Читать книгу Child of Mine - Bonnie Winn K. - Страница 14

For the next few weeks, work on the teachers’ lounge was progressing to Leah’s satisfaction. The walls were freshly painted the color of sunwashed sand, and she’d done the trim in bright, clean white, with sections stained a deep mahogany for contrast. It was a drastic change from the dreary institutional green.

An ugly column stood in the middle of the room, and rather than trying to blend it in, Leah decided to make it a focal point. Using a trompe l’oeil technique, she turned it into a graceful willow tree, with a trunk, branches and leaves that reached around all four sides.

Continuing the theme, she used the same method to paint willow trees that faded in to the corners of the room, as well. The windowless, odd-shaped room was now open and inviting. The teachers were thrilled and there wasn’t a stick of furniture inside yet. That required Matt’s involvement.

He was the furniture man. She didn’t want to delay finishing the job, but she didn’t want to speak to him.

Problem.

She’d hoped to tiptoe around him by dealing with Nan at the store. But the older woman had cheerfully offered to have her boss get back to Leah.

Leah had come to the school that morning to complete a few touch-ups. The lounge door was propped open to allow the paint to dry, and she could hear footsteps, sure and distinctive, approaching from down the hall.

Instinctively, Leah knew it was him. She braced herself before facing him.

He wasn’t smiling. He never did around her. Not that she expected him to.

For an instant she wondered how it felt to be in his shoes. To have raised Danny, to have had him at his side all this time. To wonder if he would be taken away.

Something in her softened. “Thanks for coming,” she said as he walked in to the room

“I was close by. Nan gave me your message.” He glanced around. “The place looks a lot different.”

“Better, I hope.”

He cocked his head, examining the center column. “Yeah.”

More pleased than she would have expected, Leah smiled. “I was hoping we could replace the rectangular tables with some round ones, if that’s possible. Hopefully in varied sizes.”

“The school doesn’t keep a huge inventory of furniture in stock.”