Valerie Hansen - Samantha's Gift

Smiling up at him, Rachel said, “Well then, welcome to Serenity Elementary. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know.”

“Thanks. I do have one question.”

“Sure. Anything.”

“Okay. Why were you skipping down the hall like a kid?”

“Shh.” She blushed, looked around furtively. “You weren’t supposed to notice that.”

“It was kind of hard not to.”

“Then, why didn’t you get out of my way?”

“I tried. Guess I was so surprised, I didn’t move quite fast enough. Sorry.”

“Me, too.” Pulling a face, she lamented the supplies scattered at their feet, then gathered the hem of her skirt at her knees, holding it bunched in one hand so she could crouch down safely. “My poor crayons. They were brand new. I’ll bet half of them are broken.”

Sean squatted to help her gather up the spill. “Hey, these are those big fat crayons. I haven’t seen any of those since kindergarten.”

“Makes sense. That’s what I teach.”

“You’re a teacher?”

“Yes, I’m a teacher. Why?”

“No special reason. You don’t fit my memories of the teachers I had when I was a boy, that’s all.”

Rachel knew better than to acknowledge the backhanded compliment and open their conversation to more of his personal opinions. There was nothing he could say about her diminutive appearance that she hadn’t heard many times before.

She continued to stack paper, barely glancing at him. “Do you have children coming to our school, too, Mr. Bates?”

“No. No kids.”

The answer was simple. It was the off-putting tone that drew and held her attention. The man had sounded as if he didn’t even like children, which was a definite drawback since he was about to start a job where he’d be up to his elbows in them.

“You are the new counselor, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Silent, she studied his profile, trying to determine if she’d read him correctly. He looked to be about thirty or thirty-five, with reddish brown hair and compelling green eyes.

He raised them to meet hers. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just wondering what brought you to a little town like Serenity. Being from the city, you’re liable to have quite an adjustment to make.”

“I’ll cope. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision.” Straightening with an armload of loose supplies, he changed the subject. “Lead the way to your room, Teacher. I’ll carry these for you.”

“I can manage by myself.”

“I know you can.” He lifted an eyebrow. “I just had a demonstration of how well. But I’ve already got this stuff balanced. If I try to hand it to you and you fumble it again, you’ll have even more busted crayons. Let’s go.”

That logic overcame Rachel’s misgivings. She gathered up the last of the paper and started off. “Okay. Come on. I’m in building A. You may as well start learning the layout of the campus. Where’s your office, anyway?”

“So far, I don’t have one.”

“I’m not surprised. We aren’t used to having a fulltime counselor on staff.”

“I’m not exactly full time. Not yet. I’ve told the boss I can fill in as a substitute bus driver, too, if they need me.”

Confused, she glanced back over her shoulder at him. “Bus driver? Why? I thought you were a psychologist.”

“Hey, I’m a versatile guy.”

“If you say so.” She paused to unlock the door to her classroom, then pushed the door open with her hip and swept through ahead of Sean.

“I do say so.” He cast around for the best place to dump his load of crayons and settled on the top of a low cabinet. “Actually, I put myself through college by driving a school bus.”

She studied him further, frowning and questioning her deductions regarding his age. “How long did that take?”

Sean laughed. “It’s a little complicated. Let’s just say that counseling wasn’t my first career.”

“Hmm. I was sure I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was seven,” Rachel said.

“I envy you. Most people aren’t that decisive, even as adults.”

He looked her up and down as he spoke. She was petite, pretty, and so thin she looked like she’d blow away in a strong wind—unless she happened to be tethered to the jungle gym. When he’d steadied her in the hallway, he’d noticed that he could easily encircle her upper arm with one hand. Good thing she’d chosen to teach very young children. The thought made him smile.

“What’s so funny?”

“Sorry. I was just thinking.” His gaze traveled around the room. “Kindergarten was a good choice.”

“Why? Because children are so loving at that age?”

“No. Because you don’t look like you could hold your own in a pillow fight against anybody much bigger.”

Rachel’s smile faded. “You’d be surprised what I can do.” She hustled him to the door, opened it and practically shoved him through. “Thanks for your help, Mr. Bates. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do before class starts.”

“Sure. No problem. Have a good day.”

Rachel closed the door behind him and leaned against it, eyes shut tight.

Not hold her own? Ha! She might not look tough on the outside, but inside she knew she was made of steel. Tempered steel. And the pain of the tempering process lingered. It probably always would.

An unexpected call summoned Rachel to the office right after the dismissal bell. She was anything but thrilled. The first few days of every school year were very tiring, and the last thing she wanted was to have to face the principal this late in the afternoon. Refusal, however, was not an option.

Sean was coming out of a classroom as she passed by. He beamed at the sight of her. “Hi.”

“Hi. So far, so good?” Rachel asked pleasantly, trying to ignore the jolt of awareness she’d felt the moment she spied him again.

“No problems,” Sean said.

“Good.”

“You okay? You look kind of funny.”

Did her unwarranted reaction show? Oh dear! Hedging, she made a silly face at him. “Thanks—I think.”

“Actually, you remind me a lot of a condemned man on the way to the gallows.”

“Oh, that.” What a relief. “Probably because I feel like one. I’ve been called to Principal Vanbruger’s office and I don’t have the slightest idea why. That kind of thing always gives me butterflies in my stomach.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Who knows. It’s a little too early in the year for me to have earned a commendation for exemplary teaching, so I have to assume that’s not why he wants to see me.”

“You never know. Maybe you’re about to get a blue ribbon for your skipping skills.”

“Let’s hope not.”

He fell into step beside her. “I’m headed your way. Mind if I walk along? Keep you company?”

“Aren’t you afraid to be associated with a terrible rule-breaker like me?”

“Not as long as I don’t catch you running with scissors,” he quipped. “I do have my limits.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Rachel couldn’t help chuckling softly. The man seemed to have the kind of nature that lifted a person’s spirits. That quality made him more appealing to her than any superficial attributes, like the fact that he was every bit as handsome as her friends had insisted during lunch, when she’d carelessly mentioned having met him.

She and Sean reached the door to the school office. Rachel paused. “Well, this is it. Here I go.”

“Want me to hang around till you’re done?”

She was amazed at his sensitivity. “No. I’ll be fine. I just hate the idea of hearing that I’m not perfect.”

Sean arched an eyebrow. “I don’t know. You look pretty good to me. Tell you what. If that guy Vanbruger picks on you, tell me, and I’ll go let the air out of the tires on his bicycle so he knows better the next time.”