Page 36 of Come Back To Me
Two knocks come and I pick up speed, my feet nearly stumbling over each other. “Anyone home?” someone calls through the door. Stretching out my arm, I pull it open, and the officer from almost a week ago is standing in front of me.
“Hey, Mr. Vega.”
“Hi. Oh, it’s Riley.”
“Right. Riley. I’m Jeff. I was in the neighborhood sooner than expected and thought I’d see about that window. I got my own tools with me too.” He tugs at his belt, straightening his back.
“Oh. Sure. Yeah. Now is probably a better time than any. I’ve got the rest of the week off.”
“What is it you do anyway?” He looks around me.
I step in front of the door, closing it more behind me. Did he see Gareth? Did he not stay put like I told him to? I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. “I’m a dental hygienist.”
“Oh, cool. I don’t meet many of those every day. Not sure I’ve ever met one outside of their workplace actually.”
“I guess now’s your chance.”
“Yeah, it looks like it.” He strokes the underside of his chin. “So, should I come in? It’s a little hard for me to work on the window from outside with the bushes in the way.
“Um . . .” I look behind me. “Yeah, sure. Hold on a few minutes. Let me tidy up real quick. I wasn’t expecting anyone over.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever makes you feel more comfortable.” He turns down his radio, which is sounding from his belt. “I’m not on duty yet, but sometimes I turn it on earlier than I need to.”
“As long as you’re not ignoring anything important for me.”
“You’re important too, and it’ll save me some time having to come back to fill out paperwork if someone breaks in.”
I chuckle, scrubbing a hand over my face. “That’s true. Give me like two minutes.”
“I’ll be here,” he preens.
I shut the door, locking it, and quickly turn around. Gareth stands in front of the kitchen sink, gawking at me. “Who was that?”
“A cop friend who’s helping me out with something.”
“I don’t remember you having any cop friends before.”
“Because I didn’t. He’s . . . I met him after the accident. He saw my window was broken and offered to fix it the next time he was nearby.”
“Oh, I see. The old ‘in the neighborhood’ trick. I could have fixed the window.”
“You were supposed to, months ago.” I stand awkwardly, shifting my feet.
“Ah.” He blows out a breath, slipping his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. “That was then, though. I have nothing but time now.”
“I told him yes before I knew the spell would work.”
“I told you it would when I said soon.”
“What do you mean?” My heart stammers.
“Everything alright in there?” A voice cuts through the door. “I can promise you I’ve seen worse.”
“Yeah, I’m coming, sorry.” I look back at Gareth. “You go back to the room, now.”
“No. I think I’ll stay right here and watch.”
“Gareth. Please don’t do this right now. When I said no one can see you, I meant no one. Now go.”
