Page 28

“Right,” said Ava. “Uh, thanks.”

“I’m your classroom assistant, it’s my job,” Hope said brusquely, before walking out of the classroom.

Ava sighed and collapsed into a chair the second Hope had left. Somehow it had seemed important not to show weakness in front of the woman. Hell, she was weak enough already without having the younger woman think that she was too old for the job.

Maybe she was too old for the job.

She stretched out her aching legs with a moan of pleasure.

Not that Hope didn’t make things easier, she absolutely did. The burden of just what she was supposed to do if one of the tiny beings in her charge wet themselves, or worse, was very much lightened.

On the other hand, the tension in the room had sky-rocketed.

It was painfully obvious that Hope didn’t like her, and Ava didn’t really blame her.

After all, they hadn’t gotten off to the best start. And now Hope was being roped into doing a different job just so that she could clean up Ava’s messes. Which Ava could very much appreciate was not something Hope particularly wanted to do.

On the other hand, Hope was no superstar herself. Okay, so she was great with the kids. But she was otherwise snappy, and she nearly never took her eyes off her own daughter. Ava wondered just how smothered little Alice must get at home.

But Ava herself wasn’t supposed to be here. That was the only thought that kept echoing around her head. She wasn’t supposed to be here.

Yet what choice had she had?

When Lowell had told her that the program couldn’t help re-assign her, she’d had to make a decision. A decision that had come down to staying here to tough things out or going back to the States to nothing. A few substitute teaching hours and a wild hope that she didn’t run into Serena somewhere on the teaching circuit.

A futile hope since there were only so many schools in the district and Serena worked at the largest. The school that Ava had once called home.

So sticking it out had been the only option. Now here she was daily placed in a room with twelve small children that seemed to have some sort of inherent death-wish, or at least mess-wish, and a woman who looked fabulous in yoga pants but who hated her.

Wonderful.

She did look good in yoga pants though, Ava conceded. Not only that, but she looked good in the tight jeans that she wore to work, complete with Converse and open-necked shirt. That was the kind of uniform Ava could get behind.

Eugh.

Thinking of behind and Hope in the same sentence was not a good idea. It awakened feelings that Ava had almost forgotten existed. Feelings she wanted to forget existed.

What the hell was she thinking? It wasn’t as though she didn’t notice attractive women. She was divorced, not dead. But Hope? Seriously?

She blew a raspberry at herself and the classroom door opened pretty much simultaneously.

“Ah,” said the headmaster. “Interrupting something?”

Ava laughed. “No, just me lost in my thoughts is all. Is there something you need?”

“Oh, nothing too important,” Jake said with an absent-minded grin that Ava was beginning to recognize meant that he was going to tell her something immensely important.

“Oh?”

“Just that the inspectors will be in in a couple of days. Nothing to worry about. Just do your best and teach to the curriculum and you’ll be fine. No worries.”

The door was already starting to close. “Wait!” Ava cried. “What?”

The door opened again and Jake stuck his head back in. “Inspectors.”

“What inspectors?” asked Ava, starting to panic. “What are they inspecting for? Will they come in here? What happens if the inspection goes wrong?”

She had visions of Nathan Jackson painting an inspector’s pants. Or worse, Daniel Monroe peeing on them.