Total pages in book: 248
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 236036 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1180(@200wpm)___ 944(@250wpm)___ 787(@300wpm)
“Fiera.”
“She still works down at the school, right?”
Sage nodded. “I thought she could introduce me around, you know, grease the skids a little.”
“Good thinking.” Grady was nodding his head in approval.
They arrived at the elementary school and saw Fiera waiting at the front door. Grady parked in the shade.
He leaned across the console and kissed Sage, slow and deep, right there in front of Rose, God, and everybody. “Go charm that teacher, babygirl. Rose and I’ll be back in a few minutes with a box full of baby chickens.” After climbing out and opening her door and helping her out of the truck, he spun her to face the school and smacked her bottom to send her on her way. Grady was growing more and more affectionate in front of Rose. So far, Rose had responded well.
At the front door, Fiera gave Sage a hug, then took her hand and led her into the building. “Someone’s been holding out on me. I detect a change in the employer-employee relationship. You have some ‘splainin’ to do, Lucy.”
Sage did her best to bring her friend up to speed as they walked down the hall. Sage liked what she saw. Large windows let in plenty of light, and bright, cheerful colors decorated the walls of every hallway and common area.
The school was empty now, so the hallways were silent. It was all Sage could do not to skip down the hall as she had in the old elementary school when she was younger. “This is really nice. I can’t wait to meet the first-grade teacher.”
“Her room is right down here. You’ll love Mrs. Hargrove. She’s wonderful with the children,” Fiera assured her. “You can tell she really cares about them.”
That was high praise coming from Fiera. In Sage’s opinion, her friend was the best teacher in the universe. Too bad she taught kindergarten instead of second grade.
As they walked closer to the first-grade classroom, voices echoed down the hall. Sage had scheduled the appointment with Mrs. Hargrove before they left the ranch, so hopefully whoever was meeting with her would be finished soon.
She didn’t recognize either of the voices, but it seemed Fiera did. A worried look darkened her friend’s expression. “Maybe we should hang back, Sage. Eavesdropping is rude, you know,” she said.
“So is not keeping your appointment time,” Sage pointed out. “Anyway, I can’t wait too long. Grady will be back soon, and I have a lot of questions to ask before he gets back. We should at least let her know we’re here. I do have an appointment.”
“I know, but I think—”
“Oh come on,” Sage insisted. “If she’s in another meeting, we’ll wait. But I need to let her know I’m here.”
“Look, I know you’re eager to get this done, but—”
Argh! Fiera had never worried about the rules when they were in school. She’d always been Sage’s prank partner in crime. Sage blamed that jerk of a boy-man Fiera had dated. She’d broken up with him months ago, but the guy wouldn’t leave her alone. He’d made her friend's life miserable the entire time they’d dated, and the nine months since Fiera had broken it off.
Luckily, Fiera would soon be headed to a place called Rawhide Ranch, a ranch that specialized in DDlg guests. Sage was happy for her, but right now, she needed to talk with Mrs. Hargrove.
“Look, I should at least let her know I’m here. From the tone of voice whoever is meeting with her is using, Mrs. Hargrove will probably thank us.”
Fiera was insistent. “I’m sure Mrs. Hargrove will extend her time with you if the meeting she’s in now goes late. Um… why don’t you come down to my classroom for a minute and let me show you around?”
Whoever was talking to the first-grade teacher, she was getting louder and louder. Sage could make out words like “brat” and “selfish” and a few other choice words that would get her mouth washed out with soap if she said them. She still thought rescuing Mrs. Hargrove was a better idea, but she let Fiera drag her away from the classroom and back down the hall.
It might be just her, but it seemed to Sage that Fiera was a little too eager to get her away from Mrs. Hargrove. Sage couldn’t really understand that, since minutes before, Fiera was describing how wonderful the teacher was.
They turned into Fiera’s classroom to find two recent transplants to Wilder and the Wild River Ranch, a large ranch to the west of Wilder, waiting there.
Fiera grinned at the women in her class. “Sorry, that took longer than I thought it would. Sage, you remember Joy and Junie, right?”
Sage nodded. “I do. Hi, it’s great running into you. I didn’t know either of you had school-aged children or maybe school-aged children on the way.”