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“Thank you.”
We waved to Magda and Tori, and the bell signaled our exit into the sunshine.
“It’s about a ten-minute walk to the lake,” Rick informed.When he took my hand this time, I decided not to resist at all, even though I waspretty sureit was no longer about Toby and road safety, and I laced our fingers.
Outside, it was busy, people milling around on an early Saturday evening, soaking up the sunshine.A few groups carried six-packs of beer back from the convenience store.Kids ate ice cream cones.
As we walked in companionable silence, the sounds of the main street drifted away.We passed the garage, closed for the day.I remembered the way Jenny had looked at that mechanic, and wondered what the story was there.He was good-looking in a boyish way, and I could see the appeal.
“Penny for them?”Rick asked.
Caught off guard, I said, “I was thinking about the guy who works in the auto shop.”
“Wow.Iliterallyjust bought you dinner.”
I laughed out loud.“No, silly.Not like that.I think Jenny likes him.”
He frowned.“I don’t want her to get her heart broken again.Ever.I mean, I know she can make her own choices, of course, but… Maddie, it was so bad, the last time.If that asshole ever shows his face in town, I’m gonna punch him into next week.”
His face was like thunder, and I believed him.
“What happened?Not that you should tell me, if you don’t want to.”
He smiled slightly.“I’ll let Jenny tell that story if she wants.It’s a doozy.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about the letter from Seb, to tell him about Seb at all, to just tell him everything, but I hesitated, and then we crossed the street into the most beautifully leafy park, and I forgot my train of thought.
In the distance, children played in a park with swings, a little splash pool and a climbing frame.
To my left, a row of trees had been cultivated into an arch and Rick led me under it.The sunshine was dappled under here.It felt private.We walked under the tangled branches and followed a path at the end down to a lake.
Several men sat on the grassy bank fishing, hats pulled down over their eyes.
The waterfall the town was named after sat about a half mile away.
Rick cast his gaze around, squinted in the still-strong sunshine.“Thank God my dad’s not here.It’d really kill the mood.”
“There’s a mood?”I teased.
“Isn’t there a mood?There’s a lake, early evening sunshine.What more do you want?Are all Brits this romantic?”he snarked back, making me laugh.
We wandered to a big, sprawling oak tree whose branches overhung the lake.Rick sat at its roots and leant back against the trunk, spreading his legs and patting the space between them.
I hesitated.
His expression was open, soft.“You sit next to me if you prefer.”
I didnotprefer.I wanted to be close to him.So this was only my seventh day here, so what?I’d had a shitty time recently, and I just wanted….To not have a shitty time anymore.
I sat down between his legs and wiggled backwards until my back met his front.He was solid and warm, and butterflies ricocheted in my stomach when we touched.
Rick settled his chin on the top of my head.His scent surrounded me.The tang of the beer he’d drunk, the woodsy smell of sawdust, and under it, the fresh aroma of soap.It was a combination that made my hormones sit up and dance.
I tucked a stray wisp of hair behind my ear.It made my Hong Kong gold bracelet jingle, and that must have caught Rick’s attention, because he touched a finger to one of the twelve animals dangling from the chain.“What’re these?”
“That’s the Chinese zodiac.”
He held my wrist up a little, letting the sun catch the charms, studying them.“Tell me about it.”
