Page 4 of Finding Home (Willow Valley #1)

FOUR

CHLOE

I ’m jittery as I hang the final welcome sign on the door to my classroom, excited to meet all my new students today. I got a last-minute addition to my class Friday afternoon, Lila. I was told she just moved to town and her dad’s the new fire chief.

I work at Grounded Bliss during the summer, but teaching first grade is something I love.

I get to spend my day with young kids and watch them develop their personalities and grow.

This is only my second year of teaching, and it definitely comes with its challenges, but I’m looking forward to a new year.

The bell rings through the speakers of the building, and kids are going to start arriving any minute.

I head to my desk and take another quick sip of my coffee before my first student walks in.

I greet the kids and their parents, who help them get situated with their cubbies in the back of the room.

I’m talking to a mother when I feel eyes drilling into the back of my skull.

I look over my shoulder and am met by Everett’s deep-brown eyes.

The mother’s voice turns into white noise as I take him in.

He’s dressed in the fire department’s navy T-shirt that’s stretched tight across his chest and abs and tucked into his navy pants.

Even the boots look fucking good on him.

I know he’s caught me checking him out, and he doesn’t even smirk.

I get zero reaction from him. It’s almost as if he’s acting like he didn’t see me naked, eat my pussy, and fuck me, hard , just a few weeks ago.

“The new fire chief’s easy on the eyes,” the mother I was talking to says, breaking me from my fog.

I offer her a weak smile and say, “Excuse me.”

She nods and grins before I make my way to his daughter, who must be Lila, purposefully ignoring Everett.

“Well, you must be Miss Lila,” I say, and she nods enthusiastically. “My name is Miss Maxwell, but you can call me Miss M.”

“Hi, Miss M.”

“You’ve got a cubby you can put your backpack in at the back of the room, maybe your dad can help you out, and then we’re going to meet on the carpet at the front.”

“Okay.” She grabs Everett’s hand and pulls him towards the back.

His eyes linger on me for a few seconds before he follows and gives her his undivided attention.

I make the rounds, checking on the rest of my students, and when I get a head count that they’re all here, I stand at the front of the room and say, “Okay, we’re gonna start soon, so why don’t the kiddos say goodbye to your mom or dad, and parents, you can pick your kids up at three.”

I’m sitting at my desk, reading over my attendance sheet, when a shadow looms over me. I look up slowly, allowing my eyes to trail over Everett’s body before I finally meet his eyes and offer him a smile.

“My grandmother is going to pick up Lila after school today. I’m on shift, so she’ll be staying with her, and she’ll drop her off tomorrow, too.”

I nod. “Okay. Well, have a good day.” My voice is polite and professional, obviously dismissing him as I return to looking at my screen. His feet stay planted beside my desk, and I flick my eyes back to him. “Is there something else I can help you with, Mr. Lawson?”

His eyes bore into me for a few seconds before he shakes his head and leaves my classroom.

I take a few deep breathes, trying to gather myself.

Seeing Everett again has images of our night together flashing through my mind.

I close my eyes for a brief second before standing and saying, “Okay, class. Let’s gather on the carpet. ”

The kids each find a spot, and I get them to quiet down before I start our lesson.

When the final bell rings, students rush to grab their bags and run out the door, but Lila takes her time.

She slowly collects her things before leaving the classroom.

I follow her and the rest of the kids to make sure everyone is picked up.

I stand outside the front of the school and watch as kids run towards their parents excitedly.

I spot Mrs. Simpson, and Lila slowly makes her way towards her.

Mrs. Simpson smiles at her great-granddaughter and takes her hand before waving at me and leaving with Lila.

Lila’s lack of excitement makes me wonder how well she knows her great-grandmother.

When Everett and I first met, I got the feeling he hadn’t spent a lot of time in Willow Valley, at least not as an adult.

Does that mean Lila hasn’t spent a lot of time with Mrs. Simpson?

I feel for the little girl who seems to have been picked out of her previous life and has now been dropped into a new town with new people and a new school and is trying to get a sense of her surroundings.

It can’t be easy having her dad working long shifts at the fire station either.

My bother’s friend Ryder has worked at the station for a while now, and he works twenty-four on, seventy-two off. Shifts like that mean he never has the same days off and he often spends the first part of his first day off recovering from his shift.

Willow Valley is a small town with a population of less than two thousand people.

We get a lot of tourists between the months of May and September, often families coming to get away from the city and the occasional group of uni students looking to party.

The families that come are usually the same ones that have been coming for years.

They’re people you recognize as you walk down the street or see them in a restaurant, even if you don’t remember all of their names.

During the off season, when the town isn’t filled with tourists, it’s quiet.

Shops work reduced hours and not much happens.

I love living in Willow Valley. Growing up, I hated it with a passion.

I wanted to be able to experience things city kids did.

I wanted to be one of those kids I saw on TV who could go to the movies or spend the day at the mall, but what I got was a lame drive-in theatre that was really a giant piece of white cloth tied between trees and someone’s personal projector hooked up to a laptop and days at the lake with my friends.

I applied to every school in a city to get away from small town life, but it wasn’t long after I left that I realized I actually liked my small town.

The hustle and bustle of the city, the noise and brightness at night, wasn’t for me.

I got my teaching degree and came right back here.

I head back to my classroom, making sure I have everything ready for my lesson the next day before grabbing my bag and heading to my car then making the short drive to my parents’ place.

My parents live on fifty acres of land on the outskirts of town.

My dad inherited the ranch-style home and land when his parents passed.

My brother Grayson and I grew up here, finding our own little hideaways and places we called our own.

I moved out at the beginning of the summer but still keep my room at their place, crashing occasionally.

When Grayson and his new wife Hannah were here a couple months ago for a visit, I stayed at my parents’, wanting to be able to spend as much time as possible with them while they were here.

My dad had a heart attack six weeks ago, and we all stayed at the house, helping Mom and Dad get used to their new routine as Dad recovered.

Pulling up outside my parents’, I hear Mickey, my parents’ golden retriever, on the other side of the fence as he bounds up, waiting for me to step through the gate.

I walk in the never locked front door and find Mom on the back porch with her latest knitting project.

I kiss her cheek and ask, “How are you, Mom?”

“I’m good, dear. How was the first day of school?”

I sit beside her as I grin. “It was good. They’re all so eager and excited about starting the new year. ”

“You were like that as a kid, too. So much more than your brother.”

“Probably why I ended up a teacher,” I say.

Mom smiles at me. “You sticking around for dinner tonight?” she asks.

“Yup. I’m just gonna go check on the horses, and then I’ll be in to help.”

“Okay.” She pats my leg and leaves me as she heads inside.

I stay in my spot on the back porch looking over the property and wonder why I’d ever want to leave this. Sitting out here is so peaceful, nature as far as the eye can see and only the sounds of the wind in the trees and the nearby animals.

I sit and enjoy the view and quiet for a few minutes before I finally venture out towards the barn where we keep the horses.

Grayson hired people to do the majority of the work, cleaning stalls, making sure the horses get out and wander the pasture and aren’t stuck in their stalls all day, but I like to go down and groom them when I have the time.

It’s something that’s always grounded me and been a way for me to escape my thoughts, and right now, I need to stop thinking about that night with Everett three weeks ago.

Ever since I saw him and Lila at the coffee shop the other morning, no matter how much I’ve tried to move my thoughts in another direction, they always end up back on him.

He didn’t say much during the very little time we spent together, but something about it has burned itself into my memory.

I need to find a way to move past these thoughts, though.

I can’t get involved with the parent of one of my students, even if I’m itching to learn more about what lies under the surface that is Everett.