Page 45 of Tangled Emotions

“Hey, Matthew.” I glanced at him and then blew my whistle for them to line up.

“We were talking, and we’d like to keep you as our teacher.”

“Huh?” I looked down at his bright face.

“Yeah, we took a poll and voted, and we want to keep you.” He shrugged. “We don’t like Mr. Jones.”

“Well, I appreciate that. But I don’t have control on it.” I walked towards the lines, and he fell into step beside me.

“Doesn’t matter, Doc. We know we want you.”

“Just like that?” I snapped my fingers.

One of the other kids shouted out to me. “We wrote letters to the big school people.”

I stopped and looked down at Matt, and then looked at all the kids in line. “You what?”

“Yeah, Doc!” Grady yelled out with the rest of the class applauding. “We want to keep you!”

Pride swelled in my chest. I’d love to be their teacher.

Guess we’ll wait and see what happens with Jones and his medical leave.

“Calm down!” I waved my hands. “We’re gonna play kickball.”

The kids went crazier, and I smiled at them. I wished school would’ve been this fun when I went, but you know what they say. Be the adult you needed when you were younger.

Here I am.

I finished attendance and then picked team captains so we could get some aggression and energy out before lunch.

The kids played hard and when the class ended, I walked them back to their homeroom. Principal Woods fell in step with me.

“Let’s go to my office.”

“You got it.” I high-fived the kids running to get in the lunch line on our way there.

Once we got there, he closed the door and took a seat at his desk. “Have a seat.”

“Am I getting fired?” I joked as I took a seat on the hard chair.

“Quite the contrary.” He laughed. “Jones isn’t coming back, and the position needs to be filled. You have the degree. The experience.” He pulled out a fat stack of paper. “And the recommendations.”

“What’s that?”

“The kids wrote to the board wanting you to stay in Port Stella.” He set them down. “The board is also impressed. So wha’d’ya say, Frank?”

I nodded my head. “I say I need to find a house.”

“Welcome to the Port Stella Pirates.” He held his hand out to shake.

After we finished talking, I smiled realizing my decision to stay in Port Stella solidified. I liked the area, my job, the people, and I really liked Edith Malone.

I’d asked her out a dozen times over the last month, and she turned me down every damn time. That woman had resolve.

But so did I.

I’d eaten at the diner twice a day and made a friend in Enoch. He knew I planned to stay, and he introduced me to the local realtor, Layla Kennedy.