Page 74 of The Flirty Forward

“But I want you to know how grateful I am.” Her voice wobbles, and the sound brings tears to my eyes. Again.Drat! I am not the crying type!But my body doesn’t want to seem to listen to me.

“Stephanie? I thought I heard—Oh, no, Mom. Don’t start because then I’ll start.” I look up to see Kristin walking towards us, wiping her eyes.

She joins our small circle and takes my hands. “I never got to say thank you in the rush of everything. But I can never tell you how grateful I am that you were there, that you knew what to do, and that you stayed with her. She told me she opened her eyes and panicked until she saw your face.” Her voice cracks, and she wipes her eyes. “She told me that she knew that she would be okay; because you were with her.” Her voice breaks on the last word. “I’m sorry.” She wipes her eyes. Of course, now my own eyes are watering.

“Oh no. Is everybody crying?” Tina asks as she walks into the kitchen. “Is this about Kayla?” Kristin nods but doesn’t say anything. I certainly can’t say anything with all the emotion I’m feeling.

It’s Kelly who takes a deep breath and says, “She was telling how Kayla woke up in the ambulance and panicked until she saw Stephanie. Then she knew everything was going to be okay.” Now, Tina’s crying.

“Oh boy.” Lou walks into the kitchen, takes one look at all of us crying, and then heads right back out. We all laugh, and it’s just what we need to break the sadness.

“Whew.” I rub my eyes. “Thanks for all that.” The ladies laugh as they wipe their own eyes.

“I guess you may as well get used to us if you’re going to join the family,” Kelly says as she turns back to her stove. I freeze as her words settle over me and see Tina eyeing me. She gives me a gentle smile, but I’m not sure if I have anything but panic on my face. Tina pats my shoulder before she picks up a basket of bread and takes it out. I take a deep breath, trying to collect myself.

“What can I do to help?”

“Here, stir this a moment, will you? I need to grab something from the fridge.” I take over Kelly’s job at the stove and stir what smells like a delicious sausage gravy.

“This smells so good,” I tell her.

She smiles widely. “Good. I hope you’re hungry. I made tons of it, and my biggest eater isn’t here to enjoy it,” she says with a wink at me. I can almost hear the retort Sebastian would make if he were here.

“I wish he was,” I say without thinking. I blink; I can’t believe I just said that out loud.

Kelly puts her hand on my shoulder. “Me too.”

I don’t say anything, because how can I? I still can’t believe I blurted that out. I feel eyes on me, and I look over to see Tina watching me carefully again. I turn back to the gravy, giving it my very apt attention. Soon, Lou calls everybody to gather at the table. I walk out of the kitchen and see Kayla for the first time since everything happened. Something eases in my chest when I see her run into the house from the patio with a big grin on her face, laughing at whatever somebody said or did outside.

“Miss Winston!” she calls out and runs to me, squeezing me in a big hug. My arms wrap around her, holding her close for a moment.

“How’s one of my favorite students?” I ask. “How’s the stitches?’

She frowns. “They’re annoying.”

“They come out in a few days,” Kristin reminds her gently.

“I heard you got a day of school off out of it,” I say in a conspiratorial whisper.

She grins. “I did, and my dad even got me this new book I’ve been wanting!”

I smile. “I’m so glad.”

She reaches out and wraps her arms around me like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “Thank you for going with me. I was so scared when I woke up and realized I was in an ambulance. And then I looked over at you and felt you squeeze my hand. I knew then that everything was going to be okay; I knew you wouldn’t let anything happen to me.”

And now, everybody in the room is crying. I keep my eyes on her face. “You’re welcome,” I whisper and kiss the top of her head. She pulls back, her eyes twinkling. “You’re my favorite teacher, but don’t tell anybody, okay?”

I give an odd chuckle. “You’re sweet, Kayla; but I’m nobody’s favorite teacher. I know that, and I’m okay with that.”

She cocks her head, completely serious. “I’m being for real. You’re my favorite teacher; your class is the only class I have to actually work hard at to get an A. And I freaking love it!”

“Kayla,” both Keith and Kristin call out. She just grins up at me before heading over to the table and taking a seat. I give myself a moment to compose myself before I head over to the table as well and end up sitting between Kayla and Brittney.

“All right, everybody,” Lou calls out, and everybody quiets. “Let’s pray.” I bow my head along with everybody else.

“Grandpa, can Miss Stephanie pray?” Brittney asks.

I go still and try not to panic. When nobody says anything, I lift my head and meet Lou’s eyes. I can tell he’s trying to let me decide what to do. I’m ready to tell him to just go ahead when Kayla squeezes my hand. “You’ve got this,” she whispers.

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