Page 34 of Salvation

Anna hung her apron in the kitchen and emptied her tips into the tip jar everyone shared. Then she walked out through the back room, stopping to admire the bar Todd had been restoring. Soren had been excited to discover a beautiful rosewood pattern inlaid around the edge, and she ran a finger along the diamond-in-a-square design, leading all the way down the serving counter like a tiny railroad track. God, it was going to be beautiful. Hell, it was already beautiful. Todd had toiled over every hard edge, every impossible-to-reach corner, every delicate curve. Other than a stack of used sandpaper in the corner, he’d left everything neat as a pin, ready for work the next day.

She nodded in respect. Todd was leaving his mark on this special place.

She looked at it for another minute, wondering what mark she might leave. Not sure if she liked the wordleaveat all.

So, Sarah, I was wondering…

The speech she’d been toying with raced through her mind. But once again, she batted down the urge to find Sarah and ask if she could stay longer. Stay forever, possibly — or at least as long as Todd did, which seemed as up in the air as her own plans. But she’d stretched her visit out to two weeks already, and while Sarah had been welcoming, she hadn’t actually invited Anna to move in.

Unfortunately.

Walking out the back door, she stepped into the cool night air and tilted her head up to the indigo sky.

“Wow,” she murmured aloud.

There looked to be about a million stars out in that perfectly clear Arizona sky. The moon was nowhere to be seen, and the Milky Way could have been a speckled highway, it was that distinct and bright. She’d only ever seen it stand out so bold and bright one other time, and that had been one summer in Montana, a long time ago.

Montana…Arizona. Her mind bounced from one to the other. She’d never felt as at peace as she did in two places she’d never been able to call home.

She took a few steps forward and craned her neck for a better view. What she really needed was a meadow to lie in, just like she’d done that summer way back when.

Then it occurred to her that while she might not have a meadow, she did have the next best thing. Todd had started work on the deck upstairs, and she’d bet the stars looked even brighter from up there. In fact, hadn’t Janna asked Todd to carry up the roll of unused Astroturf they’d found among all the odds and ends in the garage?

Come on, then. Come on up,the stars seemed to call, all of them twinkling as one.

There were two ways up to the deck: through a door from the apartment over the saloon or up a set of fire stairs that started in the rear lot. She took the latter and ascended slowly, watching the stars as she went.

The deck had been built over the flat roof of a room that had been added on to the saloon years ago, and it played a central role in the grand plans everyone had for the apartment upstairs.

“We can barbecue there!” Janna had clapped when she came up with the idea.

“Maybe put in a little baby pool.” Sarah had sighed.

“With an awning,” Jessica had added. “A place we can chill out and relax since we don’t really have a yard.”

Of course, the deck was a work in progress, like the rest of the apartment. The last time she’d taken a peek, it was just a sloppily tarred surface with a couple of provisional safety rails.

A flash made her snap her head up just as she reached the level of the deck. A shooting star?

“Make a wish,” Todd called softly.

She whipped around in surprise, her heart already skipping joyfully.

He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head, studying the stars. Or was he studying her?

She glanced at him just in time to catch his eyes sliding back to the sky.

Hurry up and make your wish,the crickets seemed to call.

She closed her eyes and pictured a replay of their kiss.

“Got it?” Todd asked.

She nodded slowly. Yeah, she’d made her wish. The question was, would it come true? Watching Todd lie there, more relaxed than she’d ever seen him, made her wish even more.

“Wow. This is great,” she said, stepping onto the deck and looking around. The rough surface was gone, hidden under a layer of wood. A carpet of Astroturf was spread over the middle like a patch of grass. In the moonlight, it could have passed for the real thing, soft and springy under her feet.

“Not quite a mountain meadow, but it will do,” Todd murmured.

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