Chapter Twenty-Six

"Penny, we don"t do that." I point to her, giving her a look when I see her putting stickers on the floor. "You know where those go."

Her face turns pink as I scold her. She hates to get in trouble, and she"s usually one of the most well-behaved students, but it"s been raining for the last two days, with another rainy day projected for tomorrow. We"re all going a little stir crazy inside, and I know the guys working outside are sick of being waterlogged.

Annabelle comes back into the classroom. "You can take your break if you want."

I look over at her, noticing a redness in her cheeks that compares to what Penny had. "Are you okay? Did you get in trouble or something?"

"No." She shakes her head. "I saw Nolan."

"Did he offer you the job again?"

She nods, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. "He"s making it really hard to say no." Her sigh is full body, I don"t envy her. When I was single, I had a hard time saying no too because it was such a good offer.

"You know you have to do what"s best for you. Don"t stay here because it"s what you"re used to. Work here because you love it and you don"t want to say goodbye to the kids. Or you know, because you love me." I scrunch my nose up at her. "Will you be okay if I go?"

"I"ll be fine. I just have a lot to think about."

I lean over, hugging her tightly. "I"m here if you need me. Do what"s best for you, and be happy. Life is so short I"ve come to realize that. The situation with Jasper wasn"t ever how I imagined this year to go, but I"m happy. It"s amazing how I had thought I was the happiest I could be, but although Jasper might not share my feelings, he makes me happy every day."

"He shares your feelings, he just can"t put it into words yet. He"ll get there, Daisy."

I hear her, and I hope she"s right. I"ve had to come to terms with what I"m willing to accept from him. As long as I know there"s a chance for us in the future, I"ll wait. I"ll wait as long as I need to. "I know. I"m going to be patient. Well, as patient as I can be."

She laughs. "That"s never been a strong suit of yours."

"So true. But I"m doing my best. I"ll see you in about forty-five minutes."

She waves as I leave.

This is my favorite part of the day. Although I love my job, I enjoy the lunch break in the middle of all the go, go, go that taking care of kids requires. I take this time seriously; I read a book, or journal, sometimes I go outside to sit in the sun. This time is mine, and since I got married, it"s the only time that"s really mine. As I head to the cafeteria, I spot someone who looks familiar out of the corner of my eye in the office.

"Dad?" I call out, as he sees me. "What are you doing here?"

"I"m in town for the day," he explains, coming out of the office, holding a bag of what looks like my absolute favorite takeout. "Thought I"d come and see you. I wasn"t able to make the wedding or anything."

I skip over to him, hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much, and you know I understand that your work is important."

"Brought you lunch." His voice is gruff, a bemused smile covering his face as he holds the bag up.

I wrinkle my nose in excitement. "Let"s go outside to the picnic tables so we can have some privacy. You brought something for yourself, right? I know it's raining, but they're covered, and I need to get outside."

"Of course."

I didn"t realize how much I needed to see him until right now. "How"s work going?" I ask as we head toward the exit, before poking my head in the office. "Can you let Annabelle know I might be a little late, if you tell her my dad's here, she"ll get it."

The secretary nods. "Will do, have a great lunch."

Dad"s waiting, and he begins to answer the question I asked. "Work"s going. You know I can"t talk about it a lot..."

He works for the FBI as a profiler. It broke my parents apart when I was a teenager. To this day they still won"t talk. I took sides in the divorce, and it"s hurt my relationship with my mom, but I"ve always been closer to my dad. Although I had to live with her, because she didn"t have a job that was dangerous and required travel, I talked to him every day. That"s not true now, but I will always make time for him when he comes to see me. "I know." I loop my arm through his. "I"m just glad you"re here."

We get outside, I direct him to a picnic table under a large Oak. We have a seat and work on getting our food out. After we each take our first bites, he raises an eyebrow, chewing thoughtfully. "How are things going with Jasper?"

He"s met Jasper a handful of times. More than Mom, and she lives in Broken Falls. "They"re going. We"re learning about one another again."

"You still love him?"

I"ve never been known to lie to him, and he knows me better than anyone else. "Always." I talk around the food, swallowing roughly. "I"m never going to stop, and you know how upset I was when we broke up in college."

"I do, so I want to make sure you"re okay. I know that you"re old enough to make your own decisions, you"re an adult and you know what you can handle. However, I also know how much this man has wrapped himself around you. Are you okay?"

I love him for asking me this, for making sure I"m okay. "I am. I knew what I was getting into when I said yes to him. I"m in this for the long haul, and we"re going to have kids. So, I hope you"re ready to be a grandpa at some point in the next couple of years."

His dark eyes gather moisture. "Whatever makes you happy, Daisy, is what I want for you."

"He does," I whisper. "Others may not see it, they may not understand it, but he"s mine, and I"m his."

And that"s all anyone needs to know.