Page 81 of The Hook Up
A pang of sadness chattered through her body as Henry led her into the open area between classrooms. Ellie spotted Mrs. Colt in the center of the space and crossed her fingers the teacher would be understanding. Maybe Ellie should focus on explaining things to her before tackling this with Henry.
“Why don’t you head on in to class, baby?” She caught Mrs. Colt’s eye and waved, then turned back to Henry. “I want to talk with Mrs. Colt alone for just a minute.”
“Okay!” He stretched up his arms for a hug, and Ellie bent down to squeeze him tight. She breathed in the scent of baby shampoo and Cinnamon Life and recognized that’s what love smelled like.
“Bye, Mommy!” He scurried off toward the classroom, leaving Ellie to face Mrs. Colt alone.
Ellie took a deep breath and turned to the teacher, feeling a bit like a truant pupil. As she approached, Mrs. Colt offered a broad smile. “Good morning!” she sang with a cheer that must be a job requirement for first-grade teachers. “Did you and Henry have a nice weekend?”
“It was great, thanks,” Ellie said. She cleared her throat and smoothed down the front of her dress. “Listen, I understand you want to talk about career week. I know Henry volunteered me to speak, but I wanted to explain privately why that might not be such a good idea.”
“Oh, dear.” Mrs. Colt frowned and glanced toward the classroom.
“I’m so sorry,” Ellie said. “I hate to leave you high and dry if you’re counting on me, but given what I sell for a living, I thought?—”
“No, it’s not that,” she said. “It’s just—well, we already filled your slot.”
“Excuse me?” Ellie blinked, wondering if she’d heard right and if “filled your slot” was some sort of Madame Butterfly innuendo. The thought reminded her of the bowling ball conversation with Ty, and she missed him all over again.
“I mean, I guess that’s a relief,” Ellie continued. “Henry said he volunteered me to speak sometime this week, but I didn’t realize it was today.”
“It wasn’t, but we did some shuffling,” Mrs. Colt explained. “At the request of Henry’s uncle, actually. Since he’s on record as Henry’s other guardian, I just assumed Jason was acting on your behalf.”
“I—we—” Ellie stopped, utterly confused. “Jason? My brother’s speaking to the class?”
Mrs. Colt’s frown deepened.“Why, no. It’s Tyler Hendrix. Your brother said he’s a friend of the family?”
Ellie’s head began to spin. What on earth was happening? She steadied herself on a bulletin board covered in sheep made with cotton balls and construction paper, too dumbstruck to care that she was crumpling some poor kid’s masterpiece.
“Ty,” she repeated, her heart speeding up at the sound of his name. “Ty is presenting to the class?”
“Yes,” Mrs. Colt said slowly. “Is that okay?”
“It’s…it’s…unbelievable.”
Mrs. Colt gave her an uncertain smile. “He’s getting set up right now. Would you like to come in and watch?”
Ellie gave a numb nod and wondered why Jason hadn’t mentioned anything. Was this why he’d been so insistent she come in this morning to talk with the teacher?
Mrs. Colt turned toward the classroom, her expression uneasy. “Is this a problem for some reason?” she asked. “I assumed when Jason made the arrangements that?—”
“No, it’s fine.” Ellie forced a smile, as reassuring as she could manage. Her heart pounded like a jackhammer, and the thought of seeing Ty again made her palms sweaty. “Ty’s a great guy. Totally amazing. Smart and talented and?—”
And really, really sexy,she thought as she stepped through the door and spotted him at the front of the classroom. She froze in the doorway, making Mrs. Colt bump into her from behind. But Ellie hardly noticed. Ty stood there looking rugged and handsome as he watched Henry demonstrate his lion and fish faces.
“Ms. Sanders?”
Ellie turned to see Mrs. Colt giving her an awkward smile and a hand gesture suggesting she move it along.
Right.
Ellie stepped forward in time to see Ty grin down at her kid. All at once, her heart melted into a big, warm puddle of maple syrup.
He looked up then, and Ellie’s knees went to goo, too.
Somehow, she remained upright and made her way across the room to an empty chair next to Henry’s desk. Seeing her there, Henry said something to Ty then scurried across the room to take his seat.
“Did you see, Mom?” Henry gushed with excitement. “Mr. Ty came. He came to teach the class.”
