Finding Our Forever. Brenda Novak

don’t miss it,” she said. “The entire staff gets together the Friday before school starts to celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of a new year. It’s a tradition.”

      “And the students? They stay on campus?”

      “Yes. The floor monitors keep an eye on them. So come to the party. It’ll give everyone a chance to get to know you. And there’ll be plenty of pizza and beer—and karaoke, if you sing.”

      “I sing a little,” Cora said, but that was an understatement. She sang a lot. She and a handful of friends liked to compete in various local contests, enjoyed standing behind a mic. And she really needed to get out and have some fun. She just hoped Doug Maggleby wouldn’t be too determined to monopolize her time. She could easily imagine spending the evening trying to dodge him.

      “So you’ll be there?” Aiyana seemed eager for her company.

      At that point, Cora didn’t feel as if she could refuse—not if it might afford her a few minutes more with her birth mother. “Sure. Why not?” she said, but as soon as she agreed, she began to wonder if Elijah would be part of the festivities. Then she chided herself for having the desire to see him. She was letting herself get quite a “thing” for Aiyana’s handsome son, even though she barely knew him and he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested in her.

      * * *

      He was there. Cora spotted Elijah as soon as she walked into the pizza parlor and hated herself for suddenly being so glad she’d come. She didn’t need to get her heart broken; she was trying to mend it by moving here, to finally get over the sense of rejection her adoption had engendered.

      But she figured she shouldn’t be too hard on herself. She didn’t yet know anyone other than the staff she’d been introduced to at the school, so it wasn’t all that surprising she’d fixate on the one man she’d met who was in her age bracket—especially when she factored in how darned handsome he was.

      She couldn’t get hurt if he never responded, anyway. His disinterest made the attraction safe. So she figured she might as well enjoy the view he provided, maybe even indulge in a few harmless fantasies. If allowing him to fuel her imagination helped pass the time and made her stint in Silver Springs more enjoyable, why not?