Free Ever After at Sweetheart Ranch by Emma Cane Page B

door right away. The longer he hesitated, the harder it seemed to be to turn away. But he finally did it, because he had to.
    T he next morning, Lyndsay sat bolt upright in bed, staring at the clock, which read 10:00 a.m. She’d meant to get up a ­couple hours earlier, since Saturday morning was usually a productive writing time for her. She put a hand to her aching head. Why hadn’t she set her alarm?
    Because she’d had too much to drink. And . . . something else had happened.
    And then it hit her. She’d danced with Will—­and then she’d let him walk her home. Thankfully, she hadn’t been so drunk that she’d burst out an invitation to date.
    She covered her face with her hands and fell back dramatically onto her pillow. When she got drunk, she rambled. What had she said? She specifically remembered being in the parking lot when he’d turned her toward home—­
    By taking her hand. He’d held her hand all the way home.
    Because you were too drunk to know the way, she reminded herself.
    She remembered opening her door, inviting him in—­and that had been a worse invitation than a simple date—­but he hadn’t come in. He’d been a gentleman, she reminded herself. She wouldn’t have wanted him to see her stuff all over the house, right? No. More importantly, she wouldn’t have wanted to see him come in, plop down on her couch, and turn on a Colorado Rockies baseball game like she was just one of the guys. She refused to think that’s how he thought of her, or otherwise her dating plans would fall flat.
    He’d danced with her, she reminded herself optimistically.
    Only because she’d had a rough week, a little devil inside replied.
    As it was, she’d spilled the real reason she’d broken up with her last guy. It was way too easy to talk to Will, especially when she was drunk.
    So she was going to ask him out. It was the only way to stop feeling like this, to bury her renewed crush back with high school memories, where it belonged.
    She was going to break other patterns in her life, too. She’d find a project at school to become more involved in. She had to stir things up, rediscover the reasons she’d become a teacher. Surely that would help.
    Without bothering to shower, she went to her office to start working. But first, she’d send an e-­mail to her family and invite them to dinner. It was time to announce the good news about her book.
    M onday after school, Lyndsay sat at her desk, waiting for any students who needed help. She had lots of extra time, because she wasn’t planning to attend the softball game that night. She decided it would make her nervous to see Will looking sweaty and gorgeous and posing for his female fans.
    A ­couple kids filed in, and she spent about twenty minutes with the first two. After they left, she glanced up to find Matias Gonzalez watching her with hesitation.
    Matias was a quiet kid, his curly hair deep black and shiny. He was a little short and chubby, when a lot of his fellow students had already sprouted up to lanky heights, like her nephew, Ethan. Matias always did his homework, even when he struggled with it. He didn’t ask a lot of questions, and it was with the homework that she’d always been best able to help him.
    The fact that he’d actually come for extra help intrigued her.
    She smiled at him. “Hey, Matias, did you have a problem with today’s math?”
    He shook his head, got to his feet, and approached almost reluctantly. “No, Ms. De Luca, I think I understood it.”
    â€œThen what can I help you with?”
    He nodded. “The science fair.”
    â€œThe science fair is in a few weeks,” she said, frowning. “You don’t have your project started already?”
    He slumped into the chair next to her desk. “I keep starting one and stopping. I’ve tried three so far, and I don’t like any