Page 84 of Class Act

“I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Maybe Miss Connie has one you could borrow,” Hillary suggested helpfully.

I glanced at Connie who looked at me with a questioning expression. I knew she had extra suits. She knew I knew she had extra suits. But she needed to know if I actually wanted a suit. I gave the most subtle head shake I possibly could, and Connie picked it right up, apologizing to Hillary for the fact that the suits were all in the laundry.

I didn’t think I could play with them until I made sure their dad was okay.

When I looked back to Hillary, my gaze caught Ford’s. He raised his eyebrows, having clearly noticed the exchange between Connie and I, but I only smiled pleasantly and went back to eating.

Halibut and asparagus were some of my favorite foods, but it was tasteless in my mouth. Each time Ford joined in the conversation, I pictured dancing with him at his business dinner, him pressing bold kisses to my dimples later, holding on to his shoulders as he kissed me merely yards from here in the Cox’s pool house. I imagined him quietly slipping out of my house the other night and how at home I’d felt snuggled up against him. Had that been the moment I’d crossed a line?

Warmth crept into my face, and I took a shaky sip of my water.

Before too long conversation turned to me, and while Connie knew all about my change in situation, I filled Leonard in about having to find a new place to teach next year.

“Oh, honey, I just can’t get over it. You love that place. Your friends are there. You’ve found your home,” Connie said with genuine sympathy.

“You’re leaving Washington?” Hillary asked, her eyes growing round.

“I’m afraid so,” I replied. “I’ll be there through the end of this school year though.”

“Where will you go?” Leonard asked. “I know the superintendent. I could put in a good word.”

I shook my head. “That’s sweet, but I have some time to figure it out.”

“I don’t want you to figure it out,” Hillary whined.

I looked kindly at her. “I couldn’t stop this from happening even if I tried,” I said to her. “Things change, and life has unexpected twists and turns. I wish it could have always stayed the same, but sometimes the new path can be even better.”

“Are you scared?” Henry asked.

I nodded. “A little. I’m really comfortable where I am now.”

Talk shifted to my parents, and my mom shared about some research she’d stumbled across that had her fascinated while Dad told us about a student’s paper that had made him howl with laughter. Everyone joined in the amusement, except Ford. I could feel his eyes on me, and when I looked at him, a spark of some powerful emotion radiated off him, hitting me in the chest. He was sitting stick straight, his fork slightly raised with a chunk of salad dangling there. His eyes, usually so gray, seemed darker. I felt that look down to my bones, and without thinking I scooted back my chair.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

I stood and walked briskly out of the kitchen and straight out the front door. I stood on the porch with a hand to my chest and took a deep breath, my mouth forming a circle as I let it slowly flow out. That man muddled my head and made my emotions take a dive.

“Hailey.”

And there he was, closing the door behind him and walking toward me where I was standing at the end of the front porch, leaning on the railing, my hand still resting on my chest.

“Hi.” I managed when he continued to do nothing more than take me in.

He seemed to notice everything, from the way my hair was tickling my jaw to the way I’d started to shiver lightly in the chilly November air. He was holding his jacket, and I found it interesting that at some point he’d stopped to grab it. He leaned toward me to wrap it around my shoulders. It hung loosely, providing warmth and the scent of him in spades.

I was sunk. He was the only place I wanted to be.

He took another step closer until I had to look up to meet his eyes. I could see those tempting flashes of gray growth in his beard and remember how they felt under my fingertips. His eyes were bright, and I had this feeling that the walls were fully crumbling at last.

I put a hand lightly against his chest. “Ford . . .”

I didn’t know what I wanted to say.

He startled slightly at my touch and reached up to lay one of his hands over mind. “I couldn’t stop this from happening even if I tried,” he said in little more than a whisper. It was the sound of a person discovering something profound. “I was really comfortable where I was, but things change, and life has unexpected twists and turns.” I pulled in a breath as I realized he was repeating back to me the words I’d said to his children a minute ago. “I wish it could have always stayed the same, but sometimes the new path can be even better.”

“I . . .”

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