Chapter 13
One week later…
Jessica had just sent the last of her students out the door with her parents, and she slumped into her chair and let her head fall into her hands. She was exhausted, and felt so relieved that today marked the end of her first week in Silver Springs Elementary School. She could have cried.
Handling twenty children wasn’t normally a problem for her, with or without a classroom aid. But these twenty children seemed to have the energy of two hundred!
The Phillips twins were by far the instigators, even though they were some of the youngest in the classroom. Peter and James seemed to be wherever trouble was to be found, but their explanations for doing whatever it was they’d done was so well thought out and, to the mind of a six-year-old, logical, that Jessica had been hard-pressed to discipline them for most of their antics.
She’d begun to feel more comfortable in the small community, with Chloe becoming her champion. The woman had arrived each afternoon with some new place to show her. The only day she hadn’t spent some time with the woman had been Sunday. Chloe had urged her to attend the morning service with her and her husband, but Jessica had remained fixed in her denial. Instead, she’d spent the morning cleaning her new home from top to bottom, at least the rooms she was using, and then walked down through the town, making note of the various businesses that existed so close to home.
Since it was Sunday she’d been able to window browse without having to deal with the owners of each business. She’d arrived back home a few minutes before noon, planned so that she wouldn’t run the risk of seeing all the people filing out of the small church.
She heard her classroom door open and looked up to see Principal Shelley Downs step into the room. “Hi.”
She looked at Jess and then laughed. “Oh, my dear. If you could see your face… I just came by to congratulate you on surviving week one. I promise the following weeks will be easier.”
“I sure hope so. Since you’re here, could you explain what’s happening with the Christmas Pageant?”
Shelley pulled up another adult-sized chair. “Sure. It’s kind of a big thing here in Silver Springs. The entire community comes out for it. We’ll have a full Nativity scene; some of the local men made wooden cutouts of the animals years ago and the middle schoolers are going to repaint them in the next few weeks.
“Each classroom will choose several songs to sing, or maybe even a small skit. Lacy Phillips usually comes in and helps with that portion of the pageant. She has a wonderful voice and directs the children’s choir at the church.”
“Okay, I’ll contact her…”
“You could probably just talk to her at church this Sunday,” Shelley suggested.
Jessica felt uncomfortable and then shook her head. “I probably won’t attend.”
Shelley looked at her and then sighed. “Okay, explain to me how the daughter of missionaries doesn’t want to attend church.”
Jessica had come to respect Shelley over the last four days, and felt herself drawn to open up to the older woman. “Look, I realize that you and most of this town feel that God is good, and He takes care of His people. But in my experience, that’s not the way it works.”
“Because your parents were murdered?”
Jessica sighed. “You read my bio too?” When Shelley nodded her head, Jessica cringed. “Well, yes! I blame God for sending them back into such a dangerous place.”
Shelley looked at her with compassion in her eyes. “But so much good came from that situation.” When Jessica simply looked at her, Shelley pulled out her tablet and typed a few search words into it. When she found what she was looking for, she handed the tablet to Jessica and told her, “Read.”
Jessica took the tablet and read a news story from more than twenty years earlier. It was a story about how the Christians in South Africa had risen up against the terror groups threatening to exterminate them.
The people being interviewed credited the missionaries and their families for showing them what true leadership was, that there was no sacrifice too great when spreading the love of Christ.
Jessica handed the tablet back, feeling her old anger issues rise to the surface. “Is that supposed to make it all better? It doesn’t. And my parents aren’t the only ones He’s let down.” She explained to Shelley about Thomas, but couldn’t bring herself to admit her failure with Jason.
Shelley opened her mouth to reply, but a tap on the classroom door had both women turning to welcome Justin. Jessica hadn’t seen him since Saturday when he’d brought over the box from her vehicle. She smiled at him, pleased to see him and get a reprieve from where the conversation with Shelley was headed. “Hi!”
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything?” he asked, walking inside and joining them by Jessica’s desk.
Jessica shook her head, a little too eagerly. “No, in fact, we were just finishing. What are you doing here?”
“Well, Mason’s cooking tonight and I thought you might like to join us. I’m interested to hear how your first week went.”
Jessica knew she should decline his offer. Her mind had strayed to thoughts of the handsome man more than once this past week, but the thought of returning home with her emotions still churned up from her conversation with Shelley wasn’t pleasant. “I’d love to. Let me get the classroom cleaned up and I’ll be ready to go.”
“Frank said to tell you he’ll have the parts to fix your vehicle early next week.”
“Great! Not that I’m planning to do much driving.”
Shelley watched the interaction between the two and then stood up. “I’m going to get out of your hair. Think about what I said,” she told Jessica, concern in her voice.
Jessica swallowed. “I will. Have a nice weekend.” She turned away and began gathering up the art supplies scattered across the classroom.
“Justin, since you’re here, would you mind helping me change the light in my office? It went out first thing this morning and Tim didn’t have a chance to change it yet. I was hoping to get some more work done on next year’s budget, but that won’t happen without light.”
Justin smiled. “I’d be happy to. Be right back,” he told Jessica. He followed Shelley out into the hall, having picked up on the fact that she just wanted a chance to talk to him. Once they were several doors down the hallway, she stopped and faced him.
“What are you doing?”
Justin was taken aback. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t mess with my new teacher. She’s really good with the kids, and I really feel that God sent her here for a reason that has nothing to do with her students.”
Justin grinned. “Don’t worry so much. I got to know her a bit last week and would like to know her even more. She’s a nice girl…”
“With some real anger problems. Mostly directed at God.”
“What were you two discussing when I arrived?” Justin wore a concerned expression, and snippets of previous conversations with Jessica flowed through his mind.
“Her parents. I think she blames God for their deaths, and has let her anger color every aspect of her life. And there was a young man who died young and she blames God for that as well.”
“Yeah, I kind of picked up on that too. Want me to talk to her?”
“Only if you get the chance. She wants nothing to do with the church and I’m worried that she’s denying an integral part of herself. I guess I’m playing mother here, but there’s something about Jessica that makes me want to help her.”
Justin knew exactly what Shelley was talking about. He’d gotten the same feeling when he’d been showing Jessica around the town on the previous Friday. Silver Springs was such a small community, and most people were involved in the church in some way. Even those who lived in the surrounding mountains tried to attend Sunday services at least once a month.
Justin had encouraged her to re-think her position on becoming involved in the church, promising t
hat no-one was going to pressure her to do anything other than attend, but she’d been pretty adamant about wanting to keep her distance. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He left Shelley in the hallway and returned to Jessica’s classroom. She was just picking up her coat, and he walked across and held it out for her to put her arms in. Without thinking about his actions, he scooped her hair out of the neck, lifting it up and allowing his fingertips to just barely graze the bare skin at the back of her neck.
She shivered in reaction, and he felt the strongest urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her close. He pushed the urge aside as he dropped her hair and stepped back. She spun around and looked at him, and he could see her reaction had taken her as much by surprise as his own had.
“Ready to go?”
“Sure. I need to swing by the house and change my clothes first.”
“We can do that. I have the truck today since the snow has begun to melt off the roads.”
They stepped out of the school and he led her to his big, black double cab truck. There were steps by the passenger door, and she knew without them she wouldn’t have been able to scramble up into it without his help.
“You alright there?” he asked, smiling at her as she settled into the seat.
“What’s with the monster truck?” she asked with a grin.
“Feet of snow, remember? This rig gets me just about anywhere I need to go where roads are involved. I spent many years in my late teens digging the tires of my uncle’s old Chevy pickup out of the snow. With this monster as you called it, I just put it in gear and drive.”
Jessica smiled as she watched him talk about his truck. He had such a boyish enthusiasm for the subject, and she found she really liked seeing him smile and laugh. Had Jason ever laughed like that? Or at himself?
As the afternoon and evening progressed, Jessica found herself comparing the two men more often than not. At every turn, Justin came out the winner. By the time he drove her back down the mountain, she was more than a little enamored of the man who seemed intent on being her friend.
It didn’t help that Chloe was constantly singing Justin’s praises. He was best friends with her husband Scott, and she was just sure that Jessica and Justin would make a wonderful couple. Jessica had tried to let Chloe know that she really wasn’t in a position to even think about a new relationship, but without going into Jason’s betrayal, her protests sounded weak.
So, you happen to like what you know about Justin. Maybe you should give romance one more try and see if you can’t restore your faith in your own judgment at the same time.
Jessica wasn’t quite sure what was up with her inner voices, but ever since arriving in Silver Springs they had been more vocal than ever. Her inner voices had even begun to sound a bit like her beloved grandmother, urging her not only to give herself a chance to rebuild her faith, but to give God another chance. Everything had happened for a purpose, and even though Jessica knew the words to be true deep down, on the surface she was having trouble letting go of the hurt and disappointment of the past.
Chapter 14
Saturday morning…
Jessica stretched and tried to figure out what had woken her up. It was Saturday and she had made a point of turning her alarm clock off the night before. So what…?
A knock sounded on the front door again and she groaned, “Go away!” Knowing they couldn’t hear her, she stumbled from the bed, pulling her bathrobe on as she headed for the front door. The wooden floors were chilly, reminding her she’d forgotten her slippers.
She pulled the door open, blinking into the bright sunshine.
“Good morning! Ready to go have some fun?” Justin asked cheerfully from the porch.
“What? Do you know what time it is?” she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and hoping her hair wasn’t standing up all over her head.
Justin chuckled. “Someone’s not a morning person, I see.”
“No! Someone was sleeping in for the first time in… I can’t even remember the last time I slept in. Not to be rude, but what do you want?”
Justin stepped into the house, forcing her to back up or risk getting her bare toes stepped on. “You are going to learn to cross-country ski today.”
Jessica shook her head. “No way! I am going back to my nice, warm bed. But you go ahead and knock yourself out.” She made to turn away, but she tripped on the belt of her robe. Her feet slid on the wooden floors, and she would have fallen backwards, had Justin not been so quick to react.
He grabbed her by the waist, lifting her off her feet and then holding her against his chest. “Whoa! You need to be more careful.”
Jessica felt his arms around her waist and had the strongest urge to lay her head upon his chest and just absorb his warmth. Instead, she pushed away from him, gaining her feet beneath her and hurriedly backing away from him. “Sorry.”
“Look, most of the town will be at the hill this morning.”
“The hill?” Jessica questioned him with a raised brow.
“Just on the other side of town there is a moderate hill the locals use to teach their children to ski. There are also cross-country trails that begin and return there.”
“I really just want to go back to bed,” Jessica told him.
“Well, I have appointed myself your social director and I say you need to learn to cross-country ski. We’re going to get more snow this coming week, and skiing to school will be easier than trying to walk through two feet of snow.”
“We’re going to get two feet of snow?” she asked, looking out the window at the sunshine currently being displayed.
“That’s what they’re forecasting. We’ll probably get more, but it won’t be a big deal if you know how to ski.”
Jessica sighed. “You’re not going to go away until I agree, are you?”
Justin crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Nope. Might as well give in and I’ll let you have the cinnamon roll from Becky’s bakery, sitting in my truck along with a fresh cup of coffee.”
Jessica groaned. “You don’t play fair.” Becky owned the small bakery in town, and Jessica had tasted her creations firsthand at the school.
“Gotcha. Go get dressed in something warm and I’ll go dig the skis out of the garage.”
“Fine. But I want my cinnamon roll now.”
Justin laughed but went back to the truck and returned with a bag containing the cinnamon roll and a cardboard cup of coffee. “Now, will you please go and get dressed?”
Jessica took the food and wandered back down the hallway, sipping the coffee as she went. She pulled a pair of jeans from the closet, and then added a turtleneck and a sweater. She donned her snow boots, and pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail. She didn’t worry about makeup, figuring the cold air would provide a natural blush to her cheeks in short order.
Justin was waiting for her on the front porch and she grabbed her coat before closing the door. She still had half of her cinnamon roll, and she ate it as Justin drove them out of town.
The hill became visible almost immediately, cluttered with townspeople, and Jessica immediately wished she hadn’t let Justin talk her into doing this. “I don’t really need to learn to ski.”
“Of course you do. Look,” he pointed out the window as he parked the truck. “There’s Jeremy and Lacy.”
Jessica turned on him. “You expect me to learn to ski where my students can see me fail?”
“You’re not going to fail, and believe me, Peter and James will be too busy driving their parents crazy to notice something like their teacher falling in the snow. Besides, I’m a really good teacher, and if you just trust me, I promise to keep you from falling.”
Jessica heard his words, but her mind immediately added a double meaning to them. He was watching her so intently, it was almost as if he truly meant them in more than one way. She watched him remove the skis from the back of the truck and then he came around and showed her
how to adjust the buckles to fit the ski boots he’d also found hidden in the garage.
Once done, he changed into his own ski gear and then helped her out of the truck. “Okay, so the toe of each boot is attached to the ski, allowing you to lift your heel as you bend your knee.” He demonstrated the movement that would allow her to push her skis forward without picking them up off the snow.
“Now, you try it.”
Justin was about ten feet away, and Jessica looked around her, pleased to see that absolutely no-one was paying any attention to her. Taking a deep breath, she released it. “Okay, you can do this. How hard can it be?” She mimicked his movement, giving a short squeak of alarm when her body moved forward.
“That’s it. Now repeat the motion with the other foot.”
Jessica did as he requested and a moment later, she was standing by his side. She grinned up at him. “I did it!”
“Yes, you did. Let’s go try one of the easier trails. We don’t want to go too far today, or you’ll hate me in the morning.” He pushed off and she was left trying to keep up with him.
When he took a break a few moments later, she asked, “Why am I going to hate you tomorrow?”
“Well…you’re using muscles that probably haven’t been used like this before. You’re going to be a little sore.”
“Great!” she told him, her voice full of sarcasm.
“Still want to go on?”
“I’m already out here now. Might as well.”
“There’s that burst of enthusiasm I was waiting for,” he commented with a wry grin.
Jessica laughed. “Listen, you dragged me from a warm bed, put these tiny sleds on my feet, and also expect me to be jumping for joy? That might be expecting a little too much.”
Justin held out his ski pole to her. “Grab hold.” When she did, he pulled her up so that she was by his side. “With you, I might expect a whole lot of things. But never too much.” His tone had softened and Jessica found herself unable to look away from his eyes.
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