No Place Like Home: The Coming Home Series, Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

brutal.”
    Charlie nodded. “Dad died several years ago, long battle with cancer. My mom was a college professor and my dad was in school administration. So you can say being a teacher was kind of in my blood.”
    “No doubt. Destined for it, I guess. What do you teach?”
    “Art history right now. At a high school in Dallas.”
    “Oof. That’s gotta be rough. I’ve worked cases down there before. Public school, right?”
    “Yes. Public. I’d love to teach private. I’d also love to teach younger kids but the positions are very hard to come by. Waiting lists are insane for those teaching positions and to be considered, you have to get some pretty impressive recommendations.”
    “It’s all about who you know, not what you know. I get it.”
    “Exactly.”
    “But with your parents, don’t you know some pretty influential people? Not to mention Kia. Sounds like you’re really close to her, and she’s head of the Cardiac ICU here. That has to count for something.”
    “Sure, but I don’t want to use my relationships to earn a position at one of those schools. Nepotism isn’t a way for me to be proud of my accomplishments.”
    “I hear that.” After eating the last of his lasagna, he moved his plate aside and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “There are some really great private schools around here. Ever thought of applying up here? Or do you fear the winters enough to stay away?”
    “Actually the one I’d love to work at is here in Buffalo.”
    “Buffalo Academy of Arts?”
    Charlie froze with a bite of lasagna halfway to her mouth. She set her fork down. “How’d you know that?”
    “I have a bit of a vested interest in that school. It’s a great school.”
    “Yes, it is. Ugh. But the winters.”
    “Come on, snow is awesome.”
    “When you’re four and you don’t feel the cold, it’s great. But when you’re an adult? Salt and sand everywhere. Snow days. Power outages.” She wrinkled her nose and he laughed.
    “The notion of you being a wallflower doesn’t compute in my brain.”
    “I sure was. Pudgy. Glasses. No confidence. High school was pretty awful.”
    “What changed? How did you turn it around?”
    “Uhh…my cat, actually.”
    “I’m not following.”
    “When I moved to Texas and got my own apartment I decided to get a cat. I went to the pound just to look around.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m a big sucker when it comes to cats.”
    “I had one growing up. Mr. Whiskers.”
    Warmth spread through her chest and she did her best to tamp it down. Falling for Mr. FBI wasn’t a smart move. “So they had cage after cage of cats. Most of them playing with their cage-mates, completely disinterested in any of the people looking at them. Then I came to my kitty. He was off by himself, watching the others play. A wallflower.” Getting choked up was not on the schedule of events.
    Cole’s hand covered hers. He didn’t rush her, make a joke or cover it up with some flippant response. He just sat there with her.
    It was a moment she would never forget.
    She wiped a tear from her cheek and then took a deep breath. “I took him home that day. Lord Voldemort.”
    Cole’s eyebrows went up and then he laughed with a shake of his head. “Great name.”
    “I know, right? I gave him a bath. Not an easy task with a cat but at least he was still pretty small at that point. I cleaned him up and brushed out his fur and he was absolutely gorgeous.” Cole laced his fingers with hers and rubbed her thumb with his own. “He loved me. Bad hair, glasses, horrible fashion sense. Chunky. None of it mattered. So I decided to change.”
    “Brave,” Cole muttered under his breath.
    “Why do you say that? It wasn’t brave.”
    “Sure it was. You went from invisible to a knockout. You draw attention I bet anywhere you go.”
    “No I don’t.”
    “I know you saw all of the guys on my floor staring at you while you left earlier. Your presence did not go unnoticed.”
    “I just figured they were