Finding Our Forever. Brenda Novak

box after box into her cottage. She really wanted to touch the smooth curve of his biceps. But it was the size of his broad chest and wide shoulders that really made her short of breath. “Who somehow gets under my skin!”

      “To whom you feel an immediate attraction, you mean.”

      “He’s good-looking. That’s all,” she said, hoping to minimize it.

      “That’s why you told him, out of the blue, that you have a boyfriend as if you were accusing him of hitting on you? Because he’s good-looking? What were you thinking?”

      “I don’t know! I was merely attempting to wall off the possibility. So I wouldn’t even consider it. That’s not too weird, is it?”

      “You might’ve gotten ahead of yourself, but... I’m guessing you succeeded. I doubt he’s hoping for anything now, so you can relax.”

      Cora took a deep breath. Jill was right. Maybe she hadn’t done it gracefully, but she’d put Elijah Turner on notice that she wasn’t a romantic possibility. Even if he hadn’t considered her one to begin with, establishing certain boundaries was important to her. She needed to focus, to keep her life simple while she was here so that she could do a good job for the kids at the ranch while getting to know Aiyana. If she decided she wanted to be part of Aiyana’s life, she’d eventually have to determine if Aiyana wanted to be part of hers—and break the news. Imagine how awkward it would be if the answer to that question was no and yet she was seeing Eli!

      “It’s better that we covered it early.”

      “If you say so. How’s the cottage?”

      “Small but cute.” She wandered over to a Mason jar filled with wildflowers that someone had left on her table. It was a thoughtful touch, one she hoped Eli wasn’t responsible for...

      “I can’t wait to see it.” Jill suddenly lowered her voice. “I’ve got to go. My boss is here.”

      Cora wasn’t even sure she said goodbye when they disconnected. Her attention had switched entirely to a small card she found beside the flowers.

      Welcome to New Horizons. We are so excited to have you here.

      Aiyana

      Bending slightly, Cora put her nose to one of the delicate yellow poppies that made up the bulk of the arrangement. “I hope you’ll be just as glad once you learn who I am,” she said as she exhaled.

       Chapter Four

      “So you’re the new art teacher.”

      Cora smiled at the middle-aged man with thick glasses who sat on her right side. “Yes.”

      “Ah. Makes sense at last.”

      “What makes sense?” she asked, but he didn’t get the chance to answer—or even introduce himself. Aiyana stood near the circulation desk and called the staff to order. Cora felt she knew where the man had been going with that comment, anyway. Everyone thought she’d gotten the job based on her looks. Otherwise, Gary Something-or-Other would’ve gotten it.

      “Thank you all for coming,” Aiyana said. “Although we had a few of you here during the summer, handling one program or another, classes were limited. So I hope, now that the rest of you are back, you feel refreshed, because I’m anticipating one of the best years in ranch history.”

      As Aiyana spoke, Cora glanced around. There were thirtysomething people in the room, an assortment of teachers and support staff, but she couldn’t see anyone even close to her own age. Half the people seemed to be in their forties, the other half in their fifties. A few looked even older.

      She was beginning to believe Jill and her mother were right: the next year was going to be terribly lonely...

      “Before we get started, let’s go over a few of the changes that have occurred in the past two and a half months. First, we will have 256 students when we start classes on the twenty-eighth, up from 223 last year. That’s a significant increase, so we’ll have to watch out for the newcomers and help them feel at home. We also have a new football coach—Larry Sanders, who played in the pros thirteen years ago. Larry couldn’t be here tonight due to a family commitment, but he’s been practicing with the boys for over a month. I believe he’ll be a real asset to our sports program—at least that’s what Elijah tells me. As most of you know, Elijah is our athletic director in addition to many other things—basically whatever he needs to be in order for the ranch to operate smoothly.”

      Cora’s neighbor leaned over. “Someone with real experience, huh? Maybe we’ll finally win a game,” he muttered.

      Cora didn’t respond; she was too interested in witnessing the pride on Aiyana’s face when she looked at her adopted son. They were close. That was obvious without either one of them having to say a word—but as nice as that was for Elijah, Cora found it a bit disheartening. Was there any room in Aiyana’s heart for her?

      Cora didn’t get the impression there was, but she didn’t have the chance to think about it for too long. Aiyana was moving on.

      “Not only do we have a new football coach, we have a new art instructor.” She stretched out her hand in invitation. “Cora, will you please stand?”

      Elijah’s eyes seemed to cut right through Cora as she got to her feet. Why she could feel the weight of his gaze and not anyone else’s, she couldn’t say, but she’d been struggling to ignore him since she walked into this meeting.

      After a nod to acknowledge all the smiling faces that were turned to see the new art instructor, she sank back into her seat.

      Aiyana was talking about how they were going to allow student government to run the assemblies from now on when the man next to her leaned over again. “Where have you taught before?” he asked.

      After his earlier comment, Cora almost provided the name of the high school that had offered her a permanent position a few weeks ago, but a quick word with Aiyana or Elijah would too easily reveal the truth, since she’d been honest with them. “I’ve never had a permanent position.”

      “You’re a brand-new teacher?”

      “Relatively new,” she admitted. “I’ve been subbing for six years.”

      “Do you have any idea how difficult some of the boys who come here can be?”

      Aiyana hadn’t given the bad behavior Cora was likely to encounter much emphasis. But Cora had known from the beginning that this school wasn’t for the well-adjusted. “I understand that most of the boys come from a very difficult background,” she replied. “But it shouldn’t be too much of a change. You should see how some regular students treat substitutes,” she joked.

      The man laughed but quickly sobered. “Subbing isn’t easy. Kids will get away with whatever they can. Still, for an attractive young woman of your age—”

      “I’m nearly thirty,” she broke in, but she had to wonder—in her hurry to get close to Aiyana, had she given what she might face here enough weight?

      “Still,” the man said. “It won’t be easy. I hope you haven’t gotten in over your head.”

      When Cora glanced up, she happened to catch Elijah watching her. He didn’t look away, as she expected him to; he continued to measure her with those enigmatic eyes. Was he experiencing any doubts about having hired her?

      Possibly. Probably. She hated to even consider that. But if she had to fight to find her place in the world, she’d do it. She supposed, in that respect, she wasn’t much different from Elijah or the other boys who’d come through here, or were still attending.

      “I’ll be fine,” she said—and hoped it was true.

      * * *

      “I see you met Sean Travers.”

      Cora