Page 68 of The Edge of Summer
“So you like each other?”
Again, I glance at Luke and then back to my sister. “Yes. We…like each other.”
She looks a little puzzled, but she shrugs and then digs her spoon back into her cereal. “Okay.”
When I turn back to Luke, his eyes are already on me. “Sorry,” he says, low enough that Sophia can’t hear. “I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean to back you into a corner.”
“It’s fine. But we probably shouldn’t…do this again. I don’t want her to get her hopes up. Or get even more confused.”
He nods as he sets his empty mug in the sink. “I should go.”
“Oh,” I say. “I wasn’t trying to kick you out. I just…”
He smiles reassuringly. “I know, Delilah. But I should get home to feed Riot.”
At the mention of his name, the dog in question hops up from the floor beside Sophia and heads toward us. I narrowly dodge his tongue as I scratch between his ears.
Luke ruffles Sophia’s hair. “Bye, kid. Don’t give your sister too much trouble, yeah?”
She beams. “Bye, Luke.”
I walk him and Riot to the front entrance. Luke hooks the dog’s leash onto his collar and then opens the door. I lean against the frame, watching them go.
“Luke?” I call out.
He turns, halfway down the front steps. “Yeah?”
“I was wrong,” I admit. “When you really let yourself, youcanhave fun.” I shrug. “You should do it more often.”
He nods. “See you later, Shutterbug.”
I stay there until his truck is backing out of the driveway. And I know it’s silly, but it feels a little like he has my heart in his pocket, carrying it with him as he leaves.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
LUKE
Two daysafter I spent the night at Delilah’s, a summer storm rolls in. The rain is relentless as it pounds on the roof of the fire station and trails down the windows in endless rivulets. On a personal level, I don’t mind the rain. But when it comes to the job, it makes for a long shift. The amount of car accidents amongst tourists ticks up exponentially and with that comes a steady stream of call outs.
With smaller accidents, I usually don’t go to the scene. But today, with how busy we were, I’ve been out with the crew on and off. Now that I’m back at the station, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on. If I had known just how much paperwork this job would involve, I’m not entirely sure I would’ve gone for it.
Then again, it gave me something to focus on after what happened with Kristina. Dealing with the insurance company and the slow rebuild of my house, on top of the guilt I felt for putting Abbie in that situation, left me empty. Having a mountain of paperwork sitting on my desk when Igot to work every day gave me purpose. A purpose I had lost that night.
A knock sounds on my door, and then one of the new probationary firefighters sticks his head in. The kid is really green, but he has promise. As the youngest of the bunch, I have no doubt he was voluntold to come to my office to deliver some message.
“Chief,” Swain says, “there’s a, uh, woman here to see you.”
When he doesn’t elaborate, I sigh. “Does this woman happen to have a name?”
“Right.” He clears his throat as his cheeks pinken. “Said her name was Delilah?” His voice ticks up like he’s asking a question.
I don’t let my surprise show as I nod. “Send her back.”
Swain gives me an awkward and unnecessary salute. “Yes, sir.”
When he leaves, I lean back in my chair, forgetting about the files on my computer. Why is Delilah here? The last time she came by the station, it was because I had pissed her off. As far as I know, I haven’t done anything in the past two days that would elicit more anger.
