Macy hated this day. It wasn’t the actual anniversary of Lauren’s death, but it was close enough.
She parked in the lot behind Sue Ellen’s and JR’s, and walked through the crowd decked out in their rainbow gear, waving flags, and celebrating Pride, and wondered how many of them wouldn’t make it home safely once the festivities were done. She thought about Janelle Silver and her father, and the other victims of the Parks and Rec Killer, but the one that occupied her mind the most wasn’t here and never would be again. Today was the starkest reminder of Lauren’s death, and she hated the shadow hanging over the festivities.
“Macy!”
She looked over her shoulder in time to see her old college roommate, Harrison Reynolds, before he scooped her up into a suffocating hug. She tolerated the embrace for a few seconds before she pushed away. “Okay, that’s enough.”
“Good to see you too, M.”
She stared at his hands on his hips and the pout on his lips. His response might look exaggerated, but she knew she’d hurt his feelings. It occurred to her that he’d changed very little over the past ten years, something she probably would’ve noticed before if she took the time to get together more often. She spent a moment trying to remember if she’d seen him since this annual get-together last year, but no memory surfaced, and she realized texts and the occasional phone call had been their only contact. She was kind of a shitty friend. “I’m sorry, H. I’m a little prickly today.”
“I suspect you’re a little prickly every day, but lucky me, I don’t have to see it.” He held out his arm. “Shall we?”
She looked around. “Where’s Donna?”
“She’s already camped out in our usual spot. She sent me to look for you, and I was going to stop in JR’s to grab a beer since I figured you’d be late, but here you are, being early. What’s up?”
She wasn’t about to admit she’d been hoping to run into Beck. Giving any small detail about Beck would send Harrison into an interrogation frenzy, so she pivoted. “Don’t let me get in the way of you cruising the bar even if it is a little early in the day to pick someone to take home with you.”
“As if. I may be going home with someone, but never the other way around.”
“As if,” she echoed, smiling, and matching his indignant tone.
“I love when you try to be like me,” Harrison said as he grabbed her hand. “Come on. Let’s grab our spot before Donna has to fight people for it.”
She let him wind his fingers through hers and lead the way. This touch, unlike the bear hug, was oddly comforting, like he was in charge, so she didn’t have to be. Maybe ceding a little control would be good for her. Maybe.
When they reached the sidewalk in front of JR’s, she spotted Donna guarding three camp chairs and an ice chest like her life depended on it. She waved them over, and tentatively stepped toward Macy as if to hug her before she hesitated.
“It’s okay,” Macy said. “H here already hug-bombed me, so I’m desensitized.”
Donna grinned and pulled her close. At first Macy tensed against the touch, but after a few seconds, she relaxed into the embrace, forgetting for a moment why they were hugging in the first place.
“I’ve missed you.”
“Really?” Macy leaned back so she could see Donna’s full expression when she answered.
“Really. Once a year isn’t often enough.”
Maybe it’s too often. The thought shot in like a lightning bolt, but Macy filed it away. Donna and Harrison viewed this event as a way of healing, but they’d never shared her view there would be no healing until Lauren’s killer was arrested, prosecuted, and punished for what he’d done. Meeting once a year at the place where it had all started wasn’t going to bring Lauren back, and her time would be better spent doing concrete work to bring her justice.
Harrison held up a colorful can of beer from a local brewery. “Here, drink this. You look like your mind is going a million miles a minute.”
“Her mind’s always going that fast,” Donna said. She waved a hand in front of Macy’s face. “Relax a little. Lauren would want us to enjoy each other’s company, don’t you think?”
“You act like this is some kind of birthday party we gather to celebrate every year, and that Lauren’s going to walk in at any moment and we’ll all yell ‘surprise’ and crowd around her and exchange gifts and have a great time.” She stopped, acutely conscious her voice was rising and people nearby were turning to look at them. “This isn’t a celebration,” she whispered harshly. “This isn’t a party.”
Harrison raised his eyebrows and jerked his head slightly. She turned to see Beck Ramsey standing behind her with a handsome guy holding a cooler, and she forced a smile.
“Looks like I arrived just in time for the fireworks,” Beck said with a grin.
The sight of Beck smiling was startling enough, but the fact she was dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shorts that showed a serious length of well-toned leg was enough to cause Macy to forget what she’d been railing about. “You came?”
“Did you forget you invited me?”
She hadn’t. Not really. She’d simply never considered Beck would actually show up. Macy cast a glance at the tall, handsome guy standing behind her. Beck was out, so she scratched husband and boyfriend from the list of possibilities. Wingman? She studied him closer until she recognized the resemblance—tall, blond, dark brown eyes. “Is this your brother?”
Beck stepped to the side and waved him closer. “Liam, meet Macy. Macy, this is my slightly older brother, Liam.”
Harrison appeared at her side, practically salivating. He stuck his hand out toward Liam who shook it with a broad smile. “Nice to meet you. Come on, we’ve got chairs over here.”
Macy watched him lead poor Liam away, certain her own chair was being sacrificed to Harrison’s newest crush.
“Let me guess. Your ‘hey, come to Pride on Sunday’ was a throwaway remark.” Beck ducked her head. “I get it. You probably don’t make a habit of socializing with subjects you’re writing about. I’ll get Liam and we’ll head out.”
She took a step away, but Macy reached out and grabbed her arm. “No.” She waited until Beck faced her. “I was serious when I invited you. And I’m not writing about you until you give the green light. Did you just give the green light?”
A hint of a smile appeared at the edge of Beck’s lips. “Maybe. The day is young.”
Macy play-wrote a note with her forefinger on her palm. “Not only is she a decorated cop, but she drives a hard bargain. Anything else I should know before we settle in?”
“I think that’s it for now.” Beck hefted the cooler in her hand. “Beer?”
She looked down at her hands and realized she’d never accepted the beer from Harrison. “Sure.” While the growing crowd jostled them both, she watched Beck pop the tab on an icy can and hand it to her like they were the only two people standing on the sidewalk. Her fingers grazed Beck’s as she took the can from her, and she took a deep swallow to distract from the intensity of the touch. It was hot outside, and she was hot inside, and it was going to be a long day trying to remain somewhat objective with Beck Ramsey standing next to her looking cool and refreshing and absolutely delicious.
“Who are your friends?”
“What?”
Beck pointed to where Donna and Harrison had surrounded Liam and the three of them were engaged in animated conversation. “Those people. The ones with the chairs and the conflict you all were discussing when Liam and I showed up.”
“Oh, those people.” Macy was stalling and she knew it. All she had to say was Harrison and Donna were college friends, but the big set of baggage that came with the question about how they’d managed to stay friends all these years wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t the kind of story you told to a virtual stranger standing in a crowd of rainbow-adorned other strangers on a hot summer day. She settled on a compromise. “Donna, Harrison, and I all shared a house while we were enrolled at Richards University. We get together every year for Pride.”
“But not to celebrate?”
Macy’s gut clenched. “Guess you heard us.”
“You’re not the only trained investigator here today.” Beck raised her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to listen in, but you were pretty exuberant.”
“Tell you what. It’s a long story, but all I want to do right now is drink this beer.” She held up the can. “And get a tall person to catch beads for me when the parade starts. Are you in?”
“For the beer or the beads?”
“Both.”
Beck nodded and hefted her cooler. “I have plenty of beer and a pretty decent reach. I’m in.”
“See, I knew I liked you the moment we met.” Macy motioned for Beck to follow and turned away before her objectivity melted in the heat. She needed the story with Beck in order to keep her editor happy, and if she had to share a few beers and watch a parade with her, how was that any different than the schmoozing that got press into top-tier arenas and other venues so they could gush about the home team or other local talent?
This was different and she knew it. But right now, she really didn’t care.
* * *
“Your new friend seems nice.”
Beck took the beer Liam handed her and focused on it rather than the curious expression on his face. Yes, Macy did seem like a nice person, for a reporter, but there was an undercurrent of intensity in everything she said, and it served a warning that all might not be as it seemed. Macy’s reference to the “long story” had been several hours ago, but she’d been unable to deduce anything more specific other than the fact that the bond holding Macy and her friends together ran deeper and darker than a shared college experience. She cast a glance over at the three of them, huddled together in whispered conversation. “I guess so.”
“Nice enough to get you to leave the house for something other than work and your morning run.”
“I guess I’m tired of hiding out, and this seemed like as good a place as any to take the first step.”
“I’d say so. I doubt anyone would even recognize you here, looking all casual.”
He was right. Out of uniform, with her hair down, sporting Wayfarers instead of Aviators, and a beer in her hand, she fit right in with the teeming crowd of party people. No one would suspect she was a cop. Minutes earlier, one of the patrol cops from the White Rock substation had passed right by her without a second glance, and the anonymity, after weeks in the spotlight, was a welcome relief. “It is kind of nice, flying under the radar.” She gestured toward Macy and her friends. “What do you make of them?”
“Are you asking me because you’re interested as a cop or for some other reason?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Well, there’s a big difference between dating and forensics.”
“It’s not a date. I told you, she’s been trying to interview me since the preliminary hearing in Jack’s case.”
“Interesting.”
“I hate when you do that.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you know more about a situation than I do when I’m the one who’s in it.”
“For a trained observer, you have a huge blind spot. She may be a reporter, but she’s interested in more than a story here.”
Was she? She cycled back through her interactions with Macy, but the only signal she’d gotten that Macy wanted more was the straightforward request she’d made to get a look at some cold case files. “It’s not what you think. She does want more, but it’s work-related, not personal.”
“If you say so.” He tore his gaze from Macy and her friends and faced her. “She seems like she’s got a bit of a whirlwind thing going on. Like it’s hard to focus. Other than that, I stand by my initial assessment. Nice person, attractive. I approve.”
She punched him in the arm. “I didn’t ask for your approval. And,” she pointed in the direction of Macy and her friends, “this isn’t what you keep trying to make it out to be.”
“You may not have asked for my approval, but I’m happy to give it. It’s what big brothers do.”
A voice from behind Beck called out. “Are you two over us?”
She turned to see Harrison standing behind her, but his eyes were on Liam because of course they were. “Not completely,” she said, keeping her expression neutral. “Seriously, we’re thinking of making the rounds.” She stuck out her hand. “It was nice to meet you. Say bye to Macy for us.” There, that should show Liam she wasn’t pining after anyone. She grabbed Liam’s arm and steered him away, ignoring Harrison’s crestfallen face.
“I can’t believe you’re ditching them when you just got here,” Liam whispered as they walked away. “You could use a new set of friends about now.”
She hid her regret about leaving Macy and her friends because what was the point? “Macy’s not a friend. She’s a reporter who wants a story. And she didn’t exactly invite me to join them. She gave me a little grief about never having attended Pride for fun and I decided to come down and see how it felt to be a civilian during the big party.” She glanced around at the growing crowd of hot, sweaty bodies. Everyone was drinking and laughing and excited about the parade. Was she the only one here suffocating from the tight quarters, on guard against the vulnerabilities of the inhibited crowd? “I shouldn’t have come.”
“I don’t know about that. You may need another beer before you can properly assess.” He pointed at the bar behind them. “Woody’s. Perfect. Let’s go in there and cool off. Maybe you’ll meet the love of your life inside.”
“Way more likely to happen to you, but cooling off sounds good.” She started to follow him up the stairs when she heard someone call her name. She turned to see Macy standing at the bottom of the steps. “Hi,” she said, feeling silly for having ducked out on her. “We’re discussing going inside to cool off.”
“May I talk to you a minute?” Macy asked. “It’ll only take a second.”
Beck looked back up at Liam who nodded. “It’s cool. I’ll see you inside.” He grinned. “Or not.”
She shook her head and turned to Macy, waiting to hear what she had to say.
“I’m not going to try and interview you here,” Macy said. “In case that’s why you ditched us.”
Beck hunched her shoulders. “I get it. It’s your job. I’m not ready to commit, and now that I’m here, I figured I should try and enjoy myself.” She looked out over the crowd, and her growing unease prompted her to share. “It’s not easy.”
“I imagine. You’re used to working Pride, not enjoying it. Bet you see a possible active shooter in every person carrying a backpack.”
“Something like that.” It was nice to have someone get her, but she had to be careful not to mistake observation for friendship. “Liam and I are headed in here for a bit. Might help.”
“Believe it or not today is really stressful for me too. I mean I’m not on hyper vigilant lookout for a potential shooter or bomb threat like you, but it’s hard for me to be here pretending to celebrate.”
The admission sounded like a volley of friendship, an attempt to share an experience, but Beck went on alert lest she fall into a trap. “Is that so?”
“It is. If you stick around, I’ll tell you about it. One personal story for another. It’s only fair, right?”
She should leave. No story was worth an entanglement that pricked the hairs on her neck, and whatever Macy had to say sounded ominous. Why did she even care? If Macy was uncomfortable being here, she should leave. Plain and simple.
But whatever was on Macy’s mind wasn’t plain or simple. She could tell by the lurking pain in Macy’s eyes and the way she tucked into herself when she alluded to whatever was bothering her. Okay, so she cared enough to notice those things, but that didn’t mean she had to stick around.
Before she could give her answer, the cloud disappeared, and Macy’s face brightened into a smile. “But that’s for later,” she said. “Right now, there’s beer to drink and beads to catch, and Donna packed excellent snacks.”
When Macy slid her arm around her waist, Beck was surprised when she didn’t recoil at the uninvited embrace, and when Macy led her back to the spot her friends had staked out, she was compelled to follow. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t know how, but she was drawn to this woman and she wanted to hear her story even if she had to endure an entire day of hot, sweaty festival goers to get to it.