Lance placed the box he was holding against a wall and dusted his hands off on his pants. “I think that’s the last one.”
“Nope.” Lexi emerged with another box in her arms. “This is, though.” She set it down on top of the one Lance was carrying and moved to stand next to him. He pulled her closer with one arm and kissed her on the temple.
Serenity suddenly felt like everyone was staring at her. And no one was saying a word. She cleared her throat, the sound echoing off the walls. “You guys are the best. Thank you all so much.” She wanted to say more, but the words lodged in her throat. How did she tell her family goodbye? She’d reminded Tuck she was only a few hours away, but it seemed like much more right now.
Footsteps approached them from one of the two bedrooms and Gideon threw himself into the recliner. He relaxed, his legs stretched across one of the arms while his head rested on the other. A huge smile lit his face, eliciting chuckles from around the room.
Tuck went forward and ruffled the boy’s hair. “We’re going to miss you both.”
His words about did Serenity in. Since Gideon’s father had been absent from his life since day one, Tuck had been that influencing figure for him. She felt worse about separating the two of them than she did anything else.
Grams pushed herself up off the futon. “That’s enough of this pity party. The longer we stand here waiting to see who starts crying first, the harder it’s going to be.” Even as she said the words, a tear trickled from the corner of her eye. No one was about to point it out and more than one sniffle from somewhere else in the room followed in its wake.
Mom’s eyes got wide and she looked from Grams to Serenity. “We can help you unpack. I hate bringing all your things in and just leaving.”
The family had gone into town earlier, had a leisurely take-out lunch at the new house, and then started unloading the truck. Serenity didn’t know where she wanted anything to go, much less tell anyone else. As much as she didn’t want them to go, anything else was prolonging the inevitable.
Lexi squeezed Lance’s hand. “Grams is right, Mom. We need to leave if we’re going to get back before dark. And I think Serenity probably could use some time to figure out where she wants everything.”
Serenity bobbed her head. She picked at the hem of her shirt, attempting to distract herself from the tears that were building. Again. She looked around the room at the faces of her family. They’d supported her and Gideon for so long. Could she make it without them? Right now, she wasn’t sure. The little girl in her didn’t want to find out. She wanted to go back to the Chandler house where she felt safe with her mom and Grams.
But that was the problem, right? She was safe there. And stuck. She had to do something for herself and her son and this was the first step. Even if it was a doozy.
Her eyelashes fluttered, her last defense against the tears. “I’ve got this. I’ll probably tackle it throughout the week. You guys helped with the hardest part.”
There was another round of silence before everyone gravitated towards the middle of the room. When the first set of arms circled Serenity, the tears broke through. She didn’t even try to stop them. Instead, they painted evidence of her mixed emotions as they slid down her cheeks.
After countless whispers of “I love you” and “We’ll see you soon,” Serenity stood on the front porch of their little two-bedroom duplex with Gideon’s hand in hers. She waved both of their hands as she watched the caravan of vehicles disappear from view.
She swiped at the tears and ignored the headache that was quickly gaining momentum. When Serenity turned, she found Gideon’s eyes on her.
“I’m okay, big guy. It’s just hard to say goodbye.” She planted a kiss on the back of his hand before releasing it. “What do you say we unpack your room and get it all set up?”
Gideon pulled open the screen door so quickly that it hit the side of the house before Serenity could stop it. He was already running down the short hallway when she stepped inside.
Taking in the cluttered room full of boxes, she released a steadying breath. “Well, God, we did it. Please help us all as we adjust.” She said an extra prayer for Gideon. He was excited now, but she wasn’t sure how well he was going to sleep in a new house. Hopefully getting his room set up would help.
She also prayed he’d like the new school a lot more than he’d liked his previous program. The thought shifted towards her own first day at Hope Academy. Everyone there had seemed nice enough when she’d gone for her interview. But what if she didn’t get along with her co-workers? Her family had served as her friends for a long time. She prayed she’d be able to make a friend or two once she got settled in.
~
Aaron Randall performed a visual tour of his classroom, making sure everything was in its place. This was the last of the two-week summer break before all of the children came back to Hope Academy on Monday. He’d finished cleaning the tables and instruments that morning. Printouts and activities were ready for the new school year.
A light knocking at the doorway drew his attention. Letty, a kindergarten teacher and one of his friends, walked in and motioned towards the large keyboard rug in the middle of the room. “I heard you found a new one. That’s fantastic.”
Aaron smiled at the rainbow-colored keys. When he saw it in a catalog, he knew it had to go in his music room. “Think the kids are going to like it?”
Letty lifted an eyebrow. “Definitely. Though you may have a hard time with Cecil focusing on anything but that when he walks in.”
He laughed. He had to admit the boy had been the first to come to mind when he saw the rug. Cecil had a love for everything related to the piano.
Letty’s expression sobered. “Did you get the memo?”
Aaron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The page-long memo had been delivered to every teacher, therapist, and member of the administration. There was nothing like a heading of “New Policy Regarding Dating” to snag his attention.
He hooked a thumb through one of his belt loops and leaned against a table. “You mean the one suggesting that, if anyone working here gets involved with the parent of a student, they may be fired?”
“Yeah. I thought it was a little harsh.”
Aaron thought so, too. After the whole fiasco with one of the teachers at Hope Academy going out with a student’s mom and breaking up in the middle of the hallway, everyone anticipated some kind of response from the board of directors. But the memo did seem a bit overdone.
“I do get how it put the powers that be in a bad position. But I think it would have all blown over. This school has been in place for fifteen years. If that’s the first time it’s happened, we’re probably doing pretty well.”
Letty lifted her left hand and wiggled her fingers, the lights reflecting off her wedding ring. “I’m glad I found my man before all of this happened.”
“I doubt you’d have gotten in trouble for going out with the computer tech.” He and Zane had been friends for over two years before the couple had started dating. The romance between the two couldn’t have been more perfect — or entertaining.
She shrugged. “Maybe not. But at least we don’t have to worry about it.” She jerked a thumb towards the door. “Speaking of the hubby, we’re supposed to go to lunch. You want to join us?”
“I appreciate it. But I think I’m going to finish up here and then stop by the music store this afternoon.”
“Sounds good. See you later.”
Aaron waved his goodbye. He had to admit there were times when he envied their relationship. To have someone to go home to, or even hang out with, was something he hoped to experience himself one day.
But for now, all he had waiting for him was his forty-inch television and a recliner with his name on it.
He’d just dropped off a few things in the mailroom when Cynthia, one of the assistant directors, peeked her head around the corner. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Oh, great. The only time she wanted to tal
k to him was if she needed his help or wanted to remind him to do something. He shoved down his annoyance when he really wished he’d seen her in time to duck into another room. “What’s up?”
“Did you get the memo?”
“Yes. I found it in my box when I got in this morning.”
“Good. Do you have any questions about the new guidelines?”
Was she serious? If it were anyone else, he would have joked. I know my students’ mothers are out of the question. What if one of them has a hot sister? Is that against the new guidelines? He could imagine the vein in her temple nearly popping through the skin. It took a lot of willpower to keep the grin off his face.
“Not a one. Is there a reason why you’re concerned?”
“I’m checking in with everyone.” She gave him a dismissive flick of her head. “Have a great afternoon.”
Who did the woman think she was kidding? Everyone had seen the guidelines and she didn’t need to treat them all like children. Maggie and Rachelle, one in administration and one who worked in the lunchroom, flirted with the guys more than about any other women he’d been around. He’d gotten to where he made a point of not being alone with either of them. But even then, he highly doubted they would go against the policy, either.
Cynthia certainly didn’t have to worry about Aaron. The only thing he could afford to focus on was teaching his students and his music.
Chapter Three
Serenity strained her neck until she could see Gideon’s face in the rearview mirror. “What do you think, big guy? Are we ready?” He pointed at the large brick building with “Hope Academy” on a plaque above the oversized double doors. “Okay, let’s go do this.”
It was Thursday and they had an appointment to come by before school started on Monday. A couple of weeks ago, they went in for her interview and an evaluation for Gideon. Now, they wanted to show her a little about what she’d be doing and have her fill out some of the other forms — primarily health insurance. They’d assured her that one of the teachers would take Gideon and let him play in the gym while she did so.
Her nerves rolled around in her stomach like pool balls and she swiped her sweaty palms against her pants as they got out of the car.
They walked hand-in-hand to one of the large doors and opened it together. She led Gideon towards the long desk where parents were supposed to check in. A woman looked up and smiled brightly, her head full of tight, red curls bouncing as she moved. Serenity guessed they were around the same age. “Good morning. Can I help you?”
“I’m Serenity Chandler. I have an appointment with Tammy to finalize some paperwork before starting Monday.”
“Oh! Of course.” She shuffled some papers around in front of her. “My name’s Maggie. I think we’re going to be working together. Which is great, we’ve been shorthanded up front for a while.” She turned her attention to Gideon. “And who do we have here?”
“This is my son, Gideon. He’ll be attending the school starting Monday as well. Kindergarten, right buddy?” Serenity put an arm around his shoulders and patted his chest. “When I spoke with Tammy on the phone, she said one of his new teachers would take him to the gym while I got things settled.”
Maggie gave him a wave “It’s nice to meet you, Gideon. Welcome to Hope Academy. I think you’re going to like it here.” She picked up a phone. “Let me call for Letty. I have a note saying she’ll be Gideon’s teacher. She’s here and I’m sure she’d be happy for the chance to get to know him a little. I’ll inform Tammy as well.”
Serenity nodded. “I appreciate that.” Good. Letty was the one who evaluated Gideon when they came a few weeks ago. She would be familiar and hopefully he wouldn’t mind going with her.
They chatted for a few minutes until Letty arrived. As soon as she saw Gideon, she knelt down to his level and waved. “It’s great to see you again, Gideon! Would you like to come and play for a while? We’re going to have a lot of fun.” His experience during his evaluation must have been a good one because he immediately took a step towards her.
Serenity ruffled his hair. “Make sure you mind Miss Letty. I’ll see you in a little while.”
Letty took his hand. “We’ll be fine. Take as long as you need to.” She turned to Maggie. “Call when you’re ready and I’ll bring him back up here.”
Serenity watched them disappear from sight, comforted by the fact that he never even hesitated. She’d been praying that the school would be the perfect fit for him. For both of them. Moving away from home was huge and she needed this to work.
A door opened on the other side of the room and Tammy walked in. “Hi, Serenity. It’s good to see you again. Are you getting settled in your new place?”
“We are, thank you. It’ll take some time, but we like the neighborhood pretty well so far.”
“Great to hear. If you’ll come back to my office, we’ll finish up some paperwork and then I’ll let Maggie introduce you to some of what you’ll be doing Monday morning.”
By the time Serenity rejoined Maggie out front, she’d lost count of how many times she’d signed her name.
Maggie explained to her how to check parents in if they were going into the school and how to scan the printed stickers to show they’d left. “It’s part of the security system and we do it to keep the kids safe. We want the parents to be able to go back with the kids or participate, but we can’t let just anyone walk in off the streets.”
“I agree completely.” Serenity tapped the plastic badge she’d clipped to the hem of her shirt. “It’ll be nice to have the ID.”
A deep voice brought their attention away from the computer. “Hey, Maggie. Has FedEx dropped anything off yet this morning?”
Serenity’s gaze followed the voice and found a man striding towards the desk with a stack of papers in his large hands. Dark auburn hair curled slightly where it touched the tops of his ears and the base of his neck. He carried himself with purpose, his clean-shaven jaw working as he leafed through the papers.
“They haven’t been by yet. If anything comes in for you, I’ll give you a shout.” Maggie shot him a wink, even though he hadn’t raised his head yet to catch it.
“That’ll be great, thanks.”
He moved away from them and Serenity didn’t think he was even going to look up. But his eyes lifted at the last moment, going first to Maggie with a hint of wariness and then landing on her. His dark blue eyes widened slightly and the hand that still held the papers lowered.
Serenity shifted in her seat. How one pair of eyes could make her feel self-aware and curious about him at the same time, she had no idea.
Maggie chuckled. “I take it you two haven’t met yet. Aaron Randall, this is my new desk buddy, Serenity Chandler. She’ll be starting on Monday, I’m showing her the ropes for a couple of hours this morning. Serenity, Aaron is our music therapist. He’s been with the school for several years now and is one of our most eligible bachelors.”
~
Anxious to get the shipment of rainbow hand bells Aaron had ordered, he thought he’d check and see if it’d arrived. Before entering the room, he steeled himself against Maggie. He was confident the woman would flirt with an unattached orangutan if given the chance. He made a point of not being alone with her in a room if he could help it. Even after she told him FedEx hadn’t been by yet, he could have sworn he felt her wink.
Aaron didn’t like to be rude, even when she made him uncomfortable. He was glancing up to give Maggie a nod of thanks. That’s when he saw her.
Serenity was such a contrast to the woman training her. Maggie wore copious amounts of makeup and her hair color changed every other week — he seriously doubted even she knew what color her hair was before the first bottle of dye.
On the other hand, Serenity’s rich brown hair was so dark it was nearly black. It flowed like a waterfall down her back, making him wonder how long it really was. If she was wearing any makeup, he couldn’t tell.
He stepped forward and extended a hand. “
It’s nice to meet you.” She placed a much smaller hand in his, her touch sending a jolt of awareness from there straight to his heart. He cleared his throat in an attempt to hide his reaction. “Welcome to Hope Academy. You’ll enjoy working here — for the most part. Just watch out for this one.” He jerked his head towards Maggie, who only laughed in response. “She thinks any single guy is eligible.”
Maggie threw her head back and laughed loudly, her red curls bobbing with her giggles. “You bet I do.”
Serenity smiled. “That’s good to know.” She hesitated. “It’s going to take a while to get the hang of everything. But so far, everyone’s been very welcoming.”
Aaron couldn’t look away from her brown eyes framed just right with long, dark eyelashes. There was a small, circular scar at the corner of her right eye and he wondered how she’d gotten it.
Forcing himself to break eye contact, he cleared his throat again and released her hand, immediately missing the connection. “I wish you the best of luck Monday, then.”
“I appreciate that.” Serenity’s smile was hesitant and didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Aaron made a hasty retreat, but he wasn’t quick enough. Maggie’s voice could be heard behind him, “What’d I tell you? Dreamy, right? I’d like to be the one to take him off the market.”
He groaned and rolled his eyes. With a total of only three unattached men working at the school, he didn’t have a lot of hope that Maggie would set her sights on someone else. He was used to being employed in an environment where he was vastly outnumbered by women — until he was in the same room as Maggie.
With other things to do, he forced all thoughts of Maggie from his head. As his footsteps echoed down the hallway, he realized it wouldn’t be as easy to do the same with Serenity.
Finding Faith (Love's Compass Book 4) Page 2