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Amy glanced around her classroom the next morning, ready for the little faces that would soon come walking in through the door. When she was a kid it was always her mom who dropped her off at school, but these days moms, dads, grandparents, and even nannies were the norm.
“Hi Chelsea!” she called out to a little blonde girl walking into the classroom, holding on to her dad’s hand.
“Hi Miss Amy,” the little girl said shyly.
“I think she’s coming down with a cold, so please give us a call if we need to come pick her up.”
“Of course,” Amy replied, guiding Chelsea over to a seat. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Two more kids came walking in with their parents, one crying as he clung tightly to his mother. The beginning of each class was the hardest until the kids were all seated, the parents gone, and the class had started the day’s activities. Then they could ease into their routine and before she knew it, three hours would have passed by and the parents would return.
Her gaze swept around the room, making sure each child was occupied.
A moment later, her phone began vibrating on her desk, and she hurried over to turn it off. It was unlike her to forget and leave it on, but she’d been distracted this morning as she rushed off to work. Melissa had ended up spending the night, which was for the best given her state the night before. Well, that and the amount of wine that she’d consumed.
They’d had breakfast together, and Melissa had been in no hurry to leave this morning, since it turned out her first showing was pushed back until eleven-thirty. Amy had rushed around trying to get ready as Melissa lounged on the sofa, watching the morning talk shows. Then Amy’s ex-boyfriend had randomly texted her, asking if he could stop by one day to pick up some skiing equipment that he’d left in her basement.
She couldn’t even recall why he’d needed to store it there and wondered where he could be going skiing in November, but she hoped he’d at least come by alone.
Then as she’d been packing up her car, ready to head off to work, her neighbor Jason had called out hello to her from across the street. She’d been so startled she almost dropped the materials she was carrying for school.
Jason wasn’t ever around when she left in the morning, and truth be told, she wasn’t used to neighborly chats with anyone at that hour.
Especially not with the good-looking Marine who lived right across the street.
She glanced at the text from Melissa.
Are you out of coffee?
She rolled her eyes before stuffing her phone back into her purse.
Couldn’t Melissa figure out how to open the cupboard and look for a fresh can? Honestly. And did she really expect Amy to answer her while in the midst of teaching a class full of preschoolers? Although her friend might be killing it as a realtor, she didn’t have the first clue about caring for children.
She probably should’ve texted her ex back, too, but there was no rush for that either.
Her friend Carrie poked her head in the classroom door. “Knock, knock! How’s it going?” she asked, walking over to Amy.
“Good,” Amy said, eyeing the stack of papers she was carrying. “What’s that?”
“For the parents,” Carrie explained. “These are reminders about the bake sale next week.”
“Fantastic,” Amy said, taking hers from the pile. “I’ve got a hot date with my kitchen this weekend—pun intended.”
“Ha ha. You looked ready to throttle your purse a minute ago,” Carrie said with a chuckle.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Amy said with a sigh. “Just too much going on at the moment to respond to everyone. My ex texted me, and a friend of mine stayed over last night because she was upset about a breakup. It’s just been one thing after another today.”
“I hear ya,” Carrie said, eyeing the classful of kids.
“Miss Amy!” several little voices began to call out, and she said goodbye to her coworker and turned her attention back to her students as her friend moved on to the next class.
There was little else that she loved more than being in the classroom, and the kids deserved her full attention. Melissa and her ex and everyone else trying to get a hold of her this morning would just have to wait until later.
***
Jason pulled up to the gates at Quantico, flashing his military ID. The guards glanced at his credentials and waved him through, and he drove onto base.
God, some of these kids looked young, he thought. He’d undoubtedly looked the same way when he’d joined the Marines at eighteen, but man, if it didn’t make him feel old to see these fresh-faced guys around base.
He could keep up with the best of them, but while their priorities each weekend were hitting the bars with their buddies and looking for the nearest pretty girl, Jason had other responsibilities now.
And if he met the right woman someday?
He wouldn’t be opposed to doing it all over again.
He flew out to California as often as he could to see Brian now that he was back stateside, but if that constant travel alongside his long work hours didn’t make finding and maintaining a relationship difficult, if not damn near impossible, he wasn’t sure what did. He’d barely had time to see his neighbors, let alone get out much with any of the guys on base or meet any new friends since moving here over the summer. Hopefully once the new custody arrangement was settled, he’d get to see more of Brian. He wasn’t holding his breath though. Although things with Kristin were surprisingly civil, his military status and constant deployments made it easy to see why the judge had granted sole custody to her.
Now that Brian was a little older and Jason was stationed in Virginia, he was hoping they could work out a new agreement. Anything that would let him see his son more and avoid the constant cross-country flights was bound to be better for him.
He just hoped it would also be better for Brian. A boy needed his father, and he would do his damned best to make sure he was there for him. Hell, Jason’s parents had been married forty years. It was hard not to want the same thing for himself now that he was older.
“Jason, wait up, man!”
He glanced behind him to see Tyler jogging down the hall to catch up with him.
“Running late this morning?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrows.
Tyler fell in step beside him as they walked down the hall toward their offices, and Jason chuckled as he saw the shit-eating grin on his face.
“I might have had something keeping me occupied. Someone, anyway.”
“I take it last night went well? The blonde from the bar?”
“Fucking spectacular. She was a tiger in bed,” he added with a chuckle. “I’m talking blindfolds, handcuffs, the whole nine yards.”
“She have a name?” Jason asked.
“Blondie. Betty. The hell if I know. I left her naked in my bed, completely satisfied. I’m pretty sure I’ll be seeing her again.”
“You left her alone in your apartment?”
Tyler shrugged. “She’s in her senior year of college—no classes today. I gave her a few screaming orgasms before I left. Hope she didn’t wake up the neighbors.”
“She’ll eventually notice if you don’t know her name,” Jason pointed out.
“Touché. I told her to leave her number for me. Hopefully she signs it with her name and not a kiss in red lipstick.”
“Planning ahead, huh?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely. I’m headed down for a briefing. Catch up with you later, all right?”
“Have a good one.”
Tyler hurried down the hall, and Jason entered his own area of offices, the scent of coffee accosting him as he chuckled.
Hell. He’d been like that once, too. Chasing after all the pretty girls at the bar. Taking one home for the night before dashing off to base in the morning.
That was a hell of a long time ago though.
“Morning, Sir,” one of the young Marines said as Jason walked in, immediately snapping to attention.
His gaze swept to the lower ranking Marine. “Morning, Smith. Do you have those briefs ready for me?”
“Yes, Sir,” he replied, handing Jason the thick stack of files. “They’re all there. The ones you indicated were a priority are at the top.”
Jason eyed the pile with disdain. “Excellent. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the amount of paperwork at a desk job,” he added with a chuckle. “Have you deployed much?”
“Two tours of duty in Afghanistan, Sir.”
Jason nodded. “I’ll be in my office. See you in the meeting at ten hundred.”
“Yes, Sir, I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. Dismissed.”
The young Marine saluted and walked away as Jason carried the files to his office. Dropping them to his desk and eyeing the huge stack, he let out a groan. He’d be reading through the materials all day. First things first though—he really needed a strong cup of coffee.
