Page 73 of Starting Back
“God bless Hallmark for making small towns seem so romantic.” I looked toward where Chloe was across the street, laughing with a group of kids and not looking back to see where I was.
Usually, parents of teenagers felt slighted when their kids ran off with their friends and didn’t give them a second thought, but after all this time of her giving metoomuch thought, I couldn’t have been happier that she didn’t care where I was for the entire afternoon.
“Come out with us tonight.” Claudia patted my arm. “We’re going to Halman’s. We can volunteer your brother to watch the kids.”
“You really want to go to Halman’s tonight? It’s going to be extra packed after the festival today.”
“It’s the only bar in town, so it’s always packed.” Peyton nodded. “But I need a night out, even if I can’t drink and I only last for a couple of hours. Maybe you can use one too.”
“Hey, how was the fire truck?”
I jumped, not noticing Chloe behind me.
“It was so cool. Leo let me sit up front and everything,” Emma gushed as she came up to Chloe.
“I heard about Leo,” Claudia said, her brows jumping.
“Don’t get mad.” Peyton squeezed my arm. “I told her because I knew she’d be happy for you too.”
“I so am. Is he still on the fire truck?” Claudia swept her gaze over the street.
I craned my neck to where the fire truck was, now surrounded by other firefighters I recognized, but I couldn’t find Leo.
“Maybe, I can’t tell from here.”
“How perfect is that? You meet someone on vacation, and he ends up in this little town. Kind of like it was meant to be.” Claudia pressed her hand to her chest.
“Kind of,” Peyton agreed, sneaking a smile at me.
“When did you meet him on vacation?” Chloe asked, squinting at me with a sour expression on her face. She’d asked what Emma meant by a sleepover, and I had simply told her that it was nothing. Her friends had called her over before she could press me to clarify, but it was a bullet I wouldn’t dodge for long.
“He worked at the resort I stayed at. Having fun?”
“Yeah, Mina asked a few of us to stay over at her house tonight. Is it okay?”
“How many girls? Her mom will be home?” I knew Mina’s mother from the doctor’s office I worked for in town, and from what I’d seen, Mina was a sweet kid.
“Yes, and she’s here if you want to ask her. Only a couple of us. Can I go?”
I’d speak to Mina’s mother on the side, but I couldn’t say no. I was so proud and relieved to see Chloe come out of the shell she’d barricaded herself in after the divorce, and I was embarrassed about how much trouble I was having lately doing the same.
Except for that one cluster of days when I had no problem opening up and giving everything to someone I barely knew but who had gotten under my skin in a way no one else had.
And now he was here, but I wasn’t the Kristina he knew in the Keys. Kristina in Kelly Lakes had a lot more hang-ups, and she was getting on my nerves.
“Sounds fine if her parents will be there. We’ll pack a bag when we go home.”
“Ooh, is he the one talking to your brother?” We all turned toward where Claudia was pointing, my eyes finding Leo right away. Jake laughed at something he said, but they both seemed to be in deep conversation.
“We know our next stop,” she chirped and took Emma’s hand. “We’ll go see your uncle Jake and the hottie your mom likes.”
“Claudia,” I started, but I was unsure what else to say other than stop.
“So, you do like him? I thought so.”
I didn’t know how to address Chloe’s scrutinizing stare, but I couldn’t lie to her. I’d had a long talk with her before her first day of high school on feelings and boys and how important it was to be careful. While I hoped she was still mostly innocent where that was concerned, she knew what a “sleepover” meant.
“Would that bother you?”
