Page 53 of On Fire

I shift in my chair. “Are you worried about Sessions?”

He looks at me. “No. Not at all. My only concern is that he’s going to somehow get in the way at the last minute. I swear he put a tail on me today. Crazy.”

I set down my fork. “Did you tell Finn?”

He waves a hand. “No.” He sees my expression. “Nothing I can say or do will stop it. Besides, I never actually saw the tail—it’s more of a sixth sense kind of thing. I just felt it. Someone was watching me.” He pauses. “But I want to hear about your day.”

I shake my head. “Nobody died, so it was a good day.”

I rise and dump my plate in the sink. And then, without any reason, tears start rolling down my cheeks. A hot lump in my throat constricts any attempt at a self-deprecating explanation.

I hear Nic scramble up from his chair.

“Keller.”

I nearly lost a man. Two children nearly died. These things have happened before with worse outcomes. Why am I losing it?

Nic is right here beside me. Laying a hand on my shoulder, he whispers “Talk about today.”

That’s why I’m losing it. Because of his hand, his attention, his heart.

I am such a sap.