Love Under the Mistletoe: A Small Town Christmas Love Story

He sighed and straightened the sleeves on his shirt. He glanced over at the now working laptop one last time before leaving the room and turning out the lights.

It was time to get to work.

Chapter 29

Hol

ly

Holly checked her watch for the millionth time that day. She wanted it to be lunch time. She wasn’t even all that hungry. She just wanted to see Nathan. She wanted to show him where she worked and what she did all day. She wanted to share her world with him.

The morning dragged on. Even her students said that it felt like lunch was taking forever. They complained more than usual and no one wanted to stay in their own seats. It made for a very long morning.

I’m bringing lunch.

Holly read the message from Nathan and grinned. The cafeteria food was decent, especially since today was tacos, but it was mass produced and geared toward children. She tried to bring her lunch as often as possible, but she still ended up eating chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese at least once a week.

“Ten more minutes, and then it’s lunch time,” Holly called out to her class. “Please finish up the math worksheets and clean up your math blocks.”

She was answered by the sound of blocks falling and scattering all over the floor. One of her students looked up at her with big eyes and an empty bucket. The blocks littered the floor by his feet. Holly sighed and motioned for him to start picking up.

The kids were restless. They needed to eat and go out and burn off some of their energy. It was the second to last day of school before break, and the kids were ready to be out.

Only one more day and then they’d all be free for a couple of weeks. Even though Holly adored teaching, she was excited for the break. Sleeping in and eating things that weren’t chicken nuggets sounded wonderful.

The kids were busy putting things away and preparing for lunch when the principal walked in.

“Hello, Mr. Sheppard,” the kids chorused as soon as they saw him. He was a big man with kind eyes and no hair on his head. He reminded Holly of a magic genie, if genies went into education.

“Ms. Jones,” Mr. Sheppard said, his face stern and hard. “You and your class need to go to the cafeteria right now.”

Holly frowned. The look on Mr. Sheppard’s face was unhappy and that meant whatever happened next was not going to be good. This was the face reserved for troublemakers and suspensions. This was the face he used when there was bad news.

Holly swallowed hard and herded her kids into a line. They all moved quickly and quietly, seeing the look on Mr. Sheppard’s face. Several of the kids whispered quietly, falling silent whenever Mr. Sheppard turned to look at them.

They walked down the hallways with Holly’s heart rate speeding up with every step. Was she having her award taken away? Was there an emergency? Was her father okay? Was this about the extra glitter she’d spilled on the floor last week making posters?

Mr. Sheppard crossed his arms and stood in front of the double doors leading into the cafeteria.

“Ms. Jones.” His low voice was dangerous. Holly hurried up quickly from the back of the line. “You go in first.”

Holly swallowed hard, unsure of what was going to happen. She pushed open the doors and was greeted by the scent of pizza. And not school pizza, but real pizzeria pizza.

Standing in the center of the cafeteria was Nathan. Behind him, dozens of boxes of pizza stood waiting for hungry children to come eat them.

Mr. Sheppard clapped a hand on her shoulder, laughter spilling out of him. ‘You should see your face,” he told her. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

Holly looked around, slow on the uptake.

“I brought lunch,” Nathan explained, coming to greet her. “I just brought enough for the whole school.”

“You brought pizza for the whole school?” Holly asked, looking around. The kids started streaming in through the doors, cheering with excitement and rushing for the boxes.

Mr. Sheppard shook Nathan’s hand. “Thank you for sponsoring this.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Nathan told him. “I have to make my end of the year donations somehow, right?”

Mr. Sheppard laughed and went to help guide some lost kindergartners to the pizza.