A Rescued Heart (Rescued Heart Romance) (2 page)

Two years later

The hallways buzzed with children’s voices and laughter, a sound Ava could never tire of. They had just returned from spring break vacation and even though she missed her kids, the break rejuvenated her. She’d opted not to travel anywhere over break. Instead she chose to stay in her apartment with the sole intent to read books, watch movies, and catch up on sleep.

She would claim to others that asked, she enjoyed the downtime and planned to store up her energy for her busy schedule the next couple of months. However a microscope could detect the lack of activities had more to do with her skeptical attitude about life since Tim.

“Miss Williams! Miss Williams!” Ava’s name echoed from so many directions she didn’t know where to look first. Before she had the chance to see who all called, little arms wrapped around her legs. She found her balance and glanced down to see one of her students, Beth, clinging to her while grinning up at her with a huge toothless smile.

“Look what happened over vacation, Miss Williams. I lost my two bottom teeth!” A little spit came out while she talked. Ava could tell she was still getting used to the wind that whistled through her gums.

“Oh my, Beth, I guess you did. Were you scared?”

“No, silly. You haven’t seen me for a whole week, so I can see how you could forget that I’m a big girl now.”

Ava bent down and chuckled. “You’re right. I won’t let it happen again.”

“Okay, see you in class,” the little one turned and skipped down the hallway.

With all the excitement, the children would have a hard time focusing today. To help with the transition, Ava planned something special for them this morning.

Once a month she had someone come in and talk about their profession, explain what it is like to have that job, and give the kids a chance to ask questions. It could be debatable between the kids or her, who had more excitement for these days. Today someone from the police department was coming.

Ava had arrived at school earlier than normal this morning, allowing extra time to head to the office to forewarn the secretary about her class’s visitor today. She didn’t want her to be nervous when a police officer walked in asking for her.
It was a good idea until she tried to make her way back to the classroom. The process moved at a slow pace to the door.

Between listening to students talk about their vacations, dogs, favorite foods—questions abounded. She loved the quirky conversations with her students and stored her favorite ones in the back of her mind, hoping to remember the details to share with someone later. Her favorite random moments began when she asked a question and it was answered with something off the wall like, “Miss Williams, did you know that my brother got sick last night? Some stuff came out of his mouth and nose. It was really gross.”

“Okay class,” she called after announcements finished, clapping her hands. “Welcome back, everyone. Please find your spot on the rug.” The roundup proceeded better than she’d anticipated, with only a couple minor pushes and disagreements about who claimed whose spot.

A kindergarten class could be equivalent to mystery chocolates—the
kind where you don’t know what the center is filled with until you take a bite.

She hoped for a good chocolate day.

Midmorning the phone rang on her desk. “Ava, your ‘Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome’ is here,” the secretary quietly spoke with a hint of amusement. Her words held a muffled tone, as if she had her hand cupped over the receiver.

“Who?”

“Your police officer is here.”

“Oh, okay, send him down.”

Her stomach did a nervous flip all of a sudden
.
You are being ridiculous, Ava. Get it together. You do this all the time, nothing to be nervous about.

By the time she settled herself
down,a knock at the door filled the quiet room. She turned around to see the officer standing in the doorway
.
Wow, she wasn’t kiddin
g
. He reached almost a head taller than her five-feet-five frame, with broad shoulders and muscles that looked chiseled under his close-fitting uniform. He looked like he could have played football in college as a tight end or a very fit linebacker. His dark brown hair, chocolate brown eyes and contagious smile had her forgetting why the man stood at her doorway.

Ava smiled back and headed to the door to greet him, praying that her hands would stop shaking by the time she reached him. She shook his warm hand. “Hi, I’m Ava Williams.”

“Sergeant Matthew Thompson. It’s nice to meet you.” His deep and calming voice soothed her nerves. Her tight shoulder muscles relaxed and her breathing regulated again.

“Thanks for taking the time to come and speak with the kids. They are very excited to have you here.”

“I was happy to come,” he replied with a sparkle in his eyes.

They walked toward her desk while he questioned her. “Do you have anything specific that you’d like me to talk about?”

“I usually just have the guest talk about what their job entails and why they like their job. Then I like to give the kids some time to ask questions.”

“Sounds great.
I’m looking forward it,” he said while smiling and showing off his perfectly straight teeth.

“Why don’t you stand on the front of the rug over there,” she pointed, “and I’ll get you a chair while the kids get ready.” Having his attention on her softened her stance like butter melting
.
Focus, Ava, you have to focu
s
.

Matt watched her walk away and tried not to stare at the classic beauty. Her hair shimmered like midnight and the green sweater she wore fit her perfectly and made her blue eyes dance. She handled the children with firmness, yet saturated in affection and kindness. They seemed in awe of her, and he could see why. She possessed a special kind of gentleness toward them, and in the
simple task of giving directions her words encouraged the kids whenever possible. That simple trait could only be natural, not learned.

He took the moment he had to scan her room and get a feel for what made her tick. The room displayed bright colors and her handwriting emerged neat and precise. She had different learning stations set up that appeared in good condition, but if he got close enough he would probably see the wear and tear of daily use from tiny hands.

It didn’t take long for the kids to follow her directions and sit on the carpet in front of him. He took the chair she offered and sat down while Ava introduced him.

“All right boys and girls, thank you for listening so well. Today we have a very special guest with us. This is Sergeant Matthew Thompson from the Rockford Police Department and he is here to share with us about his job. So, I will need everyone to sit quietly and listen.”

She gestured toward the children and walked to her desk.

Ava moved from his direct line of sight which
allowed his focus to go where it needed to be. He couldn’t deny the draw he had toward her and didn’t need the distraction while giving his presentation.

“Hi, I am Sergeant Matthew Thompson, but I would really like it if you called me Matt. I have been a police officer for almost eight years. Being a police officer is a big responsibility. I work to keep you safe. I have a police car that I drive around whenever I am working. I have certain areas that I’m in charge of patrolling. Patrolling means that I drive around making sure people are obeying the rules and staying safe.”

While looking around at the children he took note of how well-mannered they were. They sat in silence and no one moved. A good reflection on their teacher, he decided.

“When people drive too fast, I have to pull them over and give them a warning to slow down, but if they were going really fast, I have to give them a ticket. Drivers need to know that they must follow the speed limit. It’s there for their safety so they and other drivers don’t get hurt.

“When there is an accident, either on the road, at a house, or in the city, I’m called to come and help. If there is a fire, I go and help the fire fighters by making sure no one comes close to the danger.

“Sometimes when there is someone doing something naughty, I have to go find them and take them to jail for their punishment. It’s kind of like when you disobey your mommy and daddy; you might have to go into time-out for a while.” A few of the kids nodded their heads. “Time-out is another way to look at jail. They have to sit there until the judge says they’re done.

“Now, I’m sure you have heard this before, but I want you to hear it from me. If there is ever someone hurting you or making you feel uncomfortable, don’t be afraid to tell someone, whether it be your parents, Ms. Williams, or you can even tell me. But it’s very important for you not to be afraid to say something.” It was could-have-heard-a-pin-drop quiet.

“I like my job because I enjoy helping people,” Matt continued. “The best thing for you is that you don’t have to be a police officer to help someone. Every day you have a chance to be kind to someone. It doesn’t matter if it’s helping your parents around the house or your teacher at school,” he looked over at Ava and smiled, “or just being kind to everyone you meet.”

How well he communicated with the kids impressed Ava. He obviously enjoyed talking to children about his job and easily spoke at their level with uncomplicated words for them to understand. “Well, that’s all I have for you today,” he announced. “Do you have any questions?”

A dozen hands shot up and his laughter erupted.

“Okay, how about you in the red,” he pointed at Nick.

“Can I see your gun?” he asked with eyes wide.

“Well,” Matt stood and pointed to the gun in his holster, “I can show it to you this way, but I’m not going to take it out. I always wear it right here.” He patted the gun and then sat back down.
“How about you?”

“Hi, my name is Kelly. Whenever my mom gets pulled over she always plays with her hair. Do you know why she does that?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered while suppressing a laugh. He looked over at Ava as she covered her own smile with her hand. “Maybe you should ask your mom.”

He kept the questions moving.

“How about you?” He pointed at Mikey.

“Sir, what is your favorite part of your job?”

“I love turning on the lights above my car and driving real fast.”

The girls giggled and boys’ voices called out, “I want to be a cop.”