Wild Angel

Chapter 1-2

Cursing the flush of heat, she smiled. “I want to say I’m sorry. For the way the others treat you.”

“Why are you apologizing?” he asked. Surprise lit up his eyes.

“Because someone should. No one deserves to be treated like that.”

He didn’t immediately respond, but the muscle in his jaw worked, belying his outwardly calm expression. When he spoke, his voice was gentle, barely more than a whisper. “Thank you. Not just for that but for what you said a little while ago. I appreciate it even though I’m sorry to drag you into my mess.”

“I’m not sorry at all.”

He didn’t smile, not really, but his eyes softened. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the library.

She didn’t hesitate before stepping through the metaphorical door he held open for her, or the physical one. They strode into the library together, and it became immediately clear that she had drawn a line when she’s spoken up. Rick and Ruby actually shook their heads when they looked at her, and she almost laughed out loud. When she glanced at Luke’s paling face, the amusement died.

“This is going to be a nightmare,” he muttered.

She hadn’t paid much attention to the list of class sponsors, but at Luke’s comment, she realized that three of his four most outspoken antagonists were also slated to advise junior class activities.

“No, it won’t, because the teams are even: you, me, and Ms. Daniels against Rick, Jordan, and Ruby.”

When gratitude again brightened his expression, she grinned. She was well aware that she had a soft spot for wounded men, and she had the emotional scars to prove that some couldn’t—or wouldn’t—let go of their pasts. Considering that, it should be easy to stay away from Luke, but she’d let her guard down for a moment, and now it was impossible to raise it again. It was probably foolish in the extreme, but she was glad she’d let it down.

Luke was beyond glad to go home after work, though that simple act had no impact on the swirling bitterness that threatened to pull him under. Ryan Connelly’s remarks this morning and what he hoped was a genuine offer of friendship had certainly been a bright spot, but the day had gone downhill from there. At the science department meeting, he’d had to defend both himself and Janelle Daniels from Jordan Banks’s power trip. With Anna Fremont—the department chair—out for at least the first quarter, the position and duties fell by seniority to Jordan, who had insinuated with the subtlety of the noon siren that Janelle should ask to be reassigned to a “more qualified” mentor. To her credit, she had smiled sweetly and announced that she suspected she already had the best mentor.

Luke shook his head. Thinking about Jordan Banks was not going to ease either the anxiety or the throbbing anger.

He dropped his keys and bag on his desk in the living room. Raking his hands through his hair, he tried to subdue the racing emotions. Maybe he was insane. Surely someone in his right mind wouldn’t keep going back to a job to be harassed on a daily basis. Then again, his colleagues weren’t the reason he taught. So maybe he just was incredibly resilient. Or ridiculously stubborn.

The first day back is always the worst, he reminded himself.

He glanced at his watch. Alex would be at football practice until six, so he had almost two and a half hours to kill. Without thinking about it, he changed into his jogging pants, his favorite Montana State University T-shirt, and running shoes. He stretched for a few minutes, hoping that would be enough. When he realized it wasn’t, he grabbed his music player, plugged his earbuds into it, and slipped them into his ears. He’d make it a short run, just a half-mile up the road to Riverside Park and back.

He trotted down his front steps and set off at an easy jog up the road west of his house on the edge of town. It didn’t take long to find his stride, and after only a hundred yards, the steady rhythm began to chip away at his dark thoughts. His footfalls matched the beat of the soaring, upbeat techno song, setting a faster pace than he’d intended, and before he realized how far he’d come, he crossed the bridge just past Riverside Park. Not ready to turn back yet, he turned right on the road just past the bridge. The sagebrush hills rose steeply above him, casting a shadow over the road until it curled away beside the river. The sun was hot, but the air was pleasantly cool for the end of August.

The heat of exertion burned away the last traces of irritation and sorrow as he jogged the half-mile to the end of the road and back to the bridge. He was nearly home when a he heard a car behind him, so he left the pavement and ran in the grass beside the road. The car slowed, but he thought nothing of it until the driver honked. He stopped and turned to see an older silver-blue Toyota sedan. Behind the wheel was Ryan Connelly.

He walked back to the driver-side door and hung his earbuds around his neck. The window was rolled down, and she smiled warmly at him. Her eyes were an intriguing shade of silvered green, almost the color of leafing sagebrush.

“Ms. Connelly,” he greeted.

“I really hope we’re past that kind of formality,” she returned with a twist of her lips.

Playful, he thought. Feathers of soft, wind-blown blonde hair framed her graceful face. She had a natural, subtle beauty that drew the eye back for another look. A shy beauty, Luke decided, that a man could see every day for the rest of his life and never tire of. He shifted his weight. “What brings you out this way, Ryan?”

“Had to make a dump run.” Her smiled widened. “I’d ask the same of you, but I’d say it’s pretty obvious. Having a good run?”

“I am. Almost home now, though.”

“I tried to find you right after work, but you’d already left. You know that back to school dance we talked about at the junior class sponsor meeting this morning?”

“The one Rick Dresden was so vehemently opposed to?”

“That’s the one. Dr. Medina talked him into it.”

“By that I assume you mean our fearless leader didn’t give him a choice.”

She nodded. “I got you out of having to chaperone because of your foster son’s football game, but that means you and I get to supervise the decorating after school Wednesday and Thursday.”

Threads of anxiety tightened around him again. “Who else is supervising after school?”

“Just us. Rick, Ruby, Jordan, and Janelle volunteered to chaperone the dance instead.”

Just the two of them keeping an eye on the students? That might actually be fun. He didn’t bother to question why the thought of spending time alone with Ryan put him at ease but acknowledged that it did.

“Are you up for grabbing a bite to eat this evening to discuss it? After you pick Alex up from practice, of course.”

“Uh….” Luke snapped his mouth closed. Why was he hesitating? Old habits, he decided, because everything in him wanted to take her up on the offer. “Sure. That sounds great.”

“What do you say to meeting me at the bowling alley at seven? That should give you and Alex plenty of time, right?”

“Perfect. And fun.”

“All right.” She flashed another smile. “I’ll see you both then.”

Luke stared after her until her car disappeared around the bend in the road. He’d never had a reason—or an excuse—to talk to her much, and now found himself wishing he’d made one. He liked her honesty and her loyalty, though he didn’t fully understand why she would feel it was her place to defend him. Then again, the way she’d looked at him this morning, with curiosity and what he suspected was appreciation….

She made him wish he were willing to try dating again. At the very least, now that she’d breached the barrier he’d constructed, he wanted her friendship and knew he’d be lucky to have it. Especially because it would—probably had already—cost her the tolerance of their colleagues.

Something tells me she couldn’t care less about what they think of her. Or of me.

With a shake of his head and a chuckle, he slipped his earbuds back in and jogged the last hundred yards to his house.

His family was sitting on his front steps. Kyle charged at him, but Luke swept the dark-haired boy off the ground and packed him over his shoulder to their parents. The eight-year-old squirmed and laughed but knew better than to attempt an escape.

“The door’s open,” Luke remarked.

“We know, but it’s nice out,” June replied. “And we pulled up just in time to see you heading up the road, so we figured you wouldn’t be gone too long. Rough day?”

“Yep. Jordan was in top form. Hi, Corrie.” He set Kyle down so he could hug his little sister. “Why don’t you and Kyle go inside and grab a snack?”

When they disappeared through the front door, he sat on the steps with his parents.

“What did they say this time?” June asked softly.

“The same things they always do.”

“It’s sad, Luke, and it makes me angry.”

“I’m not who I used to be.” He shrugged. “You remember Ryan Connelly, don’t you?” When she nodded, he said, “She scolded them for gossiping about me.”

“I knew I liked her.”

“We know you have work to do, but since we had to come to town to pick up a few things, we thought we’d make it a date night,” Ben said. “Would you mind taking Kyle and Corrie for a few hours?”

“Any other night, I’d love to,” Luke replied. “Can I owe you? I have dinner plans with Ryan to talk about our duties for the back to school dance.”

“Really,” June remarked. “Who’s idea was dinner?”

“Hers.”

“Interesting.”

“It’s work-related, Mom. Nothing more.”

“Uh-huh. Why do I find it hard to believe that the dance is the only thing she wants to talk about?” Suddenly, she bounced to her feet and held her hand out to her husband. “Either way, you should ask her to go hiking with us on Saturday. And while you’re at it, invite her up to the cabin for the weekend.”

“I highly doubt she’d say yes.”

A spark of glee ignited in his mother’s eyes. “Something tells me she might surprise you.”

“Mom…”

“Oh, relax, Luke. I can see in your eyes that you—”

“Mom—”

“—think she’s a good person.”

“That’s not what you were going to say.”

“Probably not, but we need to get going,” Ben remarked. “Leave him be for now, love. You can bug him when he comes up to the cabin on Friday.”

Ben called his younger children outside, and Luke followed his family to their truck. June leaned out her window to kiss his cheek.

“Love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you, too.”

Luke headed inside after waving farewell to his parents. He snagged a carrot and dipped it in the ranch dressing his brother and sister had left out before heading to the sink to fill a glass with water. While he pondered his encounters with Ryan Connelly, he swallowed the water and crunched thoughtfully on his snack. How stupid would it be to invite her up to the cabin this weekend? Very, but he wanted to. Pushing people away had become such a habit that it felt strange to want to reach out to her. Strange but invigorating.

He showered, then sat at his desk to work on the lesson plans Anna Fremont wanted him to adapt for Janelle. The recent college graduate was perfectly capable of coming up with her own lessons, but Anna wanted to be able to jump right in when she came back at the end of the quarter. It should have been a simple task, but Anna had been using the same lesson plans for the last twenty-five years, so he had to modify them to incorporate the standards that had changed since their creation. He hoped he never became so set in his ways if he taught that long. As soon as the thought entered his mind, he shoved it right back out. It was going to be a fun evening, and there was no room for bitterness.