Montana Secrets. Charlotte Douglas

the end of every school year, especially when she thought of her seniors, who wouldn’t be returning in the fall, Cat went through her checklist. She’d marked her students’ final grades on the standard computer forms, completed her textbook inventory and supplies requisitions for the fall semester, cleaned the ancient slate blackboards with lemon oil and cleared the top of her desk. All that remained was to straighten the rows of desks and close the tall windows.

      Starting at the back of the classroom, she had shut half of them when she heard footsteps at her door. At first, she thought Todd had returned, but the figure backlit by the hall windows was too tall for the principal. Her pulse stuttered when she feared for an instant the tall man might be Snake Larson.

      Then she recognized the broad shoulders and slender hips of the dark silhouette, a figure etched indelibly on her mind and heart, and she grabbed the nearest desk to keep her knees from buckling beneath her.

      Dizzy with hope, joy and disbelief, she finally found her voice.

      “Ryan? Is that you?”