The Teacher Read Online Free PDF Page A

of the second, Chelsea’s head had fallen on Emma’s arm and she was
asleep. Moving stealthily, Emma slid Chelsea down onto her pillow, put the
books on the shelf and switched off the lamp.
    Someday, she
thought wistfully gazing down at her sleeping niece, I’ll be tucking my own
little ones in.
    *     *     *
    Emma made it home from Audrey’s with
just enough time to change and repack the suitcase she’d been living out of
while she camped in Seth’s bedroom. He promised to clean his junk out of the
second bedroom tomorrow, so she could move in properly.
    “How was your flight home?” Emma asked
her elbow propped against the back of the couch. Her head rested in her hand.
    “Same as always,” Seth said with a shrug.
Emma tried to draw her eyes away from his finely sculpted biceps, hugged by the
cuff of his sleeve. “How was your first week of school?”
    “Don’t ask,” she replied, rolling her
eyes and letting out a deep sigh.
    “What? Are those five year olds too
rough on you?” he teased, flashing his perfect smile that reached all the way
up to his clear blue eyes. The man could melt hearts with a smile like that,
just like Emma felt hers melting right now.
    “No,” she said. “But I have twenty-eight
in my class. Twenty-eight and it’s difficult to get around to all of
them each day, even having them for a full day. I certainly have my hands full
with this group. Especially this one little boy…” her thoughts trailed off as
she thought about Brayden.
    “What about the little guy?” Seth asked.
    “He spends most of the day sitting in
his coat locker. I can’t seem to figure out what to do to reach him. He’s a
little disruptive to everyone else and there’s just something about him that I
can’t quite figure out.”
    “Relax,” he said as he patted her knee
and then left his hand there to rest. She felt the heat of his touch on her
skin. “It’s just your first week, you can’t have them all figured out yet.”
    “I know, but I just want to help him. And
then there’s his father.”
    “Oh yeah, what about him?” Seth asked,
pulling his hand back as he turned to face her.
    “Well, I don’t know much, except that
he’s some high-powered attorney downtown and both times he dropped his son off
this week he was on his cell phone, looking annoyed and walked away without
saying good bye.”
    “That doesn’t sound like a very happy situation.
Maybe the little guy doesn’t get much attention at home and he’s looking for it
at school.”
    “I’ve thought of that,” Emma replied. “But
I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Maybe things will be better next week, but
enough about me. How are things with you?”
    “Things are pretty good.”
    “How was California?”
    “Good. Hot. Sunny,” Seth shrugged, a shy
smile playing on his lips.
    “And?” Emma waited.
    “And what?” Seth turned to her.
    “Not what, who?”
    “Who, what?”
    “Who did you meet down there?”
    “Who says I met anyone?” Seth asked
coyly.
    “Stacy.” Stacy was a gossip queen and
loved anything surrounding a romantic relationship. She was convinced Seth
spent an extra weekend in California because of a special someone and didn’t
waste a moment in sharing her thoughts with Emma.
    “Oh. Well, yeah I did meet someone down
there.”
    “And does this person have a name?”
    “Kelly.”
    “Kelly, huh, and how did the two of you
meet?” Emma asked playfully.
    “At the gym. Kelly’s a personal trainer.”
    “Uh huh,” Emma waited, but Seth didn’t
continue. “You’re not going to tell me anymore are you?”
    “Not unless you want to hear about the
great sex we’ve been having?” His thin lips curled upward.
    “Oh God, no,” Emma cried, throwing her
hands over her ears. “Save that stuff for Stacy. Just tell me this,” Emma
paused, knowing what she wanted to ask was none of her business, but also
desperate to know. “Is it serious?”
    “Not yet,” he replied with the smile