Sharon dusted off her hands and surveyed the room. She nodded; it looked pretty good if she did say so herself. Gosh, it was not somewhere she ever imagined she would be, but as she looked over at Evie, well, so much had changed from what she thought her life would be. She cleared her voice.

"Well, Evie, what do you think? Do you like the room?" Sharon asked.

Evie looked up from the desk where she was coloring and had been for the last couple of hours. Coloring, having a snack, brushing her doll's hair-Evie had enjoyed her afternoon. She smiled widely at Sharon and nodded, "It looks so nice. I want to be in your class."

Sharon chuckled at that, and she nodded again as she surveyed her very first classroom. Yes, it did look nice, inviting, as much as one could when you had been hired to start a criminal justice department at a high school. This was definitely a step out for Sharon. Her life as a police officer seemed so far away now, but as she glanced again at Evie, who was already back at work coloring and now humming, well, it was worth it. She hadn't been lying when she'd said that she'd found this job. Yes, she had decided a change of location and job was in order. Yes, she had started looking in Vermont because it had brought back good memories from her own childhood. She envied the small, New England towns and simpler life. She wanted that for Evie. However, as she had searched for something in the legal field, she'd been initially thinking of a community college or higher type of position. A Google search had dropped this job on her screen and now, in her lap.

She'd interviewed remotely for the job, and that had brought about an offer. The school district knew they were getting an amazing person in Sharon. LAPD decorated officer, willing to relocate to their small town, and even willing to start a criminal justice program. Yes, it had really worked out. The local district was small, but it encompassed a large area. Kids were interested in police work, and that had brought about the interest from the district. The district was trying to get back to a lot of basics, adding more culinary and carpentry classes, knowing that not all students need to shuffle off to a four-year university. Regardless of what her students ended up doing, Sharon was really excited to share her stories, teach young people about the law, and possibly inspire some to take one of many legal routes in their own lives. It was going to be a fun and challenging new chapter for her, for them.

Leaving behind LA had been the best decision Sharon could have made for her, for them. She had Evie to think about, after all, and LA wasn't somewhere she had wanted to raise a little girl. She'd tried to do it for some time now, but deep down, Sharon knew she needed a change. Her hand had been forced, at least, she'd told herself that-

"Hi, Mrs. Raydor," Sharon snapped her head up and looked to the door to see the school secretary there. Sharon gave her a warm smile, stepped from behind her desk area, and she started walking across the room.

"Please, it's Sharon," she said with a very warm smile. Evie looked up at the interaction, and at the sight of just someone from the school office, she went back to her work. As Sharon approached the secretary, Mrs. Berkley, the woman stepped inside. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Berkley?"

Mrs. Berkley gestured behind her as she spoke, "I wanted to introduce you to our sheriff, who also doubles as our school resource officer when needed. As you know, here is much different than L.A., and with our small town, we just have very different needs. The sheriff could obviously appoint one of his deputies to do the job, but he has a soft spot for the school and likes to give back when he can.

"Yes," Sharon said, crossing her arms with a smile. "It's what attracted me here, the small town feel. That's what I like hearing, that people around here care about one another."

"We're glad to have you," Mrs. Berkley said. She gestured to the hallway. "He should be here shortly. He stopped down the hall to speak with our janitor. The two like to go fishing together." Mrs. Berkley chuckled as she said that, and she turned her head when she heard footsteps.

"Oh, here he is now," Mrs. Berkley noted. "Sheriff, this is our new teacher, Sharon Raydor. She will be heading up our new legal studies department. I wanted to introduce you because, well, you might have a few things in common. Mrs. Raydor," she said turning to Sharon, "here's our Sheriff."

Sharon gave him a puzzled look as she stuck out her hand in greeting, "We've met, well, sort of," she offered with a small smile. Andy took her hand as she offered it and shook it. Sharon gestured with her finger in the air, "I thought you worked at the hardware store?"

Andy chuckled as he was offered the handshake, "Andy Flynn, and yes, I do. It's my pop's place. I just help him and at this point in his life, I do all of the heavy lifting and all. As you know, it's a small town. Many of us wear several hats in this place. Being Sheriff, along with the many other things I do, is just part of the job."

"Ahh," Sharon said aloud as she gave him a small smile. "It's nice to officially meet you, and as I said before, I'm-"

"Sharon and Evie," he said, waving over to Evie who was now looking at the adults. "Hey, there, kiddo. Are you helping your mom?"

"Mommy decorated her new classroom. I love it," she said through a toothless grin.

"I do too," Andy said with a quick nod as he glanced around the room and then back at Sharon. "I feel like I should have known who you were at the hardware store. Maybe I'm slipping as I get older," he offered in a chuckle. "I guess I didn't put two and two together-that you were the new legal studies teacher moving to town. Sorry. That's on me. I'm not sure what I was envisioning," he paused, thought about what he should say next, and he finally just waved her off. "Okay, let me just start over with this-welcome to town. Glad to have you, and if I can be of any assistance here or at the hardware store, let me know."

Sharon chuckled and crossed her arms, "Okay, thank you." She glanced to Mrs. Berkeley who patted Andy on the arm.

"Well, Sheriff, I'm going to get going," she said. "Your room does look great, Mrs. Raydor."

"Thank you," she said. "I'm excited to be here."

"I've got to get back over to the office," Andy said with a nod and a smile. "Good luck here. I hope you and your daughter will be very happy. Small town life isn't for everyone."

Sharon nodded and crossed her arms as she glanced over to Evie and back to make eye contact with Andy. She gave him a small smile, "I appreciate it, and yes, you're right about small town life, but I think it's just right for us."