Page 20 of I'll Be There
“Don’t worry,” Grace said. “We’ve got it under control.”
“Hey there, groom. How goes the fire?” Ingrid said.
It somehow seemed to him that she could see into the soul of her children, their friends, and pull out the lies. Feed them truth. He’d met her the summer he’d met Liza, when he fought the fire in northern Minnesota.
He had to remind himself that the fire she referred to didn’t mean the destruction he might be starting by keeping his excursion a secret.
Now, she smiled at him. “Everybody gets antsy before a wedding. So much expectation—just breathe.” Ingrid handed him the tray of hot dog buns. “All that matters is that you’re here.”
Now that you’re here, it’s going to be okay.
Maybe more than okay if Blue actually had any leads on Justin’s death.
Conner found himself standing in the path, watching the guys down at the fire now flickering with yellow-orange flame. The sun hung just above the tree line above the far shore, streams of gold limning the water. The scent of spring, fresh buds, the stir of smoke in the air—it all conspired to rake to mind the years of preseason training with these guys.
Guys he’d give his life for.
I don’t know how to reconcile my fears with my love for you.
Liza’s words from this afternoon coiled through him, caught him up.What if I stayed here this summer while you jump fire...
No!But he couldn’t tell her why, not yet, and not with so much going on with the wedding. Mostly, he’d wanted to surprise her, bring her back to Montana and watch her reaction.
So, instead, he’d kissed her.
And frankly, that’s where he’d wanted to be anyway, lost in Liza’s embrace. Or rather found.
She centered him, knew him.
Believed in him, too, because she’d kissed him back, with a smile he didn’t deserve, stopped talking about their future and simply took his hand.
Bought him a donut.
He shouldn’t be going to Canada tomorrow.
Except, what choice did he have?
The last thing he wanted to do was pull the guys into possible danger. Sure, they knew how to handle themselves in a fire, but this might be different. He hadn’t a clue who Blue really was.
Are you sure Justin’s dead?
She had to ask that. Yes, sure. But answering her stirred it back up—the disbelief, the fury.
Maybe he should go alone.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned just as Liza caught up to him. She wore her long, shiny sable hair down, a white flowing dress, sandals, and a floral sweater. The sunset’s gleam caught in her eyes. “Just standing here with the buns?”
“Waiting for you,” he said. “Everything okay?”
“Yep,” she and smiled, something that touched her eyes. She took the plate from his hands and headed to the fire pit.
“Liza, I have to tell you something.”
“I already know about the tuxes. Jed brought his in and asked us how to fix them.” She turned, the sun flaring behind her like a halo. “Don’t you know how to iron?”
“Not even a little. But that’s no—”
She turned back to the trail, and he caught up to her just at the edge of the campfire. Pete shoved a stick into the fire, watching it burn. Reuben was holding up his phone, looking fora signal. Conner touched her arm, the good one. “Babe, listen—I need to go to Canada tomorrow.”
