Free Sealed With a Kiss by Leeanna Morgan Page B

things.” She opened her passenger
door and wiggled the first box of crayons, paints, paper, and
stationary toward her. She didn’t know what Bella did or didn’t
have in her home, so she’d decided to bring all of her teaching
aids with her.
    “I can help you with that.”
    Rachel turned and smiled at Bella’s
bodyguard. “Thank you.” She passed him the first box and looked at
the second. “I might have brought too much.”
    He looked inside the box he was carrying.
“Bella’s got most things she needs, but at least you came prepared.
I’m Tank.”
    “It’s nice to meet you, Tank. I’m
Rachel.”
    Tank nodded. She supposed he knew exactly who
she was.
    He held the first box under one arm and
waited for her to pass him the second. “I’ll put these in Bella’s
classroom. If you haven’t got anything else to take inside, I’ll
move your car into the garage when I get back.”
    Rachel passed him the second box. “I’ll leave
the keys in the ignition.” Before she could thank him again, he
disappeared inside. Rachel picked up her tote bag, closed the
passenger door and took a deep breath. She was about to start her
first day of her new job.
    It would be fine. The two months would go
fast. Before she knew it, she would be back at Bozeman Elementary,
teaching a class of students without a bodyguard in sight.
    “Ms. McReedy, come and see our
classroom.”
    Bella was practically hopping from foot to
foot. Excitement shone from her face as Rachel made her way up the
stairs. She gave Bella a quick hug before walking toward the front
door. “Let’s go inside. It’s cold out here.”
    “Mr. Daniels said it’s cold enough to freeze
his whiskers.”
    “Mr. Daniels is a wise man.”
    A soft chuckle drifted across the room.
“Don’t tell him that. His head will get so big that it will pop
right off his shoulders.” A woman walked toward Rachel. “I’m Patty
Daniels. It’s nice to meet you, Rachel.”
    Rachel held her hand out. “It’s nice to meet
you, too, Mrs. Daniels.”
    Mrs. Daniels waved her hand in the air. “Call
me Patty. When an adult calls me Mrs. Daniels it reminds me of my
mother-in-law.”
    Patty didn’t look anything like the
housekeeper Rachel had imagined. She’d expected to see someone in
their mid-sixties with gray hair and a no-nonsense approach to
life. Patty might have been in her mid-sixties, but she had short
brown hair, a wide smile, and twinkly blue eyes that hinted at a
streak of mischief.
    “Tank has taken your teaching things into
Bella’s classroom. Can I get you a hot drink to warm you up?”
    “Thank you. That would be great.” Rachel
needed to find out as much about Bella as she could. A hot drink
sounded like a good way to begin.
    When she’d called John to let him know that
she could take the job, he hadn’t told her very much about what the
last tutor had been doing. He’d sent her Bella’s academic record
and a study plan of what Mrs. Daniels had been teaching her. There
were notes about what Bella enjoyed and didn’t enjoy. It had filled
in some blanks, but left others wide open.
    Rachel held her hand out to Bella. “What if
we all have a hot drink together? We can get to know each other a
little better?”
    Bella nodded and took Rachel’s hand. “Mrs.
Daniels made some peanut butter cookies this morning. Do you like
peanut butter?”
    “I love peanut butter.”
    Patty led the way into the kitchen while
Bella chatted the whole way. Their home was every bit as
traditional on the inside as the outside. A wide staircase wound
its way upstairs from the front entranceway. Painted in a soft
shade of buttermilk, the area was warm and inviting.
    They walked through a large set of double
doors. The living room’s paneled walls and marble fireplace gave
the area a sense of grandeur, a feeling of permanence. The view
from the windows was far prettier than she’d imagined a house in
town could be. Snow covered trees glistened in the large backyard
creating a