Page 3 of Havenfall Harbor
I wipe my hand on the leg of my jeans after dropping the handle of my bag. “Sorry about the confusion, it happens with a name like Quinn more often than you’d think.” I present the high-energy man with my hand.
He rushes forward and clasps my hand between both of his. “I thought you two were the girls trying to sneak in again.” He tilts his head to the side, pumping my hand up and down, then gives me a warm smile. “Sorry about that. I’m Westly. You can call me Wes.”
My lips lift in a natural smile in response. “They must be trying to get all the good snacks in the teachers’ lounge,” I joke, releasing his hand.
“Trying to sneak into Stone’s room, more likely. Here, let me take that.” Wes reaches for my bag and hauls it over with surprisingly little effort, given how small he is.
“Director Stone?” I question doubtfully.
“Westly,” Evan chastises. “Kids, always up to something,” he adds with a slight shake of his head, not sounding convincing.
Wes leans forward to take my other bag from Evan, but keeps his feet planted as far away as he can. “Is Letty not going to show Ms. Shaw her room?”
“You can call me Quinn,” I announce.
“No, I sent Letty to do a perimeter check, call one of the other teachers to do it.” Evan’s voice has a slight edge.
“Yeah, okay. I can do that. No problem.” Westly rocks back on his heels.
Evan turns to me. “Havenfall is a good place, Ms. Shaw.”
I nod my head. “That’s exactly why I’m here, Mr. Winters.” I use his formal name because he’s still using mine. “I want to be a part of the good you guys are doing here.”
To Westley, Evan orders, “Call Mr. Rodes or Mrs. Miller to show her to her room.”
Wes’s eyes dart to mine before he looks away, nodding. “You got it.” The big man turns on his heel and lumbers out the same door we entered through.
Once the door closes, I focus back on Wes. He walks my bags over to the large, wooden desk and leans them against the side, then steps behind the high counter. “Let me see who’s available to show you around.”
I stroll closer to him, letting my eyes roam around the high ceiling and stone flooring. Wes plops himself into a chair as I draw closer, and I watch as he punches in a code on a flat monitor stationed behind the desk front. His eyes scan quickly over the monitor until he hits a button near the bottom.
He traces his finger down the grid-like screen that pops up before grabbing a phone. “Mr. Rodes is done with classes for the day. Let me see if I can catch him before he heads to dinner.”
“I don’t want to interrupt, I could probably find it on my own,” I offer.
“He won’t mind, plus we can’t have you wandering off and getting lost.” Under his breath, Wes adds, “Never know where you’d end up.”
“Marvin, hey, this is Wes. Are you free to show Ms. Shaw—”
“Quinn,” I amend.
“Quinn Shaw around?” Wes swivels in the chair a little, listening to the line. “Oh, damn, I don’t have that on the schedule. All right, do you know if Mrs. Miller is going too?”
I pretend to be absorbed in gazing around the area instead of feeling like a complete heel who needs a frigging tour guide to get around this place. I mean, are they reallythatworried about me getting lost?
“I’ll give her a call and ask. Thanks, Marvin.” Wes holds down the button to hang up the phone, already looking back at the monitor.
“Sorry, unscheduled meeting.” Wes plasters a smile on his face and puts the phone back up to his ear.
I nod and move a little farther away while he makes the next call. Other than the door Mr. Winters and I entered through, there’s one door with a hall leading away from the desk and another huge, wooden door that I expect leads to the teachers’ housing behind the desk Wes is stationed at.
I make it a few steps down the hall when Wes’s footsteps alert me that he’s approaching. “We’re all set. Alice Miller is available.” Wes stops beside me as I examine the wooden panels lining the hall.
I clasp my hands together over my lower stomach and force a smile onto my face. “Thanks, Wes.”
“No problem.” He leans in a little closer, but keeps his feet planted on the ground, much like he did when he was talking to Mr. Winters. “What happened with Letty? I thought she was going to show you around.” His eyes roam over my face.
A genuine smile lifts my lips. He’s looking for gossip I don’t have. “I’m not sure. Mr. Winters told her he would bring me in.” I shrug. I’m not going to tattle that she left me to walk.
