Chapter 5

Cutter was inside the solace of his new classroom, readying it for the arrival of his students on Monday, and even though Ru and Candice were across the hall and his door was closed, he had no problem listening to them, should he want to. Trying to tune them out was not as easy as it might seem since he kept hearing references to himself. Of course, they had no idea he’d be able to hear them on the other side of the building if he wanted to.

Setting up his classroom had been no problem even though he’d never done it before. After about an hour of work, it was perfect, as if he’d been working on it for weeks. He appeared as if he had been teaching for several years, and he hoped the students would learn something from him for the time that he was here, but that wouldn’t be too long. Mimicking an elementary school teacher couldn’t be that hard, could it?

His phone buzzed in his pocket for probably the tenth time in the last twenty minutes, and despite the fact that he was attempting to emerge himself in this new world of Thomas Elementary, he finally decided the texts required his attention. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw that all of the messages were from his cousin, Rider. The early ones seemed nonchalant, building toward: “Do you think you found her or not?”

Sighing, Cutter quickly typed in, “It’s hard to say. Give me some time. It’s been an hour.”

“It’s been years,” his cousin quickly shot back.

“Listen, I need to concentrate on what I’m trying to do here.”

“Trying is the optimal word. Okay, but do you think there’s a possibility that she is actually there?”

Cutter fought the urge to call his older, less patient cousin, but he was afraid the conversation might sound too intense for anyone who might be walking by in the hall, so he continued to text. “Saying ‘okay’ and then continuing to hound me isn’t helpful.”

The phone didn’t buzz again immediately, but Cutter knew Rider well enough to know it wasn’t over. “Fine. It’s just… there are no pictures on the website. It’s under construction for the new year. If what we’ve heard is true, and she really is there, you should know pretty quickly, right?”

Already aware of the problem with the website, part of the reason he’d fallen into this role to begin with, Cutter ran a hand through his short, blond hair. Should he tell Rider what he suspected? It might be too soon to tell, although, if he trusted his gut, she was definitely here. Knowing it would probably result in yet another line of badgering, he finally typed in, “I’ve only met a few people, but there is a woman who could potentially fit the bill.”

“Really? That’s awesome! Why didn’t you just tell me that?”

“Because I enjoy torturing you.”

“What is she like? What’s her name? Maybe I can find her pic somewhere else, social media or something. Will need to do some intel.”

“See! This is why I didn’t mention it. I didn’t want you going nuts. Not yet. I’m not sure. There’s just been some….” How could he best phrase it? “Strange activity.”

Once again, Rider went quiet for a while. Almost a minute later, he sent, “Okay. I’ll let you wait till you get back to explain that. What’s her name?”

He never gave up. “Roo Roberts.”

“Roo? Like that rat on Winnie the Pooh?”

“I think that’s a kangaroo.”

“Did you kiss three fingers and hold them up in the air in tribute?”

Cutter couldn’t help but chuckle at that one. “Stop with the movie references. I am not Katniss.”

“It’s what I do, man. Okay. I’ll see if I can find her. What does she look like?”

That was a legitimate question, and he definitely had an answer, more than one. What did she look like? Tall, blonde, gorgeous, with blue eyes full of secrets and an innocence about her that permeated with sweetness. It was too bad he was about to obliterate all of that. “She looks like an angel.”

The GIF of fireworks going off probably had a double meaning, but Cutter chose to believe his cousin was simply happy about the wording he’d chosen. “Now, leave me the hell alone,” he sent back, hoping that would be enough to hold Rider off for a few hours. He had a lot of meetings scheduled that day, and the last thing he needed was to slip up because of Rider’s distractions, or anyone else’s. He’d thought he’d been pretty clear about the importance of being left to his own devices here, but apparently some people either hadn’t been listening or had chosen to ignore him. When it came to Rider, Cutter was certain it was the latter.

After bustling around his classroom for a few more minutes, Cutter grabbed his school issued iPad, a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water and ventured out into the hallway. Ru was walking out of her classroom at the same time. She smiled up at him, her eyes flickering with self-doubt. If she was who he thought she was, he wondered how she’d gotten like this, and how she’d ended up here.

“Hey! Headed toward the meeting?” he asked, smiling back at her.

“Yes. Just gotta grab Candice.”

“Okay. See you in a bit.” He took off in the direction of the library, which he’d discovered earlier that morning as he’d been exploring the building. He could’ve waited for her, but he didn’t want to seem too clingy too early. He’d need a few days at the minimum to discover if she was who he suspected. And then the really hard work would begin.