Page 107 of Never Forget
"I will."
He kissed me. Not a quick one—the kind that slowed him down on purpose, his hand coming up to my jaw, his thumb brushing the corner of my mouth.
"You'll be late," I said against his lips.
"I know."
He didn't move.
"Sam."
"I'm going, I'm going."
He kissed me once more, slower, and I felt him smile against my mouth. Then he pulled back, squeezed my hip, and went down the hall to get dressed.
I shook my head and took a sip of coffee.
Megan's kitchen smelled like garlic bread when I walked in.
She pulled me into a hug at the door.
"Get in here. Danny made too much food again."
"I did not." Danny was at the table, off-shift, his hair still damp. He stood up and hugged me briefly. "She made too much food. She's blaming me."
"I'm allowed to blame you. It's in the vows."
He rolled his eyes and pulled out the chair next to his. I sat down.
Megan set a plate in front of me, one in front of Danny, and sat down across from us with her own. For a few minutes it was easy. She asked about Rosie. Asked if the moving truck had a new date. I told her Thursday at the earliest. She nodded and handed me the garlic bread.
I'd known her since I was a baby and she was seven. I could read a room she was in with my eyes closed.
I set my fork down.
"Danny."
He looked up.
"Just tell me."
He looked at Megan. She nodded once, small.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I talked to Graff last week. It went like you'd expect."
"What did he say."
"The current system has served Havensworth well for decades." Danny's voice was flat. Not cold. Just tired. "He wasn't unkind. He just wasn't moving."
I didn't say anything.
Megan reached across the table and put her hand over mine.
"We're not done," she said. "We're just figuring out the next thing."
I looked at Danny across the table. Hair still damp from the shower. Off-shift, home, safe, his knee bumping Megan's under the table without him thinking about it. I thought about the way Megan had reached for his hand two months ago when her voicehad caught at this same table.What happens if Danny doesn't— .She hadn't finished the sentence.
