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“What are you talking about, Daphne? What flowers?”
Silence on the other end reigned for nearly a minute before she said, “You know what? Never mind. Forget I said anything, okay?”
“Daphne, please explain!”
“Gotta run! It’s a long drive to work, and I should get on the road before traffic becomes unbearable. Toodles!” She hung up without saying anything else. I continued to stare at my phone like it would give me the answers to the world’s problems or at least tell me what just happened.
Thankfully, not many of the firefighters knew about what happened to Leanna and Trey since they had all been racked out. It’s always a blessing when it’s a slow night for emergency services, but it was fortuitous for everyone involved that last night was exceptionally slow. We managed to leave at her shift change without Leanna receiving any looks of sympathy, but it didn’t mean it was the same for me.
Once everyone managed to get over their shock that I hadn’t been the one to send the flowers and that she had a secret admirer, their looks turned into ones of pity.
I see the bouquet the moment we enter the house, sitting prominently on our coffee table. Leanna looks at the flowers, then at me. That’s when I realize that she had also entertained the idea that the flowers might be from me.
“Why did everyone think I sent you those?” I ask, pointing to the monstrosity sitting in the place where I normally rest my feet.
Leanna doesn’t answer my question, only hands me the card and says, “I’m going to bed. Thanks for being there for me, Carter.”
I take the small envelope from her delicate fingers, watching silently as she heads upstairs, shoulders slumped in exhaustion. After hearing her door close, I open up the card and read its contents. I understand now why everyone thought I might have sent them with the whole “Your knight in shining armor” bit, but anyone who knows me should also know that sending flowers isn’t my style. I would rather take a woman on a beautiful hike and declare my feelings outright, not hide behind a note and play mind games with her.
With everyone thinking that Leanna and I belong together and are headed for the altar, it might be time for me to start backing away and putting some distance between us. The only reason why I haven’t done so thus far is because Leanna isn’t the one putting on the pressure. It’s everyone else.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for not only this Mark Jenkins character but also whoever is sending anonymous gifts. Flowers are innocent enough, but I’ve seen how quickly things can escalate when an admirer doesn’t get the attention that they seek. Stalkers and overly zealous fans are the reason why Shining Knight was established in the first place.
If anyone is going to be her “Shining Knight,” it’s going to be me.
Chapter nine
Leanna
Thefollowingtwodaysflew by, Carter never straying too far from my side. Like any best friend, he helped occupy my mind by keeping me busy with physical activity. We slept through most of the first day since we were exhausted from having been up for more than 24 hours straight, but we did end up doing a movie marathon later that night.
During one particular movie, a character dies on the way to the hospital, and the paramedics try everything they can to save him. The scene hit a little too close to home, and I wept until the credits rolled. Carter held me through it all, never complaining once. Not even when I left a snail trail of snot on his shirt from my ugly crying. My tears dried up quickly when he stood up and removed the offending article, walking upstairs to throw it in the hamper. Imagine my disappointment when he came back downstairs wearing a clean shirt.
After a nap, Carter and I went to Norman’s Rockwall for an intense climb on one of the expert-level walls, followed by greasy burgers at the diner across the street. Despite our fatigue, we drove an hour west of Newark and explored a quaint Amish town in Pennsylvania. I bought seven types of homemade jam and a large jar of apple butter that I didn’t need. Carter bought four handmade Adirondack chairs for the backyard.
Tired didn’t begin to describe our state of being by the time we got home from our adventure. Neither of us had the energy to cook, so we ate cold, leftover pizza from the night before. It was my turn to clean up, which is why I made sure that we used paper plates this time.
Before turning in for the night, I slipped my arms around Carter’s waist and gave him a hearty squeeze. “Thank you for everything,” I said. “Not just for keeping me safe from potential threats and my runaway thoughts, but for being my friend and always there for me.”
I begin to pull away but feel his arms tighten and hold me firmly in place. When I look up at him, and our eyes lock, I see something in his gaze I had always hoped for but never expected. Desire.
My eyes slowly close as he leans forward, the anticipation building in my gut.
Bang!
Instead of our lips touching, Carter spins around and places himself between me and the threat coming through the front door. He reaches for the gun in the concealed holster at the small of his back but stops when Daphne falls while coming through the front door. We both rush over to help her.
“Are you alright?” I scream, watching her body shake. As soon as I turn her over to check for any injury, I realize she’s laughing.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make such an entrance,” she says, sitting up. She gathers up her papers and belongings that were scattered when she fell. “The key sometimes gets stuck, but my hands were full when the door gave way. I couldn’t stop myself from falling.”
I help pick everything up while Carter gives Daphne a hand and gets her to her feet. “I’ll have the lock oiled by the time you both get home from work,” he says. “But if you guys are good, I’m going to head to bed.” We both nod, but Carter avoids looking at me as he turns to leave. “Goodnight,” he yells from the top of the stairs.
“What was that all about? I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” my sister asks in a whisper.
“Nothing. I thought we might have had a moment, but evidently, I was wrong.” I wave my hand in the direction of his disappearing act.
Daphne knows better than to pry, so she leaves it alone and changes the subject. “You look like you are ready to fall asleep standing up. Why don’t you go to bed, too? You have a long shift tomorrow and should be well-rested for it. But if you decide you need to call off work, I might be tempted to do the same so we could play hooky.”
