Page 69 of Before We Fell

He shook the paper and handed it out to me. “I made this for you.”

A vibrant pink shaded his cheeks and ears as I took the paper. I pressed my lips together to smother my smile as I scanned his drawing. On the page were two people, barely more advanced than stick figures. A woman, I guessed was supposed to be me in a green skirt and orange top, had long brown hair almost down to my toes like Rapunzel. In one of my overly large hands was a book with a blue cover, and in the other, I held the hand of a little boy, blue shorts, pink and white striped shirt which happened to be the exact outfit Benji wore himself.

The boy in the picture smiled at the teacher, and around the two of them, was a giant red heart, rimmed in an outline of pink with sharp yellow lines depicting sparkles going off of it.

And in his typical, scratchy childish print were the words, “I love you, Miss Frazier.”

I held the paper softly in my hands, my heart thumping wildly. This. These moments. They were why I wanted to teach. I brushed my hand over the top of Benji’s head and grinned at him. “Thank you, Benji. I love this. Do you want me to hang it here or take it home with me?”

I always gave my kids the choice. Some wanted it displayed in the classroom. Others didn’t.

Typical of Benji, his ears turned a darker pink as he whispered, “On your own fridge.”

“Then that’s where it will go.” My gaze found the clock and returned to Benji. “Now, how about you and I get the rest of these kids ready to go home?”

We had ten minutes to go. Just enough time to race to get cleaned up, backpacks and jackets and lunch bags organized as well as lined up for their dismissal routines.

Benji helped, flying into action at the art table while I clapped my hands and got everyone else moving.

And by the time the bell rang, me giving out hugs to all the students who requested them as they filed out my door, I was ready….so darn ready for my weekend to begin.

My phone rang.The third time it had rung in an hour. I was ready to go, already seeing the text from Noah saying he had dropped off Riley at his parents’ house and was on his way to me.

The ringing phone I ignored.

I had the earlier text from school. Two other voicemails. The second time she called I struggled with answering it.

Maybe something was wrong with Dad. It was possible. They were nearing sixty-five and his health hadn’t been the greatest. But I still couldn’t bring myself to do it.

If it was anyone but my brother, she’d leave another text, demanding why she needed to speak with me.

No, this was Mom’s typical modus operandi when she didn’t get a response as soon as she proclaimed she needed one.

I sighed and shoved my phone into my purse. How was it that I was the one ignored and pushed to the side and yet when I didn’t feel like putting up with their insane bullshit whenever they turned ostrich and shoved their heads in the sand, I ended up feeling like the jerk.

Parental manipulation at its finest.

“Forget it,” I muttered and moved to the kitchen. I pulled a glass down from my cupboard and filled it with ice water from the fridge. I sipped it slowly, savoring the freezing coolness sliding down my throat in order to push everything else out of my mind.

My gaze caught on the back yard and just peering in the direction of Noah’s house, almost fully completed with his addition which would happen next week, soothed my rattled nerves.

This weekend was for Noah and I. Dinner. A hotel. Hopefully some shopping and he’d get seriously lucky if he splurged on a horse-drawn carriage ride. I’d done some online shopping for the weekend with a special “thank you for the horse-drawn romantic carriage” lingerie set just for the occasion.

It was only then it occurred to me how close I’d be to home. Twenty minutes away, and not only was I avoiding my family like the plague, I had no intention of taking Noah there for a surprise visit. I planned on enjoying my time with Noah, not caving into a world I’d long since fought to leave permanently.

A rush of air pushed from my lungs, ruffling papers on my kitchen countertop. The drawing from Benji slid across the top of the pile and before it could slide to the floor, I grabbed it, and set it on my fridge like he requested.

His artwork was done in a childlike scrawl, typical of his age, but still, I traced the misshapen heart around the two of us, grinning softly.

Yeah. I loved him, too.

I was just realizing that I loved someone else a whole lot more.

The rumble of an engine made my smile wider and I hurried to the front door, arriving right as Noah stepped to my front porch. Visible through the narrow windows next to it, I took a half-second to admire his lean, muscled body. He carried it with the confidence of a man who knew exactly what he was capable of. Built more for hard, manual labor than sitting behind a desk all day and arguing in a courtroom, he barely talked about what he planned on doing once he was settled with his house.

Flip it? Stay?

Did he plan on staying in Carlton permanently?

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