Chapter Twenty-One

Shane finished early at the academy and itched to talk to Kit. He just wanted to hear her voice. But he refrained from contacting her. He knew what he was dealing with. Her breakup with Brian was months ago, but now with her cousin marrying the guy, the relationship-gone-wrong was in her face day in and day out. He blew out a lungful of air. Timing wasn’t his strong suit.

But last night was something. His mind played it over and over again, the way she looked at him, the way her mouth fell open slightly when he touched her skin, her lower lip glistening, wanting him. He stirred. Man, he had it bad.

He didn’t know what this meant, though. Was that a momentary lapse in judgment? Couldn’t be. Kit wasn’t that kind of woman. She didn’t give herself on a whim. He must matter. But maybe not.

He got into his truck and sat there with his hands on the wheel. Was it bad news that she hadn’t called him yet today? What did he expect? Had she found the note he’d left her? His mind was a roller coaster gone off the track.

After starting the engine, he turned in the direction of the firehouse and hoped Hop was there.

****

Co-Co arrived right on time, and this time she was alone. No offense to Aunt Dee Dee, but Kit was in no mood to deal with the two of them today.

“Helloooo.”

“Hi, Co-Co.” Kit retrieved the dress from its plastic bag with a heavy tug of the zipper. The fabric was weighty to her touch, like the regret that had started to blanket her heart. She’d tried to hold on to the heady feelings of this morning, the delicious memory making her blush in the daylight. But as the minutes ticked by, doubt was a needle and thread stitching her uncertainty to her heart like a patch over a jagged tear.

She placed what used to be Gram’s dress onto the hook above the dressing room door. After first-round alterations, the gown looked so tiny in order to fit her cousin’s slight frame, almost like a costume for a preteen.

“Isn’t it lovely, Kitty-Cat?”

“It is.”

Co-Co pouted her lips. “So why aren’t you gushing over it? You’re the one who worked your magic.” She touched the beading. “Look how beautiful. No one would ever know you had to replace the missing beads. Seriously, Kitty-Cat, you’re a genius.”

She didn’t want Co-Co’s accolades, given with the same conviction as anything she cast her approval upon. Wedding dresses and a bowl of salad greens got the same enthusiasm. In her world everything was so beautiful. She swallowed hard. For once in this crazy prewedding ordeal, her raw nerves had nothing to do with Co-Co.

“Did you take a grumpy pill today?”

“Not at all.” Kit forced herself to end it there. What good would it do to sully one of the happy bride-to-be’s moments? “I’m awkward with compliments, Co-Co. You know that.”

Her cousin smiled something close to genuine. “Don’t I know it.”

Kit slipped the dress from the satin hanger. “Let’s see how it looks, shall we?”

Co-Co clapped her hands, as if it were snack time in kindergarten, and traipsed into the dressing room.

****

“How’s it going at the academy, Irish?”

Hop sat at his desk in the captain’s office on the third floor, the two big front windows of the small room open and the blinds pulled up. Outside, downtown Sycamore River was alive and bustling.

“It never gets old. You’ll see.”

“What doesn’t?”

“The way this town just gets in your blood. I look out this window each day and fall in love all over again. Like loving a good woman.”

When he didn’t comment, Hop narrowed his gaze, his furry eyebrows tipping toward each other in a scrunch of his forehead. He pointed to the guest chair. “Plop a squat.”

Shane sat, placed his elbows on the arms of the chair. He didn’t know where to begin, how to formulate a thought.

“The days are flying by, that’s for sure,” Hop offered. “You getting nervous about graduation?”

“Uh, yes, but.” He pulled in a lungful of air. “I wanted to run something by you.”

“Sure, kid. What’s on your mind?”

“Kit.”

Hop shoved his glasses up on his head, leaned back in his chair, and folded his arms across his barrel chest. He blew out a low whistle. “Oh boy, Irish, you’re treading in dangerous territory.”

He nodded. “I, uh, don’t know what to do, Hop. We, Kit and I, we, uh, have been getting close.”

“How’s that lady over in Paris feeling about that?”

“Dana’s in Italy, and we broke up.”

“Because of Kit?”

“No. We just realized we weren’t meant for each other, I guess. But I’m not going to lie, Hop. I’ve been developing feelings for Kit since I met her. She’s, well, you know, she’s a great girl.”

“She’s been through some rough stuff, son.”

“I know.”

Hop jabbed his thumb at his chest. “You hurt her, and friend of your father’s or not, you’ll have to answer to me. You understand?”

Shane nodded.

For a long moment, Hop studied him. “You care about her.”

“I do.”

A crooked smile slanted Hop’s mouth. “She’s a piece of work. Ornery when she’s upset, snippy when you try to help her.” He shook his head. “Stubborn as a mule. But, man, she’s got a heart of gold, that girl. She’s a keeper. Like I said from day one.”

“I’m just not sure how she feels, Hop, or what this is between us. I just don’t want to mess it up.”

Hop nodded. “Then I think you and that girl need to have a conversation.”

Shane smiled at his father’s best friend, the one man who knew him longer than anyone. “I wouldn’t know what to say.”

“Say what’s in here.” The old man pointed to the center of his chest. “That’s the best you can do.”

“You’re right.”

“I’m always right.”