Page 73 of Scorched

Kendall nudged Principal Ford. “Are you going to tell her?”

The principal smiled and winked at Kendall and Alex. “No, I think you two should.”

Kendall cleared her throat. “Ms. Johnson, we just wanted to let you know how much of a difference you’ve made in our lives.”

Elise wanted to laugh, but tears choked her throat from making any noises. Those tears flowed down her cheeks now.

“Yeah, and we know about what happened to you up in North Dakota,” Alex said.

Lead dropped to the pit of Elise’s gut, followed by overwhelming sadness. She’d have to leave. To uproot the boys once again and leave.

Kendall pulled Brandon under one arm, hugginghim. “We know about the Dakota Strangler and what you, Brandon and Luke have lived through since then.”

Yeah, her days in Breuer were definitely numbered. She stared at Kendall, Alex and Principal Ford. She’d miss them. Had it been too much to hope she could find a home for herself and her boys? Were they destined to move from town to town for the rest of their lives? “Does everyone know?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Kendall nodded. “The news reporters got a hold of it and aired it when they captured Agent Cain.”

“When Agent Fletcher put the call out to me and Kendall, we knew we had to do something to convince you.”

“Agent Fletcher?” Through the darkness of her depressing thoughts, a light of hope burned like a reviving ember buried deep in the ashes.

“Yes, Agent Fletcher.” His deep voice rumbled from the lobby entrance, and the students and principal parted, letting him come through to the front.

Paul stood with a cowboy hat in his hands, his shirt muddy from when she’d clung to him out by the river and his face streaked with grime. But he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. She stood, holding Luke in her arms, afraid to move, afraid to say anything to douse the tiny flickers of optimism daring to build inside.

“As soon as I heard the radio make a big announcement about the capture of the copycat Dakota Strangler,I knew you’d be thinking about leaving.” Paul’s brows rose, challenging her to deny it.

She couldn’t. Even now, everyone in Breuer would know she’d been married to a killer. Leaving would be her only choice.

“Mom, I don’t want to leave,” Brandon said, looking up to Kendall and Alex. “I have friends here.”

“I know, honey. I know.” She hugged Luke tighter.

He stirred, his eyes opening. Her youngest son blinked once, then again, focusing on the tall man in front of him. Then he held out his arms to Paul.

Paul lifted him and laid him on his shoulder. “How are you, big guy?” The small boy and the big man with the sandy blond hair and blue eyes, almost the color of hers looked right together.

For a fleeting moment, Elise wished Paul were a permanent part of her family. The father the boys deserved, the man she could possibly learn to love. “I can’t stay. You, of all people, know why.”

“You can’t go. We need more teachers like you,” Principal Ford insisted. “I suspected you had a history and that something wasn’t quite right, but I also saw how much you wanted the job, how much you cared whether or not the students did well.”

“Yeah, besides, we love you, Ms. Johnson.” Kendall hugged Brandon. “And we love Brandon and Luke.”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “You can’t leave us. What would the school do without you?”

Paul smiled over Luke’s head. “Everyone wants you to stay in Breuer.”

Suddenly shy and with nothing to hold in front of her, Elise felt exposed, raw, emotional. More tears pushed their way into her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “Everyone?”

“Everyone.” Paul reached out and brushed his thumb across her cheek. “Including me.”

“Why? I don’t know if we can be anything more than friends.”

Paul’s smile faded, his blue eyes serious. “Then I’ll settle for that.”

“You’d be my friend?” Elise’s heart swelled at that. “Stan had never wanted to be my friend.”

“I keep telling you, I’m not Stan.” Paul laughed. “When are you going to start believing me?”

---