Page 5 of Ashes to Ashes

She sat up enthusiastically. "Your dad was an author? What's hisname?"

"Graham Traynor."

She pursed her lips in thought as if trying to decide if she'd heard ofhim.

"He was kind of a mid-lister. He made enough to survive, and he'd get really excited if he saw his books on the spinning rack at the grocery store. Dad was always sure he had at least one blockbuster in him. But his big break never came. My mom grew tired of it all and left him when I was ten. She married a surgeon, who happens to be the golf partner of Emma's dad. Which is how I met her and now brings my whole life's story full circle. So what about you? Something tells me you've got one heck of a story to tell." I'd never found it so easy to talk to anyone in my life as Denni.

She put her elbow on the edge of the car door and rested her arm along it. Her fingers were long and thin, and she had a turquoise ring on her pinky. It was hard not to take in every detail as if I was looking at the world's most beautiful piece of art. "Not too interesting, especially when I leave out the humiliating and embarrassing and just full-ass stupid parts. My mom was only a kid herself when she had me, and she wasn't the least bit interested in being a mother. So my grandmother stepped in to play the part. After my grandmother died, my mom tried to reconnect, to make up for some of the lost time. But I decided this time, I wasn't interested in being a daughter. As far as I was concerned, the only mom I knew had been buried in the Pine Hill Mortuary."

"You sort of can't fault your mom too much if she was a young teenager at the time. Shit, I couldn't keep track of my shoes or math assignments at that age. Can't imagine trying to keep a kid safe and happy."

Denni actually seemed to be considering my words. She sat silent, her long lashes fluttering as she watched the scenery float by. She perked up from her slight slouch when a sign for Redmond's Cave popped up along the highway. "Redmond's Cave, isn't that where people sit at the mouth of the cave and watch the bats fly out atdusk?"

"Yep, I think that's the place." I'd gotten stuck behind a plodding hay truck and had finally gotten a chance to coast into the opposite lane and drive around it. The Ford kicked reluctantly into high gear as I sped around the truck. I cleared it and moved back into the correctlane.

"Did you and your dad ever go watch the bats after your traditional hot dogstop?"

I thought about all those trips along the highway and how often we'd pointed at the Redmond sign and promised to go watch the bats on the next trip. But it never happened. "No, we never took the time to do it. Sounds kind of lame that we didn't, considering how many times we passed throughhere."

Denni shifted to the side and looked at me. "We should go watch thebats."

"I'm sure it's an interesting sight, but Redmond's Cave is probably a good hour out of the way. I need to be at the cabin before dark. There aren't any lights leading up to it. I've got to hike in a mile or so to get toit."

"Darn." Denni sat back against the seat with a bit of a pout on her lips, lips that I'd imagined kissing more thanonce.

"Sorry about that. It does sound cool, but I don't want to travel the path to the cabin in the dark. It's been awhile since I've been there, and I'm not exactly a compass when it comes to sense of direction."

Denni nodded, and we sat listening to the music for a few minutes.

"Where do you call home?" I asked, and immediately regretted my prying question.

"Anywhere my heart is, which, at the moment, is nowhere in particular. I wonder what kind of sound theymake."

I glanced over at her, confused. "Who?"

"The bats. When they leave the cave. I guess you wouldn't be able to hear much over the flutter of those rubbery wings. I've heard the sky gets black with bats when they leave for the night'shunt."

I was feeling not only like a heel but like a dork who refused to take any risks. Still, there was no way I was going to find Dad's cabin in thedark.

"I'm sure my dad would have liked to see it. I'll bet it's amazing to watch."

Denni lifted her knee up and rested her foot on the edge of the seat. Her smooth skin showed through all of the rips and tears on her jeans. "Did your dad have one of those bucket lists?"

"Sort of. I mean, he didn't write the stuff down, but he knew there were things he wanted to finish and experience before—" I stopped just short of saying it. "He had always wanted to go to Rome and see the coliseum, so we traveled there last summer."

"Very cool. Too bad he never got to see thebats."

"Oh my gosh, you are good, like relentless good but good nonetheless. We'll go see thebats."

She slid across the bench seat of the truck and threw her arms around my neck. Her soft lips pressed against my cheek. "I'm so excited."

I was still reeling from the simple kiss on my cheek and the feeling of having her arms around me when she sat back with a satisfied smile. She didn't move back to the passenger's side but stayed right next to me, her thigh pressed tightly against mine and her shoulder rubbing against me. A sweet, flowery scent drifted up from her hair, and it made my head spin. She was a complete stranger, a beautiful, fun, energetic stranger and something told me scattering Dad's ashes wasn't going to be the only profound and memorable part of my trip to the cabin.

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