Holiday Classroom Crush

Chapter 7 Rosa

Monday December 3, 5:52 p.m.

Rosa pulled onto Front Street, the dark night showcasing the lit-up downtown. Every tree, every building, was adorned with all colors of Christmas lights. Crowds of people walked the sidewalks and gathered in a park, sledding down a hill of snow.

A big smile spread across her face. This was a magical Christmas land, and Rosa was here for it. Walking the little village was the perfect way to decompress after her first day of subbing. Not to mention who she was going to spend the evening with.

Rosa pulled up to Bavarian Boots and put her car into park. She was here. Hunter was inside. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She hadn’t been so nervous for a date in–ever? If this was technically a date. Maybe.

He had actually asked her to tour downtown, which was surprising given how he had acted the day before. But something had been different about Hunter when he was at the school. He was comfortable. Talkative. Open with her. And even though Rosa had promised herself no distractions during this sabbatical–wasn’t she here to enjoy the Leavenworth area? And Hunter had offered to do that by giving h er a tour.

Okay, so actually he’d asked her to dinner first, then switched their outing to enjoying the Christmasy downtown. A small detail. Acceptable to her overall plan.

Rosa exhaled and a mountain of stress left her body. Subbing today had been a lot. How did teachers do this? After a chaotic beginning of the school with getting Emily settled, Rosa had tried her best to follow the lesson plans. Mrs. Davis had left plenty for them to do–which totally zapped Rosa’s energy.

Plus, Emily struggled all day. Every time they’d switch to a new subject or leave the classroom, Emily would act out in some manner, totally disrupting the whole class. On the way to lunch, she started cartwheeling and ran into a wall, hurting herself and earning some giggles from the other students. Rosa had checked Emily–no bleeding, thankfully–and took her to the nurse’s office.

Rosa and Emily had sat on chairs, waiting for the nurse to open her door. “You’re pretty good at doing cartwheels,” Rosa said, as Emily sniffled. “Is there a reason you needed to do them right then?”

Emily shrugged. “I don’t know.” She whimpered.

“What hurts the most? Your arms? Your legs?” Rosa had asked. “Or is it something else?”

“My heart hurts.” Emily put her hand over her heart and frowned while looking up at Rosa, whose own heart broke into a million pieces. This was not part of the job description, at least that’s what she had originally thought.

Rosa had hugged Emily. She wasn’t sure what to say. Was something going on at home? Or did she not feel accepted by the other students? Rosa didn’t want to pry. Maybe if she was her regular teacher, she’d know Emily's background.

Meanwhile, Rosa would be here for three weeks. She needed a way to help this girl. As the day wore on and Emily continued having issues, a thought emerged, and that’s when she asked Taylor to call her parents.

In this case, one parent. Hunter. So of course, the moment he walked into the classroom, Rosa knew what had been going on at home. She shook her head. Rosa couldn’t believe Hunter was Emily’s dad. What were the odds? It was a tiny town, but still. Doing the math in her head, Rosa realized that Aunt Lucia would have left the year before Emily started Kindergarten. So maybe she didn’t know Hunter at all. Her aunt’s house was in an even smaller neighboring town.

The clock struck 6:00 p.m. and Hunter emerged from Bavarian Boots. He looked around at the people passing, then locked the door.

Rosa took a deep breath and got out of her car, walking up behind him. “I’m looking for a mountain man. You seen any around here lately?” Rosa said in a sultry voice.

Hunter froze, then spun around slowly, his gaze resting on her like they had in the classroom–not wanting to look away.

“You’re here.” He sounded surprised.

Rosa took a step forward. “You didn’t think I’d show?”

He fumbled the keys in his hands. “Honestly? I thought maybe I had dreamed talking to you earlier.”

She laughed. Rosa loved to banter–something she had tried to do with Brad, but he was so serious all the time. With Hunter it was easy. “Hard to believe we could both be so–comfortable talking about grief and your daughter’s behavior.” She almost said “flirtatious” instead of comfortable, but she stopped herself. Rosa was naturally flirty, but maybe she should hold back a bit. Sure, Hunter asked her out, but she should probably keep things light. No way was Hunter looking for more than a little fun.

He put the keys in his pocket, no longer fumbling. Seeming to be calmer than before. He held out his arm. “Ready?”

Rosa looked up at the same kind eyes that had rescued her off the mountain and put her hand in his. “Ready.” Her pulse quickened. He was so strong yet gentle. Like his whole personality.

Hunter glanced down at their hands, bit his lip, then started walking, Rosa beside him. Ever since she saw him in the classroom, Rosa felt there was another layer to this Hunter guy.

“Were you really a class clown? Is that where Emily gets it from?” Rosa asked.

A smirk emerged on Hunter’s face. “Yeah. Ask Mr. Straus. Broke my arm jumping off the roof of the school into a snow pile.”

Rosa’s mouth dropped. “Are you serious? Wow.” She laughed. “Sounds like you were a handful.”

“Only if I’m bored. Or have a girl to impress.” He stole a side eye glance at her and winked.

Her heart skipped a beat. Dang, he was cute. And now he was the one flirting? “Please tell me you’re not going to jump off any roofs tonight.”

Hunter smiled. “I’m not promising anything. First stop, take a left.” He opened the door to a bakery, and Rosa let go of his arm and walked through the door. Gingerbread cookies were on display, and the smell of cookies and cupcakes and all sorts of goodies wafted to her nose. Rosa took a deep breath in.

“Mmmm. This is a fun place ,” Rosa said. The Bavarian theme of outside continued inside, with handpainted villagers eating cookies on one wall and shelves with gingerbread houses on another. Stool tops in the corner looked like round peppermint candies.

A few people were in the shop, browsing around the baked goods, including gingerbread cookies that were decorated with different colors of frosting and all sorts of candies.

“Hey, Hunter, how are you this evening?” The woman behind the counter in a red apron looked to be about Rosa’s aunt’s age. That reminded her. Lucia had already texted once asking how the day went. Rosa made a mental note to reply as soon as she got back in the car. Whenever that would be. Hopefully for a while.

“I’m good,” Hunter responded to the woman. “We’re gonna need two of your best gingerbread people to go, please.”

The woman offered a knowing look at Hunter, then Rosa, no doubt surprised to see Hunter walking around with a tourist. Obviously, if he grew up in the area, he knew pretty much everyone, and they knew his story.

Hunter paid and the woman handed him the cookies in little sleeves. Hunter and Rosa exited the store. Christmas lights adorned every tree giving the space a magical, festive ambiance. Couples and families walked by bundled up, smiling.

Rosa’s heart warmed. The joy and peace she was looking for? Walking next to Hunter, she felt that. Maybe it wasn’t a bad thing to see where things led with him.

They headed to a bench with a view of the park and sat. Hunter handed her a cookie. Rosa bit the gingerbread man’s head clean off, the cookie instantly melting into her mouth.

“Going right for the head, huh?” Hunter said, raising his eyebrows.

“Mmm. Yeah. I mean, this is so good. Tastes like Christmas!” A few crumbs fell off the cookie and onto the side of her mouth. Smooth, Rosa. Acting like a total doofus is definitely the best way to scare off a man.

Hunter scooted closer, his eyes lingering on her lips. “You got a little…something there.” Slowly , he lifted his hand and wiped the crumbs off her face.

Rosa’s heart quickened and she searched his face. Apparently the crumbs didn’t keep him away. Their closeness excited her. Then he lifted his gingerbread cookie and bit its head off with a “crunch.” She giggled and shook her head at him. “Way to ruin a moment, mountain man.”

Hunter smiled, then looked forward, staring ahead at the people walking around. “So, did you have an idea about how to help Emily in class?”

Right. That’s why they were hanging out. To talk about Emily. Rosa mentally shook herself back into focus. “Yes. I cleared it with the school, and they think it’s a great idea. As you probably know, every year they do a holiday concert. Mostly just singing songs. But what if Emily was a bigger part of the show? I think she’s made for the stage. This could be a good outlet for her, especially this time of year.”

Hunter nodded, still staring out into the crowd, his profile softly illuminated by the glow of the Christmas lights. “Yeah. That sounds really great, actually. There aren’t many opportunities for her to be on stage in such a small town.” He turned his head slightly, his gaze catching hers with an intensity that made her chest tighten. “Thank you. For caring so much.”

He held out his hand. Despite all the times their hands had touched–on the mountain, and twice at the school, but who was counting–Rosa was surprised how quickly she put her hand in his. Like it belonged there.

“So, the students have already learned a bunch of songs, but I wanted to take it a step further and make it into a simple play,” Rosa said, her voice softening as she became acutely aware of his thumb brushing against her knuckles. “It’s the same play I did once when I was young when I was just learning English in school. It’s about a child who doesn’t have a lot of Christmas spirit, so she goes caroling to her classmate’s house, who joins her at the next classmate’s house, and so on, until everyone in the class is singing together.”

Hunter squeezed her hand, his touch grounding and electric at the same time. “That sounds amazing, actually.” His free hand lightly traced over hers, a soft, almost hesitant motion, like he was testing a boundary. Rosa’s heart stuttered. Was he coming on stronger romantically? Or was this just gratitude for what she was doing for his daughter?

“Yeah, I think it’s perfect for Emily as the main character. There aren’t many lines, so she could learn them very quickly. But I think it would help direct her energy and make her feel special. Especially this time of year.” Hunter offered a solemn smile in response.

Rosa knew it would take more work to do a play at the Winter Showcase rather than just sing the songs. But the idea had popped into her head after Emily had told her that her heart hurt. Plus, the play was easy. Rosa could see it so clearly—Emily glowing under the stage lights, the confidence she’d feel with every round of applause. It made her determination to make this happen even stronger.

“Question,” Hunter said. “It’s kind of nerdy, but I did set design in high school. Do you need help with anything like that? You said there would be houses with doors or something?”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. We just need doors for Emily to knock on, so I thought she could just pretend to knock and do sound effects or something.”

“Or,” Hunter let go of her hand as he gestured, Rosa immediately missed the warmth, “I could make some houses with doors. Like a tiny neighborhood. Super simple construction. Lightweight materials for easy handling. We’d want to make each of the doors distinct, though.”

Rosa tilted her head. This animated Hunter was a whole new side to him. “Okay, okay. I’m catching your vision.” He clearly loved his daughter. But a mountain man who could also build things? That was downright attractive.

Without thinking, Rosa’s flirtatious side kicked into overdrive. “Know anyone who is handy with tools?” Rosa teased as she waggled her eyebrows.

Hunter shook his head and offered a mischievous grin. “I might know someone. When do you want to start?” He scooted even closer to her, their bodies warming each other.

Heat rose up in her neck as she tried to maintain her composure. She took a deep breath. The weather was chilly, but she was warm all over. “As soon as possible.” She slowly turned her head toward him. “Many late nights.”

His head shifted towards her, staring at Rosa’s lips. “Not a problem.” His voice was softer, more intimate.

Rosa’s breath hitched. The world around them seemed to fade—the bustling crowd, the twinkling lights, even the cold air. All she could feel was the warmth radiating from him and the heady anticipation curling in her stomach.

“Great,” she whispered, though the word barely registered in her own ears.

Hunter leaned closer, his movements slow, deliberate, giving her every opportunity to pull away. She didn’t. She couldn’t. Rosa’s heart pounded as her eyes fluttered shut, and she leaned toward him, the space between them shrinking until—

A loud trumpety sound shattered the moment, and Rosa jumped back, her heart racing for an entirely different reason. “Gah! What was that?” She blinked, trying to regain her composure, her cheeks flushing.

Hunter was equally startled, glancing around before a sheepish grin spread across his face. “Oh! It’s the alpine horns at the gazebo. They do that every evening. It’s our next stop. Come on!”

He hopped up, pulling Rosa to her feet. His excitement was contagious, and she found herself laughing despite the lingering ache of what might have been. Her lips felt strangely empty, and the tingling warmth from their near-kiss lingered.

A kiss with Hunter would have been nice. His lips had been so close, his presence so overwhelming. Maybe it wasn’t meant to happen right now. Or maybe—just maybe—this was only the beginning.

They rushed together for two blocks, joining the growing crowd watching a bunch of people in traditional European outfits blowing into long horns, starting with “Jingle Bells,” then moving onto “Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer.”

As they stood and watched, Hunter let go of her hand and put his arm around her. “You warm enough?”

She nodded. “You’re so giddy about this. Are you sure you’re a local?”

Hunter laughed. “We used to come here as a family, but the last two years not so much. Maybe I’m changing my mind about Christmas.”

Rosa beamed, her cheeks reddening. Inside, she felt warmer and happier than she had in a long time. Maybe Leavenworth wasn’t a sabbatical from her regular life or an escape from who she was before. Perhaps coming here was coming towards something. Or someone.

After each song, the audience clapped, and eventually the group of alpine horn players played their last song and the gatherers dissipated.

“This is such a cool place,” Rosa said.

Hunter nodded. “Yeah. It’s pretty special. You hungry? There’s one more stop.”

They crossed the street, weaving through tourists sipping hot cocoa, children laughing as they threw snowballs, and couples admiring the Bavarian shops adorned with twinkling lights.

The magical Christmas village faded behind them as they entered a quieter neighborhood. The air grew still, save for the crunch of their boots on snow.

After two blocks, Hunter stopped in front of a charming house with warm light spilling from its windows. He knocked on the door.

Rosa’s brows furrowed. “Wait a second. Is this Tate’s house?” She recalled him saying something earlier and Emily being excited about going.

Hunter nodded, grinning. “You guessed it. Ready for some hot cocoa and soup?”

“Absolutely.” Rosa kept her tone light, but unease fluttered in her chest. She glanced at the house, her breath forming small clouds in the frosty air. Was this just a casual stop, or did it mean something more?

The thought tugged at her confidence. She was still the outsider, just passing through—or was she? Her gaze flicked to Hunter, who knocked on the door. Did he see this as a step forward, or was she overthinking?

Emily answered the door. “Daddy!” She jumped on him and bear hugged him as H unter held her up. “Jess got me a bead set on her trip. We’ve been making bracelets. See?” She held up her arm, her bracelet a mixture of red and green beads, with letter beads spelling out her name. “I made one for you, Daddy.” She held up another bracelet that looked identical, except the letter beads spelled “Hunter.”

Hunter set her down and put his bracelet on. “This looks great, honey. Now I won’t forget my name.”

Emily giggled. “I made one for you too, Miss Flores.” She held up a bracelet, only this one was pink. “Tater Tot told me how to spell your first name since I didn’t know what it was. And I ran out of red and green, so I used pink.”

Rosa’s heart panged. She stared at the bracelet for a moment before putting it on her wrist. “Emily, that was so sweet of you. Thank you.”

They headed inside, the warmth of the home pulling Rosa in like a hug. A Christmas tree stood proudly in the living room, a garland swung over the fireplace.

“Good thing Jess came home from her work trip, or this house wouldn’t look like Christmas at all.” Tate approached Hunter, Emily, and Rosa inside the front door. He stuck out his hand and Rosa shook it. “Good to see you again.” Rosa smiled, her unease melting.

A chestnut-haired woman appeared from behind Tate, opening her arms for a hug. “You must be Rosa. I’m Jess. So glad you could come.” Rosa hugged her back, grateful for the welcome. “Yes. You have a beautiful home. Thank you for having me.”

“You’re all Emily has talked about tonight,” Jess added. “Please, you and Hunter have a seat in the living room. We’re almost ready with the soup, right Emily?” Emily nodded, and the two headed to the kitchen.

“So, what do you think of Leavenworth?” Tate asked, following them to the living room.

“It’s so charming,” Rosa said. “I can see why so many people come to visit.”

“Daddy! Come here! Hurry!”

Hunter looked at Rosa. “Uh, I’ll be right back.” He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Rosa and Tate alone.

“So, how are…things?” Tate asked.

Rosa knew what he was really asking. “Good. I was shocked Hunter asked me to walk around town.”

Tate folded his arms. “You and me both. I thought it would never happen. He’s usually pretty grumpy this time of year. But I don’t know, you bring out something else in him.”

Rosa’s heart warmed. She could say the same thing about Hunter. Being able to talk freely about anything, even death, and just feel comfortable and safe with him, was something she hadn’t felt with anyone in probably ever?

And she couldn’t stop thinking about their almost kiss.

Her eyes went to a side table, where a framed photo of Jess and Tate sat, the two of them in front of the space needle in Seattle. She picked it up. “You know, I live within walking distance of here,” she said.

Tate nodded. “I figured you were a big city girl.”

She set the picture down, noticing the one behind it that had been hidden before. It was a family photo of Hunter, Emily, and Hunter’s wife. Wait a second. She had a familiar face.

Was that really his wife? Rosa’s heart stopped and she swallowed hard. No, that couldn’t be right.

Her hands shook as she picked up the photo. “Is that…was her name Megan?”

Tears threatened as all the emotions from her cancer days came back. She had met so many other women going through the same thing on message boards and during treatments. But this? This was too much of a coincidence.

Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Kept it to herself. But now it was too late.

“Yeah. Megan,” Tate said. “She died of breast cancer two years ago the day after Christmas.”

Rosa shook her head. No. This wasn’t real.

Hunter came back into the living room, looking at Rosa holding the family photo in her hands. “What’s going on?”

“I knew her. I knew Megan.” She could barely choke out the words. “I had breast cancer, too. We did treatment in Seattle a few times together.” Tears started flowing. “I had no idea. I only knew her first name.” She kept shaking her head, her mind reeling. Rosa set down the photo. “Maybe this wasn’t a good idea,” she said, then headed toward the door and went outside.

Hunter followed her, closing the front door behind them, Emily, Tate, and Jess still inside.

He caught up to her and touched her arm. “Wait, Rosa . You had breast cancer, too?”

She turned. “Yeah. It was a shock. But they caught it early. I went to treatment and met so many other amazing women.” Hot tears fell down her cheeks. “Including,” a lump caught in her throat, “your wife.”

Hunter held the back of his neck, his eyes wide in shock.

“Megan was a beautiful person, Hunter. I’m so sorry.” Anger built in her, all the treatments they both went through, all the heartache, came rushing back. “I made it through treatment. I had a second chance at life.” Rosa shook her head, her mind swirling. “Why did she have to die ? ” Rosa didn’t know it at the time, but knowing now that Megan was married with a daughter–she had so much to live for. Why her?

She remembered hearing Megan had died, and someone had sent her the link to join the virtual funeral. But Rosa couldn’t bring herself to view it. And after so many other cancer friends dying, it seemed like there was a funeral every other week. It was too much . Survivors' guilt ate away at her. Rosa had lived, and what did she have to show for it?

Rosa walked across the yard, the snow muffling her steps but amplifying the noise in her head, mirroring her turmoil. Hunter followed close behind. She stopped and turned back around, her emotions spilling everywhere.

“Why did I survive cancer? Why? My parents died the day of my diagnosis.”

Her words crack under the weight of her guilt, the real reason her life had felt so out of control the past few years. “They died coming to comfort me. It was all my fault. ”

Panic set in, and she tried to breathe through it, the memories flooding back. “Then I had to go through cancer alone. Cancer should have taken me. But Megan didn’t deserve to die. She had you. She had Emily.” Rosa folded her arms. Wishing she could disappear.

“Rosa.” Hunter shook his head, stepping toward her. He reached for her, but she stepped back.

“I can’t. I can’t do this.” Dating Megan’s husband? No way. Off limits. During their treatments, Megan and Rosa hadn’t gotten to the point of sharing many details about each other, but there was a special bond between those with breast cancer. They were like sisters. Sharing their pain.

Rosa walked away.

“Why can’t you do this?” Hunter called behind her. “I like you, Rosa. No, cancer isn’t fair. It sucks. I get it. I've spent the last two years slogging through the emotional aftermath, and I'm barely clearing a trail. I’ve learned that life isn't a clear, mapped out path. You can't plan for everything. That's why we need to hang on to the happy moments. To enjoy the moments of joy while we have them. Life doesn’t turn out the way we plan. But shouldn’t we hang on to the happiness we do have?”

Rosa stopped and took a deep breath, letting it out hard. She knew she wasn’t thinking straight, but the last thing she wanted was to go back to her cancer days. And every second with Hunter would equal that.

Finally, she turned. “I like you, too. But I…I can’t do this. This hurts too much.”

She walked the few blocks to her car and drove awa y.

Rosa gripped the steering wheel, her breath fogging the icy window. Each tear that fell felt like a betrayal—to Megan, to herself, to Hunter. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she couldn’t stay.