Free Costume Catastrophe (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 21) by Kathi Daley

father.  He’s been staying with a friend for the past couple of months. Anyway, he wondered if we had any openings.”
    I glanced at Zak. “You know how much I like Will, but what about Brady?” Brady Matthews had moved to Ashton Falls to fill the position created by Will’s departure and had been doing a wonderful job. “I wouldn’t want to see him displaced. He moved his whole family here and the kids love him.”
    “I have no intention of laying Brady off. He’s doing a fantastic job and you are correct; the kids do love him. I wouldn’t even consider bringing Will back, but he does have a much broader background than Brady, and he’s done amazing work in theoretical mathematics, whereas Brady’s specialty is applied mathematics.”
    “You’re thinking of having them both teach at the Academy?” I asked.
    “I’m considering it. Brady is covering the basic mathematics courses excellently, but if we brought Will on board we could venture into original research. I know that’s a lofty goal for a small private high school, but when I think of the possibilities…”
    Zak’s eyes shone brightly as he spoke. I could see he was intrigued by the idea of charting a new course and he could certainly afford to pay two math teachers. Will would most likely be able to help Zak with the math related to his software development as well. There was just one problem as far as I could see. “What does Phyllis say?”
    Our principal, Phyllis King, had dated Will briefly before he left town. I knew it had hurt her deeply when he’d moved, but I also knew she wasn’t really angry at him because she understood his need to be near his father.
    “She seemed fine with it. She was obviously shocked when I mentioned it to her, but after I explained my idea of having Brady continue with the classes while Will conducted original research on the Academy’s behalf, she seemed really excited. I know we want to keep the school small so it’s manageable, but if we could come up with some sort of breakthrough in math or physics it would really put us on the map.”
    I loved seeing Zak so excited about a new project. “I’m all for it if you think it’s a good idea.”
    “I do think so. I think I’ll call Will to invite him to come out so we can discuss it further. I’ll need to talk to Brady to make sure he understands that his job is in no way jeopardized. I think he likes living here. He’s commented several times how well his kids are settling in.”
    Brady’s wife had died a year and a half before he moved in Ashton Falls, leaving him with three small children to raise. When he’d first arrived he’d seemed like a fish out of water, but Ellie had befriended him and my mom had gotten him involved with her toddler group, while Jeremy had introduced him around to the folks in his single parent group. Now that he’d married Jessica, Jeremy was no longer a single parent, but I doubted that would stop him from socializing with the people who had been there for him when Morgan was an infant.
    I glanced at the clock. It was time I headed up to make sure my own “children” were wrapping things up. Scooter would stay up all night playing video games and Alex would stay up reading if I let them.
    “I’m going to head up,” I announced. “Would you mind letting the dogs out?”
    “Happy to. I’ll head up too as soon as I get the animals all tucked in. Does the otter need another feeding?”
    “I’ll check with Alex, but I’m sure she has that taken care of it. Did she tell you she’s going to the dance with Tony?”
    Zak frowned. “She’s a little young to date.”
    “They’re going as friends. Tony is a bit older, but he’s a nice kid. I’m sure it will be fine. Don’t give her a hard time. She’s very excited and a little shy about it.”
    “I’ll be on my best behavior, I promise, but you might want to talk to Scooter. He does like to tease.”
    “Actually, I hoped you’d talk to him. He listens to you,