“Really? But … I haven't even given you a real interview yet,” I stammered. Had Ford given them my whole résumé over the phone or something?
Ted just chuckled. “I know a good teacher when I see one.”
“Now, about your duties,” Maddie said briskly. “Classes are held for eight hours every weekday for the entire year. We only have one other teacher right now, so you'll be handling math and science classes for all grade levels. How soon can you start? Assuming, of course, that you pass your background check.”
My spark of excitement burst into a full-blown glow. This is really happening, I realized—and this is exactly where I'm meant to be. If I had known more about juvenile law, I might have spotted this job opportunity even without Griff's hint. These girls needed me more than the D.C. students. It would be a lot easier for Lincoln High School to find a qualified replacement than for Oak Creek to find … anybody at all. And if working here let me stay with Ford, then that was just icing on the cake. I wanted to jump up and down, kiss the ever-loving daylights out of Ford, but instead I replied coolly, “I’d love the position, and I can start whenever you need me.”
Chapter 20
Emma
Ford’s fingers twined with mine as he guided the truck along the long stretch of two-lane road back to the ranch. Sheer, unbridled contentment bloomed within me. Everything was falling into place. I’d dreaded everything about this summer, but it had given me the most amazing opportunities—the man and the job. Reflexively, I squeezed Ford's hand, and he glanced over at me, grinning.
“You happy, sweetheart?”
“Happy? That’s not even the right word for what I’m feeling,” I replied.
“We’ll need to get your stuff moved out here. Make sure you’ve got a vehicle that’s up to the drive in the winter.”
His words conjured up a picture of a moving truck parked in front of the ranch, with men unloading all of the boxes that were currently waiting to be packed in my small Stanford apartment before I headed for D.C. I pictured Mom and Russ standing on the front porch, jaws dropped, wondering what the hell was going on.
Some of that contentment faded away, but I gripped Ford’s hand harder. No, we’ll figure this out. “Ford,” I started softly. “How are we going to tell our parents about us?”
He looked at me for a second before his eyes focused on the road again. “We’re just going to tell them. Straight out. No games. I’m in love with you, and you’re in love with me, and we’re going to be together. The labels don’t matter; it’s what we feel for each other that does. If they have a problem with it, we can discuss it like adults, and that’s the end of it.” His thumb stroked the back of my hand as he delivered his speech.
We were driving down a deserted country highway, and now was when the man decided to tell me that he was in love with me.
“Pull over.”
Ford’s head jerked in my direction. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked, but he was already decelerating.
“Just do it. Pull over.”
I was already unbuckling my seatbelt as Ford guided the truck to the side of the road and threw it into park. Thank God for bench seats, I thought. I slid over to the middle, pushed Ford’s arms down, and threw one leg over his hips to straddle him.
“What did I do to deserve this?” he asked, hands lowering to my shoulders.
“Who decides to tell a woman he’s in love with her while he’s flying down a back country road at sixty miles per hour? That’s the real question.” I tried to sound stern, but I was smiling too broadly to pull off anything but insanely happy.
Ford’s smile stretched across his face in a mirror of my own. “Like you hadn’t figured that already yourself,” he murmured, lips lowering toward mine.
I lifted my hand, forestalling his kiss—something I could hardly believe I was doing … but just this once. “Say it again.”
The spark in his eyes flared. “I love you, Emma. So fucking much.”
I dropped my finger. “I love you too, Ford. Now kiss me.”
He did. His head tilted, lips claiming mine, tongue diving inside to taste me. I wanted him to possess every inch of me—and not just with his tongue. My hands skated down his chest, finding the button on his jeans, and I tugged. Only once my hand was inside and wrapping around his thick, hard cock did Ford pull his mouth from mine.
“You do realize that we’re on the side of a public road, right?”
I looked out the window, not releasing my grip, and surveyed the long stretch of empty asphalt. Tinted windows. Haven’t seen a car in twenty minutes. I’m feeling lucky because this amazing, gorgeous man loves me.