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Sinclair

S hit happens and life went on. That was my motto after my fight with Dagger when he accused me of knowing my stalker.

There were no more long nights of sensual bliss.

No more sunny mornings where I woke up in his arms. We’d had a talk the following day, he apologized and said that he was just worried, but I’d told him that we needed to keep things professional.

I was there to help Dani and nothing more.

I’d wanted to return to my home, but I knew until whoever wanted to hurt me was caught, I wasn’t safe, so I agreed to stay.

It was everything that I dreaded, this was why I didn’t do relationships. No matter how wonderful the man was, things always got complicated when emotions were involved.

I still spent time with Dani outside of the classroom, we cooked together and each night we sat together in the dining room chatting while she did her homework and I graded papers.

It wasn’t the same as the weeks before, weeks that were filled with all of the things I never thought I’d have, and to lose it hurt. But better a small hurt now than heartbreak later, I told myself.

Try telling that to my heart though…

I filled my days with work, preparing for parent-teacher conferences, which meant getting to know the parents of my students, and giving them mostly good news about their budding academics.

There was a field day to break up the monotony of sitting inside a classroom all day, and wrangling dozens of energetic fourth graders had been the perfect way to exhaust myself so that when the day was over, I went to the guest suite, took a hot shower, and fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.

Today there was a bake sale fundraiser that required everyone to participate.

Half the teachers came in this morning armed with loads of plastic containers of homemade baked goods, a few of the male teachers quietly transferred store bought cookies and cupcakes onto decorative platters, while others chipped in with handwritten signs and several cash boxes.

It had taken most of the morning to get everything set up in the front hallway and all of the teachers pitched in however they could.

“Ugh,” Sarah said as she dropped down beside me just minutes after I sat behind one of the tables. “Why do we have to volunteer to do this?”

I laughed even though I shared her pain. “Because we’re all hoping this thing makes enough money so that we don’t have to use our own money to fill in the gaps.”

A beautiful smile lit up her face as she sat a little taller. “Excellent point,” she said, and bumped my shoulder. “Be sure to upsell as much as you can, girlie!”

I rolled my eyes as another laugh escaped, drawing an eye from one of the older teachers who couldn’t stand anyone having fun.

“I’ll do my best,” I promised, and followed her gaze to the lemon bars two tables over.

“Those lemon bars are made with fresh lemons and lemon zest. Plus, I hear they’re calorie friendly. ” I wiggled my brows.

She laughed and licked her lips. “Well, you’ve convinced me.

” She stood and reached for the tray, placing three lemon bars on a small paper plate decorated with Easter bunnies.

“Pleasure doin’ business with you, ma’am.

” She stood and tipped her imaginary hat in my direction.

“Now I have to pretend to do lesson plans. Catch ya later!”

I smiled at her retreating form. Sarah was the friend I didn’t know I needed at this stage in my life.

She was smart and funny. She was nosy as hell, but she didn’t judge, or, if she did, she always offered useful advice.

She was my first real friend in a long time, which felt disloyal to the Steel Demons ladies, but the truth was that once I was out of Dagger’s life, I’d be out of theirs too.

***

The hours flew by in a flurry of baked goods, cash, and small talk, and I was officially ready for my volunteer period to end.

My eyes flicked to the clock every twenty seconds, and just when my time was almost up, a man walked in wearing a hoodie too heavy for the weather outside, sunglasses, and a scowl.

He walked towards me like a man on a mission.

“Hi,” he grunted and shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

“Good afternoon,” I replied, trying to keep my tone friendly and upbeat. “What sweet treat are you in the market for today?” I shook off the uneasy feeling he gave me and kept my smile in place.

He eyed the options carefully as if they might jump up and bite him. His posture was unusually stiff, and I found myself backing up just a little.

I pointed to the lemon bars. “The lemon coconut bars are really good. They were my dad’s favorite.”

I ignored the pang of sadness that hit whenever I thought about my dad. He was a flawed man with too many demons, but I loved him as much as I hated him.

“I’ll take six,” he said in a monotone. I couldn’t see his eyes as he was wearing dark sunglasses but there was something cold in his demeanor. I bagged them up and handed them to him as I took his money.

He turned and walked away.

“Hey, you forgot your change,” I called after him.

He didn’t reply.

“Do you know that man?”

Dani’s voice startled me, and I tried to calm my racing heart before I turned to face her. “I don’t, but he seemed annoyed.”

She nodded. “Yeah, he seemed mad, like when Daddy is trying to pretend he’s not mad.”

She wasn’t wrong. I hadn’t dared give name to his emotions, but it felt a lot like anger, and it felt like it was directed at me, but since he was a complete stranger, I figured he was upset he had to spend money twice on school supplies.

“Maybe he’s having a bad day and really needs those coconut lemon bars? ”

She giggled. “Maybe. Did you sell lots of yummies?”

“Yep. You want one?”

A small smile spread wider and wider as she nodded with excitement. She tiptoed back and forth until she made her choice, a chocolate cookie with white chocolate chips and nuts. “This one?”

“All yours,” I assured her. “On me.”

Dani bit into the cookie with a loud moan, savoring the bite until she finished chewing. “Are things okay with you and Dad?”

Her questions surprised me, but I nodded, thinking that this conversation was yet another reason getting with Dagger had been a bad idea. “Yeah, things are fine.”

She didn’t look like she believed me, and who could blame her. “Okay.” Her skepticism was heavy. She was a sweet little girl who trusted the adults in her life even when she shouldn’t, and I felt like absolute garbage for abusing that trust.

But when the school day ended and Dagger picked us up, the atmosphere in the car was positively icy. He kept a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel while his jaw remained clenched, and his gaze was so focused on the road I wondered if he was even seeing it.

He wasn’t the only one who had nothing to say.

Less than nothing, in fact. I kept my gaze on the passenger side window, watching the town of Steel City as it whipped past. Before we even got back to his place, exhaustion hit me again.

I was putting it down to my current situation.

It came in fits and starts, keeping me in bed longer than usual and causing my bedtime to get earlier and earlier.

The next morning, the universe decided to treat me to a never-ending wave of sickness.

I’d sampled quite a few of the home bakes yesterday, and I wondered if one of the teachers’ hygiene standards hadn’t been up to code.

The nausea wouldn’t quit, but I sucked down a bottle of room temperature sparkling water and left the house earlier than usual.

I made it to school with forty minutes of peace and quiet before any teachers arrived, never mind the students.

A sleeve of butter crackers later and I only felt like lukewarm garbage instead of the hot variety.

“Miss B, I missed you this morning!” Dani rushed to my desk wearing a big grin. “Daddy made waffles this morning. With caramel syrup!”

“Wow,” I replied, shoving my nausea down deep. “How nice for you!”

Dagger stood at the door with his gaze burning a hole in my face. “You want to go run off some of that caramel syrup before class starts?”

She nodded and took off for the playground, but too late, I realized my mistake. Without Dani, it was just me and Dagger.

“Sinclair,” he began. “I think we should clear the air.”

I shook my head. “I thought we had. We need to keep this professional. You’ll figure out who this person is, and when you do, we’ll go our separate ways except when it comes to Dani. It’s better that way. In the meantime, I think it’s best I go back to my own home.”

His nostrils flared. “Is that what you really want?”

No.

“It’s better for all of us this way.” I didn’t give him a chance to say anything more because I returned my focus to where it belonged, on the only thing I had with certainty. My job.

I worked all day and stayed late to grade papers in the quiet of my classroom where I knew I wouldn’t be disturbed, and where there was security between me and the outside world.

When I finished my work, I stopped at the grocery store the way I always did and then I went home.

To my house, where I fell into a deep sleep instead of cooking a healthy dinner and watching a horror movie.

There’s always tomorrow.