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I ended the call and stared at my monitor for a moment. It was good. This was something that Luke would be amazing at. I was glad he landed on his feet—that God came through. God always did.
I finished entering my grades, checked that they were officially submitted, and powered down the machine. I gathered up my personal items and, after a final look around, turned off the lights as I left my classroom.
I stopped by the front office to check out. The secretaries didn’t seem surprised—word traveled fast when Sanders was unhappy—but they all wished me well.
I got in the car and called Austin.
“Hey, babe. You’re late. You done?”
“One hundred percent. Sanders is ticked. So I finished my grades and all the end of the year stuff. She’s fine with me not coming in again. I feel like I burned a bridge.” I didn’t like that. I didn’t want to have ruined my chance of teaching in public school again. Even if I didn’t currently have plans to do it, it wasn’t good to lock the door.
“I’m sorry. Should I not have offered you a job at the center?”
I laughed and the worry about teaching in public school lifted. “What? No. I’m excited about that. About working with you.”
“You’re not going to get tired of being around me twenty-four seven?” Laughter tinted his words, but I also caught the tiniest hint of concern.
“Austin?”
“Yeah?”
“Not even the smallest bit.”
His breath whooshed out.
“I love you.”
Austin’s voice was thick with emotion. “I love you, too. Dinner?”
“Definitely.”
“I’ll meet you at the apartment.”
My eyebrows lifted. I was fine with that, but I’d also imagined he meant dinner out. I had food and could throw something together…but, gosh, that wasn’t what I wanted right now. “What if we met somewhere? I wouldn’t mind sitting at a table and having someone serve me.”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind. Just in a more comfortable setting. With cats.”
I chuckled. “Best of both worlds. I’ll see you at home.”
I ended the call and started the car, then pointed myself toward home.
Home.
The definition was shifting and I hadn’t realized it until now. It was less about a place and more—so much more—about Austin.
That was something only God could have done. And He had. Because He was good.
Always.
EPILOGUE
Cody
Iwas supposed to be paying attention to the mini-sermon Pastor Chaz was giving—I knew that—but I couldn’t stop my gaze from drifting to Megan. The navy-blue dress she wore made her look like a fairy from one of the books she sold.
Of course, her gaze wasn’t drifting around. She was focused with laser-like precision on the pastor. And on her brother.
Austin and Kayla stood hand in hand, gazing into each other’s eyes. If I didn’t love both of them, I’d probably gag. It was like something out of a chick flick. And okay, sure, it was good that they got here. They’d been best friends for so long, I think we all saw it as inevitable. Well, all of us but them. Austin could be clueless sometimes.
