“Yeah. Silly, isn’t it, when I’ve forgotten just about everything else about those early years. But when it comes to spaghetti, I’ve never had any that was better.”
“Then, by all means, come by and try Joey’s sometime. It’s the Thursday-night special.”
He thought about his schedule. “I’m on duty Thursday,” he told her. “But maybe I can talk the guys into coming by.”
“You can leave the station?”
“As long as all of us go and take our gear with us,” he said. “We have to be ready to roll if there’s a call.”
“Well, you’ll probably run into Ruby and Kevin, if you come. It’s their favorite night, too.”
“I imagine if I tell that to Hank, no one will be able to keep us away.”
“Unless they’ve had a fight,” Deanna said, sounding thoughtful. “They could have.”
“Then this will be one way to find out,” Sean said. “He’s coming over in a few minutes. I’ll mention Thursday to him.”
“Okay, then. Maybe I’ll see you on Thursday.”
“Good night, Deanna.”
“Bye.”
Sean hung up the phone, then sat staring at it as if it somehow still connected them. It was an odd sensation, one he wasn’t especially happy about. It had been a very long time, decades in fact, since he’d allowed himself to feel connected to anyone. Since he and his brother had hooked up, he had felt a renewed bond with Ryan, though it was still a bit on the uneasy side. And he and Hank were pretty tight, but that was it. Even the connection to his foster parents was tenuous. He still saw the Forresters from time to time, but he told himself that was because he owed them, not because he harbored any sentimental feelings toward them. The fact that there seemed to be some sort of invisible pull between him and a woman he barely knew was disconcerting.
He tried to dismiss it but knew he was only lying to himself. Why else had he called Deanna in the first place? It wasn’t like him to poke around in his friend’s life behind his back. It had been an excuse, pure and simple, designed to let him off the hook emotionally. He could tell himself the call had nothing to do with a ridiculously fierce longing to hear the sound of Deanna’s voice.
Lies, all lies. Filled with self-disgust at the pitiful ruse, he forced himself to face facts. He was drawn to Deanna Blackwell. He shouldn’t be. It was completely unwise and out of character, but there it was. He liked her. He liked her son. He was worried about the two of them.
Deanna needed a friend, he concluded. Okay, she had Ruby. But who couldn’t use more than one friend? He could be that friend. And he could hang out with the kid from time to time, sort of like a big brother. It didn’t have to go beyond that. He wouldn’t let it go beyond that.
Satisfied with his decision, he called and ordered the pizza. But as he waited for Hank and their food to arrive, he thought of the spontaneous combustion Deanna had set off the other night simply by licking an ice cream cone, her gaze locked with his.
Friendship? That’s all he was interested in? Yeah, right. The lies just kept piling up.
“I’ll drop Kevin off at Joey’s around six-thirty, and then take off,” Ruby said casually as she and Deanna ate breakfast on Thursday morning.
Instantly suspicious, Deanna stared at her. “You’re not having dinner? I thought you looked forward to Joey’s spaghetti all week long.”
Ruby shrugged. “I’m not in the mood for spaghetti.”
“And at 7:00 a.m. you know that’s how you’re going to feel in twelve hours?”
“Yep. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to change my mind. I’ve been thinking about cutting back on pasta for a while now. Too many carbs.”
Deanne peered at her intently. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that I mentioned Hank and Sean might come by, would it?”
“Why would that matter to me?” Ruby asked, studying her cereal as if she’d never seen a bran flake before.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Deanna said.
“Leave it alone,” Ruby said, pushing away from the table and dumping her cereal down the garbage disposal. “I’ve got to get to work.”
Since Ruby’s job was only part-time assistant in the same neighborhood law firm where Deanna worked days as a receptionist, something was off here. Deanna could have let it alone, but it wasn’t in her nature. She might not pry into Ruby’s social life, but she did pay attention when her friend was behaving weirdly.
“We never leave the house before seven-thirty,” she pointed out. “We’re not due at the office till eight. It takes us five minutes to walk to work. What’s the sudden rush? Are you trying to avoid talking to me?”
Ruby evaded Deanna’s direct gaze. “I’m filling in for Cassandra this week, remember?”
“So?”
“I’ve got a lot of typing piled up. I’m not as fast as she is, and I still need to get out so I can be home when Kevin gets here after school.”
Deanna’s gaze narrowed at the mention of her son. “Is baby-sitting Kevin getting to be a problem?”
“Of course not!” Ruby said, staring at her indignantly. “Don’t you dare think that. You know I love that kid as if he were my own. Heck, I’ve been around since the day he was born.”
“Well, something’s going on here,” Deanna said, studying Ruby thoughtfully. She decided to go for broke and throw her suspicions on the table. “You haven’t been yourself for days now, not since the night you got together with Hank at the fire station.”
“One thing has nothing to do with the other,” Ruby insisted, her jaw set stubbornly.
Deanna wasn’t buying it, but she couldn’t very well drag the truth out of Ruby if she wasn’t willing to share it. “Okay,” she said at last. “I’ll drop it for now, on one condition.”
“Anything that will get you to back off,” Ruby agreed.
“Have dinner at
