Page 32 of Christmas Rings

“What about the conservative parents? They won’t be happy. She sent them to the PTA president.”

“Calista Wells doesn’t run this school. I do.”

“She’s contacted you, hasn’t she?” Alissa asked.

“Yes. She contacted me almost immediately. Just as she did when Jacob Munro came out. I told her the same thing I told her when she demanded I fire him for being gay. No, thank you.”

“What about enrollment?” she asked. “Will this cause problems?”

“There’s a long waiting list. If families leave, there are others to take their places. We’re good at what we do here, Alissa. People know that. If they don’t like that my teachers are not all the same, then too bad. I know the kind of teacher you are, and that’s all I care about.”

Alissa let out a long sigh of relief. “Really?”

“Jesus is quite clear about who’s to do the judging. And it’s not us. Now, you put this out of your mind, and enjoy your wedding and honeymoon. I’ll see you in January.”

She hung up as happy tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Principal Hughes was a good man and a great boss.

Jed would be here tomorrow. Dare she hope that they would get married after all?Please, God, help us work through this.

Chapter 9

The next afternoon, Alissa paced in her room while waiting for Jed.

Yesterday had been packed with fun, thanks to her sisters. She hadn’t said anything about her phone call with Jed or that he would arrive later today. If they weren’t able to work things out, she didn’t want her family to have hope that the wedding would happen. She flushed thinking about how embarrassing this entire fiasco had been. Her sisters had gone to such lengths to make everything better for her and all she could do was think about Jed.

Finally, there was a knock on the door. Jed!

She ran to the door and yanked it open. He stood there with a suitcase next to him. He’d shaved since she last saw him, but it did nothing to disguise his exhaustion. Still, at the sight of her, he smiled. “Hey there.”

“Hi,” she said, suddenly shy.

“Can I come in?”

“Yes, yes. Sorry.” She stepped aside and let him pass though.

He set his suitcase near the door. “You look so good.”

“Oh, Jed, I’ve missed you so much.” She stumbled toward him, and he drew her into his arms.

“Me too, baby.” He held her so tightly she could barely breathe.

“I don’t want to do life without you. I’ve messed everything up.”

He buried his face into her shoulder. “I thought I might lose my mind without you.”

“We have to talk through this.”

He drew away, looking into her eyes. “Yes. I’m ready. Are you?”

She nodded and led him over to the chairs in front of the fireplace. They sat facing each other.

“I have to start by saying how sorry I am,” she said. “My reaction was completely unfair. I have no excuse other than I felt trapped and exposed.”

“I understand. I felt the same way. Trapped and unworthy of you.” He hadn’t stopped staring at her since he arrived, as if she were a meal and he was famished.

“But you were wrong to suggest that I’d be better off without you, or that you were somehow responsible for what happened. Your mother’s a troubled person. We don’t need her toxicity in our lives. But you’re going to have to decide how to deal with her in a way that doesn’t wreck what we have.”

He grimaced. “She’s called a few times. I didn’t pick up. I don’t know what the future holds, but for now I’m prepared to no longer have a relationship with them. I have to say, I feel free. All this time I thought the business meant so much to me and it turns out it really doesn’t.”

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