Page 89 of The Fire Walker
Dee
“It looks like a florist in here,”I said as Jessie opened hereyes.
“Hey,” she said, her voice all husky and sexy from sleep. “I never knew I was sopopular.”
It had been two days since the accident, and everyone from the cafe had been to see her. Even a few people she’d worked with at Galaxy had come, and every single one of them brought flowers and cards. The shelf along the wall was full to bursting, but it made the stark hospital room a little friendlier and wreaked havoc with allergies I didn’t even know Ihad.
“That’s because you’re such a good person,” Isaid.
“Dee, you can let it drop,” shescolded.
After she’d told me her story and how she still thought she was the same person after that thing back in LA, I didn’t understand how she couldn’t see it. How she’d changed. I understood now that her running had been out of fear, nothing else. Jessie had overcome so much to grow into the beautiful, generous, and kind person she now was. Anyone with eyes in their heads could see that with all the bloody flowers. People cared forher.
“You’ll never believe who I heard from,” I said, planting a kiss on herlips.
“Who?” she asked, grimacing as she shifted herbody.
“Georgie.” Laughing as her face screwed up in mock disgust, I pointed to a bunch of expensive looking lilies on the shelf. “Those are from her andGalaxy.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“I don’t believeit.”
“Looks like your hard work paid off,” I said, winking. “You finally got a bunch of flowers outta them. Somepaycheck.”
“Dee,” sheexclaimed.
Linking my fingers through hers, I said, “They want youback.”
“What do youmean?”
“They want you to go back,” I repeated a little morefirmly.
“Did you have something to do withthat?”
“Don’t you want to go back and work for them? Isn’t that your dream?” I asked,surprised.
“Yes,but…”
“You sacrificed your dreams to come find me. The least I could do was have words withGeorgie.”
“Dee, youdidn’t.”
“I did. Seems like your replacements, plural, couldn’t hack Cyclone Georgie like you could. They want to give you real money,J.”
“A job?” she asked, her eyes widening. “A real life actualjob?”
“Yep.” She sighed, her brow creasing into a frown. Before she could argue, I said, “You got this one all on your own, Jessie. I only made the suggestion. Well, Zoe helped, too. Alittle.”
“I don’t want it,” shesaid.
“What?Why?”
“I don’t want it because that means I can’t come to Australia withyou.”
My heart did a stupid little flip-flop thing in my chest, and I couldn’t help grinning. “Jessie, that sounds fucking great and everything, but I can’t ask you to leave everything behind. We’ve gottime.”
