Page 50 of Trial By Fire
We have an agreement. And I've mucked it up with enough manure to cover the entire island. "Lindsey…I apologize. Okay? Don't… Can we move past what happened? I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I won't let it. You heard Dani. I can't let my little girl get hurt."
I feel eyes on us and our whispered conversation. I ignore them and focus on the woman in front of me.
"Dani is why you should ask someone else. Maybe we're spending too much time together, don't you think?"
"No, I don't. Look, I know I messed up, but don't disappoint Dani because of me. Okay?"
"I'll…think about it," she says, turning away and moving toward the house at a pace I can't keep up with on the crutches.
Bronwyn is watching Dani and her little friend play on the swing beneath the carport, and I try and fail to ignore Gabe's attention focused entirely on me. I eye Mads still joyriding and decide I need to play host and pretend life isn't kicking my behind.
I head toward the shade and sit in one of the camp chairs beside Gabe. "Thanks for coming."
"Wouldn't miss it," Gabe says.
"So how're things going at the firehouse?"
Gabe's got his sunglasses shoved atop his head, and he raises his eyebrows at my question.
"What?" I ask.
"Things okay between you and Lindsey?"
I shake my head and settle in for an uncomfortable chat. "There is no me and Lindsey."
"Then what was that about? Because unless I have heat stroke, anyone with eyes can tell there's something going on with you two."
Bronwyn is shooting us discreet glances, but thankfully she's too far away, and the girls too vocal, to hear the conversation. "I made a mistake."
"What kind of mistake?"
"I…kissed her."
Gabe stays silent, and I keep talking, which is probably the intent. "It just happened. Today, actually. Earlier. But now she's rethinking our trip to Bald Head, so if she mentions you driving us instead, say no. You can't take us."
Gabe stays silent for a long while, then says, "That it?"
I shift in the uncomfortable chair, the heat of the day making my leg sweat and itch beneath the cast. "What else do you want me to say?"
A low huff escapes him that's half laugh and half groan.
"Come on, Kace. Was it really a mistake?"
I don't blame him for asking. But thankfully I don't have to answer because Mads comes zipping up to the carport and stops, smiling so big I feel my chest get tight. She looks so much like her mama. And I remember my sister smiling just like that when she was younger.
What happened to change Pam so much? What did she go through to make her the person she is now? Someone who dumps her kid and leaves without a word?
"That was so much fun," Madi says, turning off the Vespa and unbuckling her helmet.
"Can I go for a ride now?" Dani asks.
I shake my head. "Madi needs to be licensed first. I don't want anyone getting hurt. Or for you to wind up with one of these," I say, waving a hand over my casted leg.
Dani's disgruntlement is adorable and troublesome at the same time. No kid likes being told no, but my daughter is no longer rolling with the noes as easily as she used to.
I hear a car pulling into the drive and see Dani's friend's parents return for pickup. I lift a hand in greeting, the discussion with Gabe tabled for the time being, even though I'm not sure how I'd answer.
While thanking the parents for letting the little girl attend as well as keeping up my duties as host, my brain cycles repeatedly back to Lindsey, the kiss and the flash of hurt I saw in her eyes before she shoved it away. I'm not imagining that.
