungalow at the dune line?”
“We did.”
“That place has so many possibilities.” Nikki beamed. “That’s great! We’re neighbors. The kids can play.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you over on the beach.” Although she was surprised she hadn’t seen them yet. Not even once. She’d have remembered someone with a child Hailey’s age. Maybe Nikki worked a summer job too. Many teachers did.
Matthew clapped his hands. “Okay, let’s load up. We’ve got things to do.”
Young Matt spun away from Hailey and ran to his dad’s side. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” He turned to Amanda. “Really nice meeting you, Amanda. We’ll see you around, I’m sure.”
“That would be nice.” She stood there and watched them walk away before she loaded up Jesse and helped Hailey get buckled into her booster seat.
Okay. No questions. No lies. That worked out fine. Until next time anyway. She climbed into the car and breathed a sigh of relief as she started the engine. She’d planned to go check out Paws Town Square after church today, but right now she just needed to slide into home. Safe.
The short drive to their house wasn’t even long enough to get her heart rate back down.
Hailey and Jesse unbuckled and were out of the car as soon as she parked. They ran ahead of her to let Denali out in the yard and start a whirling game of chase. As she passed them, she wasn’t entirely sure who was chasing whom, they were all in such a clump, but the giggles made her happy.
She went inside and slipped off her dress. She hung it up, then slid the outfits she hadn’t worn in a long while out from the corner of the closet. She pulled out her favorite blue shirt and shook out the wrinkles before putting it back on the rack. She’d wear it to teach. She’d have to start getting presentable for work, and the summer was moving quickly. They were already six weeks in.
Orientation at the school was only a month away. At least she’d know someone there now, and she had a lead on pre-K for Jesse too.
She changed into shorts and a T-shirt, then picked up the shell from her dresser. She held it to her