Page 31 of Uproot

Or thoughtful, or smart..

The logical side of my brain tries to silence all of the reasons my ovaries are screaming that it would be damn well worth it to experience everything Beckett Kade has to offer.

But for now, the logic wins, and I take out my binder and get back to teaching.

17

Selah

"Ms. Lansing! You have a delivery in the front office!"

I set down the romance novel I was wrapped up in, and go over to the intercom on my desk phone. "A delivery forme?" I ask confused.

"Yes ma'am! Come on down and get it while it's hot," Sherry, the front desk administrator answers chuckling.

I head to the front office wondering what I could have waiting for me. My class is down in the cafeteria for lunch, and I just sat down to enjoy my thirty minutes of quiet before we go outside for recess. I have no idea what could be waiting for me in the office, but I feel excited to check it out.

I open the front office door and go inside. Sherry gets up to come hand me a bag withVicks BBQwritten on the front, and I shake my head.

"Oh, I think there must be a mix up, Sherry! I didn't order anything from Vicks," I say, trying to ignore the amazing smell of barbeque sauce floating from the bag.

Sherry laughs, putting the bag in my hand. "Oh it's definitely not a mistake, Ms. Lansing. The delivery driver handed me the bag and said that it was sent to you from a friend. Enjoy!"

I take it and smile as I peek inside. "Wow, ok. Thank you, Sherry," I say, and head back out of the door.

When I get back to my classroom, I unpack the bag and pull out a barbeque pulled chicken sandwich and a small house salad that both look amazing. I check my watch and see that I still have time to eat before recess, so I sit down and dig into the food.

"Oh my gosh," I mutter, my eyes rolling back as I bite into the tender meat. "This is incredible."

I dig into the salad, realizing that I'm hungrier than I expected. I ate the breakfast sandwich that Beckett brought me this morning, but I still feel surprisingly starved anyway.

The realization hits me that Beckett may be the mystery friend that sent this for me too. He didn't seem very happy when I told him I don't normally eat much during the day.

I've never had a man pay such close attention to me and try to look out for me in the way that Beckett does, and I don't quite know how I feel about it. Part of me thinks it's incredibly charming, but the other part of me worries about how each time he does something sweet, I fall a little harder for him.

I take out my cell phone and quickly text him a message:

Hi Beckett! Did you send me lunch today from Vick’s? Thank you again for breakfast btw!

I read it over twice before sending it and quickly finish eating my tasty food. I grab my phone and go to get a bottle of water from the teachers’ lounge before I pick up my class from the lunchroom.

Just as I'm leaving the lounge, my phone dings and I see a return message from Beckett:

Beckett: You're welcome, angel. Yes, lunch was from me. Did you enjoy it? I'd love to know more of what you enjoy.

I close my eyes, holding my phone tightly in my hands. I almost feel like this has to be some kind of a cruel twist of fate having an amazing man come into my life, only to have him have a life (hell an entire empire) so far away from mine.

I write him back another thank you for lunch and tell him that my favorite foods are steak, pasta, chicken, and salad. I leave out my affinity for cookies, worried that he may go buy out an entire bakery and have it delivered to me next.

The rest of my school day goes by smoothly with only one argument between my students during computer class. By the time the final bell rings, and my bus riders and after school kids head out, I still have a surprising amount of energy.

I know it probably is because I've eaten more today than I usually would thanks to Beckett, but I just push that out of my mind, knowing that tomorrow I need to get back to my diet.

"It tastes good on your lips, but it adds to your hips."

I hear my mother's grating voice interrupt my thoughts but quickly shake her words out of my head. I focus on helpingEdison and a little girl in my class draw some pictures to take home.

A few minutes later, Edison looks up from his Ninja Turtle drawing and smiles excitedly. "Ms. Selah, Dragana is here!" He exclaims, putting down the crayons in his hands.

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