Starting Over at Lane's End (Harlequin Heartwarming) by Shelley Galloway Read Free Book Online

mind once again. Who had damaged Melissa Hudson’s car?
    Though she’d spoken to Dean on the phone earlier this morning, Gen had decided to go ahead and meet with Melissa again anyway. While her gut told her the vandal had randomly chosen Melissa’s Civic, experience said it was better to be a little overzealous than remiss, especially since she was new to Lane’s End. The townspeople would want to know what had happened so the culprit could be punished.
    For an instant she considered talking to Sam, to see how he would recommend handling the case, then rejected that idea. She’d only look weak if she asked for help. And while she might admit her personal faults to her sister, admitting professional ones would never do, especially if she wanted to fit in and be accepted.
    * * *
    C ARY DRUMMED HIS fingers on his binder while Evan droned on about the state of Ohio’s new graduation requirements. Usually Cary enjoyed the opportunity to see his coworkers and interact with other adults for an hour, but today’s topic was beyond boring. It also didn’t help that he could see Kate every time he looked at Evan, reminding Cary once again that he’d been the proverbial fool in love. To avoid catching Kate’s eye, he stared at his binder.
    Christy, on the other hand, relieved her boredom by passing notes just like the kids in his class.
    Kate’s now seeing Andrew Richards’s dad. What do you think of that?
    Cary fought to keep his expression neutral. That was news. Through the grapevine, he’d heard Michael had dropped Kate as soon as he’d accepted Lakota’s offer. Discovering Kate had already moved on was a true surprise. Especially when her new “someone” was as fake as city councilman Clay Richards.
    Kate was obviously putting her cool blond charm to good use. How could Cary have been so gullible to think that she’d been in love with him?
    Maybe she’ll become a lady of leisure soon, he wrote back. He winked when Christy opened the note and grinned.
    “Hudson, you have a question about our topic?”
    Busted . “No, Evan,” he said.
    “No questions about the new credit requirements?”
    “No. I’ve read the information carefully. But I’ll do it again just to make sure I haven’t missed something,” he said, deliberately ignoring Dave’s laugh, which he hadn’t quite hidden behind his cough.
    “Good.” Evan stepped from behind the podium. “Before we wrap up, we couldn’t end this staff meeting without acknowledging Brad. As everyone knows, Coach Jackson has done a tremendous job this season. Because tomorrow night’s game is crucial, on Wednesday we’ll be going to our short schedule and hosting a pep rally at one o’clock. Tickets for the game will go on sale at lunch.”
    Spontaneous applause broke out for the likable basketball coach.
    Evan tapped the podium. “First bell rings in four minutes. Have a good day.”
    Echoing their students’ enthusiasm at the end of class, the teachers eagerly filed out of the staff room. In the commotion, Cary bumped into Kate. “Sorry,” he said, his voice catching in his throat.
    “No problem.” Resting her silvery-blue eyes on him in a way that used to make his pulse race a little quicker, she said softly, “How are you, Cary?”
    What could he say with a crowd of interested onlookers around? “Fine. Great.”
    “That’s good.” Tilting her head to meet his gaze, she added, “I haven’t seen you much in our neck of the woods.”
    There was no way he was going anywhere near the foreign-language department if he could help it. “I’ve been busy.”
    “I...yes.” She smiled, showing beautiful teeth. “See you.”
    “Yeah.”
    “See you,” Christy mocked in a whisper as she walked beside him. “She has such nerve.”
    Cary privately agreed, though he didn’t say so as they took the steps into the school basement, affectionately known as “the catacombs” by the staff.
    He was just about to step into his classroom when the students came