Page 10 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
“We’ll have a talk with Roe,” Jess told me with a huge smile. He stood, then reached down to help Gigi from her chair.
“I’m so sorry, Emmeline,” Gigi said embarrassed. “This is my fault. I’ll be sure to tell Roe not to say it anymore.”
“I’d appreciate that. Again, it isn’t a huge deal but I wanted you to be aware that I’ve asked her to at least stop saying it in school.”
“Of course. I’m sure that she’ll stop just because you asked her. She adores you and has learned so much already. You’re a wonderful teacher.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t try and hide my smile.
My heart swelled at her compliment. I so badly wanted to be a good teacher. Her praise made all of the recent changes in my life worth the stress and anxiety. It reinforced that I’d done the right thing by choosing to pursue my dreams despite all of the protests from my family and friends.
And I loved hearing that Roe adored me because I cherished her too. Rowen Cleary was a bright, beaming light.
“Do you have any plans on Friday night?” Gigi asked before they reached the door. “We’re having a Halloween party at our farmhouse. I kind of go crazy on Halloween.”
“Kind of?” Jess muttered.
Gigi elbowed him in the ribs but smiled. “We’d love to have you over if you don’t have any plans. It’s nothing fancy. No costumes or anything. Just a bunch of us getting together after trick-or-treating on Main Street. Seven o’clock?”
My weeknights since moving to Prescott had consisted of reheating a frozen meal, unpacking a few boxes, infrequent phone calls with Logan when he could spare me the time and reading alone in bed until I fell asleep. Weekends had been spent doing much of the same, though I had been spending my Saturday afternoons exploring the downtown area.
For the first three weeks, I had thought that the quiet, restful evenings and weekends were amazing. But now that it had been over two months, I was getting lonely.
I’d had a hectic social calendar in New York. There had always been something to attend at least four or five nights a week. The weekends had usually been full of charity dinners and galas. I didn’t miss the hectic and crazy schedule, or the uncomfortable ball gowns, but I did miss being around people. Spending my days
with five- and six-year-old kids wasn’t satisfying my craving for social interaction.
So it was easy to answer Gigi’s question.
“I’ll be there.”
A night away from my house in the presence of other adults sounded like magic.
Nick
“What’s up, man?” Silas asked, handing me a bottle of beer in the farmhouse kitchen.
“Nothing much. Looking forward to getting Gigi all riled up about something tonight and watching Brick squirm trying to calm her down. He’s fucking freaked she’s going to go into labor early.”
My normally hard and stubborn friend, nicknamed for his size and solid mass, was falling completely apart over his very pregnant wife.
“Jess will kick your ass if you piss her off,” Silas warned.
“Worth it.”
I loved teasing my friend about the overprotective streak he had when it came to his wife, daughter and unborn son.
But joking aside, I was glad for Jess. He deserved all the joy that Gigi and Rowen had brought into his life. It had been nearly a decade since I’d met Jess and never once had I seen him as happy as he’d been since meeting Gigi.
That happiness was something I envied but had no desire to try and create for myself. The dream of having a family of my own had died a long time ago.
Silas nudged my shoulder. “Jess said they got called into the school today by Rowen’s teacher. Guess Roe has been saying ‘eff’ just like Gigi does. Teacher said she didn’t want the kids pretending to cuss.”
I burst out laughing. “That’s my angle then. Where’s Gigi?”
Silas tipped his chin and lifted his beer in the air. “She’s upstairs with Rowen and the teacher. Have you seen her yet?”
“Who? The teacher?” I asked as Silas nodded. “No. Why?”
