Page 70 of Their Stormy Reunion

I brought out the paper towels, silverware and glasses of water. As we got down to the business of eating, I grilled him about being a firefighter. He entertained me with funny stories and I found out that he actually had rescued a cat out of a tree.

I started yawning before the dessert portion of the meal. “It’s chocolate mousse,” he tempted me.

“I can’t stay awake. I’ll have to pass.”

“Why didn’t you pester me to find out where he had gone?” Zarek finally asked.

“It was the bro code. I think you keeping his confidence is a good thing. I’ll find out from him tomorrow.”

Zarek gave me a gentle hug good night, and as I walked down the hall, I heard the TV turn back on. I crawled back into bed and fell immediately asleep.

Hours later, I felt Michael pull me into his arms. His front to my back. I snuggled closer, glorying in his embrace.

“How was your visit?” I asked him, knowing he had gone to see Sid.

“He’s evil. Hate isn’t a strong enough word for how I feel about him.” Michael gritted out the words.

I wiggled around so I could face him. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Just hold me,” he whispered.

I held him until dawn lit the sky.

It was two days after the alarm system had been installed and since then, Mom had set it off three times. Obviously, there were still some kinks that needed to be worked out.

My arm was no longer in a sling, and Dad was jonesing to get out of the house, so I was taking my parents downtown to the Down Home Café.

“Is Michael working?” Dad asked.

“No. I think he’s working on a project with his dad,” I answered. “Anyway, isn’t it nice just the three of us?” I asked.

“It sure is,” my Mom answered from the back seat of my SUV.

Ever since our gardening confrontation, Mom had been working hard to be more supportive of me, even on the silliest things. I mentioned that I liked the blue hand towels in the guest bathroom better than the yellow, and she’d tripped over herself to agree. It was an awkward, uncomfortable mess. Plus, Dad had been going stir crazy, so that was making it worse for Mom and me.

I was really hoping this lunch might mellow things out.

“I’ve missed having Michael around the last week and a half,” Dad said. “You should try harder to mend fences, Fallon. He didn’t deserve what you did. He’s a really good man.”

I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end.

“Yes, he is,” I gritted out the words. There were no spots close to the diner, so I parked in the handicap zone.

“You can’t park here,” Dad said loudly.

Here we go again with the parking. I groaned inwardly.

“I’m just dropping you and Mom off so you can put our name in for a table, then I’ll park my car somewhere else, like I always do,” I assured him. “Why do you always think I’m going to break the law?”

“You ran off the night before your wedding, didn’t you? You slunk off like a thief in the night. That showed that you had no honor. Breaking the law, like parking in a handicap zone, is something people with no honor would do.”

Dad’s eyes glittered with anger as he glared at me.

“I’m not going to park illegally. My honor means a lot to me. I value it. Being trusted and respected is one of the ways I have done so well in business. Now, are you finally going to ask me why I left town, or are you just going to throw out firebombs?”

“What’s there to ask? You ran a way, like some damn cat burglar.”

“Fallon, honey. Start the car, and let’s head back home. We don’t want to be airing out our dirty laundry outside of the diner,” Mom said.