Taking The Reins (The Rosewoods Book 1) by Katrina Abbott Read Free Book Online Page B

finally saw what she was looking at.
    Mr. Stratton, the new science teacher.
    “Rowr,” Kaylee purred under her breath and waggled her eyebrows. “I have a weakness for smart guys. I can’t wait for science.”
    I giggled, but couldn’t help but agree.
    ~♥~
    I t was after lunch before I got to actually meet the new science teacher. After the dean’s hour-long blah-blah-academic-excellence-should-be-your-main-focus-but-you’re-expected-to-be-a-good-Rosewood-citizen-blah-blah-blah speech, we filed out into the hall and parted ways.
    Chelly and Emmie left for History class and Kaylee, Celia and I headed out to English Lit, which, based on the syllabus, was going to be a joke after everything I’d studied in London and had absorbed from Mom over the years. But with Kaylee and Celia in the class and a young, cool teacher, Ms. Ito, it was going to be fun and a no-brainer. My favorite kind of class!
    Second was French, which was going to be another easy A, though I didn’t know anyone there yet. And then Science, with the now infamous Mr. Stratton.
    Kaylee and I sat together as lab partners, which I appreciated; I was starting to think, of all the girls I’d met so far, Kaylee and I might have the most in common, at least personality-wise. When it came to our backgrounds and families, she was the daughter of Hollywood producers, so she was really familiar with the celebrity life, where I was pretty much the opposite. But she was low-key and very focused on getting great marks so she could get into a pre-med program (she wanted no part of the famous life).
    Not that the other girls didn’t care about grades, but Kaylee was kind of a bookworm like me and we’d laughed when we compared notes and realized we’d both read all the required reading for the English Lit class well before the start of school.
    And now we had another thing in common: our sudden interest in science.
    “I don’t know how I’m going to get any work done,” Kaylee admitted as we watched Mr. Stratton come into the room, a soft-sided briefcase in one hand and a to-go cup in the other. He was wearing Dockers and a starched white button-down shirt kitted up with a tie under his blazer. His eyes were focused on his desk, like we didn’t exist, although he must have heard all the excited whispering; it was almost deafening.
    “Do you think he knows how attractive he is?” I asked Kaylee, my breath hitching as he took the blazer off and hung it over the back of his chair.
    She smirked at me. “Only if he owns a mirror. Look at those shoulders.” 
    I stifled a laugh and looked at him again. Now he had his briefcase on the desk and was taking out some papers, still ignoring the twenty girls in front of him who watched him like he was the main attraction at a zoo exhibit.
    He took a sip of whatever he was drinking and put it down slowly, carefully on the corner of his desk.
    The suspense was killing me.
    Finally, he picked up a piece of paper, took a deep breath and looked up, his eyes sweeping across us, taking us in. His Adam’s apple moved up and then down in his neck.
    Kaylee whispered, “What do you want to bet this is his first teaching gig ever?”
    Based on how young and nervous he looked, I wasn’t about to take that bet.
    “Good morning, ladies,” he said after clearing his throat. “In case you weren’t at dinner last night, I’m Mr. Stratton and I’m a new teacher here at Rosewood. I’m excited to be here and I’m sure we’ll all learn a little something from each other over this term. Welcome.”
    Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kaylee giggle at the ‘Welcome’; we’d never be able to hear that word again without cracking up.
    Luckily Mr. Stratton didn’t notice and kept on with his little speech.
    “...and to answer the question that I’m sure is at the forefront of all your minds, yes, this is my first teaching position and although they tell us in teachers’ college never to admit that kind of vulnerability to