Chapter 10
YOU MET MY FAVORITE TEACHER, HUH?
Poppy
The bell signaling the end of the day rings over the school’s loudspeakers, and the kids all hustle to grab their things and filter out the door. Nervous energy courses through my body as I know my meeting with Sage’s parents is in a few minutes.
I pull out a fresh piece of paper from my notepad and make a list of things to discuss with her parents for the meeting.
1. Classroom schedule
2. Special schedule for the week
3. What we’re currently covering in class
4. Ask about murder
“I’m going to bring the kids outside to meet their parents and then take Sage to the library while you have your meeting,” Rachel says.
I nod, still looking down at my list.
“Are you nervous, Poppy?” She laughs lightly.
I nod again, this time repeatedly.
Walking over to me, she places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I know we don’t do this often, as we don’t get a lot of new students, but you’re an amazing teacher. The kids love you. The parents will love you, too.”
I still can’t find the right words to respond because she wasn’t in the classroom when the murder comment was made. It seems irrational to think that her father might come here and try something, but I don’t know what to expect. After just two days with Sage, I still barely know her.
“I saw her dad yesterday when he picked her up.” A devilish grin spreads across her face as she fans herself. “He’s hotter than sin, Poppy. Whew.”
My eyes widen. “He’s what?”
“I know we shouldn’t say things about our students’ parents, but it should seriously be illegal how good-looking he was.” She shakes her head. “I’m going to hell for this. I’m sure of it.”
I can’t pinpoint why this is easing some of my tension, but Rachel has a personality that can do that. I’m so lucky to have an aide and friend in my classroom like her. She doesn’t know what I struggle with internally, but she’s the calm to the storm in my brain most of the day.
Laughing, I shake my head. “You probably are for talking about a married man like that.”
“I’ll take it to the grave with me,” she says. “Oh, and did you hear the rumor around the school this afternoon about someone stepping up to coach the kids for a baseball team. They’re going to fix up the barnyard.”
“I know they didn’t have a coach, but didn’t know someone finally stepped up.”
“Yeah, this guy is apparently feeling some type of way over the fact that the kids don’t have a team here in town.”
My mind immediately goes to Dallas. He’s a former head coach of a major league team.
It has to be him wanting to start things up here for the kids.
The idea of seeing him around school and with the kids makes me feel uneasy, but also warms my heart that he wants to do that for them.
After our night out, the way he watched me on my back deck, and the conversation with the girls, I’m beginning to feel my heart flutter more and more when he comes to mind.
“Anyway, let me get out of here with the kids. I’ll take Sage to the library for a bit until the end of your meeting. I’ll see you when I get back,” Rachel says before following the students to meet their parents for end of the day pickup.
As I inhale and exhale, I push Dallas out of my head and move around the room to push in all the desk chairs and tidy up the drawing station.
My students are generally good about putting away their supplies, but our methods differ.
While they tend to toss everything into a bin, I have to come back and organize the crayons neatly.
A light knock on the door has my head snapping that way.
“Is this Miss Barlow’s classroom?” a woman asks, not fully stepping into the room.
“It is,” I say, standing straight, brushing my hands down my shirt to ensure it looks okay. “You must be Sage’s mom.”
“I am.” She offers me a friendly smile, stepping into the room. Sage most definitely gets her beauty from her mom because she’s beautiful. “You can call me April.”
“You can call me Poppy,” I say, extending my hand in greeting. “The secretary told me both parents would be here today. Is it just you?”
She rolls her eyes. “He’s here, but in true fashion, he forgot to finish filling out a form for Sage, so he had to stop in the office.”
“Perfect.” I chuckle, grabbing the papers I had prepared for the meeting and making my way to the table where the kids usually color. It’s a smaller table, as it’s designed for kids, but it’s the one I use during parent-teacher conferences. “We can sit here and wait for him to finish up.”
“Great,” she says, taking a seat. “Is Sage getting acclimated nicely? I’ve been nervous about how she would transition into a new school.”
“I understand those feelings, and it’s normal for you to feel that way. I’ll tell you with confidence, there’s no need to be nervous, Mrs. Westbrook. Sage is transitioning perfectly. She’s so bright, funny, and smart.”
Her shoulders fall with relief as the nervousness leaves her body with my assurance. “That’s all I want for her.”
“Before your husband returns, I wanted to ask you about something Sage said yesterday. I’m sorry if it’s too personal, but I wanted to ensure everything was okay.”
She waves her hand in the air. “Oh, he’s not—”
A knock on the door interrupts her, drawing both of our attention. The atmosphere in the room shifts. My eyes go wide, and my stomach sinks. I think my soul leaves my body when I see Dallas standing in the doorway.
“Did you get everything handled?” April asks him.
He doesn’t reply or move. He stands there with one hand on the door frame, staring at me with lips parted in shock, his eyes narrowed in confusion.
My heart pounds in my chest, and I feel frozen, papers clenched between my fingers as I realize that I not only shared a drink at the bar with the father of one of my students but also a married man.
A married man who is said to have a penchant for murder!
Oh my god, is this really happening right now?
And how in the world did I not put two and two together?
If I weren’t trying to remain professional at work, I would swivel my chair to the side and vomit into the trash can because this cannot be happening right now.
Apparently, Rachel isn’t the only one going to hell.
Dallas shakes his head as if snapping out of whatever was going through his head and makes his way into the room, keeping his head to the ground. “Yeah. I took care of it.”
April beams, clapping her hands together, oblivious of the tension in the room. “Perfect. Here, take a seat and meet Miss Barlow.” She pushes the seat next to her out for him. “We chatted briefly while you finished in the office, and she said Sage is transitioning nicely.”
He reluctantly sits down, making the chair feel much smaller than it is. His body is most certainly not made for these types of chairs.
Once he settles in, he leans forward on the table, intertwining his fingers, and slowly lifts his gaze to meet mine.
I suddenly can’t breathe. The flirty man I met at the bar is long gone, replaced by a serious and stoic version of Dallas.
Forcing myself to breathe before I pass out, I look away and focus on the papers laid out in front of me.
I straighten my spine to maintain a professional composure.
“As I said before, yes, Sage is settling in nicely. I think she has about eighteen new best friends.” I laugh nervously, looking down at the papers in front of me.
“However, there was something she said yesterday that I was just about to ask your wife—”
“She’s not my wife,” he cuts me off. My head snaps up again, instantly connecting with his. The corners of his eyes crinkle as his lips twist into a smirk. “We’ve been divorced for a while now,” he adds.
I know I shouldn’t feel relieved, but I can’t help it because now I don’t need to feel guilty about ogling over a married man.
The problem is that he’s still the father of one of my students, still making him completely off-limits.
I simply can’t. But it’s hard to deny the way he makes me feel.
It still is, especially with how he looks at me from across this small table, while his ex-wife sits beside him.
“Is Sage okay?” April cuts in. “What did she say?”
Clearing my throat, I turn to face April. “We were doing introductions around the classroom. Each student told a little about themselves, and Sage took a turn. The last thing was to give us a fun fact about yourself. She said she loves doing puzzles.”
“She does.” April smiles. “She’s always loved them. She can tackle a 500-piece puzzle at six years old in two days.”
“She told me that you planned to bring one for her one day,” Dallas chimes in.
I nod, trying to avoid eye contact because I did tell her that.
That’s when it hits me: I’ve been so focused on Dallas sitting right in front of me that I didn’t even consider that he’s my neighbor.
Dallas is my freaking neighbor. Oh my god.
This means Sage lives right next door to me.
Or does she live with her mom? I have so many questions, but it’s not my place to ask them.
I don’t want to learn anything more about Dallas than I already have.
Except, there’s one thing I need to know to bring me some peace.
“After she told us about liking puzzles, she continued to say that she wishes her dad were good at puzzles.” I shift my focus from April to Dallas.
His eyebrow knit in confusion. “She said you prefer murder. And listen,” I say quickly, “I don’t judge anyone by what they choose to do.
I just want to make sure my students are safe at home.
” I rattle out the words quickly as if to defend my accusations.
My cheeks heat with the grin that spreads across his face, and I want nothing more than to crawl into a hole now.
April smacks his arm with the back of her hand. “I told you to stop watching those murder mystery shows when Sage is in the room, Dallas.”