Page 22 of After We Fall (After We Fall 2)
“Yeah. What’s so funny about it?” I snapped.
“I don’t know. Take it easy. You just seem more like a dog person, I guess.”
“I am,” I admitted, some of the tension leaving my voice. “The cat was my wife’s.” I opened the front door, hoping Margot would take the hint, but not surprised when she didn’t.
“Have you always lived here?”
“Since I got out of the Army.”
“When was that?”
“Six years ago.”
She nodded, rose to her feet, and glanced around the room. Her eyes lingered on the framed wedding photos hanging on the wall. “Oh, how beautiful. Can I look at them?”
“I guess.” I let the screen door swing shut as she went over to examine them. God, how long had it been since someone other than me had looked at those pictures? I felt nervous about it, but also pleased she’d noticed them.
There were three—one family photo; one of us during the ceremony, holding hands beneath a floral arch; and one taken in the barn where Steph stood on a bale of hay so her head would be level with mine when I kissed her. When Margot got to that one, she laughed. “That’s adorable! Look how tiny she is—and she’s wearing cowboy boots with her big wedding dress, I love it!” She pointed at the way Steph was holding up the bottom of her dress to show off her feet.
“Yeah. She loved her boots. She said she wasn’t a heels type of girl in real life and didn’t need to be one on her wedding day.” I could still hear her proclaiming it with no apology in her voice.
Margot nodded. “I’m a heels type of girl.”
“You don’t say.”
“But everybody should be free to be who they are on their wedding day. I love that she wasn’t afraid to be herself.”
“She wasn’t afraid of anything.” In general, I wasn’t the kind of guy who opened up to people I didn’t know. Or to people I did. But it felt good to talk about Steph in front of Margot. It felt safe.
“You don’t look too bad yourself here. You wore boots too, I see.”
“Yeah, I’m not much for fancy shoes. Or clothes. But Steph said I had to wear the suit.”
“You wore it well.”
“Thanks.”
A beat went by. “I was sorry to hear about what happened.” She kept staring at the picture. “You must miss her.”
“Yeah. I do.”
She sighed and turned around. “Well, I guess I better go get changed.”
Nodding, I opened the door again, and as she went by me, her shoulder brushed my bare chest. Gooseflesh rippled down my arms, and my nipples puckered. Quickly, I shut the screen door in front of me before giving her directions. “Head for those trees straight ahead and stay on the path that runs through them. You’ll see the house on the other side.”
“Got it.” She started down the steps.
“And be careful crossing the highway.”
At the bottom of the steps, she stopped and looked back at me. “I will. Promise.”
She took off running at a decent pace, and I tried not to look at her butt.
I had a feeling I’d be fighting that battle all damn day.
Ten
Margot
