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“She’ll be okay,” Charli said, then turned her attention to Amelia. “We’re going to do some fun stuff today. Coloring, crafts, and reading some stories. Maybe even some about unicorns. Your dad will be back to pick you up before you know it.”
“Give me a hug, Berry,” Blake said, drawing Amelia into his arms. “You’re going to have fun, I’m sure of it. I can’t wait to hear about everything you do.”
Amelia’s brows drew together, but when Blake set her down in her chair, she didn’t protest. Charli returned to the front of the room, watching as Blake made his way to the door, glancing in her direction once before disappearing into the hallway.
With all the parents gone, Charli began her day by having each child share their name and what their favorite thing was.
When she’d prayed for the students that morning as part of her devotions, most had just been a name to her. This exercise was the first step in getting to know these children who were her responsibility for several hours every school day. As the year progressed, her prayer for each child would become more detailed.
She couldn’t help but keep an eye on Amelia as the day progressed. The little girl didn’t shed any tears, but she also didn’t smile. She had a very serious demeanor as she watched everything going on around her.
Amelia answered any question she was asked, but she didn’t initiate any conversation. At lunch, they ate at their desks, and while normally, Charli would have left them in the care of a teaching assistant and gone to the teacher’s lounge to eat her own lunch, since it was the first day, she stayed with them.
When the bell rang to end the day, Charli felt a rush of relief. She was pleased with how everything had gone, and she had a good feeling about the class and how the year would go. There were some kids who would clearly require more guidance and understanding, but that was always the case.
Charli stood at the doorway as the kids lined up to follow the TA out of the room. The young woman would make sure that the students got to where they needed to be. Some had parents waiting for them. Others would be climbing onto buses to go home.
Since the parents weren’t coming to the classroom to pick up their kids, Charli didn’t see Blake again, which was a good thing. It was distracting enough to have his child in her class. She didn’t want to have to come face to face with him every single day at work.
It wasn’t that she cared about him—she really, really, really, really didn’t—but she didn’t necessarily want to be reminded of the bad decisions she’d made the last time he’d been in her life. Nor did she necessarily want to see him in the role of father, given that he’d never been that for Layla. She didn’t want to think what Layla might have missed out on by not having him in her life.
But speaking of Layla, Charli was eager to hear how her day had gone. Thankfully, Denise had offered to pick Layla up from the middle school, then bring her to the elementary school to drop her off when she came to pick up Peyton.
When Layla appeared in the doorway of her classroom, Charli hurried to pull her into a hug. “How was your day, sweetheart?”
“It was great!” Layla’s smile helped to ease the worry Charli had been trying to ignore throughout the day.
As Charli gathered up her things and headed out to the car, Layla continued to tell her all about her first day. Listening to her, Charli couldn’t help but wonder what Amelia was telling her dad… and maybe her mom. She still wasn’t sure if the woman was present in Amelia’s life, since so far, she had only seen Blake with Amelia.
Over the years, Charli had pushed thoughts of Blake as Layla’s father out of her mind. Whenever Layla had asked about him, Charli had simply said that he hadn’t been able to be a dad.
Her family had pressed harder for the man’s name, but Charli was nothing if not stubborn. Eventually the questions had fallen away, and now she was more glad than ever that she’d never named Blake as Layla’s father.
Now all she had to do was try to keep their paths from crossing.
Normally, she wouldn’t be too worried about that, but the same connection that had brought them together the first time could bring them together again. Jackson…
There was just no way she wanted to welcome Blake into her home the way she’d welcomed Jackson and Wade. Unfortunately, it might be difficult to keep him out without giving an explanation.
By the time they made it home, Layla had finished giving a thorough recounting of her day. Charli sent her off to get changed, while she did the same.
As she started on supper, her thoughts kept returning to Blake and what it had been like to see him again after so many years. He definitely carried a more serious air than he had twelve years ago. Since he’d been in the military, it was possible he’d seen some things that had left their mark on him.
When she found herself wondering what those things might be, Charli reminded herself that she didn’t want anything to do with the man. Blake had proven himself to be a man she couldn’t trust. He’d said all the things she’d wanted to hear, drawing her in to the point where she’d been willing to compromise her convictions to be with him.
And then he’d abandoned her. She didn’t need a man like him in her life, and she certainly didn’t want that sort of man around Layla.
Her daughter wanted a father, but Charli couldn’t take the chance that Blake would walk away from them again. Especially since he had a daughter who was clearly important to him. Layla might come in a distant second, and Charli just couldn’t handle seeing that.
There was only one person in the world who knew the circumstances of Layla’s parentage, and Charlotte was feeling a strong need to talk to her. It was just too bad that her best friend had left Serenity Point for college and never returned. Unfortunately, their friendship had weakened, and she didn’t think they were close enough anymore for the conversation she needed to have.
Settling back into their normal schedule should have left Charli with contentment humming through her, but that was definitely not the case. Instead, her thoughts were tied up in the past.
The only good thing was that seeing Blake again hadn’t dragged forth all the love she’d had for him before he’d abandoned her. And even the hurt from that time hadn’t surged up to completely eclipse everything else.
The emotion that kept rising to the surface was anxiousness and fear. More than anything else, she feared that he’d meet Layla and realize who she was to him. That was the absolute last thing that Charli wanted.
She didn’t think she’d be able to keep him from meeting Layla, so all she could do was hope and pray he wouldn’t suspect anything. Hopefully, the fact that Amelia and Layla looked nothing alike would keep him from being suspicious.
