Page 8 of Fire Peak

“I walked from my hotel.” He hesitated, making her wonder if he was going to ask her to his room. She both wanted him to and didn’t want him to. She’d say no, of course, but the temptation would be strong, and there was that “nearly” sober part. “Can I see you again before I leave?”

Leave? This was his first mention of leaving, and she discovered that she didn’t like the idea. But of course he’d be leaving. He was only here for business. “When are you leaving?”

“Between a few days and a few weeks, depending on how things go.”

A few days. That felt very soon. “I go running in the park most days before breakfast.”

“I’ll see you there,” he said promptly.

“I don’t really like having to adjust my pace.”

“Then I’ll just wave as I pass you by.” He grinned in open challenge.

“Oh really?” If there was one thing she couldn’t resist, it was a race. She loved going fast, she loved competing. It reminded her of her track team days with Molly, Lila and Ani. “Winner buys breakfast?”

“You’re on.”

4

It wasn’t a fling. Not really. Charlie made sure of that by not falling into bed with Nick the way she wanted to. For the next few weeks, they kept it light. Running three miles before breakfast. Gorging on eggs and bacon and lots of coffee at the nearest strip mall diner. Then going about her day collecting amusing moments to share with Nick the next time she saw him.

She left briefly for a trip to Firelight Ridge with Ani, and when she came back she was absurdly happy to find Nick still in Barlow.

He showed her pictures of his daughter, Hailey, and talked about his life in Chicago. She told him about her three best friends and what life had been like growing up as a misfit in this town.

“A misfit? You?” He laughed in disbelief as they did their post-run stretching routines. “That sounds like something models say. ‘I was never the pretty one growing up.’”

“I’ve never been a model, or a volleyball player, or a basketball player, or any of those typical tall-girl things.”

“What do you do? You never talk about your work.”

“It’s boring computer stuff. There’s literally nothing to say.”

“Computers run the world these days. How could that be boring? Besides…”

“What?”

He gave her a wry smile as he wiped sweat off his forehead. “You could probably make the phone book interesting. And phone books are practically historical artifacts these days.”

She felt a smile tug across her face. Those sneaky little compliments…they got to her every time. “Listen, I have to skip our run tomorrow. I have somewhere else to be.”

The Indiana State Penitentiary, specifically, but he didn’t need to know that. She had to give her father a heads-up about what was about to happen.

He slung the towel over his shoulder, which bulged with muscle under his damp gray t-shirt. Sometimes she thought he was too muscular to be a good runner. He was more like a boxer running laps to lose weight before a match.

“Funny, I was just about to tell you that I’m going home later today. They want me to deliver a report to a board meeting in person.”

“Oh.” She tried to hide her disappointment, but couldn’t quite manage it. Side stretch. That would allow her to hide her reaction. “Of course. Fly safe, and I hope it goes well for you.”

“If it goes well, I’ll be back in a few days.”

“Great.” To hide her smile, she performed the same side stretch on the other side. “But I won’t be slacking while you’re gone. We’re going for five miles next time.”

After breakfast, as they said goodbye in that strip mall parking lot, she could have sworn he thought about kissing her. She certainly thought about kissing him. She might not get another chance to feel what those nicely carved lips felt like. Things might not go well, after all. He might be not come back to Barlow, Indiana.

But instead she tossed him a casual wave as she slipped on her sunglasses and slid into her granny’s Buick. It was good that he was leaving. Perfect timing. No more distractions. If all went well, her father would be out of prison and under the care of medical professionals within days.

The next day, Charlie drove the five hours to the Indiana State Penitentiary. Then came the familiar routine of going through security, surrendering her ID, emptying her pockets, nodding a greeting to the guards. The prison moved at its own pace, and visitors just had to accept it. It was a small taste of what life was like for the inmates, whose time was never their own.

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