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“Hmm.” He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
I leaned against the doorframe. “Perhaps it was a bit much for her. We lost a man, and it’s probably the first time she’s seen anything like that. Or it could be about that guy who was taking pictures. She seemed pretty upset about that.”
He nodded. “Could be.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Fuck. The last thing we need is to upset one of Hollywood’s golden girls. If she had a mind to complain, we could be in deep shit.”
“But she was the one who wanted to come with us,” I protested.
“And I’m in charge for the safety—physical, mental, and emotional—of anyone within the station’s care.” His expression said there was no point arguing with him. “I’ll call to check in with her later and let her know we have a therapist if she needs to talk to someone about what she saw.”
“Good idea.” The knots in my stomach loosened now that I wasn’t in the firing line. But to my irritation, I couldn’t shake a niggle of worry about Kennedy. Sure, she’d tried to manipulate me with her money, but the girl I remembered had a sensitive soul and would have taken a scene like the one today hard. “Let me know how it goes?”
“I can’t share anything private.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to.”
He waved at the exit. “Get yourself a glass of water and decompress with the guys. The day is only just starting.”
Dismissed, I returned to the others.
Unfortunately, the underlying concern for Kennedy stayed with me all day. When the shift finished and my coworkers headed home, I found myself driving to Grace’s place instead. I parked on the side of the road and stared into space, trying to persuade myself to turn around and drive home. Kennedy’s well-being was none of my concern. But I couldn’t seem to help myself. If I didn’t check on her, I’d spend the night worrying and probably wouldn’t sleep well. Better to just get it over and done with.
“Damn,” I muttered as I went up the path to the cottages. I recalled Nate saying she was staying in the same one she’d used back then, so I knocked on the door. For a moment, no one answered, and I thought I was off the hook, but then the door swung inward. My stomach sank. From all appearances, Kennedy was far from all right. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. She’d clearly been crying, and she looked nothing like the stylish, aloof woman I imagined she was in Los Angeles.
“Hi.” Even with that one word, she managed to sound confused. “What are you doing here?” She had one hand on the door frame and the other on the door itself, blocking the entrance. For someone who’d been trying to talk to me for days, she was giving off some serious nonverbal cues to leave her alone.
“I wanted to make sure you’re okay. The crash earlier must have been difficult for you to process, since you’re not used to seeing things like that.” My voice was strained. Foreign to my own ears.
Kennedy raised her chin. “You’ll be glad to hear I’m fine. You can leave with a clear conscience.”
Yeah, no. Not buying it. Not even a little.
I sighed. She obviously didn’t intend to make this easy, and I couldn’t go without getting a better read on her state of mind. “Can I come in?”
She hesitated, visibly reluctant.
“Please.” God, I couldn’t believe I was actually asking. Not only that, but wanting her to say yes.
Her shoulders slumped and her hands fell away from the door. “Fine. But I don’t have the energy to fight, so can we declare a temporary truce? I won’t try to talk about the past, and you don’t mention it either?”
“Okay,” I agreed. Better that than give her the chance to unleash whatever it was she’d been waiting for a chance to say. Although I did have to wonder, if she was giving up the perfect opportunity to force me to listen, just how upset was she?
“I’m making a grilled cheese,” she said, moving away from the door so I could enter. “You want one?”
“Sure.” I hadn’t eaten yet, so I may as well. “Thanks.”
I leaned against the kitchen counter while she put together ingredients for a second grilled cheese and started cooking. It was strange to watch her do something so mundane. It wasn’t like I thought she’d be traveling with a massive entourage, but I guess I’d overlooked the basic details of what living in Destiny Falls would be like for her. I was sure she had “people” who took care of things like cooking for her back home.
“How was the rest of the shift?” she asked, not meeting my eyes as she filled the kettle and set it to boil. “Tea?”
“No, thanks.” I looked around the room to avoid letting my gaze linger on her graceful fingers as they prepared a brew. I wondered if it was chamomile, which she used to drink in the evenings, but I didn’t ask. It was better not to know things like whether she still enjoyed chamomile tea. Easier to keep my distance. “The shift was fine. We had a minor kitchen fire that had already been put out by the time we arrived. Then had to warn some kids at the campground about the fire ban. They’d lit a bonfire, and someone called in a complaint. Oh, and Desdemona’s cat Claude got stuck up a tree again.”
“Again?” she asked, interest in her voice.
“It happens every few weeks. The cat is too chunky to be chasing birds, but he doesn’t seem to realize it until he’s ten feet above the ground and can’t figure out a way back down.”
She laughed, the sound throaty and over too soon, but I counted it as a win. “Are you ever tempted to leave him there? I’m sure he’d get down eventually.”
“Nah.” I felt myself relax, and I frowned. I wasn’t supposed to be letting my guard down around her. That way lay trouble. “The first time he did it, Desdemona waited overnight, figuring he’d come down when he got hungry, but the next morning he was still there, yowling to the whole neighborhood about how miserable he was. Now we just send a ladder up and help the poor thing.”
