Stopping Traffic (A Back to School Romance) (Love at The Crossroads) by Pat Simmons Read Free Book Online

momentarily pull over. When he arrived, the crossing guard and children were nowhere in sight.

     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
     
    Once Candace located a spot in the school’s main parking lot, she called her boss and explained the last minute surprise.
    “That’s not a problem, as long as you make up the missed time,” her supervisor, Mr. Hawkins said.
    Anticipating his response, Candace had already worked out an option. “I know we’re backlogged with follow-up calls. If I can bring Lindsay back to work with me this afternoon, I can make it up today. I can also send her home with Solae.”
    “That’s doable. As you know, we are a family friendly business. Do whatever you need to do so long as neither home, nor work suffers,” he advised.
    “Yes sir.” Candace nodded as if her supervisor could see her, thanking him.  She checked her watch. Career Day had already started. She silently prayed that the children wouldn’t think she was a fraud because of what happened.
    With a sigh, Candace stepped out of her car and smoothed out the wrinkles in her simple jade colored dress and reached for her stop sign. As she stretched across the seat, she heard a rip and it didn’t come from her undersized underwear—it was her new pair of pantyhose.
    “Great, a run.” She gritted her teeth in frustration. How awkward would it be to stand in front of a class of children and other professionals with a hole, resembling a spider’s web that stretched with each movement? She checked both legs—nothing yet. Hopefully, it would stay at its position until she finished her presentation.
    Carefully walking, Candace entered the building and stopped at the school office to sign in and get a guest badge for career day. Mrs. Lovejoy waved. She continued to measure her stride down the hall to Lindsay’s classroom.
    She felt foolish breezing into a classroom in a worn safety vest and carrying stop sign as if she had invented it, like African-American inventor Garrett Morgan with the traffic light. Outside Mrs. Davis’ kindergarten room, Candace peeped inside. Lindsay’s teacher was already making introductions as she quietly opened the door.
    “Excellent. I see another parent has arrived.” The teacher clasped her hands in appreciation.  “Lindsay would you like to introduce your mother?”
    Lindsay bobbed her head and stood. “My Mommy is the best crossing guard in the whole world,” she said proudly and retook her seat.
    Candace’s heart warmed. Her daughter would always be her number one fan. She glanced at the other participants. There was a nurse, wearing a white wingtip hat and a man in scrubs represented the medical field. Another woman held colorful ballet shoes in her hands—probably a dancer or instructor. At the end of the line was a firefighter. Candace shivered under his gaze. He looked somewhat familiar, but she had never met him. Self-consciously, she wondered if he was making fun of her “profession”.
    Despite his scrutiny of her, she had to pull her eyes away from him. Bulging muscles outlined his polo uniform shirt. Candace had never seen such a handsome man, even more so than her husband Daniel, and he was good-looking.  
    Re-directing her attention to the man in the scrubs who happened to be an anesthesiologist, Candace couldn’t shake the feeling that the firefighter was still watching her.
    “It’s very important that I monitor the mixture of medication so that the heart beat…”
    Although Dr. Whitman’s career was impressive, the children seemed to have blank expressions. Even the man’s son appeared bored. Candace barely understood some of the terms he rattled off and she had an undergraduate degree in liberal arts from Fontbonne University in St. Louis. That’s why the new position at Kendall Printing was important. With a promotion she would actually be using her marketing degree to grow her income.
    Mrs. Davis gave the doctor a signal that his time was up. Everyone, including