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“If nothing else, kid, you are persistent.” I gave the kid’s shoulder a shake. The boy had bulked up over the past three weeks. Between the food and the work, he’d become strong, was beginning to take the shape of a man.
“How about you come out to Remy’s with me tonight? Have some crawfish, listen to music.”
“I’m not old enough,” Miguel said.
“Oh, trust me, it don’t much matter out at Remy’s. Not if you come with me.”
The boy rubbed his cheek on the shoulder of his shirt. “I…I can’t be away from Louisa that long,” I said.
I nodded. I’d forgotten about Louisa. “Of course. Then how about I go buy you a burger in town?”
“What about the chief?” Miguel asked. “She’s gonna be here in a little while to pick me up.”
“Oh, right,” I said. “Well, she can come, too.”
“You guys still fighting?” Miguel asked.
“We were never fighting,” I lied.
“You know what girls like?”
“This should be good.”
“They like it when you tell them they have a nice butt. They pretend they’re offended, but they secretly love it.”
“You think I should tell the Chief of Police she has a nice butt?” I asked.
“Worth a shot.”
I howled. “Call her. Tell her to meet us.”
JULIETTE
In the parking lot outside of Ed’s, I put on lipstick, ran a brush through my hair. Smelled my armpits.
Primping for Tyler O’Neill.
Again. I felt as giddy now as I did then.
And somehow so lucky. So lucky that we got this second chance.
I stepped out of my car, slamming the door behind me, and looked right into the laughing gaze of Tyler O’Neill staring out the window from our old booth.
He’d seen me sniff my armpit. Great. Just great.
I was nineteen all over again, catching Tyler’s eye in this very place for the first time.
“You look beautiful,” Tyler said when I walked in the door.
I didn’t know how to take compliments anymore so I awkwardly nodded and blushed so hard my hair smoked.
The air smelled like fat and calories and my stomach practically leaped out of my body. It had been hours since my yogurt this morning. A kid in a paper hat and an ice-cream-splattered apron came and took my order for one of the Double Specials.
The kid seemed dumbstruck for a moment, such was the power of a little red lip gloss, and then shuffled off.
“Where’s Miguel?” I asked, and Tyler pointed behind me at the far booth.
Miguel sat, arm across the top of the seat, looking every inch like Tyler a decade ago—talking to two girls who couldn’t seem to get a word out without giggling.
“Oh, boy,” I muttered.
Tyler laughed. “We ordered and the second those girls walked in he was gone.”
“You hurt?”
“Tremendously,” he said, and pushed a red plastic cup filled with ice and soda at me. “Might as well drink this, Miguel won’t notice.”
I took the soda and the air between us sizzled. It was too hot to talk.
“So, we’re done with the porch,” he said, looking away, playing it cool.
I blinked, unable to change directions so quickly.
“That’s…ah…that’s great,” I said.
Tyler nodded, stretching his own arm across the top of the bench seat. His was darker from all the hours spent outside, his hair bleached nearly white by the sun, and I had to force myself not to stare. Not to follow every curve of muscle and pulse of vein with my eyes.
“He’s going to take the job I offered him.”
“I expected he would.”
“Has he told you how counseling is going?” Tyler asked, clearly unfazed by the pheromones in the air. “He won’t tell me anything.”
Talking business cooled me off and I managed to relax in my booth, stretching my legs out beside Tyler’s. “I think it’s helping Miguel and Louisa. Ramon is actually going to some of the sessions, too.”
“Really?” Tyler asked, as surprised as I had been when I’d heard.
“But he’s still drinking. He spent the night in the drunk tank last weekend.”
Tyler sighed heavily through his nose. “I wish we could get those kids out of there.”
“I’ve applied to be a foster parent,” I said, letting my little secret out into the light of day. Tyler’s eyebrows hit his hairline.
“What?” I snapped. This is why I hadn’t told anyone, because people would think I was crazy.
“That’s a fantastic idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. What’s happening?”
“I have one more orientation meeting and then a home visit before I’m approved.”
“Wow.” Tyler smiled. “That seems fast. Is that fast?”
I nodded. “Nora’s helping me. She’s worried about Miguel and Louisa, too.”
“Nora Sullivan?” Tyler asked. “Are we talking about the same woman?”
“I know, but trust me, she’s actually a big softie.” Well, maybe softie was a bit of a stretch, but she certainly wasn’t quite the bulldog she appeared to be.
“I’m proud of you, Juliette,” he said, so serious, so earnest. “The world needs more police chiefs like you.”
