Summer reread the same paragraph of the police report for the sixth time before tossing it onto the coffee table and leaning back into the pillows on the couch. She’d been home for a few hours and had accomplished nothing, unable to focus on anything related to the case and unwilling to turn her attention away from it. A nagging sensation something was off had started from the moment Fuentes entered the courtroom, but she couldn’t zero in on it, and trying only seemed to make her more frustrated.
“Dig deeper.”
It was the same voice, the same words, she’d heard when she and Owen had met with Commissioner Adams. She’d assumed the voice was Carrie Adams signaling there was more to her death than met the eye, but what? From the moment she’d become involved with the case, every signal she’d received told her that Fuentes killed Carrie Adams. She’d picked up on Owen’s suspicion that Commissioner Adams might have been involved, but would his wife be forgiving enough to plead with her to help him find his way? Nothing about her tone indicated she wanted revenge or retribution.
She closed her eyes, willing Carrie to come back and offer a better explanation for her vague pleas, but before she could settle into mediation, the front door swung open and Faith came barreling in.
“Mom, you’re home. I thought you were going to be in court all day. Are we still having tacos? I’m pretty sure I aced my math test, by the way.”
Summer laughed. “Who are you?” She pretended to frown. “Seriously, this morning there was this girl who looked exactly like you, but she was kind of grouchy and bullheaded. You seem like a much more pleasant version.”
Faith rolled her eyes. “You’re hilarious.” She tossed her backpack onto the coffee table. “Hey, is that stuff for your trial?”
Summer reached for the police report before Faith could get to it. “Yes, and I shouldn’t have brought it home because I’m not supposed to share it with anyone.” She folded it in half and tucked it under her leg.
“Speaking of home, why are you here so early?”
Nan appeared in the door. “Yeah, why are you here so early?”
Summer tucked her feet up under her and motioned for them to sit. “I’m trying not to be offended that you both wish I wasn’t home.”
“Oh, we’re glad you’re here,” Nan said, “But we both hoped you would be bringing tacos for dinner.”
Tacos. Right. She’d promised Faith tacos, and she’d almost forgotten, or rather she’d pushed it from her mind because there was also supposed to be Owen joining them for tacos, and she suspected that wasn’t happening after she’d gone and been a mush ball at the courthouse this morning. The idea of putting regular clothes back on and trekking back out into the world was overwhelming, and she considered telling Faith she’d make something else for dinner and they’d get tacos another time.
“Did I mention I think I aced my math test?” Faith said in a semi-disturbing display of mind-reading.
“Tacos it is. I’ll go change. Want to ride with?”
“What about homework?”
“This one time you can do it after dinner.” Summer figured if she could lounge around all afternoon, then she could cut Faith a little slack.
Faith fist pumped the air. “Yes.”
In her room, Summer pulled on a pair of jeans and her favorite RBG T-shirt. She’d hung her suit back up from this morning, thinking she could pair it with a different blouse later in the week, assuming she wouldn’t get a call from Owen saying they no longer needed her. She hoped that wouldn’t happen. Why had she had to use the word “girlfriend”? It was so loaded. And so soon. Even if it didn’t feel that way to her, she’d put Owen on the spot. Honestly, how did she expect Owen to react?
Faith was waiting at the front door. “Nan gave me her order.”
“Cool.” Summer jangled her keys. “Let’s go.” She felt a buzzing in her pocket. “Oh wait. Hang on.” She pulled out her phone and checked the screen. Owen. “Sorry, I need to take this.”
Faith sighed dramatically. “Fine. I’ll wait outside.”
Summer shooed her off and ducked into the den to take the call. “Hey there.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. Are you still working?”
“Kind of. I was thinking of taking a break to get something to eat.”
Summer’s instinct was to invite Owen over, keep their original plan, but after Owen’s reaction to the girlfriend comment, she decided to tread carefully. “We were about to do the very same thing.”
“Tacos?”
“You know it.”
“I love tacos. All kinds. Traditional, foodie, you name it.”
Summer wasn’t sure what to say. It kind of sounded like Owen was angling for an invitation, but did she want to put herself out there again?
A loud cry pulled her out of her thoughts. She held the phone away from her ear to try to figure out where the sound was coming from and she heard the cry again, but it sounded more like a squeal of joy, followed by “Owen!” Definitely coming from the phone. She put it back to her ear. “What’s going on? Is that Faith?”
“Hang on,” Owen said.
Summer heard a muffled sound and then Faith’s voice came through the line. “Owen brought tacos. Where are you?”
Summer practically ran to the front door and threw it open to find Owen and Faith standing on the front step, each holding a large bag.
Owen smiled tentatively and held out a bag. “I wasn’t sure what kind you liked, so I brought a little of everything.” She pointed to the bag Faith was holding. “Oh, and queso. Lots of queso.”
Summer smiled back to set her at ease, although she was kind of faking it herself. “Well, get in here, taco lady.” She held the door open and stepped to the side, but not before accidentally on purpose brushing against Owen to test the waters. Owen winked to show she’d clicked to her not so smooth move, and Summer took the bag from her hand and gave it to Faith.
“Take these to the kitchen, math genius. I need to talk to Owen for a minute in private.”
“Okay, but don’t get all caught up in ‘work’ stuff.”
Summer watched Faith take off toward the kitchen. “Tell me she did not just use air quotes.”
“Uh, I can’t because she totally did.”
Summer turned her attention back to Owen and all the questions that bubbled up at her sudden appearance. “Follow me,” she said, leading them both into the den. She shut the door behind them, and started to speak, but Owen held up a hand to stop her.
“I overreacted. In the stairwell. You used a word I don’t think anyone has used since I was in high school going to prom with some guy, but only because his best friend was dating the girl I had a crush on and I figured a double date was the closest I would ever get to her. I nearly decked him when he called me his girlfriend, and I guess I haven’t figured out a civilized way to react to the word since.”
Summer’s brain spun as she digested Owen’s words. “Wow. Okay. That was a lot.”
But Owen wasn’t done. “Too much really, but I wanted you to know that when you said the word, I liked it. More than liked it.”
“If I’m hearing you correctly, what you’re trying to say, but with a lot more words, is that you practically running away from me at the courthouse was not the same as you wanting to deck bad prom date guy from high school.”
“Not even.” Owen stepped closer. “Will you say it again? You know, so I can react appropriately.”
Owen’s proximity was making her warm and flustered, but should she comply? Had she said it too soon? Was she overthinking it now? Her at attention nerve endings said no and it wasn’t like she had a history of jumping in too soon. No, what she felt for Owen was strong and real and completely genuine. The real question was whether Owen felt the same way. She slid her hands around Owen’s waist and leaned in close to whisper in her ear, acutely conscious of how much it drove her crazy. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”
“Oh yes. Yes, I do.”
Owen punctuated her answer with a deep, slow kiss that left Summer buckling at the knees. In that moment, she forgot about tacos, the trial, and anything that didn’t involve Owen’s talented lips and tongue. Until the sound of the door opening jerked her back to reality.
“Are you girls planning to stay in here kissing?” Nan asked with a knowing look. “It’s fine with me if you are because more tacos for me and Faith.” She was gone before they could answer, shutting the door behind her.
“Did that just happen?” Owen asked.
“Oh, it did. And it’s likely to happen again if you decide you want to stick around.”
Owen kissed her again. A quick, light kiss this time. “Oh, I do. For as long as you’ll have me.” She frowned. “But what about Faith?”
“She comes with the package.”
Owen laughed. “Of course she does. I mean, do I need to play it cool around her or are we coming out?”
Summer pointed at her head. “This gift? It runs in the family, so I have a feeling she already knows something is going on, hence the air quotes. Let’s play it by ear and if it feels natural, we can bring it up. But in the meantime, there are tacos waiting.” Summer pulled her to the door, reluctant to leave their bubble, but figuring she better get used to living outside of one if she was going to have a shot at a real relationship with Owen.
Faith and Nan had set the table and a huge tray of tacos and several bowls of queso were waiting. Faith ushered Owen to the seat between her and Summer, and within a few minutes they were all stuffing their faces.
After her third taco, Faith tossed her napkin on the table. “I surrender. Those were amazing. Best reward for acing a math test ever.” She turned to Owen. “I even got to put off homework until after dinner, but if I’d known you were coming over, I would’ve gotten it out of the way earlier.”
“It’s all good,” Owen replied. “I have homework too. I have to give an opening statement in my trial tomorrow. It was supposed to be today, but it was postponed. You’d think I’d already be ready, but since I’ve had more time to think about it, I thought of some things I want to change.”
“I wanted to go to court with Mom today, but Mom said I couldn’t miss my math test. I bet it would’ve been a great learning experience.”
“Some of the magnet schools bring high school kids to the courthouse to watch trials. Maybe you can sign up for one of those programs a couple of years from now.”
“When you’re my age, everything happens a couple of years from now.”
Nan snorted. “Just wait until you’re my age and everything happened more than a couple of years ago.”
Summer watched the exchange, loving the easy interaction between her grandmother, her daughter and her—dare she say it—girlfriend. It was effortless and comfortable, and she appreciated how Owen treated Nan with deference and Faith like a very important person rather than baggage she had to accept if she wanted to get close to her. Her heart was full, and she was feeling generous, which prompted her to ask, “Owen, on a scale of G to R, what’s the rating for tomorrow’s opening statement?”
Owen looked surprised by the question but recovered quickly. “PG. Definitely not higher than PG.”
Okay with you if I bring her along?
“Of course.”
Summer was so excited Owen had not only heard her thought, but responded, she didn’t notice Faith was watching them until she waved a hand in her face.
“What’s going on?” Faith asked.
“How would you like to go to court with me tomorrow and listen to Owen’s opening?”
Faith let out a loud whoop, gave Owen a big hug, and then descended on her with an even bigger hug and a whispered message. “I like her, Mom. Let’s keep her around.”
“On it, kiddo.” And just like that, the bubble was broken. Summer couldn’t be happier.