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Jackson’s passionate tone drew Blake’s attention. “Did you and she…?”
“No. She’s just become a good friend over the years.”
Blake had no right to feel any sort of way about Charli dating other men, but being back in Serenity had brought out all kinds of thoughts and memories of the last time he’d been there. It had been a time filled with so much happiness and promise.
“I get that you’ll have to interact with her as Amelia’s teacher, but I hope you’ll steer clear of her otherwise.”
“What if she doesn’t want that?” Blake asked, a bit ticked at Jackson’s determination to keep him out of Charli’s life.
Jackson gave a huff of laughter. “Oh, I’m pretty sure that won’t be the case. Hearing about what happened between the two of you has explained a lot about how she’s approached men and relationships over the years.”
“What does that mean?”
“Let’s just say that if a guy wants to get close to Charli as more than a friend, he’s really going to have to work for it. There haven’t been a lot who’ve been willing to put in the effort. Especially recently. Early on, I’m guessing that perhaps she had a rebound relationship, but these days, if she’s dating, she’s not talking much about it.”
It had taken a while before Blake had been interested in another woman, which had been fine, since he’d been tied up with basic training and then the training he’d had to take to work as an army mechanic. He’d dated a few women before meeting Lauren, but after they’d broken up, he hadn’t dated anyone.
“I’d better go,” Jackson said, pushing up to his feet. “Let me know if you need more help.”
Blake stood up and followed him to the door of the apartment. “I think we’re probably good. Thank you for all your help today. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Jackson flashed him a quick smile, then stepped out the door onto the landing they shared with one other apartment. The building only had four apartments, two on each floor. The apartment wasn’t very big, but Blake was grateful to his aunt and uncle for renting it to them for a very reasonable rate.
He would have loved to have a small house with a yard for Amelia and a garage for himself. However, his current budget didn’t stretch that far. With no income, he was having to live on the money he’d managed to save. Thankfully, he’d learned his lesson about not saving money and had lived as frugally as possible on his army salary, which meant he had a bit of a cushion.
Once he’d closed the door on Jackson’s retreating figure, Blake took a moment to survey the space. The furniture he’d purchased for their apartment in Texas was almost too big for this place. He probably should have just tried to sell it before they moved, but it had been fairly new, since he’d originally thought they’d be able to stay there.
After working through the figures, he’d determined it would be cheaper to ship everything than to pay to replace it all. Plus, he’d worked hard to find good quality things at a reasonable price, and if he’d had to replace them, it would probably have been with even cheaper quality things.
He gathered up the empty soda cans and tossed them in the recycling bin, then made sure everything was cleared away. Waking up to a messy space was the last thing he wanted. Being in the army for so long had ingrained in him the need to keep his space tidy.
Amelia made it a challenge at times, so Blake tried to be more relaxed about it. But if he had the choice, he wanted things neat. And not just in his physical surroundings. He liked his life to be that way, especially after the turn his life had taken when he’d made that snap decision that had changed the direction of his life.
Unfortunately, getting involved with Lauren meant his personal life had been anything but neat and tidy.
Even after they’d broken up, they’d had to continue to be in each other’s lives because of Amelia. He didn’t regret having Amelia, but he wished that she’d been born into a different type of relationship between her parents.
His career, which had demanded his absence for long stretches, combined with Lauren’s addiction struggles and subsequent death, had led to Amelia being exposed to upheaval throughout much of her short life. It was his hope that now that he was out of the army and able to be with her on a daily basis, she could heal from her mom’s death and enjoy some stability in her life.
Stability was something he wanted for himself too, and he needed it in order to be the best father he could be to Amelia.
He prayed that Serenity Point would be the fresh start they needed, even though he’d chosen to return to a place that was loaded with baggage.
CHAPTER THREE
As she sat with the other teachers for a quick meeting before the school day started, Charli’s emotions were all over the place. She was excited about meeting her students, but also nervous about possibly coming face to face with the man who’d broken her heart and left her a single mother.
Charli was also sad that she couldn’t be with Layla on her first day of middle school. Thankfully, Janessa had stepped up to take her place.
The first day of school usually only brought excitement and anticipation. Nervousness hadn’t been a part of it since her first couple of years of teaching, and sadness had never been present on a first day before. But both were there that morning.
“Let’s head out and have a great day,” the principal said with a smile. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the year holds for all of us and our students.”
With that, they were dismissed to return to their classrooms. Charli walked with her fellow grade three teacher that year. It was her second year at the school, and she and Charli got along really well.
“Here’s to surviving the first day,” Junie said as they reached their classrooms. She held out her hand for a fist bump, and Charli obliged her before heading into her room.
Though parents weren’t generally allowed to wander the halls of the elementary school, on the first day, the principal made an exception and allowed parents to come and drop off their kids in their classrooms. It meant things were a bit chaotic, but it usually settled down pretty quickly.
