dad’s, though you can see his opinion didn’t do a whole lot to stop me. Putting a hammer in my hand finally did.” At that, he hefted up the box and headed for the front porch.
They’d been stacking things out there, one end for trash, one end for donations. A truck was due tomorrow afternoon to pick up the latter; it was the third load of giveaways, and they’d have at least one more. The trash was waiting for the arrival of a second Dumpster.
“I thought I’d run out to one of the burger joints on the interstate and grab some lunch,” he said, stepping back inside and leaving the front door open. “Want something?”
“A cheeseburger would be great, thanks.”
“You prefer one place over any other?”
“Any one of them’s fine. Add bacon and jalapeños. No fries. A chocolate milk shake.” She got to her feet. “My purse is in the car. Let me get you some money.”
He waved off her offer. “I got it. You can buy tomorrow.”
As if there was no question that she’d be here to eat with him. “Is that what we’re going to do now? Take turns?”
“Seems fair,” he said, shrugging carelessly. “Until I run out of cash. But we should finish up before I hit bottom.”
And once they finished up, he’d be gone. “What would happen if you extended your time away? Would you get fired?”
“Five days not enough for you?” he asked, his expression suggestive.
“Just answer the question,” she said, and tried not to roll her eyes.
“Why would I want to do that?”
The better question was, why was she asking him to? “I thought it might be nice to have someone from Sierra’s family involved in putting the center together.”
He waited for the full jolt of what she’d said to settle, then: “That would mean staying on. In Hope Springs.”
“For a while, yes.” This time she shrugged, but without pulling off careless as well as he had. “Or for as long as you wanted to.”
He came farther into the room, cocked a hip, and sat on the couch arm. “And are you asking someone from Oscar’s family to be involved, too?”
“I can’t imagine them being interested.” Because this was Luna’s community-based project. And Luna came from the wrong community. And then there was Oliver’s digging into the accident. She couldn’t ask them because of that. And she couldn’t tell Angelo why she couldn’t ask them. “They never were big fans of Sierra.”
He studied her fiercely, frowning. “Did she know?”
“That they didn’t want Oscar dating her?” She nodded. “She never told you?”
“She may have. I don’t remember.” He reached up, rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I wasn’t exactly a model big brother.”
“Sierra thought you were,” she said, wanting to soften the blow of the things he was feeling.
“Maybe then.” He shook his head, scuffed his boot against the dry hardwood floor. “I doubt she did later.”
“Later?”
“When I was at school. When I was away.”
Oh, he had it wrong. “Distance wouldn’t have changed her mind—”
“Sierra was pregnant.” Three words dropped like bricks on the surface of a still lake, the circle of the impact widening, widening…
“What?” Her voice broke on the word, her whole world crumbling. He’d known? All this time, and he’d known?
When she blinked him into focus, he was nodding. “She called me not long after spring break and told me. She asked me to come home and hold her hand while she told our parents.”
The tips of her fingers had gone cold. They burned like icicles when she pressed them to her mouth. “I had no idea. I knew about the pregnancy, of course. But not about her calling you. Or that she’d planned to give your parents the news.”
And why hadn’t she known? Sierra had told her the rest. She’d told her everything. So why not this? It didn’t make any sense… unless Sierra hadn’t wanted her to think badly of Angelo for not coming. Except that wouldn’t have mattered unless
They’d been stacking things out there, one end for trash, one end for donations. A truck was due tomorrow afternoon to pick up the latter; it was the third load of giveaways, and they’d have at least one more. The trash was waiting for the arrival of a second Dumpster.
“I thought I’d run out to one of the burger joints on the interstate and grab some lunch,” he said, stepping back inside and leaving the front door open. “Want something?”
“A cheeseburger would be great, thanks.”
“You prefer one place over any other?”
“Any one of them’s fine. Add bacon and jalapeños. No fries. A chocolate milk shake.” She got to her feet. “My purse is in the car. Let me get you some money.”
He waved off her offer. “I got it. You can buy tomorrow.”
As if there was no question that she’d be here to eat with him. “Is that what we’re going to do now? Take turns?”
“Seems fair,” he said, shrugging carelessly. “Until I run out of cash. But we should finish up before I hit bottom.”
And once they finished up, he’d be gone. “What would happen if you extended your time away? Would you get fired?”
“Five days not enough for you?” he asked, his expression suggestive.
“Just answer the question,” she said, and tried not to roll her eyes.
“Why would I want to do that?”
The better question was, why was she asking him to? “I thought it might be nice to have someone from Sierra’s family involved in putting the center together.”
He waited for the full jolt of what she’d said to settle, then: “That would mean staying on. In Hope Springs.”
“For a while, yes.” This time she shrugged, but without pulling off careless as well as he had. “Or for as long as you wanted to.”
He came farther into the room, cocked a hip, and sat on the couch arm. “And are you asking someone from Oscar’s family to be involved, too?”
“I can’t imagine them being interested.” Because this was Luna’s community-based project. And Luna came from the wrong community. And then there was Oliver’s digging into the accident. She couldn’t ask them because of that. And she couldn’t tell Angelo why she couldn’t ask them. “They never were big fans of Sierra.”
He studied her fiercely, frowning. “Did she know?”
“That they didn’t want Oscar dating her?” She nodded. “She never told you?”
“She may have. I don’t remember.” He reached up, rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I wasn’t exactly a model big brother.”
“Sierra thought you were,” she said, wanting to soften the blow of the things he was feeling.
“Maybe then.” He shook his head, scuffed his boot against the dry hardwood floor. “I doubt she did later.”
“Later?”
“When I was at school. When I was away.”
Oh, he had it wrong. “Distance wouldn’t have changed her mind—”
“Sierra was pregnant.” Three words dropped like bricks on the surface of a still lake, the circle of the impact widening, widening…
“What?” Her voice broke on the word, her whole world crumbling. He’d known? All this time, and he’d known?
When she blinked him into focus, he was nodding. “She called me not long after spring break and told me. She asked me to come home and hold her hand while she told our parents.”
The tips of her fingers had gone cold. They burned like icicles when she pressed them to her mouth. “I had no idea. I knew about the pregnancy, of course. But not about her calling you. Or that she’d planned to give your parents the news.”
And why hadn’t she known? Sierra had told her the rest. She’d told her everything. So why not this? It didn’t make any sense… unless Sierra hadn’t wanted her to think badly of Angelo for not coming. Except that wouldn’t have mattered unless
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