Chapter Seven

Zara

Today has gone a lot better than I expected. But I suppose my expectations were fairly low.

The children were mostly well behaved, and I think their nerves were at least as bad as mine, which might have helped. Some of them are lovely. In fact, most of them are. But there's one in particular who I think may cause me problems. In a way, it's not surprising. He's the son of the woman who barged into the classroom this morning, and his name is Alexander. Not Alex, but Alexander. He made a point of telling me that, the little dear.

I imagine that, given the chance, he'd make an excellent bully, although I've got no intention of letting that happen. The other children under my care are far too nice to fall foul of such an obnoxious little boy.

And yes, I know I shouldn't feel like that. But honestly… sometimes you just can't help yourself.

"It's time to line up," Margot says, and I smile across the classroom at her.

She's been a rock today, and I'd have been lost without her. Watching over so many children was hard enough this morning, but when we got out the painting things this afternoon, I seriously wondered about my life choices… or at least my career choices.

Giving a group of five-year-olds free rein with paints is always going to be a recipe for disaster, and today proved no exception. I suppose I should be grateful they were all wearing aprons, and that the damage to myself was limited to a splash of red paint on my black pants. Luckily, it's washable, and although I hadn't planned to do any laundry this evening, I guess that's gonna be my first job when I get home.

I wander to the door, where Margot is trying to get the children into a neat line, although Alexander is pushing to the front, elbowing Addison out of the way.

"Let me through," he says, his nose in the air. "I have to go first."

"Why?" Nadia grabs him by the arm and turns him around. She's taller than most of the other girls, and according to Margot, has older brothers, so I guess she's more than capable of holding her own.

"Because my name begins with the letter ‘A'," Alexander says, pulling away from her.

I step in before he starts a full-scale fight. "If we were lining up alphabetically – which we're not – then Addison would go before you," I tell him. "Just get in line with everyone else."

He glares at me, and as I turn to help a little boy called Theo to pull his backpack on, Alexander pushes his way to the front, clearly refusing to take ‘no' for an answer.

Addison and Nadia whisper something to each other and move further back, still talking, and although I glance at Margot, she's busy tying one of the boys' shoelaces.

Once all the children are in line and have quietened down, Margot opens the door and I lead them out, surprised by how busy the corridor is. It's obviously taken us longer to get ready than I thought, although at least Miss Montgomery isn't around to witness that little failing on my part.

Someone else is holding the main door open and I lead the children outside.

I've been dreading this part of the day, wondering if I'll hand over a child to the wrong mother or father, but most of the parents seem to know what they're doing and step forward in a fairly orderly fashion to collect their offspring.

I even have time to glance around the schoolyard, trying to catch sight of Nash… or, to be more precise, his mother. It's a form of punishment, I suppose, for wanting her husband – for thinking of him in the way I have been – that I should force myself to see her and their son together… to know that she's the woman who's captured his heart.

That's an awful thought, and not one I want to dwell on, but as I turn slightly, I can't help the gasp that escapes my lips when I see Tanner standing to one side. He's alone. By which I mean he's not with his wife, and he's talking to Addison's mom and dad… except the sheriff isn't Addison's dad. Not officially. Not yet.

They seem to be deep in conversation, and I have to stare, even though I know I shouldn't. Tanner is too perfect not to stare at… and although I know it's wrong, my body heats at the sight of him.

I hate the fact that he's taken.

No. That's not true. I can't deny him happiness, even if it's not with me.

What I hate is that, for the first time in my life, I've fallen in love with a man, and he's not available. Not only that, but it seems I'll have to watch him being unavailable on a regular basis, while keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself.

That seems unfair to me, and I drag my eyes away from him, before regret overwhelms me.

My eyes alight on Russ, who's standing at the corner of the building, leaning against the wall. He doesn't have to be out here. The children in his class don't need to be handed to their parents at the end of the school day, but I guess he needed some fresh air… or to stare at me for a while. That's what he's doing, and I tilt my head at him, wondering if there's something wrong. He smiles, which suggests there isn't, and then makes a ‘drinking' sign, like he's asking me to join him. I remember I was trying to find a way out of that, and hesitate for a second, but then nod my head. What harm can it do for us to compare notes after our first day?

"Miss Howell?"

I jump at the sound of my own name and turn back to find Alexander's mother approaching. She left abruptly this morning, when I entered the classroom with Addison, but she's obviously discovered my name in the meantime, and she's staring up at me now with a frown on her face.

This doesn't look good.

"Yes? You're Mrs. Knox. Alexander's mother."

"At least you know that much," she says with disdain. "I wanted to talk to you this morning, but there wasn't time."

"Sorry about that." I don't know why I'm apologizing to her. She's the one who dismissed me and then practically ran away.

"I wanted to discuss a few things with you," she says, ignoring my apology.

"Oh?"

"Yes, you see Alexander attended the nursery school in Willmont Vale, and I have to say I was disappointed with how little studying the children did there."

"Studying? At a nursery school?" I say, my brow furrowing. What did she expect? Dostoyevski over their morning milk and cookies?

"Yes. Children need to be educated, not left to play."

"I agree. At least, I agree to an extent. Academic studies are important, but children need to have fun, too. It's all about balance."

"Fun?" She seems outraged and pulls herself up to her full height of approximately five foot six, in her ludicrous heels.

"Yes. I firmly believe that if learning is fun, children of this age will retain the information better."

"That's all well and good, but I don't think you're allowing for how intelligent Alexander is."

I hadn't noticed, to be honest. "I'm sure he is," I say. "But I have to accommodate all the children in the class, not just one."

"So, you're planning to dumb down the lessons to the lowest common denominator, are you?"

"That's not what I said. I was…"

"Excuse us…"

I look up at the sound of a deep male voice, grateful for the interruption, and find myself looking at the sheriff and Addison's mom.

"Yes?" I say and he smiles.

"I'm having a conversation with Miss Howell," Mrs. Knox says, stepping a little closer to me, like she's taking possession.

"I know, and I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I've gotta get back to work." Sheriff Hanson tilts his head to one side, although there's a definite glint in his eye. "I'm sure you don't mind, do you, Anita?"

Mrs. Knox sighs out her frustration. "I suppose not," she says, turning to me. "We'll have to continue this later in the week."

"Of course."

She leaves, without saying ‘goodbye' to any of us, and I feel myself sag with relief.

"Was she giving you a hard time?" Addison's mom asks, although I notice she's smiling.

"Nothing I can't handle," I say, giving her a smile in return. That's a bare-faced lie. I didn't feel like I was handling Mrs. Knox very well at all, but I know better than to share my professional problems among parents. "How can I help?"

They both step forward, holding hands. "I'm sure Miss Montgomery has told you about our situation, and what's happening with Addy and the adoption," the sheriff says. "But we wanted to check you're okay with everything. We meant to ask this morning, but we were running late, and…"

"It's fine," I say, interrupting his flow. "But thank you for asking."

"Has she been okay?" Addison's mom asks.

"She's been as good as gold." I'm not sugar-coating that. It's the truth. Addison is a lovely little girl. "She seems to have made friends with Nadia… um…" My mind has gone blank, and I can't for the life of me remember Nadia's second name.

"Nadia Holland?" the sheriff offers, and I nod my head.

"That's her."

He smiles. "Her family live close to the house we're looking to buy, so that'll be good."

"Are you friends of theirs?" I ask.

"Not especially." He looks down at his future wife. "I don't think you know them at all, do you, babe?"

"Only to nod and say ‘hello' to," she says, and he smiles, then turns back to me.

"In my line of work, I know practically everyone who lives here."

"While I know practically no-one," I say and he chuckles. "Although I gather Nadia has older brothers?" I can't see any harm in gleaning a little information about at least one of my students.

"They're both at the high school, although I think Josh might be heading off to college next year."

"Really? They're that much older than her?"

"Yeah. Nadia was a bit of an afterthought. Or an accident," he says with a smile. "Either way, they all dote on her."

"And it's good that Addy's made a friend," Addison's mom says, looking up at him.

He turns and I follow the line of his gaze to where his daughter and Nadia Holland are standing together, talking away, like they don't have a care in the world.

"Hello, sweetheart," he calls, raising his voice slightly and Addison jumps, then grins and runs over to him, throwing herself into his arms. He bends and catches her, leaning her into her mom for a kiss before she nestles against her father… the man who isn't officially her father, but who sure acts like it.

"Are you gonna take me home?" she says.

"Yes, I am," he replies. "But then I've gotta go back to work." She pouts, and he tweaks her nose. "I'm sorry, but there are some things I've gotta do at the office."

"Will you be home in time for dinner?" she asks.

"You bet I will. I'll do my best to be home in time to help with your bath, but if I'm not, I'll definitely read you a story before bedtime. Is that a deal?"

Addison holds out her hand, and the sheriff pats his against it. "Deal," she says, then rests her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Howell," Addison's mom says as they turn away.

"It's my pleasure. See you tomorrow, Addison."

"See you, Miss Howell." Addison pauses, then leans away from her father. "Bye, Nadia," she calls, and Nadia says ‘goodbye' too, with a wave of her hand.

While I've been talking, Margot has been ensuring the children are sent home with the right parents, although we still have a few stragglers, Nadia being one of them.

"Josh?" Margot says and I turn, looking over at a tall young man, of around seventeen years of age, who's walking across the schoolyard, his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. He's wearing a dark gray t-shirt, with a skull printed on the front, and some kind of wording underneath, although I can't see what it says.

"Hi, Mrs. Ashton. I've come to collect my little sister. Mom sent me a message to say she had to wait in for an electrician, or something, so she couldn't make it."

"That's okay," Margot says and turns to Nadia. "You go with Josh, and we'll see you tomorrow."

Nadia runs to her brother, who turns, suddenly noticing me. "Are you her new teacher?" he asks.

"Yes. I'm Miss Howell."

He nods his head, blushing slightly, and then takes his little sister's hand as they walk away, just as a woman of around thirty comes rushing up, apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I lost track of the time, and…"

"It's fine," Margot says, handing her a little boy who I think is called Christopher. "He's been really good today."

His mom smiles down at him, roughing up his hair, although he pushes her hand away.

"Can I call Dad when I get home?" he asks, looking up at her.

"He'll be at work. Why not wait until later? He'll have more time to speak with you."

Christopher shakes his head. "No, he won't. He'll be too busy with Jade to wanna talk to me."

His mom crouches down, holding his hands. "Daddy's new wife is very kind to you, and even if you don't like her very much, you mustn't be rude about her. Okay?"

He hesitates for a second, and then nods his head, like he's less than convinced. Seemingly satisfied, though, his mom stands up again and looks at me. "Sorry about that," she says.

"Don't worry."

They leave, sauntering across the schoolyard, and I turn to Margot, raising my eyebrows.

"You won't remember all of this after the day you've had," she says, "but Christopher's last name is Leyton. His mom is called Diana, and she works at the bakery."

"The one that's also a delicatessen?"

"That's the place. She moved here from Willmont Vale after Christopher's father cheated on her."

"And married the other woman?" I guess, and she nods her head, folding her arms across her chest at the same time, as we continue to watch them.

"You've gotta admire her. It would be easy to bad-mouth her ex and his new wife, but she never says a word against either of them."

"She's more generous than I think I would be," I say, and she laughs.

"Me too."

I turn and let out a yelp when I come face-to-face with Tanner.

"Oh, hello."

He smiles down at me and says, "Hi," his voice whispering over my skin, like the first rays of sun on a summer's morning, heating it, my body following, and the longing for him building inside me.

Stop it! He's married. He has a son. You can't go there.

"I'll go back inside and start clearing up the classroom," Margot says, and although part of me wants to tell her I'll come with her, I can't walk away from Tanner.

It's simply not possible.

Even if he is taken.