Catching Fireflies(35)

“Sneaking in a nap?” he asked quietly as he sat beside her.

“Just enjoying the day,” she said, smiling at him but not opening her eyes. “I love it when the air starts to feel like fall. Saturday still felt like summer, but today I’m finally feeling that crisp bite in the air. Makes the sun feel good.”

“I brought coffee and pie.”

“Ah,” she murmured, opening her eyes and turning to him.

The sleepy look on her face gave him a start. Suddenly he couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to wake up next to her.

“What kind of pie?” she asked.

“Huh?” he said, then snapped himself back into the moment.

She pointed at the take-out container. “The pie. What kind is it?”

“Key lime.”

“Perfect. It’s a favorite of mine.” She glanced at the small container again. “Only one slice? Where’s yours?”

“I thought you might share at least a bite with me.”

She beckoned for the box. “Let me taste, then we’ll see.”

“Something tells me we need to settle these negotiations now,” he said, holding the pie just out of reach. “Once you get a taste, I’m likely to be out of luck.”

“Could be,” she agreed.

“So, will you commit to sharing?”

She regarded him thoughtfully. “It might be fair since you bought it,” she said.

“True.”

“But it might be really, really good, and you did say you were bringing it for me.”

He smiled as she worked this out in her head. “Also true,” he conceded.

“Okay, one bite,” she allowed grudgingly.

“Three,” he countered.

“Two, and that’s my final offer.”

J.C. chuckled. “Obviously I’ll know better than to get between you and your pie next time.”

“Probably wise.”

“And I think I’ll take my two bites before I hand it over,” he said. “Just to avoid any chance of second thoughts.”

“I made a commitment,” she said indignantly.

“Okay, then, here you go,” he said, handing it over and watching as she took the first bite and allowed the tart-sweet combination of the creamy key lime filling melt in her mouth. Watching her savor it was such a turn-on, he almost hated to see it end as she finished her share and gave him the rest. Still, as a matter of principle, he took it. The pie, good as it was, wasn’t nearly as satisfying as watching her enjoyment of it.

She took a sip of her coffee, then faced him. “So, why did you call, J.C.? I’m sure it wasn’t just so you could feed me pie.”

“I haven’t been able to get Misty out of my head today,” he said, admitting only half of the truth. When she looked skeptical, he shrugged. “Or you. I was worried about you on Saturday. It was clear that you were really taking that nasty incident to heart.”

“If you’d heard Annabelle, you’d have taken it to heart, too.”

“I’m thinking that it affected you more deeply because it reminded you of something that happened to you,” he suggested, seeing the truth in her eyes even as she tried to dismiss the incident.

“Let it go, J.C. It was a long time ago.”

“And you’ve put it behind you?” he asked skeptically. “I’m not getting that impression.”

She sighed. “I thought I had, at least mostly. There are some things I’ll never forget.”

“Such as?” he asked, knowing that the answer probably mattered more than he could possibly imagine.

She kept silent, her gaze staring somewhere off in the distance before she finally faced him with tears in her eyes. “Another time, okay? Please.”

He wiped away the tear that slid down her cheek with the pad of his thumb, then finally nodded reluctantly. “Another time,” he agreed quietly. “But I won’t forget, Laura.”

Her lips curved in a rueful smile. “I’m sure of that.”

He sat back and forced a more casual note into his voice. “So, how did it go at school today?”

“I finally had a candid talk with Misty,” she said. “Oh, she’s still pretty circumspect, but at least she’s no longer denying that there’s a real issue between her and Annabelle.”

“That ought to be enough to go to the principal, then,” he said, relieved that the matter might soon be resolved.

“Afraid not. Misty’s adamantly opposed to it. I have a feeling if I try to force the issue, she’ll deny it.”

“Why would she do that?” J.C. demanded in frustration. “She has to know this is wrong.”

“She knows. She’s just convinced that taking this to the principal will make everything much worse.” She gave him a weary look. “She could be right. I’ve heard plenty of stories about Mariah Litchfield and how she works. She’s already put in a few calls to Misty’s mother. Misty is pretty sure she intends to lay all the blame on Misty.”