Finding Our Forever. Brenda Novak

what his mother seemed to believe—and probably everyone else who was surprised he hadn’t hired Gary—he hadn’t offered her the position because he had any romantic interest in her. He’d been impressed with her portfolio. Each piece—a sculpture, a painting, a photograph and a piece of pottery—moved him in some way. He liked that she could make him, someone who knew very little about art, feel something. Gary Seton’s work simply hadn’t been the same.

      One piece that Cora had brought, the conceptual sculpture of a mother cradling a child, affected him deeply. When she’d unveiled it during their interview, it’d been hard for him not to stop and stare. He’d wanted to keep it—not because he felt he needed that kind of love. No one would ever be able to hurt him again. He wanted the boys here at the ranch to experience the safety and security that piece inspired, and he wanted to give them a teacher who could not only depict that emotion but understand it, feel it.

      Because he knew Gary was disappointed, he hoped he’d made the right choice. Fortunately, the sensitivity he saw in the large brown eyes staring up at him as he drew closer reassured him. She’d wanted the job even worse than Gary. He wasn’t sure why—if she’d needed to get out of whatever situation she was in or was on her last dollar—but he’d been able to feel her eagerness during their interview and he’d responded to that. Maybe this woman would never be able to teach the boys how to create a decent picture or vase, but she should be able to entice them to see the beauty of the world. She was part of the beauty of the world. And she seemed open and vulnerable to the point that he almost felt he should warn her to be careful or life would chew her up and spit her out. After what he’d experienced, that she could get so far without learning that lesson was a bit of a shock to him.

      “Hello,” she said.

      “I see you made it safely.”

      “Yes.”

      He motioned toward the older BMW X3 sitting in the drive. “Can I give you a hand with anything?”

      “No, it’s okay. I was careful when I packed—didn’t make the boxes too heavy. I can grab it.”

      “Are you sure?”

      She nodded, so he handed her the orientation manual he’d brought over. “I doubt you’ll care to read all of this. Watching paint dry would be more interesting. But there’s a table of contents. I figured you could glance through, check out any topics you’re curious about and become familiar with how we do things around here.”

      “I’ll take a look at it.” When she hugged it to her ample chest, he decided her body was partly what he found so attractive about her. She wasn’t as skinny as some of the girls he’d dated. She was curvy—looked soft, comfortable, sexy.

      He searched his pocket for the more important part of what he’d come to give her. “Here’s a key to the high school, as well as one to the art and ceramics rooms. With school starting next week, you’ll be eager to set those up.”

      “Definitely. Thank you.”

      “You bet. You received the group email about the staff meeting tonight?”

      “I did. That’s why I came a few days earlier than I would have otherwise.”

      “Great. I’ll see you there.” He started back toward his truck. “Everyone is eager to meet you.”

      “Mr. Turner?”

      “Call me Eli,” he said as he turned.

      “Okay, Eli it is. Where, exactly, is the meeting tonight? You showed me the library when we toured campus the day I interviewed, but I’m a little turned around at the moment.”

      He went back and flipped past the syllabus he’d given her to the campus map on the next page. “You’re here,” he said, and drew a line from her house to the library so she could easily find her way.

      “Thank you.”

      “Sure,” he said. But instead of leaving, he went over to her SUV and began unloading the boxes. He just couldn’t leave a woman to do that alone, not when it would be so much easier for him.

      “Whoa, I can get those,” she said, hurrying out to him. “Really.”

      “There’s no need for you to carry all of this stuff by yourself. Just point to where it should go. It’ll only take me fifteen minutes.”

      As promised, in a short time, he had her vehicle completely unloaded.

      “Thank you,” she said as he put down the last box.

      “See you later.” His conscience appeased, he started toward his truck.

      “Eli?”

      He stopped again. “Yes?”

      “I—I have a boyfriend. Sort of.”

      He felt his eyebrows slide up. Then he almost laughed. She was assuming he had an ulterior motive for helping her. “I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression,” he said. “I was only trying to make your move a little easier.”

      Her cheeks bloomed red. “Right. Of course you were. I’m sorry.”

      * * *

      Cora’s face burned as she watched Eli drive off. “What’s wrong with you?” she muttered to herself. “Of course he was just trying to help. It’s not as if he asked for your number.”

      That blunder actually said more about her than it did him, she realized. He hadn’t been anything but circumspect. She was the one who’d had a difficult time keeping her eyes off him. She was so aware of him on a sexual level that it was hard to act as if she wasn’t, which was odd. She couldn’t remember having such a strong reaction to any other man. That was the reason she’d suddenly tried to throw up a barrier. She’d been hoping to give him a reason to look at her differently—or stay away entirely—and wound up making a fool of herself instead.

      “I told you I didn’t need your help,” she grumbled to him even though he was gone, and cringed at the prospect of having to face him at the staff meeting in a few hours.

      “You had to do that on your first day here, Cora?” she said as she started to unpack.

      Her phone dinged to let her know she’d received a text, and she paused to pull it out of her pocket.

      Jill. What’d “dark and brooding” have to say?

      Dark and brooding. How apropos. But since she was still writhing with embarrassment, Cora didn’t want to talk about Eli, so she scowled at the clock. Aren’t you at work?

      You know I am. I was talking to you while driving here.

      I don’t want to get you in trouble for being on the phone. I’ll call you later.

      Is that a dodge?

      Yes. But as long as her friend was willing to risk getting caught on a personal call at work, Cora figured she might as well break the news. He said he’s not interested in me.

      What? Seriously?

      Seriously.

      But...you just got there.

      Cora shoved a hand through her hair as she recalled his startled expression. Yeah, it came up quick. Thanks to her...

      How? He couldn’t have come by just to let you know he’s not interested.

      Again Cora hesitated, but when she didn’t respond her friend sent her a question mark, so she typed, I brought it up.

      At that point, texting fell by the wayside. Jill called to make her explain the whole thing.

      “Oh jeez,” she said when Cora was done. “I should never have let you go there without me. I could tell you were rattled, nervous.”

      “I’ll get my feet underneath me. I’m just...not myself at the moment. The prospect of rubbing elbows with my birth mother has me...floundering a bit. I was expecting that to