“But she’s our
“Which makes us responsible,” Lucca agreed.
Tony rubbed the back of his neck and thought the problem through. “All right. Here’s my take. I saw her and Savannah during their Denver trip recently. Mom seemed happy as a clam to me. Maybe once she brings a contractor on board, the weirdness will work itself out. Could be she has too much to organize and it’s overwhelming her. I say we do that, then wait and see.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Glad we’re thinking along the same lines.”
“We usually do.” Tony rolled to his feet and carried the empty ice cream bowls to the outdoor kitchen’s sink. “So, want to bet on how long Gabi lasts at Aspenglow?”
“I won’t bet that she actually begins there.” Lucca paused a moment, then said, “My next-door neighbor told me the school’s PE teacher just quit and they haven’t found a replacement. I thought maybe Gabi could …”
Tony was shaking his head before Lucca completed the thought. “Bad idea.”
“She’s an athlete. She knows basketball.”
“She played basketball. She can’t coach basketball. She’s a terrible teacher. You know that. She has no patience. For the sake of the students, I’d let that one go.”
Lucca sighed. “All right. You’re right. I knew that. I needed someone else to say it out loud. Between her and Mom … I’m just worried.”
“Good. You caused them both enough worry, disappearing the way you did. A little payback doesn’t hurt a damned thing.”
“I’m an ass. I know that.”
“I’m glad we can agree, brother.”
Lucca shot his twin the bird, and Tony laughed. “Look, I’m not worried about Gabi. She’ll find something that’s right for her. It may take her awhile, and she’s bound to bounce around a bit, but she’ll land on her feet. As far as Mom is concerned … well … I don’t like the dishes-in-the-sink thing. Still, she’s better than she was a year ago. That’s a good thing. Deep wounds take time to heal. You know that, right?”
Lucca understood that here, his twin wasn’t talking about their mother.
He nodded curtly, wishing he could explain the cloud that had descended on his spirit to his brother, but since he couldn’t explain it to himself, that wasn’t going to happen.
Tony gave him a long look, then lightened his tone. “So, before I turn my the-doctor-is-in-the-house sign over to read he’s-outta-here and take this conversation in a more serious direction—namely, the dismal state of the Rockies bullpen—do you have any other women troubles we need to discuss?”
An image of Hope Montgomery lying in the golden light of dawn, her cheeks flushed, her lips pink and swollen from his kiss, shimmered like a dream in his mind. “Nope. No women troubles here.”
“All right then. Did you catch the ninth inning last night? What the hell is wrong with our closer?”
The brothers talked baseball, fishing, a little politics, even the latest book in a fantasy series they both read. Twice Tony tried to bring up basketball, but Lucca shut the subject down fast. They closed the evening off with a swim, a best-two-out-of-three race, in that way of unending competition that had been part of Lucca’s life for as long as he could remember.
He went to bed in Tony’s guest room, pleasantly fatigued and comfortably relaxed.
As he sank toward sleep, his thoughts wandered back over the events of the day to the predawn celestial event. In his mind’s eye, he saw sparkling meteors streaking across a black sky. He saw starlight and passion reflected in Hope Montgomery’s eyes.
Lost in heavenly bodies, he drifted into sleep and into dreams of stars and moons and meteors, starships and captains, and Lieutenant Hope Montgomery standing at a computer console dressed in a Starfleet uniform—a tight, bright red minidress and black boots.
For Hope, the school year began with the
The first day of class was always hard. It took all of her strength to meet her class on the first day without breaking into tears. What did Holly look like on her first day of school? She’d be starting fourth grade this year. Did she still wear her wavy red hair long? Did she have more than a dusting of freckles now? What books did she like to read?
Hope allowed herself a limited time to wallow in such thoughts, then she did what she always did—she soldiered on. She turned her focus toward getting to know her students as individuals, not as children the same age as Holly was when she disappeared, and by the end of the first week of school, her students loved her and she adored them in return.
Such was the joy of kindergarten.
During those first weeks of September, she kept busy and saw nothing of her prickly next-door neighbor. She told herself she was glad.
Even if she had relived that kiss more than once in her dreams.
Kindergarten was a half-day program in Eternity Springs, so in the afternoon, Hope taught one section of fifth grade social studies and three classes of PE. Between the two of them, she and Principal Geary had managed to coerce a couple of fathers in town to take charge of the football team. Hope had a target—three targets, actually—in mind to help with the basketball team, and she was waiting for the right moment to make her pitch.
In the meantime, she’d agreed to fill in. She’d played on her high school basketball team, and she could coach the middle school team. For the high schoolers, well, she had pinned her hopes on her targets: the Romanos. Gabi had played college ball. She probably would be happy to help once she finished transitioning from cop to B&B manager. Zach would help when he had time, Hope was certain. Lucca, everyone knew, was a long shot.
But practice wouldn’t start for another couple of weeks, and Hope had bigger worries on her plate at the moment. As in the school carnival, Fun Night, in particular. It was the largest fund-raiser of the year for the school, and thus very important. She was committee chairman, and the final planning meeting started … she glanced at her watch. “I’m late!”
Hope grabbed her notebook and hurried from the classroom.
The carnival was organized by the Eternity Springs Community School’s Parent-Teacher Organization and the chamber of commerce. Ordinarily, they’d hold the meeting in the school cafeteria, but today, Sarah Murphy had asked if they’d all come to her bakery, Fresh. “It’s a win-win,” Sarah had said when she’d called Hope to make the change and engage the phone tree to inform all committee members. “I’ll provide the refreshments for the meeting, and I don’t have to get the baby up from his afternoon nap.”
Fall was in the air as Hope walked up Spruce then turned west on Second Street toward the bakery. Autumn set the mountains surrounding Eternity Springs aglow with a riot of reds, oranges, and yellows. The afternoon air had a bite to it, and people on the streets walked a little faster than they had even the previous week. Hope expected the first snowfall of the season wouldn’t be long in coming.
Ignoring the closed sign in the window at Fresh, Hope opened the door and stepped inside to the clang of a bell. She followed the sound of voices through the shop into the attached living space that was Cam, Sarah, and little Michael Murphy’s home.
“Here she is,” Sarah said as Hope breezed into the Murphy living room. “You’re late.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I had to do a locker search and even this early in the school year, it was a pretty disgusting activity. Took me longer than I anticipated, but I found the contraband.”
“Cigarettes?” Gabi Romano asked.
“Chewing gum. I outlawed it after I stepped on some for the third time in a week.” She glanced hopefully toward the nursery. “Is our boy still snoozing?”
“Yes.” Sarah glanced at the clock. “If all is right with the world, we should have half an hour without interruption.”
“Then let’s get our business done so that we’re free to play when he wakes up.”
