“Can I see the sketches you came up with?”
Derek passed a small black folder across the bed. He sat with his back against my headboard, his long legs stretched out in front of him. I rested on my belly with my head at the foot of the bed, kicking my feet back and forth as we traded visions for the parade. Like he’d helped execute the Fall Ball, Derek was lending a helping hand with the parade. He and I shared a passion for fine details and organization.
“Nice work, Julie,” he said, reading over the list of sponsors I’d composed. “It looks like we’re working with quite a hefty budget.”
“And this,” I held up a sketch he’d drawn to detail the parade line-up, “it’s beautiful. I love it.”
I turned to smile. His hair was mussed, and his face a few days unshaven. He lifted his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose and then nodded, “Thanks.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, why?” he asked, looking back down at the list I’d given him.
“You seem stressed.”
“Just tired,” he fought a yawn. “A lot of sleepless nights lately, that’s all.”
He managed a half-hearted smile, but I couldn’t find anything but sadness and remorse lingering in his stare.
Hannah’s trial was coming up. In fact, it was just around the corner—early January— as long as it didn’t get pushed back for a second time. Despite his anger over the crime his sister had committed, Derek still found it difficult to watch as Hannah helplessly wandered down the same path her father had taken.
“It’s going to be okay,” I pulled myself up. I leaned my back against the headboard next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. “Hannah has to live with her decisions, Derek. But you don’t.”
“I feel responsible—”
“You shouldn’t. You couldn’t have known what she was going to do—”
“I should’ve seen it, though,” he said, finally finding the nerve to talk openly about his sister’s crime for the first time since the shooting. “She was so insistent on coming here. When I suggested we leave and start over, she lobbied for Oakland like it was the answer to all of our prayers. Her behavior was so erratic, but I wanted to believe she just needed a change of scenery. I thought starting over would be the best thing for her… for both of us, really. But look where that got us. She sealed her fate with a single bullet.”
“You couldn’t have stopped her,” I said. “Hannah wasn’t going to stop until she got what she came here for.”
“And I should’ve recognized that,” he argued. “If I’d only stopped and paid more attention, but I was enamored by you, by our friendship. When we first arrived, all I wanted was to keep building on this bond we’d created. I stopped focusing on my family and started focusing on myself.”
“That’s okay, though—”
“And the moment I took my eyes off of Hannah, she nearly killed your boyfriend—”
“Luke’s not my boyfriend,” I said, unable to stop the words. But it was too late. The mood shifted, and all it took were those four little words.
Derek seemed to forget about his worry, and immediately shut down. His eyes glossed over as he stared straight out the window. I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared at him.
“Derek, I’m—”
“It’s okay,” he said, but I knew it wasn’t.
As far as he knew, Luke was my boyfriend… or some strange version of one. But it was hard for Derek to know anything; he always tuned out at the mere mention of the other guy. He’d become so distant. The fact that he’d even mentioned Luke was because of Hannah, and only then it had been an accident. But I understood. He’d openly admitted to having feelings for me and acknowledged my feelings for Luke. But because he wasn’t the one my heart ached for, Derek didn’t want any part of the discussion.
We’d somehow reached an unspoken agreement. He wouldn’t inquire about my love life—or lack thereof—and I wouldn’t share anything that wasn’t necessary.
“I should probably get home,” he pushed his overgrown hair out of his eyes. He didn’t bother coming up with an excuse. We both knew why he was leaving; the air was thick with unrequited love.
“Derek,” I watched as he reached the door, “things are going to get better. I promise.”
He nodded, but didn’t say another word before disappearing from the room.
“Can I reject it?”
I arched my brow and stared at him.
“It’s an honor, Luke,” I said. “Why would you want to reject it? The people of Oakland want to recognize you for your service on the force. Don’t you want to accept their gratitude?” He looked at me, biting back a snarky comment I’m certain, and let me continue. “If nothing else, look at the perks. There’s a float, flowers… not to mention the hundreds of captivated women in the crowd— all of them waiting to get a glimpse of the sexy, dangerous, and wounded Officer Reibeck.” His lips curved into a smirk. “How can you say no to that? Huh? Huh?” I nudged him playfully in the side.
He took a deep breath and shook his head.
“Jules,” he said, a soft gleam of humor lingering in his eyes. “I know you’ll find this hard to believe, but it hasn’t been my lifelong dream to sit atop a decorated parade float and perfect my princess wave.”
I threw him a sideways glance and shrugged.
“Do whatever you want,” I said, “but it’ll fall on your shoulders to tell Grace.”
“Tell Grace what?”
“That you’re backing out. She’s spent hours working on your float and your float alone.” I took a minute to detail just how many hours of work she’d already dedicated to the Grand Marshal vehicle. “Do you really want to break an old woman’s heart?”
He closed his eyes for the briefest of seconds and then dropped his head. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
I clapped my hands and smiled.
We continued our long walk through the Historic District in the heart of Oakland. It was a beautiful one-street community of brick-faced buildings and quaint shops. In the summer, the trees on the sidewalks fully bloomed, casting a cool shade on the passersby as they meandered in and out of the stores. Now in December, the branches were bare and snow-covered, and the shoppers were more inclined to bustle than meander. It was a scene right out of a Kinkade painting.
I was out to finish the last of my Christmas shopping, and Luke was a last-minute tag-along. It rarely occurred that we found a moment to spend together, let alone a full afternoon, but today was special. Charlie was stuck at the station all day dealing with a load of paperwork that he couldn’t push off on someone else. With no threat of him lurking about, I called up Luke and asked if he’d like to join me on my final shopping day of the holiday season.
This was the first one-on-one time we’d shared since our final dance at the Fall Ball. When the dance ended, Matt and Kara—his newest love interest—were ready to blow the joint. Luke left me with a sweet, warm kiss to the cheek, a hug, and a goodnight wish. Since then, I’d only seen him twice—once when Matt and I dropped by the station to take Charlie out for his birthday, and then once again when I bumped into him at the supermarket. Both times—no surprise at all— Charlie was breathing down my neck, so Luke and I could only utter the simplest of hellos.
“What’s with the goofy grin?” Luke zipped his leather jacket up a little further.
“Hmm?” I asked, but shook my head to ward off any unusual expression. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“You,” I admitted.
He didn’t seem fazed by my admission, so I assumed he’d already concluded that much.
“Hey,” he nodded at a small diner two doors down. “You wanna stop for lunch before we start shopping? If I know you, and I think I do, I’m going to need the fuel to get through this day. I can’t imagine you’re a fast shopper.”
I smiled and nodded, and together we walked in silence to the diner. He held the door as we reached the bui
lding, and then he rested his strong hand on the small of my back to direct me through the door.
Minutes later, we were nestled at a cozy table in the farthest corner. The breakfast rush had subsided, and it was still too early for the lunch crowd to start straggling in. The diner was ticking at its daily low. It was quiet and serene, and I loved the vibe of intimacy the empty room created. Luke and I were the only customers in sight.
The waitress, who seemed to know exactly who we both were, took our orders and left us alone. I’d quickly learned that it was one of the perks of small town life. Everybody knew everybody.
“I won’t lie,” Luke said when the waitress disappeared into the kitchen. “This is nice.”
“What?”
“Seeing you,” he said, unzipping his jacket to take it off. He draped it along the back of his chair and turned back. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of dropping by.” He jokingly pointed a finger at me, and his scarred lip curved into a smile. “Don’t assume I’m going soft,” he warned, “but I’ve missed you.”
I smiled, but didn’t respond.
“You know,” I finally said a few minutes later, “there are these crazy little gadgets people are using nowadays.” He lifted his brow as if interested to hear more. “They’ve actually been around since… gee, I don’t know… about 1876. A phone,” I said slowly, as if he’d never heard of one. “You use it when you want to talk to someone. You know, someone you like. Someone you’re thinking about. Someone you miss.”
He licked his lips and shook his head. “A phone, you say?”
“Don’t humor me, Reibeck,” I said, now pointing my finger at him. “If you really wanted to talk to me, you could’ve called or, at the least, sent a text. You know my number.”
“Just curious,” he said, leaning back, “who pays your cell phone bill?”
“Charlie.”
“And did it ever occur to you that he might be checking your phone records? If he’s keeping tabs on you the way I think he is, he’ll know the time and date of every text and call I send your way. And vice versa, kid.” He watched me with slight disappointment, but it quickly passed. “I’m already in hot water as it is; I don’t need any more grief from your uncle.”
The waitress returned a few minutes later and set two plates on the table. As she refilled Luke’s glass with a pitcher of water, the bell over the diner door chimed. She looked up and nodded at the latest customers to let them know she’d be over momentarily.
She looked back to Luke and smiled, “You look more like him every day.”
“What’s that?” Luke raised his brow as if he hadn’t heard her.
“Your daddy, sweetheart,” she nodded behind him.
Luke and I turned to see Lonnie and Grace in the anteroom of the diner. Neither of them had seen us, so we turned back quickly and stared at one another.
But then Luke’s eyes snapped shut.
“You want me to bring them this way?” the waitress asked. “I can put them right next to you—”
“No,” we said in unison, but it was too late. Grace had already spotted us. She was dragging Lonnie by a fistful of his sweater through the diner toward me and Luke.
“Don’t lose your cool,” I whispered across the table. “But they’re headed right for us.” Luke nodded, but kept silent. “Do you want to get the check and go? We can go somewhere else to eat.”
“No,” he rested his hand on top of mine. “The timing sucks, I won’t lie.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I told you I’d make things right with Lonnie so, I might as well start now.”
THREE