She's Got a Way by Maggie McGinnis

year, I do some work at a couple of the local high schools. That’s me.”
    â€œHandyman stuff?”
    He shrugged. “This and that.”
    â€œI have a feeling you’re a little more complicated than that.”
    â€œNah. I strive to be un complicated. World’s tricky enough. I don’t need to add to it.” He turned toward her. “How about you? What’s your story?”
    â€œMy story? Far too long and mesmerizing to tell.”
    â€œAh.” He smiled, turning back toward the lake, his hands behind his head. “A woman of mystery.”
    â€œYup, that’s me.” Gabi rolled her eyes.
    â€œSo tell me. This housemother concept is new to me. What do you actually do there?”
    â€œI didn’t put you off with the long and mesmerizing thing?”
    â€œNope. And I’m serious. It’s … an unusual career choice.”
    â€œIf it saves my reputation, I didn’t actually set out to be a housemother.”
    â€œWhat did you set out to be?”
    Gabi took a deep breath, picturing her freshman-year classes, back when her trust fund had been intact and her future had seemed solid.
    â€œI started out wanting to teach math, actually.”
    â€œSo what changed that?”
    â€œMy calculus grade.” She laughed bitterly. “My professor hinted that perhaps I might be a better fit for the English department.”
    â€œOuch.”
    â€œHe was right, unfortunately. And then … I took a year off, got my bearings, and went back. Bypassed the English department building—thank you—and double-majored in psych and sociology.”
    No need to talk about why she’d taken that year off. No reason Luke needed to know about her older brother, who lived life like he was entitled to whatever he desired, be it money.… or women. No reason to talk about how his actions had led to her complete and utter split with her family … and consequently, her trust fund.
    No need to detail her year of scrabbling to find an apartment, two jobs, and her dignity.
    â€œSo you’re yet another overeducated, underpaid minion of the American education system.”
    â€œAbsolutely.” She smiled. “But when my charges aren’t driving me to drink, I actually almost love my job. I get to be substitute parent, guidance counselor, homework helper, crisis intervention officer, and midnight-snack sneaker, all in one.”
    â€œSounds … busy.”
    â€œIt’s twenty-four/seven. These girls don’t have parents on-site, obviously, and most of them don’t have families who are even reachable, half the time.”
    â€œSo you’re it?”
    She shrugged. “I’m not the only it on campus, but I’m one of four houseparents. I’m responsible for the fifty kids in my dorm—making sure they’re fed, happy, and successful in all of their Briarwood endeavors.”
    Luke cocked one eyebrow. “That last part sounds straight from a job description.”
    â€œTotally is.” Gabi laughed.
    â€œSo which part’s the hardest?”
    â€œThe happy.” She said it without hesitation. “A lot of these girls have been tossed around to camps and boarding schools for most of their lives. And now the ones in my dorm, at least, are navigating their teen years, with all of the hormonal hell that comes with it. It’s a rocky path, even for the most grounded of kids.” She cringed. “And we don’t necessarily have a lot of those.”
    â€œCan I be blunt?” He raised that one eyebrow again. “Your job title doesn’t necessarily seem to do justice to the job—or jobs—you’re actually doing.”
    â€œYou mean because it makes me sound like I sit by the fireplace and knit scarves while I wait for my students to come in for fresh cookies before tootling off to do whatever it is boarding school students do?”
    He laughed.