“Oh, God.” She put her hand on his forearm. “That must have been horrible.”
“Finding someone in lake water is always iffy. It’s dark, and the currents keep everything moving. Where a body goes in isn’t necessarily where it’ll be a minute later.” Frustration bit into him. “She’s clearly a good mom who loves her son, but …”
“But?”
“Benny should have been wearing a life preserver. All of thekids should have. The restaurant should have a rule or something,” he ended on a grumble.
Pixie blinked at him, then nodded. “That’s a great suggestion. I think I’ll mention it to Robin. Anyone under a certain age should be required to wear some kind of safety device, even if just floaties.”
“Floaties?”
“You know, those inflatable things that go on kids’ arms.”
He shook his head. “No good. A life vest would be better.”
She smiled. “I’ll pass along the suggestion.”
“That ought to make me popular,” he said, his tone deadpan.
She gave his shoulder a little push. “I’ll act like it’s my idea, if you want.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
Her soft laugh went a long way toward taking off his edge. “I like hearing you laugh more than seeing you cry.” Of course, it took mere seconds to rethink that. “Not that you can’t cry with me. You can.” He meant it. “You’re empathetic. It’s nice that you feel for other people. I don’t mean to discourage that.”
This time, her hand smoothed over his shoulder. “You don’t need to worry about offending me. I know I’m often too weepy, but you’re right, I do feel for other people. I know when I was at my worst, how awful it was. I don’t want anyone else to feel that way.”
She was such a good person—and he hadn’t been 100 percent honest with her. He hoped her empathy would extend to his situation, once he gave her all the details.
Since he probably wouldn’t do that tonight, he decided to shift the conversation. “Do you think Ellen will be okay to drive home?”
“One of her friends is coming to the hospital to bring her some clothes. The doctor said Benny is fine, and he’s fullyalert, but since he was resuscitated, they want to keep him overnight.”
“Not a bad idea. Ellen’s staying with him?”
Smiling, Pixie said, “They’d have one heck of a time telling her she couldn’t. Thankfully, they’re bringing in a lounge chair that she can use, along with a pillow and blanket.” She slanted him a teasing look. “According to Ellen, Benny’s bragging to everyone that you said he was a hero.”
“Not a lie. He was a brave kid. That could have gone either way, you know? He could have been screaming and hysterical, but instead he kept it together.”
“Well,Ifelt a little hysterical. I’ve never seen so much blood.”
“You were on your toes the whole time. I noticed how you turned the kids’ chairs. That was smart thinking. We didn’t need them seeing all that blood and getting scared.” He had no idea if Shayna was old enough to understand the significance of blood, but Andy might have been. “You gave them snacks, too.” His brows drew together as the truth dawned on him. “You were a partner, Pixie.”There when I needed you—though he doubted she’d see it that way.
To him, the realization was huge. “I appreciate that a lot.”
She smiled a moment, then quietly asked, “What do we do now?”
What he wanted to do and what he needed to do were two very separate things. “What do you mean?”
“You and I have food to share, but we’re in two different houses.” She faltered only a moment before asking, “Do you think you’d want to come in? We could have dinner and give the kids a little time to unwind before we start our separate bedtime routines.”
Damn, he wanted that a lot. Sitting down in her house, spending a quiet, private evening with her. It sounded great to him.
He was about to answer her when her phone buzzed.
She had been watching him expectantly, but he said, “Get that if you want.”
Blowing out a short breath, she said, “Thanks,” and took her purse from the floor to retrieve her phone.
