He held Ivy’s hand as he walked her down the stairs, out to the driveway.
She stopped, glanced at him. “You brought your motorcycle?”
“Just until Casper goes back to college. His Key West pirate adventure fell through, and with Mom and Dad trying to figure out how to rebuild, he’s sticking around until the end of the summer. I thought maybe you’d like a ride.”
“I’d love a ride,” she said and he climbed aboard, helping her on as she swung her leg over. Then, like he hoped, she leaned in, wrapped her arms around his waist, and held on.
Keep holding on.
He backed the bike out of the driveway, but instead of heading toward town, he drove to the cemetery. “I have to stop here for a minute. Do you mind?”
“Of course not. Take your time. I’ll be right here, waiting.”
He wanted to kiss her, but it didn’t seem right, so he parked the bike and left Ivy there.
He’d visited only once, early on with his mother, but he hadn’t forgotten where Felicity lay. Someone—probably Claire—had planted a garden, pretty red and purple flowers over her grave.
He palmed the top of the smooth, cool surface of the stone. “Hey, Felicity.” He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say, but . . . “I’m sorry. I should have loved you better. I should have made it work. And I shouldn’t have blamed you for my failures.”
He knelt before the gravestone, reading the inscription. Beloved mother of Theo, daughter, wife.
Yes. “I will keep your memory alive for him. Remind him of your laughter, teach him to swim and enjoy all the things you loved. I will love him well.” His throat tightened. “Thank you for our son. For loving me even though I didn’t deserve it.”
He crouched there for a moment. Then pressed his hand to his mouth, leaving a kiss on the gravestone. “You are missed.”
Ivy sat astride the bike, just as she’d promised, and said nothing as he climbed aboard. She wrapped her arms around him again, however, and they motored down Main Street.
“Where’s Tiger?”
“Nan’s.”
“You’re a good man, Darek Christiansen.”
He smiled at that. “Trying.”
They pulled up to the VFW and he parked the bike. “This is our big hot date?” she asked, wrinkling her nose. But tease played in her eyes.
“Listen. This is the hottest place in town.” Indeed, the music already spilled out onto the street, the Blue Monkeys going to town with a Skynyrd song.
“‘So don’t ask me no questions, and I won’t tell you no lies. . . .’”
The crowd was singing along as they walked in. Darek put his hand on Ivy’s back, leading her through the room, raising his hand to Jed, who sat at the bar with Pete Holt and a few of the other hotshots. They’d spent the last couple weeks mopping up, making sure no new fires ignited, but the rainfall of the past few days meant they might be leaving soon.
He noticed the new guy, Conner, in the corner, talking with Liza Beaumont. And his dad, sitting at a high top, his chair close to his mom’s. She caught Darek’s eye as he came in. Her smile filled him with an odd, boyish sense of joy.
Ivy pointed to a chair next to Jensen, and Darek nodded. Jensen stood, grabbing Darek’s hand.
Yeah, that had felt good yesterday, standing up in court for his best friend. Forgiving him.
“You ready?” Darek asked.
Ivy glanced at them with a frown.
Jensen nodded.
As they sat, he noticed a dog lying at Jensen’s feet. “They let you bring a dog in here?”
“This is Rusty!” Jensen said over the last bars of the song. “He’s my moral support.”
“And what am I?”
He grinned. “You know what you are.”
The song ended with whistles and cheering. And then Emma stepped back and Claire took the mic. She was looking pretty tonight in a simple white-and-blue floral dress, a pair of leggings, and red Converse high-tops. Her dark hair flowed in waves around her face. She looked out into the audience, her gaze landing on Jensen.
“I have a treat for you tonight, folks. You might not know it, but we have another musician in the audience.”
Jensen’s smile faded.
“If you live near Evergreen Lake, sometimes you can hear the tunes of a lonely harmonica drifting over the water. Those would be the magic melodies of our very own Jensen Atwood! Jens, get up here and join me onstage.”
Jensen glanced at Darek, something of panic on his face. “Did you know about this?”
Darek reached into his pocket, pulled out a harmonica.
“I’ll get you.”
“I dare you,” he said.
Jensen swiped the harmonica and took the stage amid the rousing cheer of the crowd.