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“I struggle with that too. In the end, I always fall back on a verse from Isaiah.”
“Let me guess. ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher thanthe earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’”
Her eyebrows peaked. “You know your Bible.”
“Not well enough, but I do know that passage. It’s my go-to verse whenever life throws me a curve.”
“One more thing we have in common.” She took a long drink. “I think I’ll take food over to Alison’s house tonight. That’s what my mom always did after a family suffered a death. I used to think the gesture was odd. I mean, who has much appetite if they’ve lost someone they love? But Mom said it was less about the food and more about the kindness and caring it represented.”
“Wise woman.” Marc finished off his lemonade in a few swallows. The quick dinner he’d been about to suggest wasn’t going to happen, but at least he had a real date to look forward to in two weeks. “You ready to call it a day?”
“Yes.” She stood and held out her hand for his glass. “Give me a minute to return these to George and I’ll help you haul the yard waste bags out to the curb.”
By the time she took care of the first chore and chatted with the owner for several minutes, Marc had finished carting out the debris. He met her at the car.
“You didn’t let me help.” She surveyed the lined-up bags.
“Giving a lonely man company for a few minutes was more important.”
She conceded the point with a dip of her head. “George asked that I pass on his thanks.”
“Happy to help.” He opened her door, and she eased in, clearly stiffer than she’d been upon arrival.
Once behind the wheel, he put the car in gear and aimed it toward her house. “Do you want to stop and pick up food for your friend?”
“No, thanks. There’s a grocery store between my house and hers.”
“Have you two known each other long?”
“Only about three months. After I took the job with County, we ran into each other at a fire, started chatting, and set up a lunch date. It grew from there.”
“Did you ever meet her husband?”
“No, but she almost always mentions him during our conversations. It was obvious she never stopped loving him.” Bri stretched out her leg, as if seeking a more comfortable position. “I have no idea what I’ll say to her.”
“Based on your conversation yesterday with a guilt-ridden guy I know, I have a feeling you’ll find the right words.” He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.
“Thanks for the encouragement.” She exhaled. “You know, we never did get around to talking about bucket list vacations. Tell me where you’d go if money was no object.”
She needed a respite from heavy subjects for the remainder of the drive home.
Following her lead, he launched into a travel discussion, and that topic carried them through until he walked her to her front door.
“Thank you again for helping me today at George’s house.” She pulled out her key and fitted it into the lock.
“Thank you for taking the leap and trusting me with your secrets.” He leaned close and made do with another lip brush across her forehead, but he had to call up every ounce of his willpower to stop there—especially when he backed off and the longing in her eyes sent a signal that was hard to ignore.
“I’ll be counting the days until our official date.” Her comment came out a tad breathless.
“Me too.” He stroked a finger along the line of her jaw, then stuck his hand in his pocket in case it decided to misbehave. “Let me know if you have any luck tracking down the last case on Kavanaugh’s list.”
It took her a moment to switch gears. “Yes. I will.”
“If I don’t hear from you, I’ll touch base with you in a couple of days.”
“I’ll count on that.”
Before he succumbed to the impulse to give her a proper goodbye kiss, he swung around and strode toward his car.
