Page 39 of The Clover Chapel (Jamison Valley 2)
I nodded and sagged in my chair. I felt hopeless and helpless. Going above and beyond for Mason while he was in school was good advice. But what about when he wasn’t with me? Who would take care of him then? Because whoever was supposed to be doing that job was clearly shirking their duties.
“Have faith, Emmeline. As a teacher, you can do a lot to change a child’s future. It just might not happen overnight.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your time.”
“You are most welcome.” He relaxed into his chair. “Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving next week? Do you have plans with family or friends?”
“No major plans this year. I think I’ll just lay low and get caught up on some house work.” As if Mason Carpenter’s situation weren’t depressing enough to talk about, discussing my holiday plans was sure to put me in a somber mood. This year I would be alone. No Thanksgiving Chinese takeout feast with Logan. My plans included a Netflix binge while working my way through two pizzas and a gallon of ice cream.
“You are welcome to join me and my family. We always have plenty of food and my wife would love nothing more than to tell you embarrassing stories about me,” he offered.
“Thank you, Rich. That is so nice of you. I’ll keep it in mind.”
I’d almost made it to the door when a thought crossed my mind. “Do teachers typically buy holiday gifts for their students?”
“Most do. Why?”
“I was just curious. I was thinking of getting them all something but didn’t want to be the only teacher who bought gifts,” I said.
“Whatever you’d like to do for them, I am sure they would love it.”
Rushing back to my classroom, I mentally rearranged my lesson plan for tomorrow. And tonight I was going to brainstorm a new art activity where somehow I would learn each kid’s shoe size.
If getting Mason Carpenter a new pair of shoes meant that every one of my students got a new pair, fine by me.
A week later, all of my students were opening their holiday gifts.
“Are these for me?” Mason whispered.
While all of the other kids were shouting wildly and showing each other their new tennis shoes, I knelt next to Mason, who was staring at his with wide eyes.
Thanksgiving was tomorrow, so today school was only going until noon. I was sure that once all the kids made it home, my afternoon would be spent listening to numerous messages from parents concerned about my extravagant gift.
But I didn’t care. As long as Mason Carpenter had something warm to put on his feet, I’d take whatever flak got thrown my way.
“Do you like them?” I asked.
He nodded and, for the first time ever, looked me in the eyes. His beautiful, big brown eyes were filled with tears of joy.
“Do you not have any other shoes, Mason?”
He looked down and shook his head.
“Then I guess it’s a good thing that the Thanksgiving shoe pixies stopped by today.”
A small grin spread on Mason’s face, revealing a dimple on his left cheek. No matter what I had to do, I was going to make it my mission in life to see that adorable dimple every day.
“You’ve reached Logan Kendrick. Please leave a message.”
“Logan. It’s me again. Please call me back.” I was driving home for Thanksgiving break. It had been over two and a half weeks since I had told Logan I was still married, the same night I had kissed Nick, and I hadn’t talked to either man since.
When Nick had dropped me off that night, I’d asked him to give me some space. He’d immediately rejected my plea, but after I’d begged him to give me time to process everything, he’d reluctantly agreed.
Though, my time was coming to an end. Before driving away, he’d declared, “You’ve got until Thanksgiving to get your head together. I am not letting you go, but I’ll give you some time.”
It wasn’t for a lack of trying that I hadn’t spoken to Logan. I had called him every day but he hadn’t answered my calls. We had become so distant these last few months, we hadn’t even made holiday plans. I was tempted to charter a jet back to New York so I could see him on Thanksgiving tomorrow and we could talk face-to-face.
Could our relationship be repaired? The guilt I felt for kissing Nick was crushing and I would never be able to keep it a secret. But if I told Logan about it, that would be the end. He would never forgive me for kissing another man.
