Chapter 5
“EXCUSE ME. SIR? SIR!”
Chad paused in the hallway of Wishful Elementary, as a woman hurried after him, a pair of reading glasses bouncing on a chain around her neck.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“No, I’m good. I’m on my way to Mary Alice Reed’s classroom.”
“Are you one of the parents helping out this week?”
“No, I’m Chad Phillips—” The words “her boyfriend” were on the tip of his tongue, but that was getting ahead of things after only one formal date. “—a friend. But I am helping out.”
Her expression didn’t change at his name, so evidently, she wasn’t up on all the latest gossip. “You can’t just wander around the school without checking in at the office. Miss Reed should have told you.”
He offered what he hoped was a disarming smile. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware. I was surp
