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She sits down across from me. “It was Gage, wasn’t it?”
I stop mid-bite. “Now, why in the world would you think that? Gage left Blue Beech years ago and hasn’t come back, right?”
Her taking a sip of coffee hides her enthusiasm terribly. “Nancy just so happened to mention that he’s back in town, working at the station.”
My fork clashes against my plate when I drop it. “Are you saying you’ve known Gage has been home for who knows how long and didn’t think it would be a stellar idea to drop that bomb on me, so I wasn’t taken by surprise when we ran into each other?”
“From what it looked like, your relationship with him didn’t end on good terms. You’ve been busy at the hospital, so I didn’t want to stress you more. You want to talk about what happened between you two?”
“Nope.”
Disappointment flashes across her face.
My mother is a fixer. There’s a solution to every problem in her book.
“You’re older, more mature and, sometimes, people need a break from each other to be smacked in the face with the truth. It could be a second chance at love. You and Gage were inseparable for years. You loved that boy, and he loved you.”
“Don’t you dare try this on me. If you and your little knitting club start plotting some scheme to force us to reconcile, I will not be in attendance for Christmas.”
“No Christmas means no gifts.”
I frown. “Fine then. I won’t be showing up on Thanksgiving.”
My dad laughs. “Unless you plan on having a Marie Callendar’s frozen dinner, you’ll be here.”
* * *
I’ve never understoodthe phrase, Desperate times call for desperate measures, until I find myself walking into the police station.
And I’m lucky enough to come face-to-face with Kyle. I’m not sure whose look is dirtier toward the other—mine or his. He stares me down, waiting for my conversation starter, because he won’t be the one to initiate it.
“Is, um …” I glance around to see if there’s anyone else I can talk to who doesn’t think I’m the devil. “Is Gage around?”
Kyle looks like he’d rather arrest me than let me near his best friend. “Sure, I’ll go grab him, and I’m only doing this because it’s my job. I’m not allowed to tell people to kick rocks here.”
“How courteous of you.”
“Nice is my middle name. Maybe you should give it a try.”
He gives me his back before I can reply, and Gage looks surprised when he walks out. Kyle must not have given him a heads-up it was me asking for him. I lick my lips and a tingle rolls up my spine at the view of Gage in his uniform again.
Shit.Control your hormones, girl.
I ignore all the stares around us. “Can I talk to you real quick?”
“Sure.” Gage motions for me to follow him and takes me into an office, shutting the door behind us.
“You have your own office?” I ask, turning around and looking at the door when I sit down. “Aren’t you a newbie around here?”
“I held a high position in the force in Chicago.”
“Wait,” I interrupt, holding my hand up. “You lived in Chicago?”
“Yes.” He scratches his cheeks and goes on before I have the chance to question him more. “There was an open position after Monroe retired, and I took it.”
Any Chicago talk is definitely off the table for him. His demeanor changed when I repeated that city. It moved from hate to hurt to understanding and now indifference. Last night, Gage said he was over our past, and now he’s going to prove that to me.
I’m not sure which Gage is worse.
