“Look, Mom! Now we’re the four amigos!”
And like a magnet, my head swung over to Jace, a bemused expression on his face at Ryla’s words, not knowing how dangerous they were to my heart.
Because as we neared the doors, I could see the reflection of us in the doorway. The four of us, hand in hand, smiling and happy. Like a family.
CHAPTERFORTY
JACE
“You know what feels better than anything physical?” Esben looks at me for a long time. “How it feels to be falling for someone the way that I’m falling for you.”
Jessica Park,180 Seconds
There really is no other smell like that of a prop room. The air was thick with dust, old sweat, and rubber as I searched the high school prop room after Young Wills practice that night. It’d been a long day, made longer still by the half hour of digging amongst the prop bins for the hyena masks the drama teacher thought were hidden somewhere in here.
“Jace? You still in there?” I heard Sienna’s voice as the door opened. “Dios mío, it smells like a dirty gym sock in here.”
“You kind of get used to it after a while.” I grunted as I picked up the last and largest of the bins from the back of the room, stopping right in front of Sienna to put it down. “This is the last bin. If the masks aren’t in here, we’re out of luck.”
We were quiet as we dug through the bin. I was nervous—I’d been stalling all rehearsal. Finally, resolved that I just needed to grow a damn pair, I went for it.
“Hey, Sienna. You told me about a professor friend you have at that liberal arts college a while back. I’ve been thinking about applying to the performing arts education program they offer. Thought maybe I could teach drama in a middle school, kind of like what I’m doing now, but like, get paid for it.”
Sienna’s mouth and eyes went wide. She lunged forward, over the plastic bin and all, hugging me around the neck.
“I’d be happy to!” Sienna pulled back, a happy grin still in place. “Rae and I were just talking about you the other day. We both think you’d be a wonderful teacher. What brought this on?”
“Something my pop said today,” I answered. “And working with Polly’s kids and y’all here at Young Wills. I think I realized that helpin’ kids achieve their dreams, might just be mine.”
Sienna put her hand over her heart and fanned her face with the other. “Sir, you need to warn a woman before you say all that, it hit me right in the feels. Please say you’ll stay in Green Valley. Our boys would be so lucky to have you as their teacher.”
“Thank you. I truly appreciate that. But let’s see how things settle out first.”
We spent the next few minutes searching until we reached the bottom of the bin with no luck. “Well,” Sienna said, repacking the bin with me, “we could always try the middle school.”
Rae came in then, carrying Sienna’s youngest son, Pedro, in her arms. “This one’s been looking for you, I think.” Pedro squirmed out of her arms and ran toward Sienna, wrapping around his momma like an octopus.
“Whew, what’s that smell?” Rae wrinkled her nose.
“Thirty years of adolescent body odor and rubber,” I joked, making Sienna cackle.
“No, that’s not it.” Rae sniffed the air again. “Do you smell it, Sienna?”
Sienna nodded and Pedro looked at her with serious eyes. “I don’t smell, Momma.” She nuzzled his nose with hers. “Of course you don’t, my angel.”
I sniffed the air as Rae continued to walk slowly around the room. What the heck was she talking about? I’d say Sienna’s earlier assertion was right: alI I could smell was a sweaty gym sock.
Then, Rae came right up to me, put her nose up to my neck, and inhaled deeply.
“Hey!” I hollered. Rae took a step back, putting her hands on her hips. “It’s just as I thought,” she said dramatically, her head shaking slowly from side to side.
I gestured around me defensively. “You try searching a prop room for a half hour and see how you smell.”
Rae laughed as Sienna added, “I thought the same thing. He smells just like Ben did when he wanted to impress that girl and got into Jethro’s cologne.”
Rae snapped and pointed at her. “Axe body spray.”
I reared my head back. “I donotwear Axe body spray!”
