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What would Derek have done? He probably wouldn’t have let her get fired in the first place. He would’ve called out her behaviour long before it got to that point. If he had been in the picture, she wouldn’t have needed to go out late at night to party, because she would’ve been happy at home with him. Imagining the two of them curled up on the couch of her Toronto apartment, snuggling and watching reruns, made her insides turn to mush.
The crack of a branch behind her jerked her around. She peered into the darkness to see what or who had made the sound. This wasn’t Toronto, and there wasn’t much to be afraid of, but being snuck up on in the dark still frightened her.
“It’s just me,” said a male voice. A moment later, Derek came into view.
“Hey. You startled me.”
“Sorry about that,” he said, brushing his hand through his hair. “I saw you coming down this way while I was out and I, um—”
“Followed me here?” she asked, with a hint of teasing in her voice.
“I hope you don’t mind. If you came here to be alone, I can go.” He gestured back the way he came.
“Wait. It’s fine, really. Come and sit.”
Derek had put on a black thick knit sweater, and his work boots stuck out under the straight legs of his jeans. He sat on the picnic table beside her.
“This place seems smaller now than when we were kids, don’t you think?” he said into the dark. The lights from across the lake were barely outlining his strong features.
“I guess. But not really in a bad way. When I was a kid, the lake scared me a bit. You never knew when fish were nearby or, heaven forbid, a water snake. But now, it’s more comfortable. Like the quilt on the bed in my parents’ house. Familiar and kind of soothing.” Kylie indulged her wistfulness and didn’t much care at the moment if he thought she sounded weird.
“I get the same kind of comfort on the football field,” he said.
“That makes sense. You spent most of your teen years training or playing games there.”
“Mostly the football field reminds me of you, actually.” He bowed his head and grinned.
“How’s that?” Surprised by his answer, she was very interested in what he was going to say.
“Well, you were always at the games cheering or in the crowd. Maybe it’s childish, but I always imagined you were cheering for me.”
“Go Hawks!” She laughed off the rush of heat in her cheeks.
“So why are you out here, waxing poetic about the lake?” He elbowed her.
“I had a big talk with my parents, and I’m coming to terms with how I treated them while I lived away.”
“How did you treat them?”
“I didn’t come home very often. I barely called. I was so wrapped up in my own life. Just selfish, immature stuff.”
“Maybe that was you before, but I don’t think you’re like that now.” Derek brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“A person can’t change all that much in a couple of weeks.” She rolled her eyes.
“Sure they can.” He sighed. “When my parents died, I was hurting pretty bad. I worked overtime as much as possible and spent the rest of the time at the gym or the shooting range to keep busy. The moment Cate called me crying that she was pregnant, and Chris had left, I dropped everything so I could help her. I’m a different person than I would’ve been otherwise.”
They sat so close their thighs touched. The heat coming off Derek was comforting. Kylie faced him. “Cate and Charlie are lucky to have you.”
The night was dark, but she could see the lights of the village reflecting in his eyes. He was looking right into her, and she’d never wanted to be seen so much in her life.
She put her arms around his neck, dragging his mouth down to hers. He sat frozen for a moment, and she was about to pull away, embarrassed, when he wrapped his strong arms tightly around her and kissed her back.
She didn’t know what this thing with him meant. All she knew was that something clicked into place, like a part of her that had been misaligned righted itself.
When their kiss finally ended, she laid her cheek against his chest. She wasn’t ready for this moment to end yet.
“Kylie,” he said softly.
