Page 4 of Pretty Relentless

I glance over my shoulder and feel this…thing. My heart starts to pound, and my throat goes completely dry. I want to reach out and throw my arms around him, reveling in the feel of his wrapped around me.

And…I want to kiss him.

My student’s father.

Which is a hard limit for me as a teacher. Even one in a small town, I have rules in place for a reason. Yet, I find myself wanting to throw those rules straight out the window for the first time in my life. No, not in my life. I did that a few times in college, and they always seemed to come back and bite me in the rear at some point.

That’s why rules are so important. They provide structure and balance in my life and remind me to always do my best at keeping on the straight and narrow.

Getting involved with a student’s dad would definitelynothelp me achieve that.

“Thank you,” I whisper, knowing he can probably see the blush his comment caused.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he takes a step back, giving me plenty of space to enter my home. Just as I go to close the door, our eyes meet again, and I give him a polite wave goodbye. The corner of his mouth curls up, and as soon as the door is closed and locked behind me, I turn my attention to the peephole. I watch as Gavin smiles, looking down at the ground for a moment before turning and walking toward his truck.

And since I’m still standing here, watching, I see the moment he pauses and turns back to my door, as if he’s about to run back up and knock. He doesn’t, however. Instead, he climbs inside the cab of his truck and slowly backs out of my driveway.

Long after he’s gone, I stand here, watching through that tiny hole. I’m just not sure if I’m grateful he didn’t run back up to the door or saddened. I’m firmly standing between the two, wishing we could explore this attraction we both seem to have and knowing it’s for the best we can’t.

Sighing, I finally push away from the door and head toward my bedroom. It was a beautiful wedding celebration, anddespite my vehicle breaking down, it turned out to be a not-so-bad ending too.

Gavin intrigues me, which is why I need to keep my distance.

Nothing good can come from getting involved with a man like him. He could only be classified as a gorgeous complication to my carefully constructed life.

One I don’t need.

But that doesn’t stop my mind from wondering.

Yeah, but what if…

Chapter Two

Gavin

Damn, she’s beautiful.

I’ve repeated that phrase over and over since I found Ava Rutledge stranded on the side of the road. I tried to keep myself in check, remaining as respectful as humanly possible, but it was difficult with her wearing that black dress and boots. She looked positively breathtaking.

Always does.

I’ve known Ava for quite some time, but as more of an acquaintance. Someone who grew up in the same town, attended the same school. She is three years older than me, a senior in my freshman year of high school when I caught my first glimpse of her. I was too young for her and way out of her league, but that didn’t stop my teenage brain from fantasizing about her.

Of course, I was just a kid with a crush, but I spent that entire school year secretly watching her and wishing she were mine. She had the sexiest freckles on her cheeks and wore wire-rimmed glasses. After she graduated and went off to college, I’d catch sight of her every now and again when she’d come home for break, and while I dated my share of girls in high school, I was always sweet on Ava Rutledge.

Crushes are brutal like that.

Over the years, we’ve occasionally been at the same place at the same time, and while I don’t consider it a crush anymore—just recognition of a beautiful woman—I have a deep respect for her. She attended college and returned to her hometown to teach at the very school we all walked the halls in as kids and has donewell with her life, despite the fiasco of that terrible college photo resurfacing a few years back.

I, on the other hand, have had my fair share of ups and downs. A failed marriage, bitter custody battle that took forever to settle, and a credit score that doesn’t seem to go anywhere, thanks to my ex and her ability to trash everything with my name attached to it. But the best thing to come from even the worst day in my life is my daughter, Annabelle. She’s simply the best piece of me, and I refuse to let her mother dampen that.

She’s the most inquisitive little girl I’ve ever met, always has been. Even as a young child, she asked the dreaded question…why? She wanted to know how everything worked, and from the moment she was able to read, she read everything with words on it. Okay, not everything, but she always has a book or will go online to research something that fascinates her.

I wasn’t kidding when I told Ava I didn’t know where she got it from. I was a C student, and sometimes barely even that. I didn’t like school, especially reading, and from what I’ve learned about my ex-wife over the years, she wasn’t exactly a stellar student either. She got by, mostly by using her looks when she could.

I have tons of stories, but now isn’t the time. No one wants to hear about how Julia used any and all means possible to get a leg up in life.

And I definitely won’t get into anything involving herlegsright now, but I will say they were usually spread.

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