Clallam Bay (A Fresh Start #2) Read Free

ushered the kids back toward the school where all I heard was Mr. Coll this and Mr. Coll that. I couldn’t blame the little girls for their crush. Especially little Kaylee. She had seen that infamous charm first hand.
    *
    “So, is it normal for him to get home this late?” Alyssa asked, spying out the window at my neighbor’s truck. When I didn’t answer right away, she turned to face me, nearly spilling her glass of wine all over the floor in the process.
    “I don’t know.”
    “You don’t know?”
    “No.”
    “And how is that exactly?”
    “How is what exactly?” I asked.
    She scoffed. “Hello. How is it that you don’t know?”
    When I ignored her, she scoffed again, turning back to stare out the window at the truck. Or his house. Or him.
    Only God knew what she was staring at or what she wanted from me. I barely saw the guy, let alone memorized his habits. We’d only co-existed between a few waves and nods since he’d been back. What did she expect? A time log of his daily activities?
    “Well, he didn’t have a girl with him, so that’s something,” she said. “Something pretty significant from what I’ve heard. Has he brought any more girls home since he pulled in to port?”
    I shrugged. “If he has, they’ve been civil about it.” I tapped my ear. “No screaming.” I actually hadn’t seen any girls coming or going since the day I’d moved in. There were a few times I’d heard the sound of his screen door squeaking in the wee hours of the morning. But that could have just been him. To know for sure, I would have had to care enough to get up and check, but I never did.
    While Alyssa kept me informed that nothing was going on, I continued to stuff my face with Doritos. I had been stress eating them ever since the beginning of the school year—pretty much the moment I’d moved in—nearly adding on the ten pounds I never did in college. My routine workouts had been put on hold, the high replaced by the calculated execution of finding the best way to teach counting by twos. Besides, who had time for physical activities once they’d been granted the great responsibility of shaping young minds?
    Stumbling over to the couch, Alyssa plopped down beside me. “You think he has diseases?”
    I scowled from not only the question, but the cheap wine wafting off her breath. “Ew, Alyssa. Gross.”
    “I know. I know. But, seriously …” She leaned in closer. “You think he has diseases?”
    Giving her a look that clearly stated I’d rather not think or talk about it, I turned back to work on my lesson plan.
    “I think he likes you.”
    “Why? Did he say something?”
    Alyssa shrugged. “No. It was just the way he waved at you that one time.”
    I stopped mid-scribble. “That’s it? That’s all you’re basing this on? The way he waved at me?”
    Alyssa took another sip then licked her lips. “Yeah. But how about the way he helped Kaylee up after she fell like that, though? Wasn’t that sweet?”
    “Yes, it was very sweet.” I smiled at the memory. “Maybe you should run over there and offer him some of your chocolate for being so sweet,” I said, feeling a surprising pang of jealously at the thought.
    “Hailey!”
    “Then maybe I can get back to work.”
    “Girl, no.” Holding her chest as if she’d swallowed wrong, she held up a finger. “First of all, nobody calls me that but me. Me and now little Timmy. Besides, I prefer my men how I do all my meat. Disease-free.” She barked a laugh, nearly spilling her wine on the couch, and I took her glass away.
    “Okay, that’s it. I’m cutting you off.”
    I went to get up, and Alyssa reached out for me. “No, don’t cut it off, Hailey. It’s all he has. It’s all he has!” She missed and did a face-plant on the couch instead.
    When I came back from the kitchen she was snoring into the cushion. I covered her with a quilt then turned her head so she wouldn’t suffocate before making my way over to the window.
    Just as I was