Free Breakaway by Kelly Jamieson Page A

and
parked vehicles until he arrived at his spot.
    He couldn’t give up. He was determined to get past this and
deal with the old crap that kept surfacing. He was going back to that classroom
next week, even if it killed him.
    His cell phone rang as he rode the elevator up to his
apartment and he thunked his head back against the wall, recognizing the ring
tone. It was Brianne. He still had his phone programmed with that Sexy Chick
ring tone for her.
    He looked at the phone, closed his eyes and let it go to
voice mail.
    Why did she keep calling him? This was the fourth time since
they’d broken up. He hated to hurt someone’s feelings, but how much clearer
could he make it? They were done. The phone beeped to indicate a voice mail.
Gritting his teeth, his listened to it as he let himself into his apartment. “It’s
me,” her breathy voice began. “Please, Jase. Please call me back. I miss you so
much. I need to talk to you.”
    Hell.
    * * * * *
    “Are you sure you want to work on this committee?”
    A week later, Remi was in the principal’s office, talking to
her boss about a joint parent-teacher fundraising project to support the school’s
music program. “Of course,” she said to Jennifer.
    “You’ve taken on a lot of extra projects lately. Stars for
Reading, the anti-bullying task force and now this…”
    Remi gave her boss a bright smile. “I like to be busy.” She’d
been spending even more time after school with some of the kids who liked to
hang around too, trying to keep herself from missing her sister and brother and
harassing her friends.
    Jennifer nodded slowly. “Okay.” Then Jennifer’s gaze went
past Remi’s shoulder and a smile broke across her face. “Ling! Hi!”
    Remi turned to see Ling, the school’s administrative
assistant, standing there holding her new baby. She’d been off on maternity
leave since having her son two months earlier.
    “Did you bring that sweet baby in to visit us?” Jennifer
said, moving from behind her desk and hurrying over to Ling.
    Ling smiled. Her cheeks glowed from the cold outside and her
silky, dark hair swung forward as she set the baby carrier on the floor. “We
sure did come for a visit. Josh fell asleep in the car on the way here, though.”
She quickly unbuckled him and dug him out of layers of padding and blankets.
    Remi smiled at the baby, snuggled into the seat, with his
little thatch of dark hair like his mom’s and chubby rosy cheeks. Then his eyes
flickered and he blinked at them, and gave a mighty yawn.
    “Oh, you’re awake,” Ling said. “Let’s get you out of there
so you can say hello to everyone.” She lifted him out and stood up.
    “He’s beautiful,” Remi said softly, unable to take her eyes
off the sweet, little face. She touched his hair, then his cheek, so smooth and
soft.
    “Here, you want to hold him?”
    “Oh yes!” Remi eagerly accepted the little bundle and held
him to her, letting his small weight sink into her arms. “Hello, Josh, you
handsome man, you.” He smelled like baby powder and she closed her eyes and
breathed him in. She felt an ache of longing that went all the way from her
heart to her womb, and she opened her eyes to smile down at him, then looked at
Ling, who regarded her with a knowing smile.
    “You need one of your own,” she said.
    Remi laughed, although she felt a little stab at how
unlikely that was. Someday. Maybe. “Is he a good baby?” she asked instead.
    “He’s so good! He hardly ever cries. And he’s slept through
the night the last four nights in a row.”
    “That’s awesome.”
    “He wants to eat all the time, though.” Ling grimaced. “He’s
growing so fast!”
    “He’ll be big like his dad.”
    Ling smiled. “I hope so.”
    “I have to go,” Remi said, regretfully. “I have the Stars
for Reading program starting in a few minutes.” She handed Josh back to his
mother reluctantly and her arms felt empty. She sighed, but smiled as she left
Jennifer and Ling