Page 16 of The Fall Risk

“Imagine having to do that Google search to check.”

I barked out a laugh.

“So why’d you become an arborist?” she asked, still tittering.

“My dad was a landscaper. First generation from Mexico. He wanted me to take over the business—”

“Did you?”

“No. My brothers did. I wanted to do urban planning, not residential.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I like protecting the trees in the public parks for future generations. Did you know there’s coastal live oaks in Brace Park that are over two hundred years old?”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I used to play on them when I was a kid. I wanted to work with those. Preserve a legacy, not plant date palms for rich people.”

“A man of principles,” she said, looking impressed.

“I just want to do something that matters,” I said.

“Don’t we all?”

I grinned.

“Hey, do you want some lunch?” I asked.

“Sure,” she said.

“I can make sandwiches. Or we could order something.”

“Why don’t we order something? That way, you don’t have to work. We can try our bucket system.”

“Okay, what do you want? My treat.”

“No, you don’t have to pay.”

“Please, let me. An apology on behalf of a member of my gender for making you weird.”

She scoffed.

“You know, I couldn’t wrap my brain around it,” she said.

“What? The stalking?”

“Yeah. I mean, I know there’s a mental health component. The guy is definitely not all there. But why me? I’m not that interesting.”

She was, though.

She really, really was.

Charlotte Chapter 4

My video doorbell vibrated, letting me know there was movement outside my door, and for the first time in literally years, my stomach didn’t drop when I saw it. I opened the app to see Seth standing on a stool in his boot, hanging deck lights.

We’d hung out all day yesterday. All day.