Page 60 of The Only One
“I don’t know.” I shrugged.
“Well, what are you looking for?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I’m just not sure it’s going to be here.”
“You know, I felt like that too when I first got back. My mom was after me to come home, so I did. But all I could think was that this place didn’t feel the same anymore.”
I narrowed my eyes, silently urging him to go on.
“And, honestly, it still doesn’t. Feel the same, I mean,” he continued. “But some things start to feel better. Like when I joined the Blue Creek PD or started coaching Little League. It’s not going to feel like it did when we were kids. But it feels like home now.”
“Hm…”
“Don’t give up on this place just yet. I know Steph wants you here.”
“God, is my sister the town crier or is this place just too fucking small?” I asked, shaking my head. “Everyone knows everyone’s business.”
“Don’t complain, Cindy. Someone wants you here. That’s nothing to sneer at.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said with a sigh.
I looked up and saw one final person joining the group. My body knew it was Luke before his face came into focus. I willed myself to stay cool and calm, but my pulse raced as he got closer.
“I think there’s someone else who wants you here,” he added, his tone teasing. “And, between you and me, I don’t know why you’d want to leave someone like him behind.”
Luke approached us with a smile on his face. Like, an actual, happy,God, isn’t it a beautiful fucking day outsidesmile. It lit up his face.
Fuck me. Luke Kane got even hotter when he smiled.
“Hauserman, nice to see you again,” Luke said with a wave to Andy. He turned his attention to me. “Cindy, can we talk?”
“I…”
Asher Lake took that very moment to clap his hands and face the lot of us.
“Hi, everyone. I’m glad to see some new faces. And some familiar ones,” Asher began, shooting a look over at Andy. “We’re going to start this morning off with a quick ten miles in a weighted vest. The guys at the department were kind enough to lend me theirs.”
One by one, we lined up and received a weighted vest from Asher. I guessed it was around twenty pounds.
“This feels light,” a voice next to me complained. I looked over and saw the USMC guy holding the vest out to me. “This has to be a ladies’ one. Switch with me.”
“They’re all the same,” I told him. “Just put on the fucking vest and do the job, man.”
The guy rolled his eyes but put on the vest.
I headed to the starting line with the others, Luke at my heels.
“Cindy, come on. I gave you a couple days’ space, but we really need to talk about what happened the other night,” he said.
“We’re running now, Luke. I’m busy. Maybe after.”
Asher gave us the go-ahead, and the group started running. The Marine had a huge lead on the rest of us. The three good-timers found a comfortable jogging pace and brought up the rear. I found a steady stride a good two hundred feet ahead of Luke, but as the run wore on and the vest got heavier, Luke gained on me.
“We’ve got nine and a half more miles, Cindy. We can talk now,” he stated. “What’s going on? Why did you leave?”
“I, um, I changed my mind about sleeping with you.”
“Did you?”