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“Focus on the lesson—not the hurt. Once you see things for what they are, the drama’s easier to let go.”
My shoulders sagged. “If I’d just handled things differently…”
“What could you have done differently? Cody was the actor. You simply reacted to his performance.”
“He wasn’t always this way.” Recalling the person he had been, I stared blankly into the past.
“I can’t imagine dealing with combat-related trauma, and I’m not saying emotional pain is easily forgotten.” He gave my shoulders a friendly shake.
Brought back to the moment, I caught his gaze. “Then what are you saying?”
“Healing takes time, but you have to stop re-reading the same paragraph if you want to turn the page. To move forward, you’ve got to let go.” He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” After the evening’s events, I grabbed at any humor.
“Just got a mental image of Tarzan swinging through the jungle. Before he can grab the next vine, he has to let go the last.” Turning me toward him, he slid his arms around me. “Leaving the past behind is the only way to move forward.”
Cody’s my past. I peered into Luke’s eyes. Are you my future?
****
“Come on, Teddy.” After dinner the next night, I whistled. “Time to go, boy.”
“I’ll walk you home.” Luke held the door as we stepped outside.
Fireflies chased each other in the humid darkness.
I followed their blinking routes as I breathed in the spring air.
“Look! A shooting star.”
“Where?”
“There, near Vega.” He stood behind me, leaned forward, and pointed, resting his arm alongside my shoulder. “See?”
My gaze followed his outstretched finger and tracked the star’s arc. “Yes…” He stood so close, his breath tickled my neck. A shiver shook me, and with a gasp, I turned toward him.
As if cued by an unseen hand, he wrapped his arms around me and bent his head in a kiss.
Lost in his embrace, I parted my lips and responded with a muffled moan, digging my nails in his back. By the time Teddy’s barking registered, the car’s headlights blinded me, and I pulled away from Luke’s grip. Cody? Shielding my eyes from the glare, I went cold.
Teddy bared his teeth, growling while the hackles rose on his neck.
As the phone began to ring inside the house, a convertible roared into the caliche driveway, strewing pebbles behind it.
Leaving the beams on high, Bea jumped from the vehicle before it rocked to a stop. “You just had to sue me, didn’t you? You just had to dredge up the past.”
The jangling phone punched through her tirade.
“Thought you’d bankrupt me, did you?” Bea spoke with her hands, using broad gestures. “Well, you thought wrong!”
Snarling as he showed his teeth, Teddy jumped between us as if protecting me.
“Get that mutt out of here!” Bea kicked at the dog but missed.
Teddy lunged at her foot, sinking his teeth into the heel of her shoe.
“Stop it, both of you! Teddy, come here.” Still shielding my eyes from the glare, I whistled, the sound discordant against the phone’s incessant ring.
