Page 27 of The Texas Hero's Homecoming

Sam was encouraged by the nods he was getting. He ended his little speech, hoping that his idea would work. Tomorrow, the sun would shine and maybe it would be a bright day for everyone.

*

It was almosttime for the dismissal bell to ring and Autumn faced her students, many of whom were squirming in their seats, their eyes on the overhead clock.

“Boys and girls, I have something fun to share with you.” She began passing out the flyers that Alicia had designed about the Messina Family Fall Festival. “Take one of these flyers and be sure to show it to your folks. This weekend, our family farm will be hosting a festival to celebrate the harvest season, just like we do every year. There’ll be hundreds of pumpkins and hayrides and face painting and pie eating. Some of you may remember our pumpkin house too. We’ll have cornhole games and so much more. Be sure to bring your whole family.”

She wouldn’t add that it would be the farm’s last festival. The kids didn’t need to know that. “I hope to see you there.”

She handed a flyer to Dustin and the little boy folded it up until it made a messy square, his eyes downcast. “I don’t think we can come.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that Dustin. Why not?”

The little guy shrugged a shoulder. “Cause, uh, my daddy doesn’t… well he can’t. And Mommy says we have to be patient with him.”

“Dustin, maybe your mother can bring you for a little while.”

“Maybe.” But there was no hope in his eyes.

“Well, you just show her the flyer and see what she says.”

“Okay.”

The bell rang and the kids all grabbed their backpacks and ran to the door. “Boys and girls, walk!”

They slowed down at her command and she grinned. Little Dustin was one of the last children to leave. He looked so miserable her heart ached for him. His schoolwork was suffering. It was time to speak to his parents and see if they could get to the bottom of it.

She straightened her desk and grabbed the stack of flyers, placing them carefully in her oversized black bag.

“Knock, knock.”

She spun around at the sound of Sam’s voice. He was always popping up when she least expected it. “Sam? What are you doing here?”

He stepped inside and took in her classroom, from the assignments on the blackboard to the students’ colorings on the walls to the shelf of books at the back. “So this is where you spend your days. It’s very nice, Miss Messina.” Sam smiled.

He had no business smiling at her. He’d kissed her last night and then told her to forget it. She was trying to, but he was always there, getting in her face.

“Thank you. So, why are you here?” she asked again.

“I was at the farm looking at the wagon. It needed a little shoring up for the hayrides and Manny told me Rusty towed your car to the gas station this morning, and it’s ready. I figured you could use a ride to pick it up.”

“But you didn’t have to come to town for that. I got the text from Rusty a while ago and I was just going to walk over and pick it up.”

“I live in town, remember, so it’s no big deal to give you a ride. And well, Manny mentioned you were going to put flyers around town this afternoon. I thought I could help. We could do that first and then go get your car.”

“I don’t know. I suppose.”

At her reluctance, he added, “The farm’s still drying out. It’s too wet to get much done today.”

She’d have to talk to her father about divulging her daily comings and goings to Sam. She’d let it slide that her father had asked Sam to stay up and wait for her to come home last night, but it was getting to be too much. Sam wasn’t her savior. She didn’t want him to be. But she had papers to grade and the sooner they got this done, the sooner she could get to her work.

“Okay, fine. We’ll put up flyers together.”

“Great. Nic mentioned we could start at Promises by Taylor and then hit Blake Charles Realty, then Bella’s Salon.”

“Then there’s the coffee shop and the gift shop and the library.”

“Sounds good, let’s get moving.”

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