Page 3 of Let the Light Shine Through

I make sure Diane is all right, then pass through the wrought-iron gate, stopping under an impressive maple tree to peer down at her—the girl from the back. She’s sitting on a skateboard with her arms resting haphazardly on bent knees as she stares up at the sky.

The arches of my feet tic. Even though I haven’t skateboarded since I was a kid, a deck’s a deck and this one calls to me just the same.

I silence that, too.

“It’s a bluebird,” I say, and she lifts her pointer finger, telling me, “Actually, it’s a Crow.”

She raises a second finger. “Two.” Her eyes finally meet mine. “Do you know what that means?”

I glance up, noticing two Crows soaring high above our heads.

“A change is coming.”

More change?

“Good or bad?” I ask, watching them.

“Good.”

A good change…what would that even look like right now?

My eyes fall to find hers again, and I tell her, “I was talking about the weather. Bluebird…it means it’s a clear day. Perfect weather for boarding.”

“Snowboarder.” She nods her head. “Right.”

“Not anymore.”

Her head stops all movement as she stares at me openly.

Despite the calendar saying it’s now officially spring, winter’s still in full swing here in New York—thankfully—and the frigid bite to this March day is a welcome relief from the sweatbox the ancient nave inside was. Immune to Jack Frost’s cruelty myself, sweat continues to form on my back, but this girl’s sitting only inches above the still frozen earth, probably freezing her ass off.

My jacket’s already sliding off my shoulders and down my arms. It’s gentlemanly. At least they make it seem like it is in the movies. It might actually be offensive now that I think about it, but I don’t care. I need air and she needs…

What does she need? Why is she here?

I drape the jacket over her shoulders, causing her to finally blink, and just like that, her smile reappears, not as big this time though.

“Have we met?”

Her eyes—round, brown, and insanely hypnotizing—drop to the crunchy grass under her shoes, giving me a perfect view of her untamed locks. Soft, shiny curls fall around her shoulders as she leans forward to flick a blade of stiff grass off her Vans. As she’s reaching down, the skin at her cleavage, exposed by her deep V-neck, is nothing short of translucent, and I’m pretty sure I can see each and every beat of her heart.

Tha-thump. Tha-thump. So calm. So sure.

I wish I could feel that again.

“No,” she says nonchalantly.

Okay. “Did you know Salvy then?” I’m really hoping she says yes because if she doesn’t, her smiles…they might mean something I won’t like.

There’s never a shortage of opportunists when your name makes headlines.

It might’ve been naïve thinking my return to my hometown would go completely unnoticed but it’s never been an issue in the past. Usually, I’m able to slip in and slip out with no one the wiser, but now I’m back, living here full-time, and that might be a bit harder to pull off.

I’m so busy running my eyes over her…everything, I almost miss her say quietly, “I don’t think so.”

She stands suddenly, slipping her arms through my jacket’s sleeves, which sets off a chorus of jingles. The girl’s got at least one ring on each finger, maybe even each knuckle.

“Sounds like he was a good time though.”