Page 119 of The Perfect Distraction

Chapter Thirty

Two Weeks Later

Beth felt sad when she drove to the shop that day. She’d be leaving in two days, and this would be the last time she’d be picking up Joey.

When she entered the shop, the men were huddled around a workbench, but Joey spotted her immediately and ran over to greet her.

When he kept looking over his shoulder at the men, she became suspicious, and then he whispered, “It’s a surprise.”

“Ah,” she said, nodding.

Colton came over to greet her next with a semi-smile on his handsome face. “Hey, you,” he said and pulled her in for a hug.

She’d been fighting back tears all morning, and she didn’t want to let loose in front of an audience. Besides, they still had tonight and tomorrow night together before she had to leave. Colton had arranged for Joey to stay with Gretchen so he and Beth could have some private time before she left.

She’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed Joe and Mason had joined them until Joe cleared his throat loudly.

“Okay, you two. It’s my turn.”

Beth thought he meant to hug her, but his hands were behind his back, and he wore a secretive smile.

“We made something for you to take back home,” Joe said, his voice catching on the last word.

When he brought his hands around and revealed her gift, her throat closed, and her eyes welled up. So much for not crying.

“It’s a pencil holder!” Joey exclaimed.

“I think she knows that, kiddo,” Mason teased.

Beth took the gift from Joe’s hands and examined it through her tears. They’d fashioned a large pencil out of wood, and there were several holes drilled into the top to hold pens and pencils. But what made it really special was that her name had been handwritten in calligraphy, and underneath it in smaller print was the phrase: #1 Teacher.

“Look on the back,” Joe said.

She turned it around and saw that they’d engraved the words: Handcrafted by Woodward Woodworks, and listed their names: Joe, Mason, Colton, and Joey.

“It was my idea!” Joey said.

“One of Joey’s teachers had something similar, and he gave us the idea,” Colton confirmed.

“Of course, ours is even better,” Mason said with a wink.

“It’s beautiful. I love it,” Beth said, wiping away a tear. And then she hugged Joe and Mason in turn. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome,” Joe said, looking pleased.

“Who did the calligraphy?”

“I did,” said a voice from behind her.

Beth spun around to find Judy standing there clutching a plastic container in her hands.

“I learned how a long time ago,” she said, shrugging like it was no big deal.

“Well, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”

Beth considered giving her a hug, but then Judy held out the container. “Some cookies I made for the ride home. There’s enough in there for your sisters too.”

That did it. The tears started streaming down her face, and there wasn’t anything she could do to stop them. Colton immediately pulled her into his arms, Joey hugged her around the legs, and the three of them stood like that for a few minutes while the rest of the family hovered nearby.