Just a Little Series (Parts 1 - 4) (20 page)

I turned back and met his stare.

“
Yes
?” I asked, long and drawn
out.

“Just you and Grace?” I nodded, and it
seemed to ease his mind. “One hour. I want you back by
sundown.”

“Great!” I wore a genuine smile. “I couldn’t
stay out long, anyway. Luke’ll be here at eight to help me pull
together the proposal for the parade route. See you in a bit.”

I turned on my heel just as Charlie said,
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Get back here.”

I stopped and turned back yet again.

“Yes?” I asked, as melodramatically as
before.

“What did you just say?”

“See you in a bit—”

“Before that.”

“I couldn’t stay out long anyway,” I acted
as though I didn’t know what he was aiming for.

“After that.”

“Oh,” I nodded. “Derek will be here at eight
to help pull together the route proposal.”

“You said
Luke
.”

“Did I?” I asked, looking innocently between
Matt and Charlie. “Silly me. I meant
Derek
.” I slapped
myself on the forehead. “I guess with all this Grand Marshal
business I’ve just had Luke on the brain 24/7.”

Charlie groaned as I turned out.

I felt borderline-evil messing with Charlie,
but I couldn’t help it; I’d take any chance to see him squirm. I
was tired of his new approach to parenting. I wanted off the leash.
I planned to keep applying pressure. I’d make him squeal
eventually. He was
going
to tell me why he was so hell-bent
on keeping me away from Luke.

CHAPTER TWO

Friday, December 14| 8:30 p.m.

“Can I see the sketches you came up
with?”

Derek passed a small black folder across the
bed. He sat with his back against my headboard, his long legs
stretched out in front of him. I rested on my belly with my head at
the foot of the bed, kicking my feet back and forth as we traded
visions for the parade. Like he’d helped execute the Fall Ball,
Derek was lending a helping hand with the parade. He and I shared a
passion for fine details and organization.

“Nice work, Julie,” he said, reading over
the list of sponsors I’d composed. “It looks like we’re working
with quite a hefty budget.”

“And this,” I held up a sketch he’d drawn to
detail the parade line-up, “it’s beautiful. I love it.”

I turned to smile. His hair was mussed, and
his face a few days unshaven. He lifted his glasses to pinch the
bridge of his nose and then nodded, “Thanks.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, why?” he asked, looking back down at
the list I’d given him.

“You seem stressed.”

“Just tired,” he fought a yawn. “A lot of
sleepless nights lately, that’s all.”

He managed a half-hearted smile, but I
couldn’t find anything but sadness and remorse lingering in his
stare.

Hannah’s trial was coming up. In fact, it
was just around the corner—early January— as long as it didn’t get
pushed back for a second time. Despite his anger over the crime his
sister had committed, Derek still found it difficult to watch as
Hannah helplessly wandered down the same path her father had
taken.

“It’s going to be okay,” I pulled myself up.
I leaned my back against the headboard next to him, resting my head
on his shoulder. “Hannah has to live with her decisions, Derek. But
you don’t.”

“I feel responsible—”

“You shouldn’t. You couldn’t have known what
she was going to do—”

“I should’ve seen it, though,” he said,
finally finding the nerve to talk openly about his sister’s crime
for the first time since the shooting. “She was so insistent on
coming here. When I suggested we leave and start over, she lobbied
for Oakland like it was the answer to all of our prayers. Her
behavior was so erratic, but I wanted to believe she just needed a
change of scenery. I thought starting over would be the best thing
for her… for both of us, really. But look where that got us. She
sealed her fate with a single bullet.”

“You couldn’t have stopped her,” I said.
“Hannah wasn’t going to stop until she got what she came here
for.”

“And I should’ve recognized that,” he
argued. “If I’d only stopped and paid more attention, but I was
enamored by you, by our friendship. When we first arrived, all I
wanted was to keep building on this bond we’d created. I stopped
focusing on my family and started focusing on myself.”

“That’s okay, though—”

“And the moment I took my eyes off of
Hannah, she nearly killed your boyfriend—”

“Luke’s
not
my boyfriend,” I said,
unable to stop the words. But it was too late. The mood shifted,
and all it took were those four little words.

Derek seemed to forget about his worry, and
immediately shut down. His eyes glossed over as he stared straight
out the window. I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared at
him.

“Derek, I’m—”

“It’s okay,” he said, but I knew it
wasn’t.

As far as he knew, Luke
was
my
boyfriend… or some strange version of one. But it was hard for
Derek to know anything; he always tuned out at the mere mention of
the
other guy
. He’d become so distant. The fact that he’d
even mentioned Luke was because of Hannah, and only then it had
been an accident. But I understood. He’d openly admitted to having
feelings for me and acknowledged my feelings for Luke. But because
he wasn’t the one my heart ached for, Derek didn’t want any part of
the discussion.

We’d somehow reached an unspoken agreement.
He wouldn’t inquire about my love life—or lack thereof—and I
wouldn’t share anything that wasn’t necessary.

“I should probably get home,” he pushed his
overgrown hair out of his eyes. He didn’t bother coming up with an
excuse. We both knew why he was leaving; the air was thick with
unrequited love.

“Derek,” I watched as he reached the door,
“things are going to get better. I promise.”

He nodded, but didn’t say another word
before disappearing from the room.

Saturday, December 15

“Can I reject it?”

I arched my brow and stared at him.

“It’s an honor, Luke,” I said. “Why would
you
want
to reject it? The people of Oakland want to
recognize you for your service on the force. Don’t you want to
accept their gratitude?” He looked at me, biting back a snarky
comment I’m certain, and let me continue. “If nothing else, look at
the perks. There’s a float, flowers… not to mention the
hundreds
of captivated women in the crowd— all of them
waiting to get a glimpse of the sexy, dangerous, and wounded
Officer Reibeck.” His lips curved into a smirk. “How can you say
no
to that? Huh? Huh?” I nudged him playfully in the
side.

He took a deep breath and shook his
head.

“Jules,” he said, a soft gleam of humor
lingering in his eyes. “I know you’ll find this hard to believe,
but it hasn’t been my lifelong dream to sit atop a decorated parade
float and perfect my princess wave.”

I threw him a sideways glance and
shrugged.

“Do whatever you want,” I said, “but it’ll
fall on your shoulders to tell Grace.”

“Tell Grace what?”

“That you’re backing out. She’s spent hours
working on your float and your float alone.” I took a minute to
detail just how many hours of work she’d already dedicated to the
Grand Marshal vehicle. “Do you really want to break an old woman’s
heart?”

He closed his eyes for the briefest of
seconds and then dropped his head. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

I clapped my hands and smiled.

We continued our long walk through the
historic district in the heart of Oakland. It was a beautiful
one-street community of brick-faced buildings and quaint shops. In
the summer, the trees on the sidewalks fully bloomed, casting a
cool shade on the passersby as they meandered in and out of the
stores. Now in December, the branches were bare and snow-covered,
and the shoppers were more inclined to bustle than meander. It was
a scene right out of a Kinkade painting.

I was out to finish the last of my Christmas
shopping, and Luke was a last-minute tag-along. It rarely occurred
that we found a moment to spend together, let alone a full
afternoon, but today was special. Charlie was stuck at the station
all day dealing with a load of paperwork that he couldn’t push off
on someone else. With no threat of him lurking about, I called up
Luke and asked if he’d like to join me on my final shopping day of
the holiday season.

This was the first one-on-one time we’d
shared since our final dance at the Fall Ball. When the dance
ended, Matt and Kara—his newest love interest—were ready to blow
the joint. Luke left me with a sweet, warm kiss to the cheek, a
hug, and a goodnight wish. Since then, I’d only seen him twice—once
when Matt and I dropped by the station to take Charlie out for his
birthday, and then once again when I bumped into him at the
supermarket. Both times—no surprise at all— Charlie was breathing
down my neck, so Luke and I could only utter the simplest of
hellos.

“What’s with the goofy grin?” Luke zipped
his leather jacket up a little further.

“Hmm?” I asked, but shook my head to ward
off any unusual expression. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“About?”

“You,” I admitted.

He didn’t seem fazed by my admission, so I
assumed he’d already concluded that much.

“Hey,” he nodded at a small diner two doors
down. “You wanna stop for lunch before we start shopping? If I know
you, and I think I do, I’m going to need the fuel to get through
this day. I can’t imagine you’re a fast shopper.”

I smiled and nodded, and together we walked
in silence to the diner. He held the door as we reached the
building, and then he rested his strong hand on the small of my
back to direct me through the door.

Minutes later, we were nestled at a cozy
table in the farthest corner. The breakfast rush had subsided, and
it was still too early for the lunch crowd to start straggling in.
The diner was ticking at its daily low. It was quiet and serene,
and I loved the vibe of intimacy the empty room created. Luke and I
were the only customers in sight.

The waitress, who seemed to know exactly who
we both were, took our orders and left us alone. I’d quickly
learned that it was one of the perks of small town life. Everybody
knew everybody.

“I won’t lie,” Luke said when the waitress
disappeared into the kitchen. “This is nice.”

“What?”

“Seeing you,” he said, unzipping his jacket
to take it off. He draped it along the back of his chair and turned
back. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of dropping
by.” He jokingly pointed a finger at me, and his scarred lip curved
into a smile. “Don’t assume I’m going soft,” he warned, “but I’ve
missed you.”

I smiled, but didn’t respond.

“You know,” I finally said a few minutes
later, “there are these crazy little gadgets people are using
nowadays.” He lifted his brow as if interested to hear more.
“They’ve actually been around since…
gee, I don’t know
…
about 1876. A
phone
,” I said slowly, as if he’d never heard
of one. “You use it when you want to talk to someone. You know,
someone you like. Someone you’re thinking about.
Someone you
miss
.”

He licked his lips and shook his head. “A
phone, you say?”

“Don’t humor me, Reibeck,” I said, now
pointing my finger at him. “If you really wanted to talk to me, you
could’ve called or, at the least, sent a text. You know my
number.”

“Just curious,” he said, leaning back, “who
pays your cell phone bill?”

“Charlie.”

“And did it ever occur to you that he might
be checking your phone records? If he’s keeping tabs on you the way
I
think
he is, he’ll know the time and date of every text
and call I send your way. And vice versa, kid.” He watched me with
slight disappointment, but it quickly passed. “I’m already in hot
water as it is; I don’t need any more grief from your uncle.”

The waitress returned a few minutes later
and set two plates on the table. As she refilled Luke’s glass with
a pitcher of water, the bell over the diner door chimed. She looked
up and nodded at the latest customers to let them know she’d be
over momentarily.

She looked back to Luke and smiled, “You
look more like him every day.”

“What’s that?” Luke raised his brow as if he
hadn’t heard her.

“Your daddy, sweetheart,” she nodded behind
him.

Luke and I turned to see Lonnie and Grace in
the anteroom of the diner. Neither of them had seen us, so we
turned back quickly and stared at one another.

But then Luke’s eyes snapped shut.

“You want me to bring them this way?” the
waitress asked. “I can put them right next to you—”

“No,” we said in unison, but it was too
late. Grace had already spotted us. She was dragging Lonnie by a
fistful of his sweater through the diner toward me and Luke.

“Don’t lose your cool,” I whispered across
the table. “But they’re headed right for us.” Luke nodded, but kept
silent. “Do you want to get the check and go? We can go somewhere
else to eat.”

“No,” he rested his hand on top of mine.
“The timing sucks, I won’t lie.” He took a deep breath and let it
out slowly. “I told you I’d make things right with Lonnie so, I
might as well start now.”

CHAPTER THREE

Saturday, December 15

Grace and I had met on several occasions to
discuss the floral arrangements for the Oakland Holiday Parade. Of
the times we’d met, we’d never discussed anything outside of
business with the exception of normal pleasantries. When Luke was
brought up, it was only in discussion about the Grand Marshal
float. As far as she—or anyone else—knew, Luke and I weren’t
involved in any way, shape, or form.