Her Wickham Falls Seal

“When are your daughters coming home?”

“January 25. Why?”

“I’m going to need to order furniture and school supplies before I begin instruction. Once I return to New York, I’ll order what I need from a teacher store warehouse and have everything shipped down here.”

“There’s a warehouse in Beckley where you can get most of what you’ll need.”

“Do they have desks?” she asked.

“Yes,” Aiden said, as he added grits to the pot of boiling water and stirred the grains with a wooden spoon. “I looked them up online when I first decided to homeschool my girls.”

“What if I buy the supplies I need in New York and have them shipped to Jessica’s house, and then when I come back, you can take me to Beckley for the furniture.”

Aiden smiled and a network of lines fanned out around his large luminous eyes. “That’ll work. I’m off tomorrow and if you don’t have anything planned, I can drive you up to Beckley so you can select the furniture.”

Now that she’d signed the contract, Taryn was committed to Aiden’s children for the next year. “Okay. We’re on for tomorrow.”

Aiden lowered the flame under the pot of grits. “When do you plan to go back to New York?”

“December 30. I have to pack up my clothes and personal items and go to the teachers store and get the supplies I need for the classroom. If I get everything done in a couple of weeks, then I’ll call and let you know when to expect me.” Once she tied up all of her loose ends in New York, she planned to meet with a few of her former colleagues for a farewell dinner at one of her favorite Brooklyn restaurants before returning to West Virginia.

“You don’t want to use a store down here?”

Taryn shook her head. “I’d rather go to the one I know will have the supplies I want.”

“I’ll give you a check to cover whatever you need to buy.”

Taryn shook her head again. “That’s not necessary. It’s the middle of the school year and some items may be on sale, and coupled with my teacher discount, I may not have to spend too much.”

“Make certain you give me the receipts so I can reimburse you.”

She wanted to tell Aiden she wasn’t concerned about him reimbursing her. The fact that she would earn the same salary and live rent-free, while not having to gas up her SUV at least twice a week was like winning top prize in a contest. And having a classroom of two rather than twenty-two made her feel as if she had been redeemed. “Tell me about your daughters.”

Chapter Two (#ud2a3371a-bcdb-5407-a570-b185da247f2d)

Aiden picked up an egg and cracked it in a glass bowl. “What do you want to know about them?”

Taryn admired Aiden’s skill when it came to cracking eggs with one hand. “You told me they’re four and five, which makes them very close in age.”

“They were born eleven months apart. Allie just turned five and Livia was four in February.”

So, Daddy was really busy making babies, Taryn thought, as she bit back a smile. “I’m going to test them before I decide whether to offer them the same instruction.”

“I’m no teacher, but I’m going to go on the record to say that four-year-old Livia is as bright as her older sister. She’s also what I think of as a free spirit. Right now she’s into fairies. Last year, it was frogs.”

“I like her already,” Taryn said. “I must admit I was partial to fairies and unicorns when growing up. What can I expect from Allison?” she asked, watching as Aiden removed the bacon from the oven and placed the crisp strips on a plate lined with paper towels.

“Allie is a true Gibson because she loves to cook. She’s too young to touch the stove, so I allow her to sit on the stool and watch me.”

Taryn found her mind working overtime as Aiden talked about his daughters while he brewed a pot of coffee, whisked eggs and dropped slices of bread into the toaster. He informed her he had activated parental controls on the television, their tablets and on his desktop. There were strict rules for bedtime, but he still couldn’t get them to pick up after themselves.

“I plan to give them what students in a traditional school will experience. There will be instruction, recess and designated field trips. And given their ages, I will also assign a brief nap time.”

“That’s good to hear, because my mother complains constantly that Allie and Livia refuse to take naps. Most times, they’ll just lie in bed singing or talking to each other.”

Taryn made a mental note to devise a plan to get the girls to settle down enough to sleep for at least an hour. She wanted to ask Aiden about his daughters’ relationship with their mother. Although he had been granted full custody, did they get to visit with her? She’d had students who’d lost one or both parents to divorce, substance abuse, imprisonment, terminal illnesses or domestic violence. Aiden had alluded that his in-laws were not viewed in a good light in Wickham Falls, and she wondered what his ex-wife had done to set the townsfolks against his children.

The aroma of brewing coffee mingled with the distinctive smell of bacon wafted to her nostrils. “Can I help you with anything?” she asked Aiden after a comfortable silence.

“No, thanks. I have everything under control.”

Taryn waited for the weekends so she could choose between eggs, bacon, pancakes, waffles, biscuits, sausage or ham, grits and several cups of coffee with gourmet breads. Once a month she treated her family to Sunday brunch, which included mimosas, Bellinis and steak-and-eggs benedict, chicken-and-waffles or Belgian waffles with fresh fruit.

Aiden set two plates with napkins, coffee mugs and place settings on the breakfast bar. Minutes later, he ladled fluffy scrambled eggs onto the serving platter with strips of bacon, triangles of golden buttered toast and then filled the mugs with steaming black coffee. The bowl of grits and serving pieces were placed next to the platter.

“Do you want cream and sugar for your coffee?” he asked Taryn.

“Yes, please.” Taryn stared at the dishes Aiden had prepared quickly and with a minimum of effort. “It looks too good to eat.”

Aiden set a container of cream and the sugar bowl on the countertop and then sat next to Taryn, their shoulders mere inches apart. “You can sit and admire the food, but don’t blame me when I eat up everything before you.”

Taryn picked up a serving spoon and scooped up a serving of grits. “I did not sit here just to watch you eat.”

Aiden speared several strips of bacon with a pair of tongs. “I love breakfast.”

She gave him a sidelong glance. “Then we have something in common, because it’s my favorite meal of the day. Unfortunately, I don’t get to have a full breakfast until the weekends.”

“That will change once you move in. Most times, I use egg substitutes for omelets and frittatas because I don’t give the girls whole eggs more than twice a week.”

Taryn resisted the urge to moan when she swallowed a forkful of grits and eggs. “I’m looking forward to having you cook for me. The grits are delicious.”

Aiden leaned closer, their shoulders touching. “Do you like shrimp and grits?”

“Does a cat flick its tail?”

Throwing back his head, Aiden laughed loudly. “Should I take that as an affirmative?”

“It is,” she confirmed. “Whenever I go to Charleston, South Carolina, to visit a cousin, I order it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If I had to request a last meal, then it would be shrimp and grits.”

“I had it for the first time a few years back, and I’ve tried recipe after recipe until I finally decided to use tasso instead of cured ham to give the dish a smoky taste.”

“What’s tasso?” Taryn asked.

“It’s heavily cured ham that’s smoked with a tremendous amount of seasoning. The result is dry, very salty, peppery and smoky. I only use a little bit because it can easily overwhelm a dish.”

“Do you smoke your own meats for the restaurant?”

Aiden nodded as he took a sip of coffee. “Yes. Tomorrow, after we come back from Beckley, I’ll take you to the Wolf Den and introduce you to my uncle and brother.”