Luke lifted his head and met my gaze. “I’m sure it doesn’t make sense to you.”
I lifted my shoulders and then let them drop.
“People say if I was happy once, then I could be again, but I can’t go there. It’s not worth the hurt.” His face tightened, and I noticed moisture on his dark lashes.
“Then why ask me out?”
“I wasn’t going to, but you were so fun and easy to talk to that day over fried pickles, and then our little date with the pizza pockets was even better. I thought . . .” He didn’t finish the sentence. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I wanted to reach out and embrace him—try to take away some of his hurt—but instead I reached for his hand, pressing my fingers against his. Luke glanced at my hand and then at me, his eyes misting with emotion.
“Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I’m sorry I was so angry. I was out of line too.” I gave his hand another squeeze and let go.
Luke stepped closer and his shoulder brushed mine, sending a spark of electricity through me. His breath came in short puffs, and I could see him still struggling to maintain composure. “Thanks,” he whispered. Then he turned and sprinted down the hill. I watched him go and wondered what else I could say to ease his pain. I wanted to say, “I’m here if you need me.” But I was still confused.
He didn’t want to ask me out, but he made the effort to come to my store anyway? It was almost like he sabotaged himself by being rude to me, so he would have a way out. But he’d just apologized and explained because he cared about what I thought of him. He cared.
I watched his back disappear around a copse of bushes and scowled. Now he’d gone and given me a reason to forgive him. My heart fluttered when I thought about how close I’d stood to his bare chest. I took a deep breath and felt the bag of diamonds against my sports bra. Dang you, Luke. With a glance around to check that no one was approaching, I picked up my pace and tried not to think about Luke Stetson.
Chapter 15
Sparkler Send-Off
The big send-off is at 11:00 p.m.!
Print announcement of the send-off on 4 x 6-inch pieces of heavy-weight cardstock. Cut two slits, one at the top and one at the bottom of the announcement. Slide one sparkler through the slits. Arrange sparklers and announcements in a vintage bucket or basket. Have helpers ready with torch lighters just before the time of the send-off.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.
Die-hard literature fans often visited the Ketchum cemetery to view the final resting place of Ernest Hemingway and his granddaughter, actress Margaux Hemingway. A plain granite slab stood between two fir trees in the shadow of the hill that banked the cemetery. The marker engraved with only Hemingway’s name and dates was the main attraction in the cemetery.
The two tragic deaths brought some notoriety to the well-manicured cemetery, but most people stopped at the memorial off Sun Valley Road to pay homage to a bust of the literary hero.
A late-night visit to the cemetery usually had something to do with spooks and spirits, but since I didn’t believe that nonsense, it didn’t scare me to run through a graveyard at twilight. I chose to focus on the peaceful feeling I felt from most of the people who rested under the tombstones. The thing that scared me had nothing to do with granite and everything to do with diamonds. Keeping a steady running cadence was difficult with trepidation chasing at my heels. I struggled to breathe evenly and ignore the bulge of diamonds tucked in my sports bra. I also struggled to stop the flow of thoughts about Luke from overtaking my consciousness.
Running a full loop of the cemetery reassured me that no one had followed. Solitude blanketed the landscape, so I decided it was safe to follow through with my plan. I crisscrossed through the pine trees flanking the headstones until I reached one with a bird feeder hanging from a low limb. It was constructed of metal that had rusted over in a deep brown patina.
I had run past it before and wondered about the empty feeder swinging in the breeze. When I inspected the family headstone beneath it, I found two names—a woman, who had passed on twelve years before, and her husband, who had been dead for only three years. I imagined the old man filling the bird feeder so his wife’s favorite songbirds would sing over her in her final slumber.
The bird feeder would be the next hiding place for the diamonds. I had wanted to tell Tony everything, and maybe I should have taken the diamonds directly to the police station, but the note scared me into questioning my earlier resolve. Besides, I still hadn’t figured out how to report the diamonds without losing Natalie’s dress. I’d find a way to talk to Tony and tell him about the diamonds as soon as they were out of my possession.
Before I pulled the bag from my sports bra, I checked behind me. The cemetery was fading into darkness, and no one was around. I stepped under the low-hanging branches of the fir tree and stuffed the diamonds inside the rusty shell of the bird feeder. The chain holding the feeder made a tiny squeaking noise until I stilled the movement with my hand.
Peeking out from underneath the tree, I took off running, faster now that the foreboding weight of the diamonds no longer pressed against my heart. Hopefully Tony would not arrest me when I could finally tell him what I had done.
Meeting up with Luke had delayed me enough that when I ran the full distance back to my vehicle, the sun’s last rays had disappeared. I hurried to
