Page 127 of The Bodyguard

He laughed quietly. “Yup.”

Then she saw the same girl over and over too. Most of the pictures were casual. But, in a few, Sawyer wore a suit. The beautiful girl in stunning dresses was always by his side. They looked so young and terribly in love. “That’s Penny.”

“Yup,” he said in a much quieter voice.

She studied the old photos, all faded after so many years in a garage. “You two made a gorgeous couple.”

“She was the pretty one.” He stepped close to the wall of pictures, letting his gaze drift. “It’s funny how, when you’re growing up, all you want to do is be a grown-up. And then you’re a grown-up, and life isn’t the fairy tale you’d thought it’d be.”

“That’s the truth.”

“But it’s great to look back at those memories.” He shook the box of Popsicles. “Let’s go before they melt.”

Angela thought she ought to say something more, but the silence was oddly comfortable. Sawyer hooked his arm over her shoulder again. When they returned inside, Sawyer doled out the Popsicles, and if Sam and Susan had noticed Angela and Sawyer were the slightest bit muted, they didn’t let it show.

Thelma yipped from her crate. Sawyer scooped her out and cradled the little wriggling mess of wrinkles in the crook of his arm.

“We need a dog,” Susan proclaimed.

Sam choked. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Sawyer, back me up on this. Tell your dad we need a dog.”

“I don’t need my son to tell me anything about a dog unless my son plans to move back, wake up each morning, walk the dog, feed the dog, and do all the dog things that I have no desire to do.”

Susan cocked her head. “It would be nice to have you home.”

Sawyer snorted. “So you can get a dog? No, thank you.”

“Angela, tell him to stay.” Susan held her Popsicle stick between her praying hands. “I really want a dog, and I really don’t want to take care of it.”

“I wish I could,” Angela said. “But I like him back in Abu Dhabi.”

“Oh, you’re out there too. That’s great. We never meet Sawyer’s friends anymore when they’re on the far side of the world.”

“Gee, I wonder why, Mom. It wouldn’t be the night’s worth of stories at my expense.”

“There are no secrets in this family,” Susan replied. “Besides, funny stories are like oxygen. You need them to breathe.”

“That’s her plan for longevity,” Sam added. “She’ll outlast us all.”

Susan collected the Popsicle sticks and tossed them in the trash. “Sam, help me with the dishes.”

“I’ll help,” Angela volunteered.

“Not a chance. I’m not making you work on the first night under my roof.”

“What am I?” Sawyer asked. “Chopped liver? I had to help Dad with shelves.”

“Not your first night under my roof. Go take Angela outside. Show her the stars. You can’t see them like this where you two live.”

Angela’s heart warmed at the family banter. If her parents were one end of the spectrum, the Cabots were all the way at the opposite end.

“I love your parents,” she said as she slipped outside with Sawyer. Angela took Thelma from him and waited for him to return from the garage with a blanket. “They’re the best people.”

“I know,” he agreed.

“I’d be mortified to bring you to visit my parents. Not that they’re ever around each other.”

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