Page 34 of Save Me
“I should have cleared it with you first,” he admitted.
“No, it’s okay. Sometimes I forget to step outside my comfort zone.” Her eyes turned towards the stairs. “It’s easy to forget that there is a lot in life Emma hasn’t experienced yet.”
He thought about what it would be like to fall into a pattern of life like that. Then he realized he’d done just that in Miami. Hadn’t the last few years bled into one another?
As he helped her make the snacks, he thought about what his life would be like here, with Crissy and Emma.
He’d left the Keys because he’d been searching for excitement. He hadn’t wanted to fall into the grind of daily life. Yet, after a while, it had still found him.
Sure, there was plenty of excitement as far as his job went. Not a day went by where he wasn’t running after some strung-out druggy or chasing down a drunk driver. Looking at it now, he realized that wasn’t the kind of excitement he wanted any longer.
Watching Emma sing and dance along to the music from the movie was more fun than he could remember having in a long time. The moment the movie was over, she begged to watch it again, but Crissy reminded her that it was already ten minutes past her bedtime.
“Book. Book,” Emma cheered.
“Okay, one story,” Crissy agreed. She started walking Emma up the narrow stairs.
“No, Brock.” Emma turned and held out her little hand for his.
Crissy looked at him, her eyebrows raised slightly. “I think Brock needs to get some work done.”
Emma started pouting, and his heart melted.
“One story,” he agreed. “If it’s okay with your mom.”
Crissy nodded, and he followed them up the stairs.
He was surprised at the collection of classic books on the little girl’s bookshelf. His nieces had all the latest Disney stories. Books that sang or talked or even had popup pictures. Emma’s were all older and some were even missing a few pages.
“You need some new books,” he said as she looked through the small shelf trying to find the one that she wanted him to read.
“Mama says I’ll get some on my birthday,” Emma replied.
“Oh yeah?” he asked as she picked out The Princess and the Pea, which had obviously been read too many times. The cover was faded, and the pages were so thin, he worried he’d tear them.
The little girl fell asleep before the end of the story, leaving him and Crissy tiptoeing down the stairs.
“Thank you,” Crissy said softly at the base of the stairs.
“For?”
“For tonight,” she replied, smiling.
“When is Emma’s birthday?” he asked, curious.
“Next month on the tenth.”
“No way.” He smiled. “Mine’s on the tenth of June too.”
“Seriously?” she asked with a slight frown. “How did I not know that?”
His smile grew. “Why would you?” He moved closer to her and watched her cheeks turn slightly pink. “Have you been looking into me?”
“Maybe,” she said slowly. “I bet you know all sorts of things about me. From the police files.”
“Well”—his hands moved to her hips— “you’d be right. For example. I know that your birthday is January second.”
She stilled in his arms. “No, it’s not.”
