Chapter 20
Davis
I scrubbed my sweaty palms along my jeans one last time before hoisting Frick and Frack's carrier and heading toward Bluff Elementary's doors.
Sophie was expecting me, and I wouldn't let her down.
I didn't want to disappoint Taylor either, but I was having second and third thoughts about speaking to Sophie's class.
Twenty-plus Taylors sounded frightening.
I could barely handle the one little boy, with his big eyes and questions.
I shuddered at the prospect of a class-full peppering me with comments.
Thankfully, Sophie would be there to keep me safe, and I couldn't wait to see her with her students.
Frick and Frack meowed their discontent as I signed in with the office administrator and waited for my escort to the classroom.
Sophie looked up from a stool at the front of her class, a picture book in hand, and smiled when the aide opened the door for me. "Mr. Pruitt. Welcome."
Crap. I'd have to remember to call her Ms. Dunham. Not Bee, not Sophie—Ms. Dunham.
"Ms. Dunham. Thanks for having me," I said meekly.
"Let me finish this chapter, then we'll switch gears and go into our science unit. You can have a seat at my desk if you like." She gestured to a wooden desk at the back of the classroom, and I set Frick and Frack's carrier down on top, settling in to watch Sophie work.
Twenty small faces hung on every word as she read—no, acted—the story. Sophie was animated, her brown eyes sparkling as she read. Her energy drew me in, driving me toward thoughts entirely inappropriate for a classroom setting.
To distract myself, I focused on her room and the decorations she'd chosen.
Colorful bulletin boards dotted the walls, and a small library complete with oversize cushions in a rainbow of colors dominated one corner.
It was cheerful and friendly. Just like Sophie.
I could easily envision her students falling in love with reading, falling in love with her, in this room.
Sophie closed her book, settling it in her lap, and smiled at me. "Class, please join me in welcoming Mr. Pruitt. He's going to talk with you about farming. Does anyone know what he grows?"
A tiny dark-haired girl's hand shot up.
"Lily?"
"Adult soda?"
Sophie's eyes gleamed, but she nodded. "He grows a plant called hops."
Another arm shot up, this time from a boy.
"Question, Xavier?"
"Is that what they feed to rabbits?" Xavier asked.
Sophie's lips twitched. "Not exactly. I'm going to let Mr. Pruitt tell you more."
Slowly, I pushed to my feet, advancing to the front of the room.
I felt like a hulking giant there. Something about the scaled-down room with its small desks and even smaller occupants made me feel huge.
Like I didn't belong. Sophie patted my back, and I smiled down at her, taking courage from her gesture, more than a little embarrassed that I was intimidated by a roomful of eight-year-olds.
"Hi, everyone," I said. "As Ms. Dunham mentioned, I grow hops.
They're used in beer, which is kind of like an adult soda," I allowed, gesturing toward the diminutive Lily.
"Occasionally, we get wild rabbits who try to feast on the plants," I nodded to Xavier, “but mostly, we harvest them and have them processed into pellets. "
A small hand shot up, and I nodded to a little girl.
"Like rabbit food?"
"Similar," I said. "But we use hops pellets when we brew beer."
“Ooh, does it go in root beer?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nope. No hops in root beer.”
Slowly, it grew easier to answer the kids’ questions.
Sophie observed from the sidelines. When the kids veered too far off topic, I looked to her for reassurance as I nudged them back to farming.
After I felt like I'd talked the farm to death, I drew on my other greatest asset for entertaining the kids: Frick and Frack.
"I brought some small friends from the farm today for a visit. Does anyone want to meet them?"
Twenty hands shot up, and I grinned.
"Their names are Frick and Frack. Don't worry if they're shy," I said as I pulled the first furry body out.
Frick clung to me, mewling pitifully to complain about his disturbed nap.
I passed him along to a girl who cooed, petting him softly.
Frack took more convincing to coax out, but I set her down with a boy at the back of class.
Sophie and I circulated with my charges, keeping a watchful eye on students and kittens alike.
The kittens were passed around and loved on before I returned them to their carrier.
Then Sophie had her students line up for recess.
I waited while she escorted them to the playground, hoping for a few minutes alone.
"Thanks again, Davis," Sophie said as she slipped back into the room.
"It was my pleasure," I said, realizing it was the truth. Speaking to Sophie's students was fun. "What are you up to this weekend?"
"Probably another test flight for Bee-gonia. Why, did you have something in mind?"
"I wanted to invite you out to dinner. But maybe I can join you on your flight, and we can do brunch instead?"
"I'd like that," she said. "I'm thinking of doing a tethered flight, just in case. Do you mind if we launch from the farm?"
"Sounds good. Do you need more crew than me?" I asked.
"If you're going up with me, it'd be nice to have Jo on the ground."
"I'll check and see if she's available," I promised, pleased that we had a plan.
She seemed at ease with the idea of me going up with her, and it soothed some of my anxiety about her flying again.
It might take a while for me to wipe the image of her slow-motion crash from my memories.
I’d been low-key terrified for her, and that was before I acknowledged her as anything but a friend of Jo’s.
Now, I couldn’t imagine my world without Sophie in it.
Thinking about how close we came to losing her had me holding back a shudder.
I glanced at the clock. "How long is recess?"
"I have three more minutes before I have to go walk them back."
"Then I don't have a moment to waste," I muttered. Sophie seemed to sense the direction of my thoughts, wrapping her arms around my neck and leaning up on her tippy toes to brush her lips with mine. I needed that connection to remind myself she was safe.
The first sweep was soft. Gentle. But I was so starved for her, I took it as an invitation for more, gathering her in my arms, urging her closer until her breasts snugged up to my chest. I leaned down, capturing her mouth in a kiss that burned away any sense of time or place.
When my oxygen-deprived brain couldn't take anymore, I broke away, dropping my forehead to hers, breathing hard.
Sophie disengaged gently, pacing a few steps away, shaking out her hands before placing them behind her head. Her cheeks were a rosy pink, her lush mouth kiss-swollen.
I pushed down the hint of pride that I'd made her look like that.
If I glanced in a mirror, I'd no doubt see I was just as wrecked.
I scrubbed my hands through my hair, trying to resettle the strands into some semblance of order so the front office wouldn't know exactly what I'd been doing with Ms. Dunham in her classroom when I signed out.
Clearing my throat, I searched for a suitable goodbye and came up empty.
"Until Saturday," Sophie said with a tiny smile.
"Saturday it is."
"Come on, I'll show you out on my way back to the playground." Sophie extended a hand for mine.
I clutched Frick and Frack's carrier under one arm, letting her escort me to the office, aware of the knowing look the school secretary gave our clasped hands.
I had to admit, it felt damned good to be claimed by Sophie Dunham.