Hidden Fates (Hidden Heroes #4)

Chapter 5

Garrett got the call early in the morning that Mrs. Huber was rushed to the hospital after her water broke in the middle of the night. It was only a few days before her scheduled maternity leave was supposed to start, so Garrett was ready.

He was standing in Principal Ryker’s office, holding his welcome packet, a complete set of this week’s lesson plans, and his newly minted school I.D. badge. But it seemed that Principal Ryker forgot he was coming in to teach Mrs. Huber’s class, and another substitute was called in. Garrett had no idea how a mix up like this could occur since everything had already been arranged for him.

“I’m sorry, Ranger Cooper, I don’t know what else to tell you. There’s nothing I can do now, at least for today. Perhaps you can come back tomorrow, or on Monday, as we had previously planned.”

“We planned for me to start when Mrs. Huber left for maternity leave. I’m ready to go, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say this was more than just a clerical oversight on your office’s part.”

Principal Ryker raised both hands, palms facing front. “I assure you, we’ve worked with law enforcement here before, and nothing like this has ever happened. But since Ms. Mayfaire is already here, I can’t very well send her home. Please, I’ll let her know that she won’t be needed after today, and you can start tomorrow. How does that sound?”

Garrett sighed. Starting on a Friday didn’t sound like the ideal way of introducing himself to the class, but as Principal Ryker so conveniently pointed out, he didn’t have much of a choice at this point, unless he wanted to draw extra attention to himself. “Fine,” Garrett bit out. “I’ll be here at 7AM tomorrow, and there better not be any more hiccups with my situation.”

“No, no, I can assure you, there won’t be. I’ll see to it personally.”

Garrett harrumphed and walked out of the principal’s office. He was never a troublemaker growing up, so he didn’t have any bad memories about the place, but Principal Ryker just rubbed him the wrong way.

Stepping out of the waiting area, his phone dinged. It was probably Caden looking for an update. Not watching where he was going as he fished the damn thing out of his pocket, Garrett ran into someone, and quickly reached out to steady the other person. “Excuse me, please,” he said, looking up quickly, and right into the forehead of the woman living in his guest house. He hadn’t really seen or talked to Reese very much since that night on the dock. He’d been busy at work, and aside from sending her a few text messages and funny animal pictures, he honestly wasn’t sure what to say to her after what she’d told him. A part of him wanted to spend more time with her, get to know her better. But he didn’t want to force the situation, and possibly scare her away. “Reese? What are you doing here?” He asked, more concerned than curious. A high school was the last place on earth someone with her ability should be.

“Garrett,” she smiled, carefully averting her eyes from his gaze. “Fancy meeting you here. I’m actually here for a job interview.”

Of all the things she could’ve said, that was the last thing he expected. “Really?”

“Yes. They’re looking for a new art teacher and I think I’m qualified.”

Garrett had studied her file and knew she was an artist, though he couldn’t find any photos of her work online. It was odd, considering how everyone he knew was always posting every little thing on social media these days. “Are you sure that’s the best idea? I mean given your situation…”

Reese lifted her chin in defiance, and while her gaze stayed on his nose, there was a sense of strength to her that he hadn’t seen since the night he found her in that motel room. “Yes. I know what I can and can’t do, and I can do this.”

Garrett sighed. He hadn’t meant to offend her. He was just genuinely worried about her working here. “I’m sure you could, but after what you told me, Reese, maybe…”

“No, Garrett. I can do this, and if I get the job, I’ll finally be able to get out of your hair.”

“What?” He didn’t even bother to hide the shock in his voice. It shouldn’t have surprised him that a grown woman would want to have a job and get her own place, but for some reason, he thought Reese liked living in his guest house. It was a crazy notion now that he seriously considered it, but he’d gotten so used to having her there. The idea of her leaving - it oddly just didn’t sit right with him.

Reese adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder. “It’s okay, you can say it.”

“Say what?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Reese laughed nervously. “That I’ve practically overstayed my welcome. I mean, I don’t even know how much I owe you for all the groceries you’ve bought me over the last month, not to mention letting me crash at your place for free, and use all your utilities and internet and -”

“Stop,” Garrett said. “You don’t owe me anything and you wouldn’t be there if I didn’t want you there. Of course, you’re free to go anytime, but don’t ever think you have to leave because I want you to go.”

Her smile fell. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything, I just figured, I’m a perfect stranger to you. I thought you’d want me to leave.”

Garrett stood up a little straighter, squaring his shoulders as he considered his next words. There really was no way around it, and he had no intention of mincing words or lying to her. “Well, I don’t.” Then he walked out of the waiting area and straight out of the building, not waiting for her response.

His heart was pounding in his chest when he finally got back in his truck. Had he really just told Reese that he didn’t want her to leave?

After his break up with Liza two years ago, he’d not only sworn off living with a woman, he’d sworn off women in general. He’d convinced himself that he was perfectly happy living alone, going to work, and fixing up his house in his free time. He had great friends and a family he loved. He didn’t need anything else.

So to be here now, actually wanting Reese to stick around, sounded every alarm bell in him, but strangely enough, they weren’t exactly blaring in his head. Just kind of humming. He was probably just lonely, and the last thing Reese needed was another complication in her life. His cell phone dinged again, alerting him to the message he never responded to.

Caden: Everything going as planned on your first day?

Garrett groaned, remembering how he’d messaged Caden early that morning to let him know that Mrs. Huber had gone into labor and that he was starting his assignment at the school today. Not feeling like sitting there and typing out a message with his thumbs, he dialed his friend and prepared to relay the incompetence of Principal Ryker.

***

Reese’s heart pounded in her chest as she watched Garrett storm out of the building. She hadn’t meant to offend him, but his doubt in her had hurt. No, she wasn’t a big fan of looking people in the eye, but after their conversation on the dock and her chat with Malia, Reese felt braver than she had in a long time. She still couldn’t bring herself to look into Garrett’s eyes, but she didn’t think it would be a problem with perfect strangers, like the principal and her future students, if she got the job.

“Ms. Graham?”

Reese turned and came face to face with a man who stood at least six feet tall, wore a black suit with an eggplant-colored tie, and had a nose that tipped up, pointing toward the ceiling. She recognized him from his photo on the school’s website. “Principal Ryker,” she said, infusing some much-needed confidence into her voice and stature. She could do this, no matter what Garrett thought of her. Maybe it had been a mistake telling him the truth, or maybe this was her chance to prove to him and to herself that she was stronger than either of them thought.

“Yes, please come into my office.” Principal Ryker gestured for her to precede him and she did, quickly taking a seat in front of his desk. The flat surface was covered with papers and overfilled binders. On the far corner stood a glass statue that seemed to be some sort of award, but she couldn’t make out what it said because that part was blocked by a stack of files.

“Thank you for coming in on such short notice,” he said, taking a seat in his obviously faux leather chair at his desk. “I have to say, after looking at the photos of your art, I’m quite impressed. Your Master’s degree in art history more than qualifies you to teach at our private school, and at the moment you are my most eligible applicant. Now, as I told you in my email, one of the most important parts of the art class curriculum is the senior class project. What do you think would be best suited for that?”

The man studied her intensely, just as she was studying him. But she just couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact. She’d been so determined to be as normal as possible, but what if Principal Ryker died in some awful way? This was her one and only chance to make a good impression on the man, and the last thing she wanted to do was jeopardize it by activating her ability.

But to answer his question, Reese had researched this school online and spent several hours browsing its website, knowing this would be brought up at her interview. “Junk journals are quite popular right now, particularly on social media. As seniors, what better way for the students to capture their memories than to have them all in one place, using items they either already have or that can easily be found around the house.”

“Junk journals?” His dismissive tone suggested he wasn’t seeing the big picture.

“That’s just a name for it, but I assure you, most turn out to be quite beautiful and even meaningful. She reached into her bag and pulled out a sample one she’d made in the last few days using scraps of leftover newspaper, magazine graphics, dry flowers, string, leaves, and other random things. “I made this one that you’re welcome to take a look at. Of course, I made mine to show you so there’s nothing personal inside, but the students would be able to glue photos of their friends, trips they have gone on, pages from books they love, the first flower a boy gave them, or a small note their best friend passed to them in class. It would be the perfect culmination to their years in school, and something easily portable they could bring with them to college or wherever life takes them. Furthermore, I would have them integrate methods of modern and contemporary art in accordance with the school’s curriculum.”

Principal Ryker nodded as he slowly turned the pages of her junk journal. His expression softened until he looked up at her so fast, she barely had time to avert her eyes to avoid making direct eye contact.

“I have to say Ms. Graham, no one has ever presented such an idea to me, but I think I like it.” He smiled broadly and handed the journal back to her. After she easily answered a few more of his questions, he looked up at her with a broad smile. “I will definitely be getting in touch with you soon.”

“Great,” Reese said, eagerly. She couldn’t believe how well this interview had gone.

“Of course, I’ll need to run a background check,” Principal Ryker continued, “but I’m assuming you have no skeletons in your closet?”

Reese shook her head, hoping her stint at Desert Cove wouldn’t show up on something like that.

“Good. Expect to hear from me on Monday or Tuesday.”

“Thank you so much.” Reese shook hands with Principal Ryker. As she turned to leave, the phone on his desk rang, and he practically shooed her out as he reached for it.

On her way out of the building, her mind was already spinning with ideas on how she could incorporate various lessons in modern and contemporary art with junk journals. She could start with Neo-Impressionism, the earliest form of contemporary art, and focus on the use of juxtaposing bright colors in order to evoke a higher sense of emotion. With everyone having camera phones these days, it wouldn’t be hard for the students to take photos of colorful scenery and use aging techniques like tea bags to give them an older look and feel.

Reese ordered an Uber using her phone and a pre-loaded gift card Garrett had given her so she would have it for things like this. As she waited for the car to arrive, ideas started flowing even faster. By the time the driver pulled into Garrett’s driveway, she had enough ideas for at least ten lesson plans.

Reese had never really wanted to teach art, much preferring to create it herself, but maybe this was the opportunity she needed to turn her life around. The only problem was that her name would likely be in the system again, which meant she wouldn’t be able to hide from Russell much longer.