by Jaclyn Hardy
“Miss Nielson—”
“Please. Just think about it.”
He straightened his jacket. “I don’t know how things were run at your old school, but we have to do what the school district says. It’s out of our hands. And if you were to ask me, I agree with their decision.”
Brianna stared at him. “You what?”
“I agree with them. He took the safety precautions, but his students did not. That’s still on his head, and that means termination. I’m sorry.”
“That’s . . . that’s ridiculous.” Brianna stood. “That shouldn’t be on his head if he did what he was supposed to.” She huffed and left the office, slamming the door behind her. She stopped long enough at the secretary’s desk to let them know she wasn’t feeling well, and then grabbed her stuff from her classroom.
She stormed out to her truck and drove back to the ranch. Lance looked up from the trailer he was working on and immediately stopped what he was doing. Brianna kept walking toward the front door. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right then, because they would try to tell her what she’d just done was stupid. Which is exactly what she would have told herself, but for now she didn’t care.
“Brianna, hey. Wait.” Lance grabbed her arm. “Why are you home? Did something happen?”
“They fired Thomas.” Brianna knew it sounded lame as soon as the words were out of her mouth. What she didn’t expect was the hurt look as he dropped her hand.
Lance’s voice was quiet as he spoke. “You left early because he was fired?”
Brianna sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. “I left because I’m frustrated because of how it’s being handled. It wasn’t even his fault and they’re just letting him go.”
“And you’re sure it wasn’t his fault?”
Brianna dropped her hands to her side. “What?”
“Look, I know Thomas. He’s one of my best friends, and I’d do anything to help him. But I also know the guy can be careless sometimes. I’m just wondering if he missed something while he was working that could have caused it.”
“Seriously? You’d do anything you can for him, but you think he deserved to be fired?”
Lance rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I said.”
“That’s exactly what you said.”
Angela came into the kitchen. “Whoa, what’s going on in here?”
Brianna whipped around. “They fired Thomas.”
“Who fired Thomas?”
Lance sighed. “The school let him go because of the fire. But if that wasn’t enough, Brianna left the school because she was upset about it.”
“Oh, sweetie. That won’t solve anything.” Angela pulled Brianna in for a hug. “The school district is trying to cover their bases so they won’t get sued.”
“Sued? They think someone is going to sue over this? It was an accident.” Brianna needed to get out of there so she could calm down. She pushed past Angela and Lance and stormed up the stairs.
Brianna paced the floor taking deep breaths. She was being completely immature. Maybe Lance was right. Maybe she’d made things worse by storming out instead of going through the proper channels. Of course, if the school district was that worried about getting sued, even doing the mature thing wouldn’t have worked.
She flopped onto her bed and pulled a book out of her purse that she’d checked out from the library. Maybe reading would help. But then, reading is what got her into this mess. Brianna jerked upright. If Lachele was right, Brianna was now inside a book. Which meant her emotions would be more intense than any normal person’s would be. No wonder she’d freaked out like that. It was something she never would have done, but it was just driving the plot forward, right?
For now, she just had to fight her dramatic self and act like she normally would. The real Brianna would have known that a school district would have done exactly what they did. She’d just be that person.
She pulled out her laptop and worked on her classes for the next day. She would have to figure out what the sub taught for the last hour, but the others were easy enough to plan. And since she was already there, she decided to plan for the rest of the week. That would allow her more time to try to help on the ranch.
It was almost dinner time when she finally finished, so Brianna put everything away and went downstairs. Angela passed by her with a bowl of rolls.
“Need any more help?”
Angela jumped. “Oh, Brianna. I didn’t see you there. Yes, could you please grab the tray of ribs? There are hot pads by the stove.”
Brianna nodded and took the ribs to the dining room. She spotted Lance and waved, but he turned away. She sighed. It would take some smooth talking to get him to forgive her for the blow up from earlier that day.
Angela had a few other things for her to help with and then Brianna dished up her food. The weather was nice enough Brianna decided to go out onto the porch to eat. It was a lot less tense out here.
Except that ribs were kinda hard to eat when her plate was on her lap and her roll kept threatening to fall onto the ground.
“That might be easier on a table.” Thomas chuckled as he climbed the steps to the porch. “Want some help?”
“Uh, sure.”
Thomas took the plate from her hands and walked inside with her. “There you go.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t sure how to get back inside without getting barbecue sauce all over the door.”
Thomas sat across from her. “Hey, I heard you left today because of me. What’d you do that for?”
Because I’m crazy and hormonal? Brianna wiped her hands off, but it only made things worse by getting ripped up napkins stuck to her hand. Seriously. What was going on? She finally gave up and looked at him. “It’s just lame that you’re being fired for something that wasn’t your fault.”
“It is lame. But it’s also not worth you getting fired for as well. I appreciate the gesture, but you need to try to make things better with Mr. Parker.”
“I know.” Brianna picked up her fork. “I’m going to try to fix things tomorrow.”
Thomas grinned. “Good. Because I’ve heard great things about your teaching.”
“You have?” Brianna asked, surprised.
“Yep. They were already talking about hiring you next week.” Thomas checked his phone. “That’s Mandy. I need to get home and I still need to get my paycheck. See ya.”
Brianna went back to her dinner and realized she still had sauce all over her fingers. She jumped up and washed her hands. When she turned, she found Lance standing in the doorway. “Oh, hey.”
“I thought I heard Thomas.”
“He was here to get his paycheck.” Brianna sat back in her chair and picked up one of the ribs. She took a bite and decided this was much better than trying to sit on the porch.
Lance pulled a chair out. “If he needed his paycheck, why was he talking to you.”
Brianna stared at him from over the rib she held. “He helped me with my plate. I was outside and wanted to come back in. My hands were greasy, so he helped.”
“Sure.” Lance stood.
“Are—are you jealous?” Brianna covered her mouth with the back of her hand to hide a laugh. “Lance, there’s nothing between Thomas and me. He’s the first person I met, so yes, I talk to him. You were too busy ignoring me to come out on the porch with me so what was I supposed to do?”
Lance rubbed his forehead. “You know, you’re the first person I’ve ever had feelings like this for. The only one who I could see myself with. And now . . . Every time I turn around, you’re talking to him. And then you go and almost lose your job because he’s fired for doing something stupid.”
Brianna dropped her food on her plate and stood, slamming her hands on the table. Probably not the best idea with sauce-covered hands, but now was not the time to worry about it. “Look. There is nothing between Thomas and me. Nothing. The only person I’ve felt anything for since I got here was you. And right now, I’m trying to figure out why. So jus
t . . . Go away. My food is getting cold.”
Lance glared at her for a moment before stalking away. Brianna’s hands shook as she ate, but it was more anger than sadness. Like Thomas? What in the world was he thinking? Thomas was married for heavens’ sake. And even if he wasn’t, it didn’t matter. She’d rather spend time with Lance—most of the time. Brianna finished her food and decided against having a second helping. She threw her plate in the garbage and took two steps at a time to her room.
***
Brianna climbed out of her truck and walked inside the school, ready for a new day. Angela had apparently heard the argument the night before, so breakfast was a pretty somber affair. She waved at a few of her students and went straight to her classroom.
Except someone was already sitting there.
“Uh, hi?” Brianna walked in and smiled. “Is there something I can do for you?”
The woman stood. “Oh, are you Miss Nielson? I was hoping I’d get to meet you so I could tell you how grateful I am that you were able to take over for me while I was sick.”
Brianna blinked. “Wait, what?”
“I’m Macey. The teacher who usually teaches this class. Mr. Parker said something about needing me to come back, so I did.” She frowned. “You didn’t know I was coming back?”
“Uh, right. Yes. I just . . . had these plans, and I figured you might need them so you wouldn’t have to worry.”
Macey took the books from her. “That’s so sweet. Thank you.”
“Of course. So, um, I’ll be on my way.” Brianna backed up and tripped on a desk leg. “Whoops. Well, good luck.”
“Thank you.” Macey paused. “You’re sure you don’t want to say anything to the students before you go?”
Brianna shook her head. “No, I have a meeting with the principal. I’ll see you later.”
She waited until she was out of the room before dropping the fake smile. They’d fired her and replaced her without saying anything? The principal looked up from his desk when the door slammed open. Whoops. She hadn’t meant to do that.
“You flew me all the way out from New York City just so I could be replaced a week and a half into my job?”
Mr. Parker frowned. “You pretty much quit yesterday. I had to make sure there was someone there this morning.”
Brianna’s eyes widened. “I quit? How’d I quit?”
“You left before the end of the day. You yelled at me for firing Thomas. It was obvious that you didn’t want to be here, so I asked Macey to come back. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a phone call I need to make. I can talk to the principal at your old school and make sure you get your job back there if you’d like.”
“Don’t bother.” Brianna stood and smoothed out her skirt. “It was a pleasure working here. You have wonderful students who I had the privilege of teaching. Goodbye.”
She left the room before he could say anything else and walked straight to her truck. She loved that job, and maybe they would offer her one for the following year—which she doubted—but for now she’d try to make living on the ranch work. But that meant working with Lance, and she wasn’t sure he’d be willing to do that.
Instead of driving straight to the ranch, Brianna drove to the hotel. Maybe Rachel would have an opening. The hotel was much quieter than the last time she’d come, and Brianna was able to look around a little more.
Rachel stood at the reception desk. “Oh, hey, Brianna. Aren’t you supposed to be at the school?”
“Nope. Macey’s back, which means they don’t need me anymore.” Brianna rested her arms on the corner. “I was actually wondering if you might have a job here. I’m going to try to apply at the school for the fall, but I need somewhere to work until then.” That probably didn’t sound like great hiring material. “I’m willing to do whatever. I can cook, I can clean, I can wait tables.”
Rachel tapped her pen on the desk. “I don’t think so. Not right now at least. A couple of my employees will be leaving once school is out, but that doesn’t help you for now. But if I can think of anything, I can let you know. What’s your number?”
Brianna gave Rachel her number and waved as she left. Working at a hotel wasn’t really her idea of fun anyway. She really just wanted to teach. Here. At this school. She drove back to the ranch and trudged up the sidewalk. Lance and Carl sat at the table talking over what looked like a contract. Which meant that the house was still going forward. The house she had fallen in love with in the few minutes she was there.
“What are you doing home?” Lance asked.
“Macey’s back.” Brianna continued up to her room and stared at the clothes all over the room that she’d bought since she got here. Maybe going home was the best option at this time. She could apply from there, and still have a chance to work. Plus, she could see if there was a way out of this mess she’d gotten herself into, and actually go back home to reality.
But first she needed luggage. Brianna grabbed her keys and went back downstairs. Carl and Lance looked up from the paperwork, but she was out of the door before they’d even had a chance to talk.
She had no idea where else to go for luggage, so she drove back to Twin Falls. Two larger pieces of luggage would probably do the trick, and she was pretty sure there was a luggage store inside the mall she’d found a few days before.
There were leather, plastic, and fabric options, and she finally chose two large fabric suitcases that would carry everything. They weren’t cheap, but they’d work, so she threw them on her credit card and went back home.
No one was around when she pulled up, and she hoped it would stay that way. If she could get out before seeing Lance again that would be better. She didn’t want to deal with another fight. Or, even worse, his plea for her to stay. Because she knew that if he asked, she would do it in a heartbeat.
It wasn’t too hard to pack since the majority of her stuff was still in the bags she brought home from the store. Brianna threw the last dress inside and closed the lid. It was too bad she didn’t have time to say goodbye to Mandy, but that meant possibly running into Thomas, and that would only make things worse with Lance.
She zipped up her bag and called a taxi, then went downstairs to wait. Angela stood in the kitchen baking. She looked up and frowned at the bags in Brianna’s hands.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Angela set the wood spoon on the counter and wiped her hands.
“They don’t need me here anymore, so I’m going back to New York to get my other job back.” Brianna set her bags down and hugged Angela. “Thank you for everything you’ve done. It’s been so nice to be here.”
Angela turned away from her and went back to her baking. “You know you always have a home here. And if you want to stick around, I can put you to work. At least until you get another teaching job.”
Brianna sighed. “Thank you. But I don’t think I can do that.”
“He loves you, you know that, right? I know that boy, and he looks at you differently.” Angela dumped the dough out onto the counter.
“That may be true, but he doesn’t trust me. He seems to think I have a thing for Thomas.”
Angela shook her head. “I don’t think that’s really true. Give him another chance.”
Brianna picked up her bags. “My taxi is here. Thanks again.”
“You’re so welcome.”
***
The trip to New York seemed to take forever, but Brianna was thrilled to finally be back home. She just hoped that her apartment was still available. And on Monday she could go and beg for her job.
New York City was just as loud and chaotic as she remembered, and she loved every bit of it. She took a train into town and walked the few blocks to her apartment. Except that it wasn’t her apartment building. It was a business building. Brianna checked the address again to be sure she was right. No apartment. She bit her lip.
Brianna hailed a taxi and went to her school to see if that was the same. Laura wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t know of t
he high school. It didn’t exist. At least not right there. A theater stood in its place.
What was going on? This was New York. Her home. But it wasn’t really home. Not how she’d known it. Brianna breathed in relief when she found the New York Library on her phone. At least that was still there. She couldn’t just drag the bags everywhere with her, so she checked into a hotel until she could figure out what in the world was going on.
She took the subway to the library and noticed a few of the stops were different than what she was used to—not that it was a big deal. They changed often enough before that. But a few of the street names were even different. That didn’t happen as often.
The library looked exactly the same, which was a huge relief. Brianna went to one of the computers and typed in the name of her school to see if she could find anything about it. There was nothing. She typed in a few teachers’ names as well, but none of those came up either. It was like she didn’t exist until a week and a half ago.
A surge of panic went through her as she typed in one thing after another. Her favorite stores, hangouts, her apartment complex. Columbia, Time Square, and Broadway came up, but anything smaller had changed.
Even when she was home, she wasn’t really home. Brianna was trapped in this world, and she had no idea how to get out.
Lance signed the last paper on the contract and sat back. He was now a homeowner. Carl signed his part as well and handed it over. The lender signed and stamped his side, and then smiled.
“Congratulations. It’s a beautiful home.”
“Thanks.” Lance caught the keys the lender tossed to him and stood. “And I can start moving today?”
Carl chuckled. “That’s exactly what it means. Let’s go get your stuff from my house. Didn’t you say the rest of your things will be there in an hour?”
Lance checked his phone. “Yeah, that’s what my mom said.”
His parents wanted to come for the signing, but he insisted they just meet him at the house. It was a good thing too, because the room he was in wouldn’t have fit everyone anyway. He climbed into his truck and followed Carl to the ranch. Everything was already packed, but the guys insisted on a party the night before, so he hadn’t had a chance to throw everything into the truck.
