Page 80 of Legacy of Lies
“So what?”
“Or if that doesn’t work,” she paused, making sure she had their attention, “you will hold hands with a girl for the next month.”
“Ew, gross.”
“Or ...,” she continued.
“Or what?”
She wanted nothing but to wipe the sneer off that boy’s face.
“Or you will have cafeteria duty for the rest of the school year.”
Two sets of raised eyebrows and pale faces. Good. The threat of cleaning lunch plates worked every time.
“Got it?”
They squirmed out from under her hands and ran over to their friends.
As she straightened up, she caught a face in a window. Damn. Butch.
Well, crap.
Ignoring the invisible daggers protruding from her back, she stiffened her spine and walked over to a brick wall to continue monitoring recess. Cold sweat pricked her forehead and chilled in the icy breeze. Her full body shiver had nothing to do with the wintry weather, though.
A few more hours and she’d be done for the day. Thank God.
As Sara stood at the front of her classroom an hour later, reviewing math with the kids, she couldn’t keep from glancing out the window of her classroom. The snow fell in earnest now. Winter had arrived. A few inches of snow already coated the ground, and it was forecast for a good foot or so tonight, not unusual for early November in Wyoming. Normally, she loved when it snowed because she could get all cozy reading and enjoying the peace and quiet.
But everything irritated her. She was on edge. Too sensitive. Like someone watched her.
Probably because Butch had seen her with his nephews at recess.
Quiet time on her couch? Ha. Not tonight. The last thing she needed was time for introspection. Or time to recall Garrison’s work-roughened fingers caressing every inch of her body and his lips working their magic. No. These thoughts led to short-term pleasure but long-term pain. She couldn’t stay in Copper River after her teaching assignment ended.
She sighed. For a minute, though, she considered it. What would life be like in a normal relationship, where she saw her boyfriend several nights per week and on weekends? Dinner, movies, sleepovers. Normal couple behavior.
The fantasy floated, within her reach.
It was up to her to grab the brass ring.
She shook her head and returned to the lesson.
A movement outside caught her attention as a truck growled around the back of the school. Probably a parent, arriving early, eager to get home in the weather. She couldn’t make out the figure in the truck with the thick snow falling.
Typically, she didn’t pay much attention to vehicles around the school.
Until Garrison.
Damn it. Finish the day already.
“Ms. Lopez?” Zach had his hand up. “Can I go to the bathroom?”
If his jiggling legs were any indication, he’d been holding it for as long as possible. She glanced at the clock on the wall: 2:45.
With no energy to argue today, she gave in. She couldn’t argue with anyone right about now.
“Quickly.”
