He grabbed a tube of ointment and squirted some on his finger, gently rubbing it into my palms while he spoke. “I have a lot of experience pulling out splinters. As a teacher, I’m always playing doctor. I have to say that you’re about two decades older than most of my patients and a hell of a lot easier on the eyes, though.”
I chuckled while he wrapped gauze around my hands. “Thanks, I think. I don’t even know what you teach.”
“Physical education and English,” he said, glancing up when I laughed aloud.
“That’s,” I paused, searching for the right word, “different.”
“It’s unusual, I know, but hear me out. I love teaching physical education, but there aren’t always a lot of job openings. I got a minor in English so I could teach both. That way, if I ever needed a job—”
“You had a fallback plan,” I finished, and he pointed at me from where he sat on the coffee table.
“Bingo. I’m only teaching one unit of English at the high school here. The rest of the day, I teach elementary physical education.”
“Best of both worlds?” I asked, my hands wanting to grab my aching leg, but my steel willpower held onto my pride. I didn’t want him to see that I was still in pain. Who was I kidding? I just didn’t want to look weak in front of him, or anyone, for that matter.
“In this case, yes. I love the little kids, but it’s not exciting to teach them English, at least in my opinion. I prefer teaching them how to be physically active and healthy, while I save discussions about literature for the high schoolers.”
“Hmm,” I said, nodding my head to block out the pain in my leg and hands, “I see your point. Book discussions about Ramona Quimby wouldn’t be nearly as exciting as book discussions about Don Quixote.”
“Not even close,” he agreed, a smile pulling his lips upward. “The arrangement makes me appreciate the mentorship program that Lake Pendle has. I get to see my fourth graders interacting with my seniors in positive ways. If you think the fourth graders are the only ones who get anything out of the deal, as I did at first, you’d be wrong.”
I chuckled and tried to straighten out my leg without it spasming again. “I’m a Lake Pendle graduate. I was part of the program as a first and fourth-grader and again as a freshman and senior. I know exactly what you mean. I got more out of it in high school than I did in elementary school. I loved coming back in as an upperclassman and participating in the program from a different standpoint.”
“Everything had changed over those years, right?” he asked on a chuckle.
“Not everything,” I corrected, “but a lot of things, yeah. Anyway, thanks for helping with my hands. I should go.”
He frowned and motioned to the kitchen. “Why don’t I order in for dinner? I’m sure you don’t feel like going out, but The Modern Goat delivers.”
I swung my legs down and sat up, waiting to see if my leg was going to behave long enough to get me home. “Thanks, but I kind of just want to go home. I’m not feeling that great. I’m sorry.”
He pushed himself up off the coffee table and helped me up, his smile kind when he spoke. “I understand, Amber, you don’t have to apologize. Let me help you back to your apartment.”
I took a step, relieved when my leg held me up with no problem other than the constant ache. “I appreciate it, but I’m fine,” I promised, walking to the door with as much dignity as I could muster after the last thirty minutes of moaning on his couch—and not the right kind of moaning.
Bishop held my elbow all the way to the door and then opened it for me, without relinquishing my arm. He helped me down the stairs and to the edge of the driveway, where he finally dropped his hand. “If you think your dad would be okay with it, I’m happy to pull this fence down—no sense in bothering Brady when I’m off for the next three months. I’ll get rid of the debris and just leave a marker at the front, middle and back. Not that I care about the property line, I’m not about owning every last inch of my land, but I know the county cares.”
I nodded and smiled at his offer. “I appreciate that. I’m sure Brady and my dad will, too.” My mom’s comment about the meat in the freezer ran through my head, so I paused by the sidewalk. “Since I owe you a mulligan on dinner, if you want to wait until Saturday afternoon, I’d be happy to help you and then grill some steaks or burgers to make up for tonight.”
He bounced up on his toes and smiled. “I’d like that, Amber. I’m sorry you ended up in pain tonight. That certainly wasn’t the plan when I asked you to dinner.”
I plastered a smile on my face and tried to act cool. “That’s me, a colossal klutz. I should be the one apologizing for ruining your dinner plans.”
“I’m not worried about it, but I am worried about you. Are you going to be okay at home alone? Maybe you should call Haylee?”
I darted toward the side of the house as quickly as my leg allowed. “I’ll be fine. Thanks for the first aid. I’ll see you Saturday afternoon. I’m done at the bakery about two.”
Before he could answer, I unlocked the door to my apartment and slipped inside, sliding it closed. “That was an even bigger disaster than anything I could have predicted,” I said to the empty room as I stripped my dress off and tossed it in the laundry bin.
I stood in front of the mirror, the lights of the bathroom putting the reason for said disaster on display. With a sigh,
