Twilight Read Free

“Going up.”
    Ray hoisted his end so swiftly, Cal almost tumbled down the stairs, but he caught his hip on the corner post. It shifted dangerously, and he realized the whole banister could use shoring up, especially with kids in the house. He’d probably find a list of safety hazards if he inspected the place. He eased his hip around the post. Past the turn, they lowered the couch again and brought it to the place Laurie indicated in the front room, providing an ungainly companion to the chair. Slowly straightening with one hand on his back, Cal found her watching him with a crooked smile. She handed back their drinks, then pulled a twenty from her pocket, gave it to Ray, and thanked him.
    Ray beamed, shoving it into his pocket with the closest thing to a gloat Cal ever saw on his face. “I didn’t say I’d pay you.” He waved a finger at him.
    “No problem.” That was another one of their little jokes. But it confirmed his earlier thoughts on service. Cal didn’t add that this time seeing Laurie was payment enough. With one step toward her, he blurted, “How about dinner?” He saw the familiar pucker between her eyebrows and wondered what form her rejection would take, but she surprised him.
    “I guess I owe you. I can scrounge something together.”
    That wasn’t what he’d meant, but if she felt better cooking than going out, who was he to object?
    Ray turned at the door. “Sounds great!”
    Cal looked at him, slack-jawed. No, he hadn’t a clue, and he didn’t take a hint either.
    Laur ie laughed. “Come on, then.” She led the way to the kitchen. “The children are with my mother for the night, so I haven’t planned anything. I have some steaks to thaw if you want to start a fire.”
    She spoke over her shoulder, but Cal knew her comment was directed to him. “I put fires out , remember?” Seven years ago he had finished his initial training to become a fireman. Did she recall?
    She handed him a box of matches and aimed him toward the back door. “Then you should be good at lighting them too.” Now there was logic for you.
    On the patio, he found an ancient grill, charcoal, and lighter fluid. Couldn’t she just use gas like the rest of the world? He choked on the black dust that rose when he dumped out the charcoal, then saturated it and took up the matches. He could hear Laurie’s voice and Ray’s jovial answers through the screen. It wouldn’t take her long to realize Ray’s hive was minus a bee or two. But he was harmless overall.
    When the briquettes had soaked long enough, Cal held a lit match to the pile. The flame leaped, and instantly his throat tightened and his hand shook as he tossed the match and stepped back. He swore. This was not the time to lose it. He scanned Laurie’s yard, breathing, breathing. Focus. Don’t think .
    A swing set and sandbox looked as though they’d aged along with the ancient, fenced garden plot and the cracked and peeling bench that circled the massive oak in the center of the yard. Around the edge, shrubs and dry, clinging vines fleshed out the skeleton fence. The foundation was masked by flower beds of brown brittle mums and bachelor buttons, gone to seed. The beds smelled of mulch.
    He had a hard time reconciling Laurie to this domestic scene. An uptown apartment with a steady stream of glittering, influential guests was more like it. But then, both of those were hard to find in Montrose. He went in and washed. Laurie was breaking lettuce into a bowl, and the microwave hummed.
    “I think they’re about defrosted.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and reached for the paring knife. Cal slid it to her, and she glanced up, meeting his eyes for a moment. She sliced a tomato onto the lettuce, flicked a gelatinous seed from her thumb, then set the salad aside. She removed the steaks from the microwave and handed them to him.
    Forcing his jaw to relax, Cal carried them out to the fire. His friend Reggie would say this was therapy, and he