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Getting dressed took a lot of effort. So did the mandatory check-in with all the law enforcement agencies, which she promised she would do. People came by and others called. The newspaper said something about printing a follow-up making it clear she wasn’t a suspect. Nice of them, since she wasn’t one.
After so much everything, nothing felt good. Well, not really. She couldn’t actually feel anything. Watching Holt leave had numbed her inside. She felt hollowed-out and raw. She didn’t want to eat and seriously considered burning her mattress. Too many reminders there.
She kept thinking Holt would turn around. Get a mile down the road and realize he’d lost his mind and come back and help put them back together. But no. She didn’t wear a watch because then she’d know the exact time he took off, and that was too hard to take on top of everything else.
And this town. She didn’t have anything keeping her here now. The people she’d helped could live in the open, free. The memorial services would be set for the others. She didn’t know if she could stay in a place made up of so much pain.
She had just decided to take a sip of the lemonade when a truck rattled up her driveway. Not just a truck. The truck. His rental truck.
She started to wonder how long she’d been sitting here. By her calculation it had been an hour, but that didn’t make sense. Not if he was back. It was what she had wished for but so out of context that she couldn’t make the timing work in her head.
The truck stopped and he sat there for a second with the engine on, leaning on the steering wheel and staring at her. She officially had no idea what was happening, and when that tiny bit of hope flickered inside her again, she knew she should tamp it down.
More seconds passed. He must have had the radio on, because at first she heard music but now none.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened and he got out. Jeans and a gray T-shirt. Yep, same outfit, so she hadn’t lost her mind or a bunch of days. He’d driven to the airport and driven back. Again, not much sense there, but she guessed she’d have to wait and see what he said...if he actually said anything. He wasn’t always the best at explaining.
He disappeared again for a second when he leaned across the bench seat. He had something in his hand and he was dragging it. When he came around the front of the truck she got a good look. His duffel bag. The one that had been sitting in her bedroom. The same one he’d packed to leave.
And now it was back. That meant something. It had to.
The hope started doing more than flickering. It danced and bounced. Some of the anger and sadness that had been weighing her down since he’d left lifted. She took a big gulp of lemonade to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The pucker told her she wasn’t.
She didn’t know when she’d stood up, but she had. She had a glass dangling from her hand and her heart right out there for everyone to see. It was kind of embarrassing how much she loved this man. So few days had passed and yet she felt as if her life had become tied to his.
Without thinking about it or remembering a thing, she met him at the steps to the porch. She wasn’t sure what that meant, so she didn’t pick at it too much. She stood one above him, which put them face-to-face. She could look into those dark eyes. Wariness lingered there. She sure got that.
It seemed to her that he should be the first to say something. But when his gaze toured her face but he stayed quiet, she jumped in. “What are you doing here?”
“This is where I want to be.” He shuffled his weight back and forth. Not really something he did. He never fidgeted. If anything, he could hold still for what felt like hours. It always struck her as a bit freaky, but the wounded puppy look was sure charming.
And that was such a better answer than the ones he’d given her before. It didn’t make her want to scream or strangle him. Both good signs. “You said you have to go home. Something about briefings.”
She didn’t remember all the other stuff. Basically he talked about flying out and her brain shut down. Maryland meant going across the country without her. She hated everything about that plan.
“I should, yeah. But I’d rather be here with you. Anywhere with you.” He shrugged. “I mean you can come home with me if you want. So long as we’re in the same house and same bed, I’m good.”
The responses just kept getting better and better. This one shot off the charts.
Here she sat trying to figure out where and how she fit in. Then in a few words he’d made her an offer. Quick and to the point. He wasn’t a guy who lingered over facts and details.
She knew when he put it out there he meant it. She could count on it. And she just might.
