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After practice, Luke drove straight home, showered, and dove into bed, tossing and turning the whole night.
He woke up expecting to dread the workday. No doubt she wouldn’t be there. How could he tolerate meetings and PowerPoints and a soggy sandwich for lunch if he didn’t have the new teacher to distract him? The potential tenant? The potential... everything.
Since practice the evening before, Luke had missed no fewer than five calls from Liesel. He’d ignored them all, knowing full-well that if it was an emergency she’d text or leave a message. But she hadn’t. And he didn’t care.
The Inn could fall into bankruptcy. Sudden depression threatened to descend on him. But it lifted a little by the time he showed up in the cafeteria. Mark held a plate piled high with eggs, two waffles drenched in syrup, and fresh cut fruit.
“A breakfast upgrade?” Luke asked, setting his clipboard down at the same seat he’d used the day before. The one next to Greta’s, which stood empty.
Mark plopped his plate down and pointed a finger to the buffet. “The D.O. put it on. Elementary and high school are joining us today, so, you know how it is. They blow it out.”
Luke had forgotten. Day two was a little different, with a whole-district meeting then smaller breakout sessions.
As if on cue, a rash of vaguely familiar faces flooded the doorway, converging on the buffet.
Luke got in line, trudging his way toward the only thing that could cure a wounded heart: downhome food.
Returning to the table, he found four new faces replacing the English department. He glanced at Mark who shrugged. “They said to sit with your kind.”
“Our kind?” Luke laughed and shook hands with P.E. teachers from the high school and elementary school. The others shot the breeze until the conversation rounded to the football program. It snapped Luke out of his ongoing search for Greta. He tore his eyes away from one of the two tables where he’d spied Susan, one of the other English teachers, for a fleeting moment.
“Good season ahead,” he agreed distractedly.
“You all going to the fish fry before the game?” Mark asked the other coaches.
They nodded.
“Can’t. It’ll be too close.” Luke sipped on his coffee, burning the tip of his tongue and muttering a swear.
“Aw, come on. We can grab a plate and take off after, right?”
“Aren’t the boys going?” one of the others asked.
Luke shrugged. “If they can get to the warm-up time.” He hated his own attitude but felt compelled to be irritated.
Mrs. Cook’s voice blasted on the microphone as she welcomed the other two faculties to the middle school. Then she gave the mic over to the superintendent, who launched into a familiar welcome-back speech.
Luke’s eyes never stopped scanning, but the crowd was too thick. He’d have to stand up to search for her, and that would be ridiculous.
Then, the superintendent passed the microphone to the elementary principal, who started introducing her new hires for the year.
Suddenly hopeful again, Luke eased back in his chair.
With each name she called, a nervous head popped up, the person half-standing from their chair and waving a hand awkwardly at the recognition.
The elementary school’s new hires totaled two.
After that, the superintendent invited Mrs. Cook to return, but she waved him off as she whispered together with Barb. Luke frowned when the high school principal took over, calling out the names of three more new people, two of them custodians.
Mrs. Cook, apparently, still was not ready, so the superintendent took the liberty of sharing his own new hires, one bus driver and a new technology assistant.
Luke thought his head was going to burst. His heart was going to burst. His leg bounced beneath the table, consuming some of his overwhelming energy.
At last, Mrs. Cook took the microphone again, twirling herself in front of the podium and flashing a broad smile. To Luke’s knowledge, she had only one name to introduce. One person. Was she going to say the name he was longing to hear? Or would she say that there were no new hires. Would she say there had been a new hire, but she flaked out? Had she found a replacement for Greta in those few hours since he’d seen her last? Had Greta called the school, cancelled her promise, and left town? And maybe Mrs. Cook dragged someone off the street to join the team? To make H.G.M.S. great!?
“I’m so happy to introduce our newest team member,” Mrs. Cook cheered into the microphone. “A big-city transplant, we convinced her to give little Hickory Grove a shot...”
Luke winced, squeezing his eyes shut, then opening them again to scan the crowd.
“Joining our English department this year is...”
Sweat broke out along his spine. His leg froze mid-bounce. Deafening silence filled the cafeteria as though every other person was also awaiting that moment.
“Miss Greta Houston!”
A spunky blonde head shot up beneath a slender arm. As she waved across the cafeteria, her eyes fell on Luke.
They stayed there after she sat down and the school leaders moved on to the next item of business. They stayed there for some moments, until at last, Greta and Luke smiled at each other.
A smile that could move mountains. Perform miracles. A smile that could end his football program if he were a lesser man.
But he wasn’t. And at that moment, Luke Hart knew every aspect of his life was about to have just a little more meaning. That smile meant Luke was going to become a better man. A P.E. teacher who could inspire even the laziest student. A football coach who could win championships. A nephew who could help his aunt turn their shared investment into something to be proud of.
A grandson who would turn his mamaw’s old house into a home. If not for Greta, then for himself. And for whoever would one day share that home.
Liesel may never be ready. But Luke was.