Scattered Ashes by Maria Rachel Hooley

menu.
    “Thank you,” she said, then looked back at Michael.  “Okay, why would you have waited?”
    “Because it’s my little sister’s first day on the job as hostess, and I wanted to sit back and watch her work, maybe give her a little grief from time to time.”
    “That’s how she knew who you were,” Nicole said, taking a small sip.  She didn’t usually like wine, but she figured it might help loosen her up.
    “What did you think?  It was magic?”
    “I don’t know.”  She frowned and thought a moment.  “You don’t by chance live around here, do you?”
    “Yep.  Fancy my surprise when I found you in Oklahoma City.  I’ve lived here most of my life, and I hadn’t run into you before now.  What were the odds?”
    “You are devious!  That explains how you were able to find my address.” 
    His grin broadened.  “Yeah, but you like it.  You might as well admit it, Nicole.  Besides, I’m a lawyer.  Sometimes it’s my job to find people.”
    She nodded slowly.  “Yeah, I guess I do like it.”
    The waitress arrived to take her order, but Michael held up his hand.  “She may not be ready to order.  I don’t think she’s even looked at the menu.”
    “Some of us don’t need to look at menus,” Nicole corrected before turning to the waitress.  “I’ll have the popcorn shrimp, please.”
    The waitress asked a few more questions about her order and proceeded to take Michael’s.  Although Nicole didn’t feel comfortable staring at him while he seemed to be unaware, catching him off guard was another story.  He seemed at ease with the world around him, and it amazed her.  In fact, this whole thing amazed her.  She still wasn’t sure she could actually believe it was happening, not completely.
    The diner passed pleasantly, and even though Nicole felt the effects of the wine, it was as though a mild calmness had spread through her, making things easy to enjoy and temporarily wiping Jordan from her thoughts.  Even though she’d been trepidatious about going out on the date in the first place, as the evening went on, she grew more and more glad she had been willing to get out, not that she really expected this to go anywhere.  Then again, she hadn’t expected Michael even to remember her after he’d left.  Sometimes, things were a lot different than she thought they would be.
    Although she wasn’t sure what would happen when they left the restaurant, once Michael realized she hadn’t driven and would be riding with him, he suggested a walk around a nearby pond to enjoy the evening.  A rejection was on the tip of Nicole’s tongue, but she found herself quickly agreeing in spite of it.
    Walking through the parking lot, she scanned the cars again, wondering which was his.  The answer came quickly enough—a dark blue Lexus—as he opened the door and waited for her to sit before closing it.  Nicole allowed herself to wonder if she’d made a mistake.  She didn’t know Michael all that well, but a little voice in her head told her that unless she let a few more people in behind those walls she’d erected, she was never going to know anyone that well, so she might as well start with Michael.
    Dusk was setting the sky and pond on fire as they pulled up.  Once again, Michael opened her door.  She watched the geese scatter into the sky as the two of them started along the walking trail.  Michael shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at the heavens.  The light danced off his hair, illuminating the auburn highlights throughout.
    Finally, he turned to her and asked,  “So--how’s your head?”
    “Still attached,” she said touching the Band-aid that her hair had kept hidden.
    “Thanks, smartbutt.  I’m serious.  How's your head?”  He bent and picked up a stone, and with a flick of the wrist cast it across the water.
    She shrugged.  “I still have a headache, but it’s better.  And thanks, by the way.”
    “For what?” he asked softly, picking up