23. Cole

Once we had agreed that our relationship was to be purely one of a teacher and parent, she conducted the tour without once looking at me again. Addressing all her comments to either my daughter or an invisible being about six inches to my left.

It gave me the chance to stare uninterrupted at her. The hunger was real. In the sunlight her hair glowed, in the dim bunker where their camping equipment was stored, I thought I smelled her heady scent and nearly reached out and touched the delicious curve of her cheek.

“We’ll be sleeping outdoors?” Anya asked with amazement for she had never been camping before.

“Yes, under the stars,” Montana replied and smiled.

And for the moment, I felt as if I was back in the bar in Stormy City. There, she had smiled like that at me. A real smile.

An old sheepdog came to sniff at us, and Anya got to meet the baby donkey and see the horses in the stables. She petted some farmyard animals through the wooden slats of their pens and even had a fat rabbit put into her arms. To say she was thrilled and impressed would have been an understatement. She was almost jumping on the spot like a rubber ball with excitement.

The cookery room was the last stop of the tour. I was surprised to see it full of mini cookers and ovens. They were really serious about giving children all the life skills required for a good life.

This place compared to Anya’s school in New York was like chalk and cheese. No one told us their pronouns and no one cared to ask us ours. The emphasis was completely different. There were no bored children pretending to be cats, dogs or frogs either. All we saw were children who seemed to be fully immersed in activities that engaged them totally.

In spite of my raging hard-on, I was so impressed that by the time we arrived back at the principal”s office, I was sure moving Anya to this one was one of the best decisions I had ever made in my life. This experience would ensure that she was hands-on in every aspect of her life in a way that only men were usually expected to be. Not only would the theory be taught to them, but it was fully in conjunction with the practical, and their environs were so adequately equipped for it.

“Are you satisfied with what you saw?” the Principal asked.

“This is an astonishingly good idea, and you and your staff are doing a wonderful job,” I told him sincerely.

He beamed with quiet pride. “This was once a ranch. My father and I started this school just before Montana was born.”

He glanced behind me at Montana, and I didn’t know what her reaction was, but it was enough for her father to cock his head at her in amusement.

“Well, I’m impressed,” I told him. “And I look forward to seeing how my daughter adapts.”

“Thank you for your trust, Mr. Swift,” he said. “We look forward to doing our very best with your little girl.”

With that, the meeting concluded, and Montana was assigned her class.

“It’s a half day, but she can join her classmates in the field now,” Montana said as she stood to leave.

I watched Anya stand up to follow and a strange sensation of fear filled my chest. When she was out of my sight I couldn’t protect her.

“Please take care of her.” The pleading desperate words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Montana turned and looked at me with surprise for a few seconds, then she nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.”

She had no clue what I was truly asking, and how I wanted to tell her, explain the real reason I had not called her, but Anya”s life was at stake. I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes whatsoever. Besides I would rather die than drag her into my mess and endanger her too.

“You’ve just arrived in town a few days ago, haven’t you?” her father asked.

I nodded.

“May I ask why you moved over here from New York? It must be a huge change.”

“It is,” I replied smoothly. “But I wanted the slower pace and a more practical education for Anya.”

“You made the right choice,” he approved. Then he took my hand in his and extended a most unusual invitation.

“Are you free tonight by any chance?” he asked.

“I guess so,” I replied, surprised by the question.

“Would you like to join me and my daughter for dinner at our home?”

Behind me, I heard Montana gasp with surprise. He must have heard it too but he continued as if he had not.

“It’s nothing official. We won’t mention school matters whatsoever. It’s just our way of welcoming you to our little town. We’re a close-knit community. We watch each other’s backs.”

My old self would have made up an excuse and politely refused, but that part of me was gone. I took the decision to move from the bustling, never-sleeping heart of New York to a sleepy small town because I believed it was the only way for me to effectively monitor and control my surroundings. There was no better surveillance system than the human equivalent of a goldfish bowl where everybody knew everybody and intruders were instantly obvious. The sooner I embedded Anya and me into this community the sooner we would become part of it, and anyone coming from outside of it could be considered with suspicion until proven harmless.

I could feel the waves of anger emanating from Montana, as I replied, “Of course. It would be a pleasure to spend an evening at your home.”

“Good,” he replied energetically and shook my hand once again.

His daughter hated my guts, but there was something sincere and inviting about him and I warmed to him. He was definitely a guy I could go out and have a few drinks with.