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Chapter OneCourtney“Can I sit with you?”

“Gavin,” I say as my five-year-old student stands besideeyes “I told you three ti”

“But Stacey toldto eat me!”

“Cows eat grass,” I tell hi, so I pull hi out

“There’s going to be nothing there to eat me?” he asks

I try not to laugh He’s so cute, even though he is a handful “It’s a ranch, Gavin Not a zoo There are only cows, s, chickens, stuff like that”

“Oh,” he says as he thinks about it “That’s not so scary”

“Exactly,” I say “And we’ll see how they grow vegetables too”

“My daddy likes growing vegetables in our backyard,” he says “Does your husband like to grow vegetables?”

“Oh, I’ that always givessensation in the heart

“Oh,” he says as he looks at me curiously “Do you have a boyfriend?”

I s hard “Nope”

“Nothing?”

Geez, will this kid lay off? I would have stuck hiated about my love life, or lack of one

“I’et with the zipper onin a big cold bed by myself is just super!

Veronica’sin the seat in front of le, Courtney”

“Yup”

“I know a guy that would be perfect for you”

“Great,” I say as I force out a suys over the years that have been ‘perfect’ forbut Some of them were perfectly niceThere just wasn’t that spark I’ve been waiting for Maybe that spark is unrealistic Maybe that’s the problem Maybe I just need to settle for whoever comes next…