by Jo Grafford
Way to stir up drama. Hope bit back a sigh. “They’re receiving several days of in-school detention, which I’ll be happy to discuss with you in more detail after the meeting.” Her gaze swept the rest of the room. “I know you’re anxious to start your weekend, so I’ll jump straight to the last part of our meeting agenda and get through it as quickly as possible.” She nodded at Principal Lighthorse, who promptly started the video that the student council had put together. At her request, they’d secretly filmed interviews with several students who’d submitted mascot names for the upcoming vote.
Hope narrated her audience through the opening credits. “Our combined student council has accomplished a lot during the first week of school. I’m super proud of them, and I hope their short video starts your weekend off on the right note.”
In the first interview, the camera zoomed in on an art student from the north side of town.
He grinned into the camera. “My name is Jericho Remington, although my friends just call me Jer. I’m a junior at Heart Lake High and hope to pursue a career in graphic design. Anyhow, here’s my idea.”
The speed of the camera increased to lightning levels as he started to sketch his vision of the new school mascot. The entire charcoal drawing had taken the better part of an hour, but Hope and her staff got to see the thirty-second version of it. She experienced all the feels as he described the double twister he’d created, swirling out from the base and coming together at the top to form the shape of a heart.
When he was finished, Jericho proudly held up his sketch pad. “We are two sides of town drawn together by adversity, our separate paths indelibly twisted together by a cluster of storms that changed our lives forever.” The teen tapped his finished sketch with his pencil and cried, “Let’s give it up for the Heart Lake Twisters!”
Hope wasn’t surprised when several staff members started clapping. The artist’s short speech had been that electrifying. The next interview was equally compelling. So much so that she was glad the final decision about the new school mascot would ultimately not be up to her, because she was torn between the two top contenders. She had a sneaking suspicion that the vote was going to come down to these mascots.
A slender Native American student popped onto the screen. Her long, dark hair covered half her face like a curtain. “My name is Kia. For us on the reservation, the tornadoes changed everything. Most of us have never lived anywhere else besides the res, or attended school anywhere else. So in addition to losing our homes, businesses, and schools, it was total culture shock to be temporarily relocated off the res to hotels, churches, and community centers. And I can’t even begin to describe what it felt like to step onto the Heart Lake High campus for the first time. Maybe if you picture a fish out of water and multiply it by a thousand. Or a million.” She paused and gave a nervous chuckle.
Music started playing softly in the background. “But despite how new and scary all these changes have been, it’s also been a time of miracles and new beginnings for my people. So many folks in town have stepped to the plate to help us out on the res, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Firemen, police officers, paramedics, nurses, electricians, plumbers, construction workers, tree cutters, road workers, and more. Too many to name. But there’s one word that I think fits all of them, and that’s the word hero. When those tornadoes touched down, they made me realize that I’m living in a town full of heroes. So I’d like to honor them by naming our new school mascot after them. Wouldn’t it be great if we got to call ourselves the Heart Lake Heroes?”
As the lights in the video dimmed, Hope added her clapping to the smattering that had broken out a second time across the library. “Wow, huh? Makes you proud to be an educator all over again, doesn’t it?”
She received several nods and smiles. “I know what the school board is asking of us right now isn’t easy, but aren’t these students worth it? Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you’ve done to make our first week of school a success. And for all that you’re going to do to help make next week a success. And the week after that. No, everything didn’t go perfectly or as planned during the first five days. If they had, I wouldn’t have just awarded in-school detention to seven football players. And, yes, there will be many more challenges to face in the coming days, but I think this video proves that we’re doing something right.”
She received a few more nods. “The biggest thing I’m asking for right now from you is your patience as we navigate these unchartered waters together. I’m also asking for you to keep the communication channels wide open and flowing in both directions. If you need something — supplies or other resources — I need to hear about it right away, so we can start working toward a solution. I also want to hear about your wins. Please share the things that are working for you in your classrooms, so we can scale up on them up. Lastly, I’m asking you to make an extra special effort to keep the communication lines open with each other, too. Never before have we had so many different ways of doing things under a single roof, which can be enormously frustrating. But that also means we’ve never had so much talent under the same roof, either, which just might turn out to be the secret sauce that gets us through the coming days.”
She scanned the myriad of expressions on the faces around her. “I think we can all agree that what we’re attempting to do here at Heart Lake High is huge. I think we can also agree that it’s too big for any single one of us to do on our own. I’m convinced it’s going to take all of us — all of our hearts, all of our talent, all of our higher education, all of our work experience, and all of our unique styles of teaching to do what we’ve set out to do.” She smiled her gratitude at them. “That’s all, folks. I’m sure you’d rather get a head start on your weekend than to hear me keep rambling. I look forward to seeing you bright and early Monday morning with your game faces on.”
Hope walked back to her office in a haze of happiness. The first week had been exhausting, but she’d survived it. They all had.
Josh met her on the covered walkway outside leading back to the main building. “Here are the names of our renegade football players, boss lady.” He handed over a handwritten list of the seven football players being assigned detention. “We had a long talk before I sent them home. Sounds like they could use the most tutoring in Math.”
“Thanks.” She accepted the slip of paper. “Don’t worry, coach. I’ll make it happen. I know how much those boys mean to you.”
He leaned around her to open the door for her, lightly touching his large hand to her lower back as he ushered her inside. “More importantly, they now understand how much they mean to you. Maybe if I had a principal like you in my life years ago, I would have turned out differently. Better.”
His approval surrounded her like a warm and wonderful cloak. So did his regret. She knew him well enough to understand it was his way of apologizing all over again for the past, eliminating the last of the anger she’d been holding on to. Her heart ached to know exactly what it was that had gone wrong that day. They were so close back then that she would’ve never dreamed it was possible for anything to come between them. But something had. Something had shaken Josh’s love for her and short-circuited his loyalty. Otherwise, he never would have left her stranded like that on the bridge. He never would’ve let her walk away without a fight.
“I think you turned out alright,” she declared, silently vowing to do everything in her power to protect the ground she and Josh were slowly gaining back between them.
“I guess. I never went to college.”
She tensed, wondering if he was finally going to tell her what had happened that heartbreaking day. “College isn’t for everyone, Josh.”
“Then why do I regret not going so much?”
She caught her breath at the way his fingers curled more possessively against her back. “I don’t know, coach,” she whispered. “But you, of all people, should know better than to Monday morning quarterback the past.” All of a sudden, his reasons for not meeting
her on the bridge didn’t matter nearly as much as his reasons for being with her now.
“Hope, I…” Their gazes locked, and the flare of passion in his made it impossible for her to continue breathing.
The sound of clapping abruptly yanked their attention back to the hallway ahead.
Hope’s heart shuddered with no small amount of guilt at the sight of Kellan Maddox. He was lounged against the door to the main office, emanating his signature I-own-the-world air. His auburn waves were perfectly tousled, and there were real diamonds winking from the cuff link of one white shirt sleeve peeking from the sleeve of his designer suit — a wonderfully expensive looking three-piece black ensemble with lapels the shade of eggplant. On any other man, it would have looked pretentious. Only Kellan could wear something like that with such effortless aplomb.
It had been such a busy week that she’d all but forgotten about their dinner engagement at her mother’s house. Shoot! She’d all but forgotten about Kellan Maddox’s presence in town. I’m such a horrible friend! And here she was having a moment with Josh, while Kellan was dangling with expectations in her direction. Yep, I’m a horrible friend.
Kellan eyed the hand Josh still had resting on her waist. “Are you ready for dinner, Dr. Remington?” he inquired, pushing away from the door. His voice was light, though the tension between the three of them was fast escalating to excruciating levels.
She forced a smile she didn’t feel. “Of course. My mother would have a fit if we stood her up.”
Josh abruptly dropped his hand. “There’s a bunch of paperwork waiting…” He stepped around Kellan, yanked open the door to the main office, and disappeared inside without finishing his sentence.
Chapter 5: Old Letters
Hope
Clara Remington’s townhome was ablaze with lights when Hope parked her Miata on the curb out front. Kellan’s chauffeur nosed in directly behind her. Out of sheer habit, Hope pulled her sun visor down to check her lipstick. The sight of her windblown hair served as a stark reminder of just how sweaty and dirty she was.
Ouch! She gave a rueful chuckle. It wasn’t as if remembering the dinner engagement with her mother would have changed her mind, though, about challenging the ornery south side football players to a race.
Kellan strode in her direction to open her car door. “You look like you’ve had a busy week.”
She grinned ruefully. “That’s the nicest way anyone has ever stated that I look like an absolute train wreck.”
“Now that you mention it…” he teased, giving a princely flourish of one arm to usher her out of her car.
“Hold your nose or stand downwind of me,” she warned. “I actually kicked off my shoes an hour ago to challenge a group of football players to a race.”
He shook his head, looking highly amused. “And?”
“I won,” she noted in satisfaction as she slid out from behind the wheel. Then her lips turned downward. “Most unfortunately, I had to assign all seven of them detention afterward.”
His reddish-brown eyebrows rose in mock alarm. “For losing a race to you? Harsh.”
“Of course not!” She rolled her eyes at him. “They earned their punishment fair and square.” She arched her tired back to work out a kink and moved away from the car door. “For seven tardies in a row, same day.”
“I sense a good story coming.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” she sighed. “They were blockading one of the second-floor hallways and charging admission for their fellow students to pass.”
Kellan gave a bark of laughter as he firmly shut her door. “Okay, it’s official.” He pivoted to face her, folding his arms and leaning back against the door. “Your day was more exciting than mine.”
“Yeah, well, I’m betting that also means you don’t currently have a pebble stuck in your shoe and dry sweat making your shirt stick to your shoulders.” She bent to take off one of her shoes and give it an upside-down shake. The offending little rock clattered to the pavement.
Kellan chuckled again. “Nope. I don’t. Wow!” He cocked his head downward, peering closer. “Are those grass stains on your foot?”
“Probably.” She made a face at him as she put her shoe back on and faced him. “I warned you that you probably weren’t ready to date a cowgirl.”
“Doesn’t keep me from wanting to.” He sobered as they lingered beside her car, in no terrible hurry to head inside just yet. “I’m just not too optimistic about my chances with you, now that you’re back in Josh Hawling’s orbit.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “We were having a moment back there that you purposefully interrupted.”
“There will be more such moments, if that’s what you really want.” Kellan’s turquoise gaze held hers. “Is it?”
She glanced away. “Once up a time, it was the one thing I wanted most,” she confessed helplessly. “I would have done anything for him, Kellan. I would have stayed in town if he asked me to, even given up college. But he never gave me the choice. He just…left me there.” And now that she was back in Heart Lake, his actions made less sense than ever. He still cared for her. That much was obvious. So did she, which posed an even bigger problem.
“He still cares about you, Hope.”
“I know.” She smoothed a hand over her tousled hair. “But it doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere.”
Kellan reached for her hand, drawing her gaze back to his. “I think that’s entirely up to you.” He toyed with her fingers. “Which brings me back to this. What do you want, Hope? What do you want from him? And what do you want from me?”
“I don’t know.” She felt like weeping. “It’s complicated.”
“Because you still have feelings for him.”
“Yes.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “I admit it, okay? Are you happy now?”
“Not really.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I was kind of hoping for the opposite to happen. That you’d arrive into town, have that long overdue showdown with your ex, and finally accept the fact that you’d made the right decision to leave him behind.”
“I know. That’s what I wanted to happen, too.” The words were wrenched from her. “The goal was to come home, wrap up the rest of my unfinished business, and bury all outstanding skeletons. That way you and I could finally be together.”
He grimaced and released her hand. “That’s the sweetest, kindest let-down I’ve ever been given.”
She blinked back tears of relief at how well he was taking the news that they wouldn’t be dating anymore. “You seriously check every box on my dream guy wishlist, Kell.”
“Thanks.”
“He doesn’t.” She gave a damp sniffle. “He mostly keeps me off balance and in emotional knots.”
“Even so,” Kellan sighed. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do or give to have you look at me the way I saw you looking at him earlier.”
His expression wrenched something deep inside of her. “You’ll find her some day, Kellan. She’s out there. I know she is.”
“Unless she’s tall, blonde, and blue-eyed with grass stains on her feet…” He shook his head, smiling sadly.
“Now that you mention it, there is someone I could introduce you to,” she offered, scrambling for something to say or do that would ease the pain of her rejection.
He gave a humorless chuckle. “Though I appreciate the thought, I might need a little recovery time first.”
“I know, but when the time is right, my friend, then maybe…”
“Then maybe,” he agreed. Straightening, he crooked his arm at her. “Shall we head inside?”
She stared at the pristine fabric of his suit, half afraid of getting it dirty. “I’m a complete wreck right now, Kell. Not sure you want me touching—oh!” She giggled as he reached for her hand and slapped it down on his forearm.
“For Pete’s sake, Hope, we’re still friends,” he muttered. “I think I can handle a few grass stains.”
The scene that met th
em on the front porch was a little concerning. Hope could tell her mother had been puttering in her flower pots today. There was nothing unusual in itself about that. She’d always loved to plant. However, the pair of urns she currently had on display were mismatched, something she would have never done in the past. The blue urn on the right side of the door held a cluster of fresh autumn mums in shades of purple, white, and gold. The pot on the other side of the door was a berry red, however, and it contained no blooms at all. In fact, her mother’s gloves and hand shovel were discarded carelessly beside the pot as if she’d been interrupted and had to leave in a hurry. Or, worse yet, as if she’d forgotten what she was doing and wandered back inside…
Eyeing her mother’s garden gloves, Hope sighed. “I should probably give you a head’s up about my mother.”
“Is she okay?” Kellan asked quickly.
“I’m still trying to figure that out.” Hope squeezed his arm. “Losing my father was really hard on her. She’s never really been the same since.”
Her mother flung the front door open before they had the chance to knock. “There you are! Come in.” Clara Remington’s smile was so wide that it crinkled the corners of her eyes. She was wearing a pale blue cashmere sweater over cream colored slacks, and her hair was pulled back in a loose French twist. Pearl studs dotted her lobes.
Hope felt a surge of pride and a lessening of her worries as she leaned in for a quick hug. Her mother had always been a perfect lady and a perfect hostess.
“Oh, honey!” she murmured in alarm, holding her only daughter at arm’s length. “What happened to you?”
“It’s a long story, and I’m going to need a shower before telling it.” Hope stepped around her. “But don’t worry. Kellan has promised to keep you company while I clean up.” She made the introductions and left her mother piddling happily over a pot of tea and a tray of petit four cakes, that she was serving him in the living room.
