23

Friday night was, hands down, Sarah’s favorite time of the week. The school week was over, the weekend stretched out in front of her, and with the added ritual of frozen pizza for dinner and a good, scary movie, what was there not to love? Some Fridays, between the pizza and the DVD, she went to a football game at Last Chance High, which made the night perfect. Tonight the team was away, so it was just pizza, Whisperer in the Wood, and, of course, Brandon. But he wouldn’t be getting in until late. And truthfully? That was okay with Sarah. She needed a little decompression time between school and Brandon.

She was into her second piece of pizza—and the part in the movie where the first girl, for some unfathomable reason, decides to wander through the woods by herself at night—when the doorbell rang. Sarah jumped about a foot, hit the Pause button on the remote, and opened the front door to find Rita on her porch.

“Sorry for just barging in like this. I tried to call a couple times, but you didn’t answer.”

Sarah looked around the room as she opened the door for Rita. “I guess my phone’s still in my bag. Sorry. What’s up?”

Rita held up a key hooked to a large red plastic tag with a seven on it. “I was hoping I could drop off Brandon’s key. Other than him, my last guest has checked in, and I would love it if I could just go back to my apartment and turn in early.”

“Sure.” Sarah held out her hand for the key. “He’s planning on stopping by to let me know he’s here anyway.”

“I thought he probably would. Good night, nurse, Sarah, what are you watching?” Rita’s attention had been caught by the television, where the girl’s face was frozen into a mask of sheer, addle-brained terror and her arm was thrust out to protect herself from some unseen horror.

“Oh, Rita, you caught me. Scary moves are my secret vice, developed young to prove to my brothers that I was as tough as they were.”

Rita gazed at the screen a moment longer before shaking her head. “Well, as secret vices go, I suppose that’s not a particularly bad one. But I have to say it’s not one I would have thought about you having.”

“Well, now you know.” Sarah grinned. “What about you, Rita? Any secret vices you want to confess?”

“Now, if I did that, they wouldn’t be secret, would they?” Rita headed for the door. “Be sure to give Brandon a big ‘Welcome to Last Chance’ from me, will you? And ask him to stop by the office in the morning so we can get him checked in.”

“I’ll do that.” Sarah tossed the key on the mantel and went back to her sofa. She picked up the remote, hit Play, and jumped another foot as the scream ripped through her living room.

She had finished the movie and most of the pizza and had dozed off on the sofa when a tap on her front door brought her to her feet almost before she knew she was awake. She stood swaying next to the sofa, trying to figure out what was happening. Another tap. Brandon.

It hadn’t taken very long, maybe five minutes, after she hung up from talking to Brandon Monday night to wonder if she hadn’t just made a big mistake, and she hadn’t repeated the DFILY text despite the fact that one had appeared on her phone every night since within seconds of Brandon saying good night.

But now that he stood before her in his rumpled suit pants and dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, she realized to her surprise that she had missed him and that she really was glad to see him.

“Hey there! I thought you were going to call once you got on the road out of El Paso.” Sarah returned his warm hug but turned her head just a bit so his kiss fell on the corner of her mouth.

“I tried to.” If Brandon was disappointed with his reception, he gave no sign. “You didn’t pick up.”

“Oops, I never did get my phone.” Sarah dug through her bag and held up her phone. “Silenced too, of course. Sorry.”

She couldn’t help taking a quick look at the call log. Only one message. Maybe Brandon was ready to stop hovering after all.

“Come sit down.” Sarah pointed toward the sofa. “Are you hungry? I could heat up that pizza.”

“No, thanks, I bought a sandwich on the plane.” Brandon sat down and picked up the DVD case. “Another action-packed Friday night, I see.”

“Hey, it’s how I know it’s Friday. Would you rather I had been out looking for a party? Not that I would have found one.” She laughed as she sat down beside him. “Stubble’s gone, I see.”

Brandon rubbed his jaw and made a face. “Yeah, the company likes a clean look, so I just shave like everyone else now.”

“Well, I’m glad. I think you look a lot more handsome this way.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek, but when he turned to her, she moved away.

“I’m sorry. I really am glad you’re here. But I’m just not ready to . . .” She searched for words. “To pick up as if nothing had ever changed between us. I still need more time.”

“I see. Well, I noticed you only answered one of my texts. I was hoping you weren’t getting cold feet again.” His smile looked a little weary as he took both her hands. “But listen, that’s why I’m here. I love you and I believe you love me too. And if you need a little time to figure that out for yourself, then time’s what you’ve got.”

“Thank you.” It had never been a question of loving Brandon. It was all about whether they could be happy together, but Sarah was just too tired to go into all that now. “Rita brought over your key, but she wants you to swing by the office tomorrow to check in. I’ll bet you’re beat.”

Brandon took the hint and got to his feet. “It is late, but I’d like to take you and your grandmother out for breakfast tomorrow. Can I pick you up about 9:00?”

“Sure. I’d like that. And I’m sure Gran would too, but if you want her to come with us, you’d better make it 10:00. She likes a bit of a slow morning.”

“Okay, 10:00 it is. Is this the key?” He took it off the mantel and stopped at the door. His smile was tender. “Good night, sweet Sarah. Sleep well, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Sarah crossed the room, and without quite knowing how it happened, she found herself in his arms. He bent his head and brushed her lips with the lightest of kisses, and this time she didn’t turn away.

“So, Carlos, when are you going to eat a plate of mole verde like you promised?”

The Dip ’n’ Dine was nearly full, but a busy room always energized Chris.

“What?” Carlos ladled green chile sauce over three plates of huevos rancheros simultaneously without spilling a drop. “Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, you do. You said if we had even five orders for the mole, you’d eat a plate yourself, right in the front window. Well, I had more than ten times that, so when’s it going to be?”

“Oh. I already had some.” Carlos never even looked up from his work.

“You did? When?”

“Took some home that night.”

“And?”

“Not bad.”

Coming from Carlos, that was high tribute. He never bragged about his cooking; he didn’t have to. Everyone else did it for him. But then he never praised anyone else’s either. That would be false humility.

Chris hid his smile as he went back into the dining room. He’d get something new on that menu yet. The smile did a pretty good job of hiding itself, though, when he got out there. The Saturday waitress was showing a party of three to a booth—Elizabeth, Sarah, and some smooth-looking guy who could only be Brandon. Elizabeth had mentioned that Brandon was coming for the weekend when Chris had picked Olivia up after school Wednesday. He tried to figure out how Elizabeth felt about it, but she had been pretty noncommittal about the whole thing. And here he was—Brandon himself. Chris busied himself with something or other until they had their menus and water and then went over to their booth.

“Good morning, Elizabeth, Sarah. Good to see you.” He smiled at Brandon, and an unspoken And you are? hung in the air. Chris knew, all right, but Brandon didn’t have to know that.

“Chris, this is Brandon Miller. I know I’ve told you about him. Brandon, this is Chris Reed.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Chris extended his hand. “Are you in town long?” Came in last night, going on to LA Sunday night.

“Just for the weekend. Leaving tomorrow night.” Brandon shook Chris’s hand. He had a strong grip, but then, Chris may have put a little extra muscle behind his handshake too.

“That’s a long way to come for a short visit.” But don’t prolong your stay on my account.

“Ah, she’s worth it.” Brandon rested his arm along the back of the booth and smiled at Sarah. “Besides, we’ve always been able to pack a lot into a short time, haven’t we?”

Before Sarah could answer, Brandon went on. “Which reminds me, Sarah told me all about that steak place you went to last week. Sounds like kind of a fun place, so I thought we’d go back tonight.” He grinned. “That way she’ll have something to compare those great Chicago steaks to when she comes to see me next month. Can you tell me how to find it? She said it was out in the boonies.”

“Yeah, it pretty much is, but it’s not hard to find. I’ll write out the directions for you.”

“Outstanding.” Brandon picked up his menu with his free hand and started looking at it. “Say, can we get some coffee? And I take cream.”

“Sure thing. I’ll get it right over.” Chris walked away. Score: Brandon 1, Chris 0. He stopped the waitress and told her that table 4 needed coffee and might be ready to order.

The Dip ’n’ Dine stayed busy, and it wasn’t too hard for Chris to be elsewhere in the diner and yet not look as if he were actually avoiding Sarah’s table. Finally, though, he could see they were getting ready to leave, so he thought he’d better stop by.

“How was your breakfast? Everything okay?”

“Delicious, Chris. It always is.” Elizabeth smiled up at him. “Tell Carlos I said so, would you, please?”

“I surely will.” He handed Brandon a hand-drawn map. “Here are the directions to Papa’s. How long did it take us to get there, Sarah? An hour, maybe?”

Brandon made no move to take the slip of paper. “I guess we’re not going to need it, after all. Sarah said she’d rather go somewhere else.” He shrugged and started to slide out of the booth. “Any other suggestions?”

Chris thought a minute and then shook his head. “Sorry, can’t think of a thing. Oh, wait, I think an all-you-can-eat buffet just opened in San Ramon. I haven’t tried it myself, though.” You’re on your own on this one, Miller. Sorry, but I’m not planning your romantic evening for you.

“Well, when you two figure out where I want to have dinner, be sure to let me know.” Sarah had followed Brandon out of the booth. “Or here’s a thought. You could ask me.”

Brandon laughed and gave her shoulders a one-armed squeeze. “Sorry. Any place you want to go. Just name it.”

He turned to Chris and extended his hand again. “Chris, it was a pleasure. I always like coming into the Dip ’n’ Dine when I’m in the area, so I imagine I’ll see you again.”

“I hope so.”

Chris took his hand, and again the grip was a little too strong and lasted a shade too long. There was not a doubt in Chris’s mind that if he chose to, he could bring Brandon Miller to his knees with his handshake. But in the end, it was Brandon who was offering his arm to Elizabeth and leaving with Sarah. All Chris could do was watch them go.

“We’ve got the whole day in front of us. What shall we do?” Brandon got back in the car after seeing Elizabeth to her door and started the engine.

“I hadn’t thought about it.” Sarah raised an eyebrow. “I just assumed you had the whole day planned. That’s been your style.”

“That was then. This is now. The day is yours. Anything you want to do, we’ll do.”

“I don’t know.” Sarah was exasperated, more with herself than with Brandon. How many times had she seethed because he always had everything planned and just assumed she’d like it? Now here he was, just waiting for her instructions, and she couldn’t think of a thing.

He laughed and shifted into Drive. “Okay, how’s this plan? Let’s pick up some sandwiches in San Ramon and then just head out. When we’re ready for lunch, we’ll find a place to have a picnic. And for dinner, we’ll just see what’s around. If it’s white tablecloth, we’ve lucked out. If all we can find is drive-through, then we’ll just eat there.”

Sarah looked at him like she’d never seen him before. “Who are you? And what have you done with Brandon?”

“Told you.” He drove away from the curb in a smooth motion. “I’m a new man.”

The day could not have been more perfect. Brandon drove to the sandwich shop like he had been there a hundred times. They stashed their sandwiches and bottles of tea in a small cooler Brandon took from his trunk.

“I borrowed this from Rita this morning. Wasn’t sure we’d need it, but you never know.” He put the cooler back in the trunk and slammed it closed.

They spent the rest of the day wandering. Brandon, who never liked to venture forth without a map, was the one who said, “Let’s try this road” and “Why don’t we see where this goes?” They had their lunch in a shady park in one of the little towns they drove through, and when it was time for dinner, they indeed found a white tablecloth restaurant. The same one, in fact, Brandon had taken her to the last night before he left for Chicago. Things had changed a bit. The patio tables had been taken inside for the season, and they had already begun clearing away the mesquite and sagebrush for the new retirement community, but somehow the changes didn’t seem to be quite the outrage Sarah had felt them to be earlier. Change, as Gran had tried to tell her, didn’t start and stop like a faucet; it was continuous, like a river.

Sarah floated on a cloud of well-being all the way home. It felt like their college days. She had not been looking forward to Brandon’s visit this weekend, but it had really gone well—at least so far. Oh, the chest bumping between Brandon and Chris that morning at the Dip ’n’ Dine hadn’t gone unnoticed, but Sarah had grown up on a ranch and had brothers. She wasn’t too perturbed by that. They’d get over it.

She could smell the wood smoke in the air when she got out of Brandon’s car in front of her house. Someone nearby had a fire going. It was getting to be that time of year. The days were still warm, but at night the temperatures were already dipping into the forties. She shivered.

“Cold?” Brandon put his arm around her and drew her close as they walked toward her door. “We should have stopped by for a jacket when we took your grandma home.”

“Brandon, if you had planned every minute of this day, you couldn’t have done a better job. It was everything I love.”

“I’m glad. I want you to be happy.” Brandon stopped at the front door and lightly rubbed her arms. “You’d better get inside. It’s cold.”

“Aren’t you going to come in? Maybe for some coffee?”

He looked into her face a long moment before answering. “Nope. It was a perfect day, and I want to leave you with that. I’ll pick you up for church tomorrow.”

“And then lunch at the ranch? Mom was so pleased you wanted to come out to see them.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing them too.” He slipped his arms around her waist. “I guess we’ll have to take two cars. I’m going to have to leave for the airport right after lunch.”

“It was a short trip. But I’m glad you came.”

He tightened his arms around her waist, but when she looked up, he didn’t kiss her. He looked deep into her eyes and smiled at what he saw there.

“Me too. Now, go inside before you freeze.”

Inside, Sarah stood in the window and waved as Brandon got in his car and drove way. She would never have believed it, but he did seem to have changed, at least enough to have one spontaneous day. A day like this one, where they just followed the road, would never have occurred to the Brandon she knew.

She hummed a little tune to herself as she went to put the kettle on. When she stopped to try to figure out what she was humming, she recognized it as one of Chris’s jazz pieces.