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“Ouch!”
    “Paper cut?”
    She nodded as a small dot of blood surfaced on her finger. She wiped it clean and gave it a shake.
    “Let me see.” He took her hand, in the same manner he would have yesterday or the day before. He looked it over and then placed a kiss on the cut.
    Melissa sat back on her heels and stared at him. She’d never seen it. She’d been an idiot, and now she knew that there was some underground rumor mill brewing.
    William stuffed the last of the papers into the bag and looked at her. “Are you feeling okay?”
    “Fine.” She jumped to her feet and grabbed the bag from his hand. “I have to go.”
    She tried to dart around him, but he caught her arm. “Are you up for dancing tomorrow? We haven’t done that in a long time, and there’s a great band playing in Aspen Hills tomorrow.”
    Her heartbeat kicked up, and she could feel the sweat on her brow. This wasn’t what she wanted. William was a friend. Why had she never seen this?
    “No. I have a lot of work. In fact, I think I’m going to be very busy all weekend. So maybe we can reschedule dinner on Sunday for some other time, too. I have a test to write and…”
    She was trying to walk away, but he was following her.
    “I could help you grade.”
    “Nope. I’m fine. I have to go.”
    She all but sprinted out of the school, leaving behind the man who had never been anything but nice to her and had taken care of her. 
    Melissa hurried to the car and threw her bag in the passenger seat. She slid in behind the wheel and started the engine. When she looked up, William was still at the door to the school. He gave a wave, and she sped out of the parking lot.
    She was tired. That was all it was. She needed a full night’s sleep and then maybe things would make more sense because, as it was, she wasn’t sure, but she might have dropped into some parallel universe. Nothing made sense anymore after that kiss from Jesse Charles.
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    As Melissa had expected, things had eased up over the weekend.
    She’d graded papers on Saturday and helped her mother with the sauce she was going to can. They’d taken a trip to the nursing home to visit her grandfather, and after church on Sunday, she and Jonah sat down to watch the Bronco game.
    She didn’t much like football, but Martin had. It had been one of those father and son bonding things that she’d taken over when Martin died.
    Jonah enjoyed trying to explain the game to her. She had to admit she was getting it, slowly. But it was more important that they were making their own memories and carrying on in Martin’s memory.
    Monday morning Melissa had convinced Jonah that if he hurried out of the house a few minutes early, she’d take him by Molly’s coffee shop for a muffin. She knew it was a sure fire way to get him moving, and it had worked. In reality, she wanted to get situated in her room and have a few minutes to prepare before her students filed in.
    Molly’s was already bustling, just as it did every morning. The residents of Aspen Creek appreciated the quaint gathering place as well as the fantastic coffees and baked goods.
    Melissa placed her order and stood to the side of the counter to wait for it to be served up. When the door to the shop opened again, the man who walked through gave her a gracious nod.
    She returned the gesture. “Hey, Cade. Heading in early too?”
    “Yup. Big game coming up on Saturday. I have a week to pull together some good plays.”
    She watched him as he ordered his coffee and another, decaf coffee to go. No doubt for his wife.
    Melissa had grown up down the street from Cade Carter and his wife, Olivia Baker. They never ran in the same crowds, but her memories of growing up in the small town certainly included them. Wouldn’t Martin be surprised to find that Cade and Olivia had actually married. Even more surprising would be the fact that Cade had come back to the small town he’d abandoned when he became a professional football