Short story: Falling for Ms. Penn

“Mr. Montgomery!”

Drat. He’d almost escaped from the ballet studio.

Aiden turned away from the glass door, sending one last longing look outside. Inside, the floor was filled with pink backpacks and tiny shoes. Beyond the observation window, little girls giggled and twirled. But the woman with the strident voice, the girls’ ballet instructor, wore no smile.

One of her hands rested on Beth’s shoulder and the other on Angelica’s. He’d escorted the girls into her classroom only moments...