Chapter 35
Chapter 35
On Monday, there were no classes, but the teachers had in–service
training. Tessa had to drive over to Eagle Ridge for the meetings,
where she got to meet her accidental nemesis, Tom Tremaine. He
was an outsider, like her, but he’d been living in the Valley for more
than a decade now, and had married a local. He was friendly, but
that didn’t stop him from grilling Tessa a little bit about her reading
lists.
“How do you expect the kids to develop an appreciation for more challenging literature p>
Tessa shrugged. “I don’t p>
Tom opened and closed his mouth, wordlessly appalled.
“Kids who enjoy challenging lit will pursue it on their own. Didn’t
you, when you were young p>
“Well, yes, but at the guidance of my teachers p>
She picked an apple cinnamon muffin from the breakfast spread that had been put out for the teachers. “My upperclassmen do independent reading, and I steer the more analytical readers towards stuff that will challenge them. But I care a lot more that they enjoy reading. They’re going to develop better critical thinking skills from reading ‘fun‘ books than they are from ‘literary‘ stuff that they just skimmed, or looked up the cliff notes for. And even if they don’t, then at least they had fun reading p>
“So you prioritize ‘fun‘ over learning p>
“I think learning only happens if students are engaged with the texts. So, yes.” Tessa took a big bite of the muffin. It was possibly the
Chapter 35
best muffin she’d ever had in her life and she almost groaned out
loud.
Tom’s expression flickered. Warmth Tessa hadn’t realized was
missing suddenly came into his eyes. She realized that this was the
first real smile he’d given her since they’d been introduced. “I’m not
sure I agree with you entirely,” he said, taking a muffin for himself.
“But I can see you care about your kids p>
Ah, yes. That was the line she used to get at her old school all the
time–if she cared about her students she’d be teaching “serious”
books, clearly she just didn’t want to do her job, et cetera. Tom had
apparently been in the same camp until now.
“I do care,” Tessa said fiercely.
“Margaret told me,” he said ruefully. “I should know by now not to argue with her p>
Eagle Ridge’s principal, Sheryl Toonikoh, called everyone to order shortly after that. They were all gathered in the school’s gym/cafeteria/auditorium. The school housed all classes from K–12, so even though there were half as many students as in Longtooth, the building was about the same size as the one Tessa taught in. Refilling her coffee and taking a seat at one of the folding lunch tables, she steeled herself against the tranquilizing effect that these trainings always had.
“Good morning, everybody,” Sheryl said brightly. Outside the gym windows, the steel gray sky continued to darken as the wind picked up. “Looks like tonight’s storm might be moving in a little faster than we expected. We might have to let some of you head out early p>
Tessa was the only teacher from Longtooth. Lucia had been meant to come with her, but she’d called early this morning to let Tessa know she was too sick to come. Aside from Tessa, the only other non–Eagle Ridge teachers were the four who’d made the trek down from Daghukkoda, a small village several hours north of Longtooth.
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“Well. Let’s get started. We’ve got a speaker today. This is Dr. Jensen. I’ll let her introduce herself p>
The in–service training was completely unremarkable. It was meant to be a four–hour session, and then they’d be released back to their classrooms for whatever work we wanted to get done. But, two hours in, the wind had begun to rattle the windows and the sky had turned nighttime dark.
“Alright, we’re going to let our Longtooth and Daghukkoda teachers head out,” Sheryl announced. “The snow’s not supposed to hit for a few hours, but we’d rather you got home safely instead of driving through it p>
The drive home was rough. Tessa’s arms were getting sore from steering against the wind, which pushed at her truck like the hand of
an angry god. Even without actual snowfall, the wind pushed a
constant stream of powder off the snowbanks that swirled across
the road and made it impossible to see where the shoulder was.
Things got worse when, halfway between Eagle Ridge and Longtooth, the Jimmy sputtered, coughed, and then died. Tessa
coasted to the side of the road and put it in park.
“This is not a good time for you to act up,” she muttered at the truck as she tried turning the ignition again. The engine made a mighty effort to turn over, but just couldn’t get going. She looked at the dash–no check engine light. A second later, she realized the fuel
gauge was on E.
No. Impossible.
She never let her tank get below half full in the winter, and she’d been especially vigilant about it since moving to Alaska. She had to stare at the fuel gauge for a few more seconds before it really sank in that she’d let her tank run down to empty in the middle of winter in Alaska on the day of a fucking blizzard.
Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.